Website created using 350pages at www.350.com

Northern League history 1889-1925 - saved.

Founded in 1889 for a number of the premier clubs in the North-East, the Northern League was for many years a ‘small’ competition, which developed into one of the leading amateur leagues in the country and provided many of the sides successful in the F.A. Amateur Cup.

One of the more interesting things about the competition in its early period concerns a couple of its members – Middlesbrough Ironopolis and Sunderland Albion. The ‘Nops’ were Teesside’s top club and provided the area with its first Football League club in 1893, by which time the team was, sadly, past its best. Like their Wearside neighbours, Sunderland Albion, folded within a few years, never to resurface. For Albion, this was perhaps even worse as the club never got its chance in the Football League and had to watch its chief rivals Sunderland AFC, with whom Albion were on a par, take all the glory.

For the first Northern League campaign there were 10 clubs involved – a number above which the league did not have in its opening 8 seasons.

1889-1890

1. DARLINGTON ST. AUGUSTINE’S 18 12 2 4 39 17 26

2. NEWCASTLE WEST END 18 12 2 4 44 24 26

3. STOCKTON 18 10 4 4 41 18 24

4. NEWCASTLE EAST END 18 9 3 6 32 28 21

5. DARLINGTON 18 7 6 5 46 20 20

6. MIDDLESBROUGH 18 8 3 7 42 37 19

7. SOUTH BANK 18 6 2 10 33 60 14

8. AUCKLAND TOWN 18 4 4 10 41 49 12

9. BIRTLEY 18 3 3 12 28 48 9

10. ELSWICK RANGERS 18 2 5 11 21 66 9

(180 73 34 73 367 367 180)

1890-1891

1. MIDDLESBROUGH IRONOPOLIS 14 9 2 3 37 24 20

2. MIDDLESBROUGH 14 8 3 3 33 17 19

3. SUNDERLAND ALBION 14 7 3 4 33 16 17

4. STOCKTON 14 8 1 5 38 19 17

5. DARLINGTON 14 7 0 7 25 29 14

6. NEWCASTLE EAST END 14 5 2 7 25 39 12

7. NEWCASTLE WEST END 14 3 4 7 21 38 10

8. DARLINGTON ST. AUGUSTINE’S 14 0 3 11 14 44 3

(112 47 18 47 226 226 112)

1891-1892

1. MIDDLESBROUGH IRONOPOLIS 16 14 1 1 49 13 29

2. MIDDLESBROUGH 16 13 0 3 33 13 26

3. SHEFFIELD UNITED 16 10 2 4 49 21 22

4. NEWCASTLE EAST END 16 9 2 5 37 20 20

5. STOCKTON 16 6 2 8 31 34 14

6. SUNDERLAND ALBION 16 5 0 11 36 38 10

7. SOUTH BANK 16 3 2 11 21 50 8

8. NEWCASTLE WEST END 16 4 0 12 21 56 8

9. DARLINGTON 16 2 3 11 17 49 7

(144 66 12 66 294 294 144)

1892-1893

1. MIDDLESBROUGH IRONOPOLIS 10 9 1 0 22 6 19

2. NEWCASTLE UNITED* 10 5 1 4 30 19 11

3. SHEFFIELD UNITED 10 4 2 4 18 16 10

4. MIDDLESBROUGH 10 4 0 6 17 17 8

5. STOCKTON 10 3 1 6 24 27 7

6. DARLINGTON 10 2 1 7 11 37 5

(60 27 6 27 122 122 60)

*Newcastle East End became Newcastle United on December 9^th, 1892.

Middlesbrough Ironopolis and Newcastle United joined the Football League Division 2 at the end of the season. Sheffield United were already in the League, had won promotion to Division 1 through the Test Match system and also left the competition. The Northern League survived, however, becoming a purely amateur league.

