Bradford Park Avenue
Bradford Park Avenue is a football (soccer) club from England.
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Bradford Association Football Club (almost always referred to as Bradford (Park Avenue)) is a association football club based in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. The club's name comes from its old stadium at Park Avenue (stadium) in Bradford, which was designed by Archibald Leitch.
The present club claims descent from the organisation of the same name that was a former member of the Football League and which went into liquidation in 1974. The new entity, established in 1988, is currently in the Northern Premier League Premier Division, and plays its home matches at the Horsfall Athletics Stadium, which has a capacity of 5,000.
History
Rugby league
The original club was formed in 1863 as the Bradford Football Club and played rugby football. Having been a member of the Rugby Football Union, it became a founder member of the Rugby Football League following a dispute between northern clubs and the Rugby Football Union over the payment of expenses for broken work time in 1895. Bradford won the Rugby League Championship in 1903-04 and the Challenge Cup in 1905-06.
In 1907, what is known as "The Great Betrayal" occurred as a small majority of members decided to abandon the Northern Union game (later known as rugby league) and change code to association football, still based at the Park Avenue (Cricket/Football Ground).
Association football
Bradford Park Avenue immediately applied to join the Football League. However, they were not accepted, and instead joined the Southern Football League, even though Bradford Park Avenue was based in the north, filling a gap left by Fulham F.C. who had been successful in joining the Football League.
The minority faction decided to leave the original club and form a new Northern Union club appropriately called Bradford Northern (later renamed Bradford Bulls). Bradford Northern applied for membership of the Northern Union and replaced Bradford FC.
In 1908, Bradford FC was successfully elected to the Football League Second Division of the Football League. Bradford Park Avenue was promoted to the Football League First Division in 1913 after finishing as runners-up, and achieved its highest ever league position of 9th at the end of the 1914-15 in English football season.
After First World War Bradford Park Avenue began a steady decline, being relegated to the Second Division in 1921, and again to the Football League Third Division North in 1922. In 1928, Bradford Park Avenue finished as Division 3N champions and was promoted back to the Second Division. However, they were relegated again in 1950, and then placed in the Football League Fourth Division after reorganisation in 1958. Though they won promotion to the Football League Third Division in 1961, they were relegated back to the Fourth Division in 1963.
After several seasons of struggle, they were voted out of the Football League in 1970 and replaced by Cambridge United F.C.. Bradford Park Avenue dropped into the Northern Premier League, and financial problems meant they had to sell Park Avenue in 1973 and share with neighbours Bradford City A.F.C.. However, the sale did not solve the difficulties, and Bradford Park Avenue went into liquidation on 3 May 1974 with debts of £57,652. They were immediately re-formed as a Sunday league football club playing in the league club's former colours.
After playing at Bingley Road and Hope Avenue in 1974 in the Bradford Amateur Sunday League Division Four Bradford Park Avenue moved to Avenue Road and won promotion for the first time in 1975. The next season saw promotion again and in 1985 came promotion into the newly formed Bradford Sunday Alliance League. In 1987 Bradford Park Avenue returned to play a fixture at the still-standing Park Avenue ground, before they joined the West Riding County Amateur League in 1988.
Bradford Park Avenue returned to Saturday football at the start of the 1988-89 in English football season, when they joined the West Riding County Amateur Football League. They then joined the Central Midlands League. Bradford Park Avenue moved to the North West Counties League the following season. In the meanwhile, Bradford Park Avenue had been playing matches at various rugby league grounds (including Bramley Buffaloes and Batley Bulldogs).
In 1995 Bradford Park Avenue won the North West Counties League, re-joining the Northern Premier League, as well as moving to the Horsfall Athletics Stadium. In 2001, it became one of the many waypoints for continent-hopping goalkeeper Lutz Pfannenstiel, after a stint with Dunedin Technical and before signing with ASV Cham. He stopped breathing three times after a collision while playing for Bradford Park Avenue against Harrogate Town F.C. in a Northern Premier League match on 26 December 2002. The injury was so serious that the referee, John Moss, abandoned the match. Bradford Park Avenue were leading 2–1 at the time of the incident.
At the start of the 2004/5 season they became founder members of the Conference North, though they were relegated back to the Northern Premier League (the seventh level) at the end of the season. They also relegated to Northern Division North at next season. They returned to Northern Premier League as champions in 2007-2008 season.
Bradford Park Avenue reached the FA Cup quarter finals in 1912/3, 1919/20 and 1945/6. Since re-forming, they have reached the first round proper once, in 2003/4. Their best performance in the Football League Cup was to reach a 3rd round replay in 1962/3.
Since dropping into non-league football, Bradford Park Avenue's best FA Trophy performance has been to reach the 4th round in 1998/9. In the FA Vase, Bradford Park Avenue reached the 2nd round in 1994/5.
In February 2008 club chief executive Bob Blackburn unveiled plans for a new 20,000 seat stadium at Phoenix Park in Thornbury, West Yorkshire, within the City of Leeds.
Colours
The traditional colours of Bradford (PA) were red, amber and black which were inherited from the original Bradford RFC and incidentally retained by Bradford & Bingley RUFC and Bradford Bulls RLFC who all claim common genealogy. The fact that red, amber and black (with white) has been worn by three of the city's senior football clubs (namely Bradford (Park Avenue) AFC, Bradford RFC / Bradford & Bingley RUFC and Bradford Northern RLFC / Bradford Bulls who were all descended from the original Bradford FC which was based at Park Avenue) has made many people assume that these were the de facto sporting colours of Bradford.
