Whitehawk F.C. is a semi-professional football club based in Whitehawk, a suburb of Brighton and Hove, England. They have played in the since 2023, when the club won the Isthmian League South East Division playoffs. Whitehawk's home is the 3,126-capacity McLaren Enclosed GroundWhitehawk official programme v Hastings United, 13 August 2024 within East Brighton Park. Nicknamed The Hawks, the club's traditional playing colours are red and white. Before 2010, the club had never played above County League level, but after three promotions in four seasons, they reached the Conference South in 2013. The club reached the second round of the 2016 FA Cup.
History
Brighton, Hove and District League The club was founded as the Second World War ended in 1945 as Whitehawk & Manor Farm Old Boys. The original name relates to the Brighton Boys' club, from Whitehawk and the adjoining Manor Farm estate, that wished to continue to play football but were too old to play in the youth league. One of the club's founders, Ron Powell, entered the new team in the Brighton Junior Cup (League) for their first season.Holy Oak, A History of Whitehawk and Manor Farm 1934–1974, by Fred Netley The club's first match was a 5–3 away win on 13 October 1945 against Hove County Old Boys at Hove Recreation Ground.Evening Argus 17 October 1945 Home games were played on the council pitches in East Brighton Park. In their first season, Whitehawk & MFOB did the league and cup double. The team won 14 out of 16 league games, scoring 82 goals and secured the Hove & Worthing Cup with a 5–3 victory against Allen West B. Goalscorers were Chas Eason 2, Jimmy Ward, Gerry Chandler and Holmes.Evening Argus 17 April 1946
Whitehawk & MFOB then joined the Brighton, Hove & District Football League, initially in Division 2Brighton & Hove Gazette 12 October 1946 before being reassigned to Division 4 when the league expanded for the 1947–48 season.Brighton & Hove Gazette 13 September 1947. The Hawks once more won a league and cup double, securing the Sussex Junior Cup with victory over West Hove at the Goldstone Ground.Evening Argus 24 April 1948
The Hawks were promoted again the following season, 1948–49, after finishing in second place in Division 3Evening Argus 18 April 1949 and retained the Sussex Junior Cup, beating Sussex Brick Works 6–1 in the final.Evening Argus 4 April 1949 In their first season at Intermediate level, 1949–50, The Hawks again completed a league and cup double, winning Brighton League Division 2 and securing the Sussex Intermediate Cup with a 5–1 win against Portfield at Littlehampton.Evening Argus 17 April 1950 Jimmy Sallis scored a hat-trick with Bill 'Cocker' Blunt netting the other two.
In their debut season at senior level in 1950–51, The Hawks won the Division 1 title, going the whole season unbeaten and winning all but two of their 26 league games. The club also won their first major senior cup trophy, the Sussex Senior Cup by beating Eastbourne Town 1–0 at Woodside Road, Worthing, with Kenny Hayward scoring the only goal after 10 minutes.Evening Argus 9 April 1951 The Hawks beat Littlehampton Town, Lancing, Crawley Town and Bognor Regis Town on the way to becoming the only Brighton League team ever to win the Sussex Senior Cup. This win also completed an unprecedented series of non-league football cup wins at junior, intermediate and senior levels in successive seasons.Evening Argus 18 April 1951
Whitehawk & MFOB applied to join the Sussex League for the following season but their application was not successful.Evening Argus 25 April 1951 The Hawks retained the Division 1 title in 1952.Evening Argus 12 April 1952
Sussex County League The club was admitted to the Sussex County League Division 1 in 1952–53 and finished third in their first season. The Hawks' first county league game was a 4–1 win at Crawley Town on 31 August 1952.Evening Argus 2 September 1952 The club were runners-up for three successive seasons from 1954 to 1955 onwards,Whitehawk FC Club History, Official Matchday Programme vs Tonbridge Angels 22 March 2014 and were Sussex Senior Cup finalists in 1954, losing 1–0 to Horsham at the Goldstone Ground in front of a crowd of 5626.Evening Argus 15 May 1954 The Hawks won the Sussex RUR Cup for the first time in 1955, beating Eastbourne United 1–0 after extra time at the Goldstone. Len Holter scored the only goal in the 103rd minute.Brighton & Hove Gazette 18 May 1955 The Hawks were never out of the top five in the County League Division 1 for the rest of the decade.
The club's name was changed to Whitehawk FC for the start of the 1958–59 season.Sussex County Football Association, County League Handbook, Season 1958–59, Whitehawk entry, page 5
In 1961–62 under manager Billy Thew, Whitehawk won the first of four Division One titles, as well as the Sussex Senior Cup, beating Eastbourne United 4–0 at the Goldstone Ground in front of a 4000 crowd. Hawks scorers were Maurice Barker, Eddie Richardson and Billy Ford 2.Brighton & Hove Gazette 30 April 1962 Billy Ford scored 16 goals in Sussex Senior Cup footballSussex County FA Senior Challenge Cup Competition, Final Tie, Eastbourne United v Whitehawk, 23 April 1962, official programme out of a total for the season of 93.Brighton & Hove Gazette 11 May 1962 The Hawks also beat Worthing 3–1 to win the Brighton Charity Cup. Hawks scorers were Les Adams, Eddie Richardson and Billy Ford.Brighton & Hove Gazette 19 May 1962
The following season the competition was abandoned due to bad weather, depriving local rivals Lewes of a likely title, but in 1963–64 the Hawks retained the championship, under Ken Carter, finishing three points clear of second-placed Lewes by winning their last six matches of the season. The crucial victory was a 2–1 home win over Lewes on 25 April 1964. Winger and future FIFA referee Allan Gunn scored twice in the second half as the Hawks came back from 1–0 down at the interval.Brighton & Hove Gazette 3 May 1964
In the close season Ken Carter was appointed manager at Lewes and a number of key players joined him at the Dripping Pan.Brighton & Hove Gazette 19 June 1964 Former Brighton & Hove Albion player Glen Wilson was appointed coach for the 1964–65 seasonBrighton & Hove Gazette, 26 June 1964 but the club struggled and under manager Ron Pavey found itself relegated for the first time ever in 1967, only to make an immediate return as Division Two champions in 1968.
