Portrack Shamrocks F.C.
| Full name | Portrack Shamrock Football Club | |
|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | the Rocks | |
| Founded | 1921 | |
| Dissolved | c. 1957 | |
| Ground | Portrack Grange | |
|
| ||
Portrack Shamrocks Football Club was an association football club from Portrack, near Stockton-on-Tees, England.
History
The club was founded in 1921,[1] originally under the name Stockton Shamrocks, changing to Portrack Shamrocks before the 1932–33 season. For much of its existence, the club's chief backer was comedian Jimmy James.[2] Many of the club's players came from the Stockton Malleable ironworks.[3]
Its greatest successes came in Teesside football, winning the Teesside Football League in 1949–50 and 1955–56, and the equivalent knockout competition - the Macmillan Bowl - in 1947–48, and three times in a row from 1954–55 to 1956–57.[4] The club also won the Ellis Cup, which had started out as the South Bank Amateur Challenge Cup, in 1952–53, having been runner-up in 1938–39 and 1944–45. It also won the wartime North Riding Senior Cup in 1940, beating South Bank East End at Ayresome Park.[5]
On a national scale, the club reached the 3rd qualifying round of the FA Cup three times between 1946 and 1950.[6] It entered the FA Amateur Cup from 1924–25 to 1953–54,[7] its best run being to the second round proper (last 32) in 1927–28 and 1933–34. Its 1–0 win over its larger neighbours Stockton in the 1933–34 edition was considered a major shock;[8] in the second round it lost 1–0 at Worcestershire side Badsey Rangers.[9]
The last recorded game for the club was in April 1957,[10] and it seems to have been dissolved before the 1957–58 season.
Colours
The club wore white shirts with a green shamrock badge[11] and black shorts.[12]
Ground
The club's ground was known as Portrack Grange,[13] and was known as Paddy's Field.
Notable players
One Shamrocks player, Micky Fenton, who joined Middlesbrough in 1932, went on to play for England, gaining one cap in 1938.[14] Matt Busby guested for the Rocks in the 1945 Ellis Cup final.[15]
Players signing for League clubs from the Rocks include:
- Cecil Jackson, who scored the only goal in the Rocks' 1933 win at Stockton, signed for Darlington soon afterwards[16]
- Outside-left James MacDonald signed for Manchester United in 1934[17]
- Tom Ruddy[18] and Tommy Crilly played for Derby County, joining via Darlington and Hartlepools United respectively, having played together for the Rocks in the early 1920s.[19]
External sites
References
- ^ Strode, Ronald (1948). Newservice Amateur Football Yearbook 1948–49. Fetter Lane, London: Newservice. p. 68.
- ^ Amos, Mike. "Rocks of ages". Grass Routes. Retrieved 11 May 2025.
- ^ "Football official in Stockton for 40 years". Darlington and Stockton Times: 11. 9 December 1972.
- ^ "Teesside Football League Handbook" (PDF). Football Association. Retrieved 11 May 2025.
- ^ Amos, Mike (7 May 2015). "Speakers you find". Northern Echo: 64.
- ^ "Portrack Shamrocks". Football Club Historical Database. Retrieved 11 May 2025.
- ^ Hawthorn, Fred (2009). FA Amateur Cup Complete Results. Hockley, Essex: Soccerdata. p. 109.
- ^ "Unhappy homes in Amateur Cup ties". Sunday Mirror: 36. 17 December 1933.
- ^ "FA Amateur Cup". Sunday Mercury: 19. 14 January 1934.
- ^ "Billingham Syn Res v Portrack Shamrocks". Hartlepool Northern Daily Mail: 18–19. 6 April 1957.
- ^ Strode, Ronald (1948). Newservice Amateur Football Yearbook 1948–49. Fetter Lane, London: Newservice. p. 68.
- ^ "Portrack Shamrocks FC c1950s". Stockton Pictures Archive. Retrieved 13 May 2025.
- ^ Strode, Ronald (1948). Newservice Amateur Football Yearbook 1948–49. Fetter Lane, London: Newservice. p. 68.
- ^ "Micky Fenton". England Football Online. Retrieved 11 May 2025.
- ^ "The Ellis Cup helped mould a wealth of local talent". Teesside Live. Retrieved 11 May 2025.
- ^ "Darlington's quest". Sunday Sun: 16. 24 December 1933.
- ^ "For Old Trafford". Evening Gazette: 9. 12 January 1934.
- ^ Strode, Ronald (1948). Newservice Amateur Football Yearbook 1948–49. Fetter Lane, London: Newservice. p. 68.
- ^ "Any queries?". Derby Evening Telegraph: 59. 25 October 1951.
