Though the history of Macclesfield Town Football Club only dates back to 1874, its roots can be traced back to an earlier Macclesfield Town that played rugby in the Cheshire town from about 1850. And that rugby team carried the same nickname of The Silkmen that the football team holds today.
The Birth of Macclesfield Town FC
After switching from rugby to football in 1874, the club started to grow and moved to its current ground at Moss Rose in 1891. Financial difficulties though arose and they went bankrupt in 1897. An amateur side – Hallifield FC – started playing at Moss Rose. After some success, Hallifield changed its name to Macclesfield. Their first significant non-league trophy came in 1906, when they won the Manchester & District League, a feat they repeated two years later. By 1911, they had won the Cheshire Senior Cup five times (they have won it a total of twenty times in their history, the most recent being in 2000) and in 1919 were founder members of the Cheshire County League, which they won in 1932 and 1933.
Macclesfield Town Start to Become Known
After knocking around in the lower leagues, the name Macclesfield Town first became known to the wider football fraternity in 1968 when they reached the third round of the FA Cup. They had though a brief experience in the first round in 1960, but that ended badly with a 7-2 defeat to Southport.
The 1968 run saw them play away to Fulham at Craven Cottage. After leading 2-1 at half time they lost the game 4-2, and their goalkeeper Keith Goalen became the first ever non-league footballer to be named Footballer of the Month. That year, they became one of the founder members of the Northern Premier League, which they won in the first two years. In 1970, the club played at Wembley in the inaugural final of the FA Trophy, which they won, beating Telford United 2-0.
After a bit of a decline, Macclesfield Town finished runners-up the Northern Premier League in 1985 and won it two years later and were promoted to the Football Conference. Another good FA Cup run followed in which they knocked out Football League teams Carlisle United and Rotherham United.
The Sammy McIlroy Era
Former Manchester United player Sammy McIlroy was appointed manager in 1993 and in his first full year in charge they won the Conference but were denied entry into to the Football League because the Moss Rose ground was not up to scratch. Work on the ground followed and when they won the Conference again in 1997 they took their place as a Football League club and turned full-time professional as a result.
Their first full league season saw them finish runners-up in Division Three (the fourth tier of the Football League) and earn promotion to Division Two. But it was too much too soon and they were relegated the following season leading to Sammy McIlroy leaving to become manager of Northern Ireland.
Macclesfield Town Today
Since then, Macclesfield Town have remained in the fourth tier, only once flirting with promotion when they reached the play-offs in 2005 only to lose to Lincoln City. Most of their campaigns though have been more concentrating on avoiding relegation out of the League. That said, a trip to see Macclesfield Town play is a nice day out at a traditional football ground with a number of good pubs and bars in Macclesfield to satisfy the thirst before and after the game.
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Steve Rogerson - Steve Rogerson is a UK-based writer specialising in television, technology, sports and beer.
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