Wigan United A.F.C.
| Full name | Wigan United Association Football Club |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1890s |
| Dissolved | Not Known |
| Ground | Springfield Park |
| Capacity | 30,000 (approx) |
| League | Lancashire League |
Wigan United A.F.C. was an association football club existing from around 1896 into the early 1900s, and was based in Wigan, Lancashire, England.
The 1900–01 season saw the club in the Lancashire League, and rumours circulating around the town suggested they were going to be a great success playing in the Football League within the year. The opposite turned out to be the case, first match was lost to Southport Central 4–1 and things went from bad to worse with the club finishing in tenth place (out of eleven clubs with Stalybridge Rovers as champions).
One unusual event which occurred during the season was when Wigan United were due to play at Stalybridge Rovers in a Charity Cup match. The pitch was heavy and waterlogged and, in the opinion of the Wigan United team, unplayable. When they refused to play, the referee ordered the Stalybridge team to take the ball down the field and kick it into the empty net, and then awarded them the game
Season 1901–02 was much better, Wigan United finishing in third place behind champions Darwen and runner-up Southport Central
The 1902–03 season was a return to reality with the club almost setting a new record for the Lancashire League by playing for the whole season without winning a game. This was averted in the penultimate game of the season when United recorded a 1–3 success, beating local rivals, Chorley, at Rangletts Recreation Ground. The club finished bottom of the twelve team league with Southport Central as champions.
At the end of the season the Lancashire league became, in effect, the Second Division of the Lancashire Combination, and the league itself closed. Wigan United did not apply for the new league.
Although not the first club to reside at Springfield Park, United are the oldest pre-dating Wigan County by at least one season
It is unclear whether the club folded at the end of the 1902–03 season, or continued in the lower leagues, as a photograph exists of Wigan United in 1908. It is also possible that Wigan United were the same club that eventually became Wigan Borough in 1920.
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