Some people would argue that Bangor has never been a footballing town, but in perusing through some of the archives, we find that the game of soccer has been played in our Borough for longer than most of us think.

As far back as 1890 we had two clubs called "The Lancers" and the other "Bangor Athletics" - playing association football with the ground situated on Castle Street.

A "test match" was played between the two clubs to decide who would enter the "Junior League". "The Lancers" proved victorious by two goals to one - a last minute goal scored by W. Brown doing the trick. The Lancers team on this occasion was J.Lightbody, Alex Gorman, W.Finlay, Bob Houston, Hammy Kelly, John Huston, W.Brown, J.Wilson, James Gibson, Robert Clarke and Sammy Flynn.

The following season, the Lancers team was re-organised to do duty in competitive football and renamed "Bangor Rangers", with their headquarters in the Castle grounds. The Rangers battled on year after year, and in the year 1910 their efforts were rewarded as they succeeded in bringing the Junior Shield to Bangor for the first time after a ding-dong struggle with Millview whom they defeated 1-0. The match was not without incident as  minutes before kick-off, word began to spread that the Rangers goalkeeper was in fact ineligible and it was decided that outfield player Jimmy Mahood should go out between the sticks. Mahood not only kept a clean sheet, but also gave an outstanding performance. The Rangers, by the way, were not the only club in Bangor at this time, as a team called Clifton were playing their home matches at Farnham Park.

Harry Andrews, a reporter for the County Down Spectator in the 1960's wrote...... “My earliest recollections of football in Bangor was the Rangers playing in Hamilton's field at Ballyholme, and Clifton domiciled in Church Street, not far from our present Clandeboye Park, only on the other side. Now in those days, dressing rooms, baths etc. were unknown in Bangor, at least as far as our local football clubs were concerned. This was a big handicap as visiting clubs to Ballyholme had to strip in the Orange Hall, Hamilton Road and drive to the grounds in "hack cars", while many of the local players just stripped behind a convenient hedge. Many a time I got the job of minding the players' clothes until the match was over and if you happened to need a wash, well you just used the burn which flowed idly past the ground.”

“As I pen these lines my mind goes back ...yes I can picture myself as a lad wending my way up Victoria Road, through a turnstile at Clifton Road, down through a long valley of hedges and then out through another turnstile to Ballyholme (Shandon Drive) perhaps carrying a player's boots, but I was pleased! Man a dear, I couldn't have been more pleased had I been going to see Arsenal v Chelsea at Highbury rather than a local derby between Clifton and Bangor Rangers !” In 1912/13, Clifton were represented by the following eleven players: S.Jenkins, H.Orr, D.Cromie, D.Lattimore, R.Ralph, H.Agnew, W.Hurst, W.Lindsay, J.Tozar, J.McBride, H.Waugh - while the managerial side of affairs was well catered for by the following Tommy Moffatt, Sammy Corbett, Tommy Eddis, Hugh McMahon, Jimmy Sherlock and Billy McCready.

The 'first' Bangor FC was founded, according to local legend, in 1914 in a rowing boat in Bangor Bay! When war was declared on August 4 1914, football in Bangor was abandoned as many young men rushed to join up and the leading junior teams in the town, Bangor Rangers and Clifton Amateurs, folded.  Soon, however two enthusiasts, Bob Lindsay and Jimmy Savage, found they could not face the prospect of a winter without football and so the idea of a "Bangor FC" was born as they discussed the situation when out for a row.

Back on dry land, a committee was formed and the new Bangor FC played at the Recreation Ground, Brunswick Road, as a successful member of the Irish Football Alliance. In August 1918, however, Bangor FC wound up its affairs – there was amongst some members a feeling that it was wrong to be playing sport while young men were being slaughtered in the carnage in Flanders. Others, on the other hand, were convinced that life should continue as normally as possible, and within a matter of days a "new" Bangor FC was born, taking over the fixtures and a goodly number of the players of the former club, such as 'keeper Fred Buick, half backs Billy Scotland, Harry Patterson and Alfie Pollock, forwards Jimmy Girvin, Billy Bowman and Alfie Caul.

The first season, 1918/19 was an eventful one: the club was pipped at the post for the Alliance League Championship by Castlereagh and reached the final of the Intermediate Cup. On the way Bangor had defeated Crusaders (4-1), Glenavon (3-2) and – after two drawn games against the prestigious Ulster FC from Dublin (1-1 at Dalymount Park and 3-3 at Grosvenor Park) – Ulster were dismissed from the competition for using an ineligible player. Incidentally the first semi-final tie at Dalymount was filmed and shown that week at the Palace Picture House in Bangor – an early "Match of the Day"!

In the final Bangor were defeated by the Reserve team of Distillery 2-0 after a 1-1 draw – though both teams were later dismissed, Distillery for playing an ineligible player and Bangor for "conniving" and the trophy was withheld for the only time in its history. The first Bangor team read: Buick, Bowman, Mallard, Scotland, H Patterson, Coey, Sterling, McIntyre, Girvin, Wilson, R Patterson. Bangor qualified that season for the Irish Cup but were defeated 4-0 by Glentoran at the Oval in the first round.

The Beginnings  Pre-War Years WarYears Fifties & Sixties  Seventies & Eighties  Nineties

Acknowledgements to the County Down Spectator