Atherton Collieries A.F.C.
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| Full name | Atherton Collieries Association Football Club |
|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | Colls |
| Founded | 1916 |
| Ground | Alder House, Atherton |
| Capacity | 2,500 |
| Chairman | Paul Gregory |
| Manager | Michael Clegg |
| League | North West Counties League Premier Division |
| 2015–16 | North West Counties League Premier Division, 3rd |
Atherton Collieries Association Football Club is a football club based in Atherton, Greater Manchester, England. The club are currently members of the North West Counties League Premier Division and play at Alder House. They are full members of the Lancashire County Football Association.
Between 1919 and 1965 Atherton Collieries were winners of the Bolton Combination ten times. By 1964–65 they had won the Lancashire FA Amateur Shield six times, a record which is still unsurpassed. They are nicknamed "Colls".
The club was established in 1916 by miners from the six pits in Atherton Urban District with the aim of raising money for locals involved in the war effort. After World War I the club joined the Bolton Combination, winning the title in their first season. The season also saw them win the Lancashire FA Amateur Shield, beating Dumers Lane 3–2 after extra time. They joined the Lancashire Alliance in 1921, and won the Shield again in 1923 with a 4–1 against Barnoldswick Town. The club later returned to the Bolton Combination, winning the league in 1936–37, 1937–38, 1938–39 and 1940–41, followed by another Lancashire FA Amateur Shield in 1942 after Royal Engineers were beaten 3–2. Another title came in 1944–45, after which the club joined the Manchester League for the 1945–46 season.
Their first season in the new league saw them finish third and win the Shield for a fourth time with a 3–2 win over Moss Rovers In 1948 the club joined the West Lancashire League, in which they spent two seasons before joining Division Two of the Lancashire Combination in 1950. However, after finishing sixteenth (out of 22) in 1950–51 and second-from-bottom in 1951–52 they left the league to rejoin the Bolton Combination. Back in the local league, they won the league title again in 1956–57 (also winning the Shield, beating Burnley Albion 3–2 after extra time), 1958–59, 1960–61 and 1964–65 (combined with another Shield win, this time by beating Breightmet United 6–1). In 1971 they rejoined the Lancashire Combination, which was now a single division.
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