The next nine years saw Whitehawk continue to compete in the top division, during which time they lost 1–2 to Horsham in the Sussex Senior Cup final in 1972. The Hawks were relegated for a second time in 1977. This time they were to spend four seasons in Division Two, having to apply for re-election in 1979 after finishing second from bottom, their lowest ever senior league placing.
Under new manager Sammy Donnelly, The Hawks won promotion as champions in 1980–81. They entered the FA Cup for the first time in the 1982–83 season but lost 5–2 to Dartford in their first match. In 1983–84 Whitehawk won Division One for the third time as well as enjoying a good run in the FA Vase before losing 1–0 at Corinthian-Casuals in the fourth round.
1986–87 saw the Hawks finish as runners-up to Arundel. In 1988–89, again under manager Sammy Donnelly, Whitehawk had what was at the time their best run in the FA Cup, going out 2–0 in a fourth qualifying round replay to Bognor Regis Town, having previously drawn 2–2 at Nyewood Lane. Former Brighton & Hove Albion striker Gerry Fell scored the second equaliser in the away game with virtually the last kick of the match after coming off the bench. The home attendance record of 2,100 for the replay stood for 27 years and was only bettered in 2015 for the FA Cup replay with Dagenham and Redbridge.
The Hawks won the Sussex RUR Cup for the third time in 1990–91, beating Peacehaven & Telscombe in the final 2–1, with youth player and future manager Darren Freeman heading the winner. 1993–94 was another good season for the club, finishing once again as runners-up this time to Wick, as well as having their best ever run in the FA Vase, reaching the fifth round before losing 3–2 at home to Boston.
2002–03 saw the club under manager Ian Chapman once again finish in second place, this time to runaway winners Burgess Hill Town. A comparatively modest eighth place followed the next season, but in 2004–05 the Hawks regained their position amongst the leading clubs in the League, finishing just a point behind runners-up Rye & Iden United. The two sides also met in the final of the John O'Hara League Cup and the Hawks emerged as 4–3 winners. However, they were later found to have played an ineligible player in substitute Bertie Foster and therefore Rye were awarded the trophy. The Hawks could only manage third place again in 2005–2006 but reached both the League Cup and RUR Charity Cup finals, losing to Shoreham and Hailsham Town respectively. In 2006–07 The Hawks reached the quarter-final of the FA Vase, losing 1–0 at home to the eventual winners Truro City in front of a crowd of 1,009.
The club finally achieved the league title success that had previously eluded them, winning the Sussex County League Division 1 in 2009–10 under joint managers George Parris and Darren Freeman to gain promotion to the Isthmian League Division One South for the first time. The Hawks also reached the semi-final of the FA Vase, losing 4–1 on aggregate to Wroxham of the Eastern Counties League Premier Division.
Isthmian League In their first season at the new level Whitehawk were in the title race but eventually had to settle for third place and the end-of-season play-offs against Leatherhead. The game at The Enclosed Ground ended 1–1 but the visitors won 4–3 on penalties.
The Hawks completed a league and cup double the following season 2011–12, finishing as Isthmian League Division One South champions as well as lifting the Sussex Senior Cup after beating Crawley Down 2–1 at Falmer Stadium. They followed this up later by winning the 2012 Sussex Community Shield in August, with a 4–1 win against Three Bridges. The club had planned to play the 2012–13 season at the Withdean Stadium in order to redevelop The Enclosed Ground but this was blocked by the Isthmian League, who were concerned that the club would not return to East Brighton.
The club achieved back to back promotions in the 2012–13 season by winning the Isthmian League Premier Division at the first attempt to earn a place in the Conference South.
National League South For the 2013–14 season, the club sought to change its name to Brighton City Football Club but the FA Council ruled against the proposal.
The Hawks struggled in their first season in Conference South with manager Darren Freeman blaming the physical nature of some of the teams in the league. After achieving three promotions in four years, Freeman was sacked in January 2014 and replaced by Steve King. King ensured the Hawks retained their place in Conference South on a dramatic last day of the season at the Enclosed Ground against Sutton United, with a late equaliser for the Hawks ensuring a 3–3 draw and an even later penalty by Dover Athletic relegating Hayes & Yeading instead. The club enjoyed their most successful season ever in 2014–2015, finishing fourth in Conference South and earning a place in the play-off semi-finals against Basingstoke Town. After a 1–1 draw at the Enclosed Ground, a tremendous strike from fans' player of the year Jake Robinson in the second leg won the match 1–0 to earn a place in the final against Boreham Wood, who had finished second in the league. The play-off final at Boreham Wood's ground finished 1–1 in normal time but an extra time winner for Wood denied the Hawks what would have been their fourth promotion in six seasons. Whitehawk completed the season with a 5–0 victory over Lewes at Falmer Stadium to lift the Sussex Senior Cup, the biggest margin of victory in the final since 1937.