Hartlepool United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Hartlepool, County Durham, England.
Founded in 1908 as The Hartlepools United Football & Athletic Club Company Ltd, the club initially joined the North Eastern League. In 1921, Hartlepools joined the Football League and the newly-formed Third Division North. After several cup runs in the 1950s, Hartlepools were eventually placed in the new Fourth Division in 1958 after 37 years in the Third Division North. In 1968, the club earned promotion for the first time and changed its name to Hartlepool. After only one season in the Third Division, Hartlepool would spend 22 years in the Fourth Division where they would endure several re-elections and financial difficulties. In 1977, the club changed its name again to the current format Hartlepool United. Hartlepool won promotion to the Third Division in 1991. After relegation in 1994, Hartlepool were bought by IOR Ltd in 1997. After three consecutive play-off defeats, Hartlepool were promoted as runners-up in 2003. In the third tier, Hartlepool reached the play-offs in their first two years, losing the play-off final in the second year to Sheffield Wednesday. Hartlepool were relegated the season after, before gaining an automatic return to League One in 2007. Pools would spend six years in League One before relegation in 2013. In 2017, Hartlepool were relegated out of the Football League for the first time after 89 years of consecutive membership. In non-League, Hartlepool narrowly avoided liquidation in 2018 but gained promotion back to the Football League via the play-offs in 2021. They only spent two seasons in League Two after relegation in 2023.
1908–1946: Early years and formation Hartlepool's origins can be traced back to 1881 when West Hartlepool Amateur Football Club were founded, later joining as founder members of the Durham FA in 1883. In 1889, West Hartlepool subsequently joined the new Northern League before winning the FA Amateur Cup in 1905, beating Clapton 3–2.
Partly as a result of this victory, the opportunity for a professional team arose in 1908, when West Hartlepool Rugby Club went bust, leaving their stadium, the Victoria Ground vacant. The stadium was bought and the current club was founded under the name The Hartlepools United Football & Athletic Club Company Ltd on 1 June 1908, representing both the town of West Hartlepool and the original settlement of Hartlepool, known locally as "Old Hartlepool". On 2 September 1908, Hartlepools played their first match at Victoria Park, defeating Newcastle United 6–0. In their first season, they won the major regional trophy, the Durham Challenge Cup and retained it the following year as well as entering the FA Cup, in which they were drawn to play the local amateur club, West Hartlepool, with whom they shared the Victoria Ground. Hartlepools won 2–1 in the first qualifying round only to go out in the second, beaten by South Bank after a replay. They also entered the professional North-Eastern League, finished fourth in their initial season, and remained members of that league until 1920–21; their best season was 1910–11, when they finished third. West Hartlepool managed to continue for a few seasons however it was not long before they broke up leaving Hartlepools United as the only team in town. In 1910, the club took over the assets and liabilities of West Hartlepool who had been dissolved that year.
In 1921, Hartlepools were elected to the newly formed Football League Third Division North, being among the 18 applicants accepted as members. On 27 August 1921, Hartlepools played their first ever Football League match, defeating Wrexham 2–0. In 1921–22, Hartlepools finished their first Football League campaign in 4th place. Two seasons later, Hartlepools came 21st in the table, so were obliged to apply for re-election to the League; they and bottom club Barrow were elected unopposed. In the 1935–36 season, the club reached the third round of the FA Cup for the first time. Drawn against Grimsby Town, they held the First Division club to a goalless draw, but lost the replay. By the time the Second World War put a temporary end to competitive football, they had spent 18 consecutive seasons in the Third Division North, courtesy of two more successful applications for re-election.
1946–1969: FA Cup runs and first promotion On 31 August 1946, Hartlepools played their first game after World War Two, drawing 1–1 with Barrow. In the mid-1950s, Hartlepools enjoyed improved performances in both league and cup competition. In the FA Cup, they reached the fourth round for the first time in 1954–55, losing to Nottingham Forest in a replay after extra time. In 1956, Hartlepools narrowly lost 1–0 to First Division reigning champions Chelsea in the FA Cup. In the subsequent FA Cup campaign, Hartlepools lost 4–3 to Manchester United. The attendance of 17,426 remains the club's highest attendance. Hartlepools managed to fight back from 3–0 down to level the game at 3–3 before Manchester United scored a late winner. The Red Devils' manager Matt Busby described it as "the most exciting match I've ever watched" in his autobiography. Those three league seasons brought top-six finishes, culminating in what remains the club's record high of second place in 1956–57 only the champions Derby County were promoted. In 1958, the club were placed in the newly formed Fourth Division. During 1959, Hartlepools defeated Barrow 10–1, a club record victory for a League match which remains to this day.
