HYDE CHESHIRE

Harry Rutherford's
Festival of Britain Mural




Sunday 10 October 2010

HYDE UNITED FOOTBALL CLUB

This is a post dedicated to Hyde United Football Club ,the name of which is now defunct.
It was renamed Hyde FC ,the clubs former name from 1885 ,on the 9th June 2010 to mark it's 125th anniversary.
They also changed their colours from Red shirts and White shorts to White shirts and Black shorts - and also changed the colour of the famous red stand to blue! This is possibly because Manchester City have invested money into Hyde FC !
Here are a selection of photos before it became Hyde FC.



HYDE UNITED FOOTBALL CLUB 1919 - 2010



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Hyde United played their home games at Ewen Fields. Ewen Fields was built on a series of fields that were originally known as Owen Fields.

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The Main Stand




Hyde FC folded in 1917, because of what was termed "war fatigue". When the 1914–18 conflict ended, demands were made to resurrect the club. The "new" club was called Hyde United, but it was Hyde F.C. under a new name with many of the same players.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyde_F.C.



Hyde United's record attendance was set in 1952 when 9,500 spectators attended a game against Nelson.




The lovely mens toilets!




Ewen Fields is made up of 5 stands: the Main Stand, the Scrattin Shed, the Tinker's Passage end, the Leigh Street stand and the Walker Lane end. All of the stands are covered.



Leigh Street Stand




Walker Lane End



Hyde United Social Club .




Tinkers Passage End.

I spent many an happy hour in this ground as a child.I used to love a hot bovril on a cold day ..... and as I got older ,a pie! :)

Thanks to  tims92  for some of the above photos
Much appreciated.

8 comments:

Dave Williams said...

One of the photos shows the 'lovely mens toilets'. Were there any toilets for the men who weren't quite so lovely?

Tom said...

Excellent comment Dave.... I must of been one of the luvvy's.. as I've 'hung out' in there myself... ha!.. I will always think of Hyde as 'Red'... it would not seem right to see blue there no matter what the shade...

Hydonian said...

The men that weren't so "lovely" used Tinkers passage ;)

celtbard_2000 said...

My Grandad Andrew McGraw used to take me to the matches and I remeber how those terraces wwere cold and windy. I remember the chapped legs.

Tom said...

Got a message on Facebook for 'Nick' in Denver USA..

"Spent so many hours watching the Tigers play standing at the Tinkers Passage end! Those mens toilets were disgusting back in the 70's, cant believe they are still standing. Used to go to the games on a Monday night mainly, played rugby on Saturdays, really enjoyed those Monday night games. One fact you dont have on the blog is that Hyde F.C., from the early days, are in the Guiness Book of Records for losing to Preston North End 26-0 in the F.A.Cup. There is also a story, and I cant honestly remember it completely, about a dog running onto the field in either that game or another Hyde game, probably needs some research. Oh and by the way I used to enjoy the meat and potato pies they sold in the snack bar. Biggest crowd I think I saw on the ground was when they played Wycomb Wanderers in the semi final of the (cant remember the name of the cup) first leg in the late 1980's. They lost over the two legs and Wycomb played in the final at Wembley. Also does ask if anybody remembers the guy who sat in the old wooden stand shuffling from side to side shouting Cum on Heed!"

Cheers Nick... I think I might have been at that Wycombe match... I also went to watch them play at Burnley's ground in an important game... but cannot now recall why it was so. As for the dog... I have seen more than one dog on their pitch.. maybe this was a regular occurrence ha! I remember paying that little bit extra to go and sit in the "old wooden stand" it was worth it to see that chap you remember... he was as mad as an hatter once the game started... as much fun to watch as a young lads as the game itself. I also remember the ooh's! and ah's! as a ball went out the ground... and the noise it made on the Tinkers Passage stand roof.. The ball was invariably followed by one or two young lads on the chase of the ball.. who would return the balls like a Golden Retriever.. ha! I also have many memories of 'Big Ronnie' who would entertain the crowd with his marching at half time... he would only come off the pitch so the game could continue with the promise of a few cigs or a pint in the club house... Peter Pluck (R.I.P.) - one of Hyde's finest solicitors was I think chairman at this time and like many folks had 'time' for Ronnie and looked after him, it was Peter who would have to get Ronnie off the pitch.. Even to this day on the waiting room wall of Plucky's old offices are pictures of Ronnie marching and a framed clipping from a newspaper..
I'm sure I could do a post on both 'Big Ronnie' and his exploits and one or two story's about Peter Pluck who handled more cases than a docker in the local magistrate courts.

Hydonian said...

Hi Nick, thanks for the memories.
I was saving the 26 - 0 scoreline story for another post as this was about the demise of Hyde United FC as we knew it. Hope you're enjoying the snow in Colorado! ;)
Tom, already looking forward to the post on "Big Ronnie" :)

Anonymous said...

watched wycombe wanderers in fa trophy, at hyde, in 1980s.. can any one at hyde remember ,,,coz i cant ,,lol was nt hyde united, but back then football was secondary ..would love it someone at hyde can recall it , it was semi final second leg , did you ground share ,,or was that a semi final venue ... maybe a team near too you

Paul Pearson said...

Hi, I am a good friend of Paul Michael Webster, who is the son of Eric ' Cannonball' Webster.
Eric is still living in north Manchester, and Paul would love to hear from anyone with photos or stories linking to his father, from his footballing days. Eric as you probably know played for many clubs including Man City, and went on to manage a number of clubs also.
Many thanks

Paul Pearson
Pauldeanpearson@aol.com