The History of Stockport County: Mad as Hatters

Dec 25, 2010
Steve Rogerson

Stockport County's Edgeley Park stadium - Photo by Steve Rogerson

Stockport County Football Club on the edges of Greater Manchester have a rich history and an unusual name, given the town is not a county.

The odd thing about Stockport County is that the town of Stockport is not a county, nor has it ever been. The club was originally formed in 1883 as Heaton Norris Rovers by members of the Wycliffe Congressional Church. The first recorded game was in October the following year after which they merged with Heaton Norris, and in 1890 changed their name to Stockport County as Stockport had just become a county borough. Some supporters still wind-up rival fans by telling them the team is called County because they play in the same colours as tubs of Summer County margarine.

The Early Days of Stockport County

Stockport County were elected to the Football League Second Division in 1900 after winning the Lancashire League, playing their early games behind the Nursery Inn on Green Lane, Heaton Norris.

They moved to their present home at Edgeley Park in 1902. Joe Raby was the scorer of the very first County goal at the ground in a 1-1 draw with Gainsborough Trinity. Stockport Rugby Club shared the stadium until the rugby club’s demise three years later. They recorded their first League victory at their new home when they beat Manchester United 2-1 in October 1902, an event they still celebrate with a party each year.

League status was initially short lived though and in 1904 they failed to be re-elected and were forced to spend a year in the Lancashire Combination before regaining their place in the Football League. They again would have faced re-election in 1921 had not the league format changed to a north and south third division. They won the Third Division North at the first attempt and repeated the feat in 1937.

Stockport County in the Championship

Nicknamed the Hatters – due to the town’s former reputation as a hat-making town – the club have spent 30 years in what is now called the Championship, the most recent being a five-season period following promotion in 1997 – a season that also saw County reach the League Cup semi-final, beating four Premiership sides along the way before eventually losing to Middlesbrough over two legs after winning the away leg 1-0.

Six years earlier, in 1991, County were the country’s top scorers when they finished runners-up in the old Fourth Division. Twelve months later more history was created when they reached two Wembley finals in the space of just six days, once in the playoff final and once in the Football League Trophy.

Both games ended in defeat, as did two more Wembley visits in the same competitions in 1993 and 1994.

Record Breakers at Stockport County

Stockport County appear in the Guinness Book of Records thanks to, in 1934, beating Halifax Town 13-0 to create a Football League record. They also took part in the world’s longest game, against Doncaster Rovers in 1946, which lasted 203 minutes.

They have lost by seven goals nine times, the most recent being 0-7 against Sheffield Wednesday in 1986.

The club’s record home League attendance is 27,304 against Lincoln City in 1937 but that was beaten in 1950 when 27,883 turned up to see an FA Cup match against Liverpool. Their worst League attendance was in 1985 when only 1089 saw them play Southend United.

In the 2006-07 season, the Hatters set a professional league record of nine consecutive wins without conceding a goal but they missed out on promotion despite winning the last match of the season 5-0 against Darlington. The following season, they had eight consecutive away wins, another club record.

The club’s record goal scorer is Jack Connor, who netted 140 goals in the 1950s including thirteen hat-tricks. He also twice scored four goals in one match and twice five goals in a match.

Hard Times at Stockport County

Promotion was won in 2007-08 with a win over Rochdale in the playoffs but the following season financial problems took their toll and the club went into administration. They were relegated back to the bottom flight after finishing the season with just twenty-four points in a season that included twelve consecutive defeats. Local business people took over the club in summer 2010 and they were hoping for better times but problems on the pitch continued and at the end of the 2010/11 season they were relegated out of the Football League and into the Conference..