1893-1894

1. MIDDLESBROUGH 14 11 1 2 51 16 23

2. STOCKTON 14 10 1 3 41 23 21

3. SOUTH BANK 14 8 0 6 36 34 16

4. DARLINGTON 14 7 1 6 30 25 15

5. BISHOP AUCKLAND 14 6 0 8 41 39 12

6. WHITBY 14 5 2 7 45 43 12

7. NORTH SKELTON ROVERS 14 3 1 10 25 52 7

8. DARLINGTON ST. AUGUSTINE’S 14 3 0 11 25 62 6

(112 53 6 53 294 294 112)

1894-1895

1. MIDDLESBROUGH 18 12 5 1 58 17 29

2. SOUTH BANK 18 11 4 3 64 23 26

3. TOW LAW 18 10 3 5 59 30 23

4. DARLINGTON 18 11 0 7 56 30 22

5. WHITBY 18 8 2 8 43 45 18

6. STOCKTON 18 8 1 9 44 37 17

7. BISHOP AUCKLAND 18 7 2 9 42 39 16

8. HOWDEN RANGERS 18 6 1 11 40 56 13

9. DARLINGTON ST. AUGUSTINE’S 18 5 3 10 38 66 13

10. NORTH SKELTON ROVERS 18 1 1 16 16 117 3

(180 79 22 79 460 460 180)

1895-1896

1. DARLINGTON 16 10 4 2 53 24 24

2. SOUTH BANK 16 9 2 5 44 20 20

3. MIDDLESBROUGH 16 8 4 4 28 22 20

4. BISHOP AUCKLAND 16 7 3 6 42 32 17

5. TOW LAW 16 5 5 6 23 28 15

6. WHITBY 16 6 3 7 23 38 15

7. STOCKTON 16 5 3 8 26 30 13

8. HOWDEN-LE-WEAR 16 4 3 9 19 36 11

9. SALTBURN SWIFTS 16 4 1 11 12 40 9

(144 58 28 58 270 270 144)

1896-1897

1. MIDDLESBROUGH 16 11 4 1 36 15 26

2. DARLINGTON 16 10 2 4 54 35 22

3. SOUTH BANK 16 10 1 5 32 25 21

4. STOCKTON 16 7 3 6 37 24 17

5. TOW LAW 16 7 1 8 29 25 15

6. BISHOP AUCKLAND 16 6 3 7 23 34 15

7. CROOK TOWN 16 4 2 10 35 42 10

8. LEADGATE PARK 16 4 1 11 27 25 9

9. DARLINGTON ST. AUGUSTINE’S (-2)16 2 5 9 26 54 7

(144 61 22 61 299 279 142)

Saltburn Swifts resigned from the competition, after playing 13 games, on April 3^rd, 1897. Their record at the time was 13-3-4-6-21-33-10 and the reasons for the withdrawal are unknown. This departure may be part of the explanation as to why the goals for and goals against columns do not balance.

For the three seasons 1897-1898 to 1899-1900 the Northern League operated two divisions.

1897-1898

Division 1

The Division 1 programme was not completed until October 8^th, 1898, when Middlesbrough played the last of their outstanding games, at Tow Law. Three of Boro’s matches had had to be postponed because of a smallpox epidemic in the town during the 1897-98 season.

1. STOCKTON 16 11 2 3 37 20 24

2. MIDDLESBROUGH 16 9 4 3 42 22 22

3. DARLINGTON 16 8 2 6 41 31 18

4. BISHOP AUCKLAND 16 6 4 6 33 35 16

5. DARLINGTON ST. AUGUSTINE’S 16 7 2 7 29 32 16

6. LEADGATE PARK 16 5 4 7 23 34 14

7. SOUTH BANK 16 5 3 8 34 38 13

8. TOW LAW 16 4 4 8 16 24 12

9. CROOK TOWN 16 3 3 10 17 36 9

(144 58 28 58 272 272 144)

Division 2

1. HOWDEN-LE-WEAR 10 5 2 3 17 14 12

2. DARLINGTON RISE CARR RANGERS 10 5 1 4 22 18 11

3. LOFTUS 10 5 1 4 18 17 11

4. LEADGATE EXILES 10 5 0 5 17 17 10

5. SHILDON UNITED 10 4 1 5 15 17 9

6. BROTTON 10 3 1 6 14 20 7

(60 27 6 27 103 103 60)

Britannia Rovers were apparently expelled from the league at the end of March. They had taken one point from 6 games, scoring 6 goals against 25 by that stage. Darlington Rise Carr Rangers and Leadgate Exiles left at the end of the season, but Scarborough, Stockton St. John’s, Stockton Vulcan, Thornaby, Thornaby Utopians and West Hartlepool were all admitted to Division 2. There was no promotion or relegation.