Indeed the colours have also been used by other sports organisations in Bradford such as cycling, hockey and athletics principally in the style of a red, amber and black band on a white shirt (as typically worn by Bradford Northern and as an away kit by Bradford (PA)). Red, amber and black are also the historic colours of Bradford Cricket Club, formed in 1836. The cricket club no longer play at the Park Avenue, and nor do Yorkshire County Cricket Club, who played several matches a season there over many years. Wibsey Park Chapel Cricket Club currently occupy the dilapidated ground with relatively little being changed. One stand is now referred to as the Football End in reference to those bygone eras. Hopes are still alive for Bradford PA to move back eventually to their 'ancestral home', but this is unlikely with a development of housing going on the old football pitch and terracing of the cricket ground.
Bradford FC had been formed in 1863 by former pupils of Bramham College and in 1880 joined Bradford CC at Park Avenue. However it is not known whether one club took the colours of the other at this time. Bradford did not achieve city status until 1897 and to that extent red, amber and black could well have been associated with Bradford prior to the granting of the arms and certainly well before Bradford's city status.
In 1911 Bradford changed its colours to green and white following the appointment of former Celtic player, Tom Maley, brother of Willie Maley, who also played at Celtic before becoming their first manager, and this may also have been a move to exploit the local catchment area which had many residents of Irish origin. In so doing Avenue became the only club to have worn green and white in the English First Division, between 1914 and 1921. Avenue reverted to red, amber and black with white in 1924 but then revived green and white between 1958 and 1967. The reformed Bradford Park Avenue has adopted green and white since 1988. Avenue's club crest was the 1907 version of the Bradford coat of arms and this has been used by the reformed club also even though it was replaced by the municipal authority in 1974.
Bradford's traditional rivals Manningham RFC and their successors Bradford City A.F.C. have worn claret and amber and whereas Bradford has tended to wear hoops (with a number of notable exceptions) the City club has opted for stripes. Bradford City also adopted the (1907) Bradford coat of arms as its crest until 1966.
After the change from white shirts to green shirts over summer 2006, there had been talk around Bradford Park Avenue of changing the colours back to something along the lines of red amber and black during Bradford Park Avenue's centenary season though it turned out that this would be used for the away kit for sponsorship reasons. The home kit would be green and white hoops.
Bradford Park Avenue are the only team to have a better win loss record against Manchester United. Winning 9 five wins at home 4 away Lost 8 three home five away and one match was drawn.
Name
Though officially called Bradford A.F.C., Park Avenue (the location of Bradford Park Avenue's original stadium) is usually appended to their name to avoid confusion with Bradford City A.F.C.. Bradford AFC was chosen as a name because Bradford City had already registered both the names "Bradford City" and "Bradford United".
Nickname
Bradford Park Avenue has always been referred to as 'Avenue'. In 1966 Bradford introduced its own cartoon mascot in response to the 'City Gent' of Bradford City A.F.C. at Valley Parade. 'Avenue 'Arry' is a cartoon of a supporter with hat and scarf waving a rattle. Avenue did not use the character to the same extent as Bradford City exploited the 'City Gent' but it has been revived by the reformed club.
In the late 1980s a Bradford City supporters' publication 'Bernard of the Bantams' introduced a cartoon figure 'Boring Stan the Avenue Fan' featuring an old Bradford supporter suffering a mid-life crisis. Bradford City supporters have contemptuously referred to followers of the reformed Bradford Park Avenue club as 'Stans' but the nickname has not been adopted by Bradford Park Avenue itself.
Notable players
- Graham Allen (footballer)
- Donald Simpson Bell
- Wayne Benn
- F. Bonsor
- Gordon Bradley
- Chris Brandon
- Jack Crayston
- Ron Greenwood
- Tom Nolan (footballer)
- Derek Hawksworth
- Kevin Hector
- Jonathan Holland
- Gareth Holmes
- Jimmy Scoular
- Paddy Kenny
- Alex Laidlaw : Hawick RFC 1897 1-cap (signed for Bradford 1898-99)
- Archibald Rawlings
- Neil Redfearn
- Cyril Robinson
- Neil Ross (footballer)
- Kevin Sanasy
- Len Shackleton
- Jonah Wilcox
- Dave Wright (footballer)
- Andy Campbell
- Lutz Pfannenstiel
Managers
- Peter O'Rourke (1924–1925)
- Billy Hardy (footballer)
- David Steele (footballer) (1936–1943)
- Vic Buckingham (1951–1953)
- Jimmy Scoular (1960–1964)
- Laurie Brown (footballer) (1968–1970)
- Tony Leighton (1970–1973)
- Jim Mackay (1989–1993)
- Gordon Rayner (1993–1997)
- Trevor Storton (1997–2004)
- Carl Shutt (2004–2005)
- Gary Brook (2005–2006)
- Phil Sharpe (footballer) (2006–2007)
- Benny Phillips (2007–2008)
- Dave Cameron (footballer) (2008)
- Mike Marsh (footballer) (2008) caretaker
- John Deacey (2008–2009)
- Lee Sinnott (2009–)
Famous Supporters
- John Helm (sportscaster) - veteran football commentator.
- Sheila Ravenscroft - wife of the late John Ravenscroft ( John Peel, Disc Jockey and radio personality)
Current Squad
Non-playing staff
Related pages
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