On this day – 12 May
A look through the archives to see what was happening to the Reds on the 12th May many moons ago……
After lying dormant for ten years, Workington AFC was re-formed in January, 1921 with a view to start playing professional football again at the start of the 1921-22 season.
They played a series of games during May of that year and, a week before they were due to play in an FA Cup semi final v. Tottenham Hotspur at Hillsborough, Preston North End visited Lonsdale Park for a prestigious friendly.
Either side of the Preston game, Workington had hosted two other matches against Barrow and Frizington Athletic as they began to build a team although, at that point, they didn’t know in which league they would be playing.
They lost the well supported match on 12 May with North End ending the evening comfortable 3-1 winners. Even our goal was ‘scored’ by a Preston player.
The programme (pictured) shows the Reds’ line-up with players coming from various other local clubs and further afield.
On this day in 1951, Workington played their final ‘first team’ game in the North Eastern League when Murton Colliery Welfare visited Borough Park.
Reds encountered few problems from the league’s bottom club and completed their 25th season in the League with a straightforward 3-0 win which secured a final position of 5th.
Jackie Oakes (inset) scored one of the goals that day (his 125th for the club) and he had become the third Workington player to register a century of goals in the NEL.
Three weeks later, Reds were elected to the Football League.