1898-1899

Division 1

1. BISHOP AUCKLAND 16 9 7 0 35 16 25

2. DARLINGTON 16 10 3 3 50 29 23

3. MIDDLESBROUGH 16 7 4 5 29 27 18

4. SOUTH BANK 16 6 6 4 20 21 18

5. DARLINGTON ST. AUGUSTINE’S 16 5 5 6 19 23 15

6. LEADGATE PARK 16 4 4 8 25 30 12

7. STOCKTON 16 4 4 8 25 31 12

8. TOW LAW 16 3 6 7 18 25 12

9. CROOK TOWN 16 4 1 11 25 44 9

(144 52 40 52 246 246 144)

Leadgate Park and Middlesbrough left the competition at the end of the season. Their places in Division 1 were taken by Stockton St. John’s and Thornaby Utopians – the top two sides in Division 2.

Division 2

1. STOCKTON ST. JOHN’S*** 18 11 5 2 38 11 27

2. THORNABY UTOPIANS 18 10 4 4 45 21 24

3. THORNABY 18 10 1 7 42 28 21

4. BROTTON* 17 9 2 6 33 22 20

5. STOCKTON VULCAN* 17 10 0 7 29 30 20

6. SHILDON UNITED** 18 7 3 8 21 20 17

7. WEST HARTLEPOOL 18 6 1 11 23 48 13

8. SCARBOROUGH** 18 5 3 10 21 37 13

9. LOFTUS* 17 4 3 10 18 41 11

10. HOWDEN-LE-WEAR* 17 4 2 11 21 33 10

(176 76 24 76 291 291 176)

*Matches definitely not played were Howden-le-Wear v. Brotton and Stockton Vulcan v. Loftus. **Records include two 0-0 draws for fixtures between Scarborough and Shildon United, but there is extreme doubt as to whether these games actually took place.

***The Final League Table shown in newspapers from the time incorrectly gave Stockton St. John’s record as follows: 18-10-6-2-39-13-26. This was corrected by the Northern League at the A.G.M..

It seems that five games had to be replayed during the season following protests. There is no record of which games these were or which results counted towards the Final Table shown above. Howden-le-Wear left the league at the end of the season, but Dorman, Long & Co., Grangetown Athletic and Whitby joined Division 2 to maintain its number of clubs at 10.

1899-1900

Division 1

1. DARLINGTON 16 12 3 1 42 16 27

2. STOCKTON ST. JOHN’S 16 10 3 3 32 17 23

3. BISHOP AUCKLAND 16 9 2 5 41 21 20

4. DARLINGTON ST. AUGUSTINE’S 16 7 4 5 34 27 18

5. SOUTH BANK 16 7 3 6 18 26 17

6. CROOK TOWN 16 3 7 6 14 24 13

7. THORNABY UTOPIANS 16 3 6 7 14 25 12

8. TOW LAW 16 3 3 10 23 43 9

9. STOCKTON 16 2 1 13 25 44 5

(144 56 32 56 243 243 144)

Division 2

1. WHITBY 14 9 3 2 49 23 21

2. THORNABY 14 8 3 3 29 15 19

3. GRANGETOWN ATHLETIC 14 7 5 2 36 24 19

4. LOFTUS 14 6 2 6 23 24 14

5. WEST HARTLEPOOL 14 6 0 8 28 28 12

6. SCARBOROUGH 14 4 3 7 27 34 11

7. STOCKTON VULCAN 14 4 2 8 20 36 10

8. BROTTON 14 3 0 11 20 48 6

(112 47 18 47 232 232 112)

Two clubs withdrew from the Northern League 2^nd Division during the season and their records were deleted. Dorman, Long & Co. Pulled out on November 15^th and were followed by Shildon United on January 13^th.