However, Hartlepools did not fare well in the fourth tier. After five consecutive applications for re-election and with the club in financial difficulties, in the 1965–66 season they appointed the 30-year-old Brian Clough in October 1965 to his first managerial role. His reaction was "I don't fancy the place", but he took the job anyway alongside Peter Taylor.The Sunday Times (London) 3 January 1993, Sunday Hartlepool's finest hour In order to generate funds for the club, Clough visited every pub in town. In May 1966, Clough gave future European Cup winning captain John McGovern his professional debut aged 16 years old. Alongside Taylor, aided by a change of chairmanship, built a team that finished eighth in 1966–67. Although Clough and Taylor then left for Derby County, the team maintained their form, finished third, and won promotion for the first time in the club's history in 1967–68. Promotion was confirmed with a 2–0 win against Swansea Town. In 1968 the "s" and the "United" were dropped from the team name of "Hartlepools United". This was due to the merger of West Hartlepool with the older smaller town of Hartlepool and the village of Hart into one new borough named "Hartlepool".When Saturday Comes: The Half Decent Football Book By Tim Bradford However, Hartlepool were relegated the following season after finishing in 22nd place.
1969–1991: Stagnation in the Fourth Division and re-elections Under Len Ashurst (who became manager in 1971), the team slowly began to revive after years of largely indifferent form. The 1971–72 season saw a welcome improvement to 18th, and possibly saved the club; Barrow, who had finished bottom the previous year, were voted out in favour of Hereford United despite having improved to 22nd. The club once again avoided the re-election zone in 1972–73, finishing in 20th place, but with four successive finishes either in or not far above the bottom four and strong challenges coming from non-league sides, the club needed to show signs of improvement. Ashurst did precisely that, finishing in 11th in 1973–74; he then left the club to manage Gillingham.
Ken Hale took over and guided the team to 13th and 14th over the next two seasons. The club also reached the League Cup fourth round in 1974–75 (still a club record) where they lost a replay to eventual winners Aston Villa. However, 1976–77 saw a return to the doldrums; Hale was sacked after failing to win any of the first nine games at the start of October. His successor Billy Horner could not stop the rot either, and the team finished in 22nd place. Again there was a strong challenger from non-league in the form of Wimbledon; however, as the club was seeking re-election for the first time in six years, it was Workington – bottom for a second successive year that made way. Over the close season the team's name was changed to its current form of Hartlepool United. A tragedy struck the club a few weeks before the end of the season when 20-year-old player Dave Wiggett was killed in a car crash.Nigel's WebSpace – English Football Cards, Player death notices. Cards.littleoak.com.au.
A marginal improvement to 21st the following year again saw the club applying to stay in the league; and again a strong non-league challenge, this time from Wigan Athletic, was enough to dispose of Southport. It seemed to be only a matter of time before Hartlepool United followed the same way. Once again then, it was a huge relief for the supporters that Horner managed to make considerable improvements the following season. A large part of this was due to the strike partnership of Bob Newton and Keith Houchen; the latter would be the club's leading scorer in each of the following four seasons. There was also relative success in the FA Cup, with Crystal Palace being defeated at Victoria Park thanks to two goals from Newton as the club made the fourth round.
1978–79 saw a finish in 13th place; 19th the following season was still enough to stay clear of the re-election zone, and then 1980–81 saw the team produce its best season in over a decade, never being out of the top 10 and looking promotion contenders for a long spell before falling away to finish ninth. Financial issues were however making waves off the pitch and in particular the ownership of the ground. The Town Council were approached by the club with a view to buying the ground in January 1977, and although this was initially turned down, negotiations continued. In February 1978, a deal seemed to have been agreed; however chairman Vince Barker accused the council of delaying the deal when it was not complete 12 months later. Barker would accuse the council of trying to renege on the deal in July 1980, and even threatened to move the club out of the town amidst rumours that he was prepared to sell up and allow the club to be moved to Scarborough.
1981–82 saw the team finish in 14th place despite both Houchen and Newton scoring 18 goals, but their partnership was drawing to a close and with it four seasons of relative success. The club was running into financial difficulties under Vince Barker, and both forwards would be sold the following season for fees that failed to reflect their value to the club but allowed bills to be paid. The team finished in 22nd – back in the re-election zone. Billy Horner handed over his duties at the end of March to John Duncan. Duncan's time at the club was limited. Having been appointed in April, just nine weeks later he left to take over at Chesterfield. Hartlepool appointed Mick Docherty; however after six months and with the team struggling, he too left the club. Even for Hartlepool, four managers in the space of eight months was somewhat farcical; the fact that the decision was made to re-appoint Billy Horner (initially as a temporary measure, although he would actually remain in charge until November 1986) made the situation even worse.