At the end of the season Brotton, Grangetown Athletic, Loftus, Stockton Vulcan, Thornaby and Tow Law all left the Northern League, leaving membership at 11 clubs. It was therefore decided to form a single, combined division.

1900-1901

1. BISHOP AUCKLAND 20 12 5 3 61 22 29

2. DARLINGTON ST. AUGUSTINE’S 20 10 5 5 37 25 25

3. DARLINGTON 20 11 2 7 55 37 24

4. STOCKTON 20 8 5 7 34 25 21

5. CROOK TOWN 20 7 7 6 38 30 21

6. SCARBOROUGH 20 9 3 8 25 28 21

7. SOUTH BANK 20 9 3 8 35 45 21

8. THORNABY UTOPIANS 20 8 2 10 30 37 18

9. STOCKTON ST. JOHN’S 20 7 3 10 23 35 17

10. WEST HARTLEPOOL 20 5 5 10 31 37 15

11. WHITBY 20 2 4 14 17 65 8

(220 88 44 88 386 386 220)

Thornaby Utopians and Whitby left the competition, but Grangetown Athletic returned after a one season absence.

1901-1902

1. BISHOP AUCKLAND 18 12 3 3 48 22 27

2. GRANGETOWN ATHLETIC 18 9 8 1 34 14 26

3. DARLINGTON 18 9 4 5 37 22 22

4. SOUTH BANK 18 7 6 5 32 23 20

5. DARLINGTON ST. AUGUSTINE’S 18 7 5 6 31 22 19

6. STOCKTON 18 6 7 5 25 25 19

7. CROOK TOWN 18 5 3 10 29 41 13

8. WEST HARTLEPOOL 18 5 3 10 24 48 13

9. SCARBOROUGH 18 5 3 10 20 35 13

10. STOCKTON ST. JOHN’S 18 2 4 12 13 41 8

(180 67 46 67 293 293 180)

The ‘A’ teams of Football League clubs Middlesbrough, Newcastle United and Sunderland were admitted to the Northern League. It is believed that in these times, ‘A’ teams were in fact ‘Reserve XIs’ for the 1^st team, so there were some high quality professional players plying their trade in the competition.

1902-1903

1. NEWCASTLE UNITED ‘A’ (-2) 24 22 0 2 100 14 42

2. SUNDERLAND ‘A’ 24 18 4 2 93 22 40

3. MIDDLESBROUGH ‘A’ 24 13 7 4 66 30 33

4. BISHOP AUCKLAND 24 13 3 8 57 35 29

5. STOCKTON 24 9 5 10 35 38 23

6. DARLINGTON 24 10 3 11 34 50 23

7. SOUTH BANK 24 8 6 10 30 44 22

8. CROOK TOWN 24 9 4 11 27 41 22

9. GRANGETOWN ATHLETIC 24 8 4 12 34 47 20

10. STOCKTON ST. JOHN’S (-2) 24 6 5 13 24 52 15

11. SCARBOROUGH 24 5 4 15 23 69 14

12. DARLINGTON ST. AUGUSTINE’S 24 4 5 15 21 58 13

13. WEST HARTLEPOOL 24 3 6 15 27 71 12

(312 128 56 128 571 571 308)

1903-1904

1. NEWCASTLE UNITED ‘A’ 24 19 1 4 97 23 39

2. BISHOP AUCKLAND 24 17 2 5 55 27 36

3. SUNDERLAND ‘A’ 24 14 6 4 66 32 34

4. MIDDLESBROUGH ‘A’ 24 12 5 7 56 32 29

5. STOCKTON 24 13 2 9 36 34 28

6. DARLINGTON 24 11 3 10 48 49 25

7. GRANGETOWN ATHLETIC 24 10 3 11 50 49 23

8. SOUTH BANK 24 9 1 14 42 56 19

9. DARLINGTON ST. AUGUSTINE’S 24 8 2 14 30 58 18

10. SHILDON ATHLETIC* 24 8 2 14 28 54 18

11. SCARBOROUGH 24 7 2 15 36 70 16

12. CROOK TOWN 24 5 4 15 33 62 14

13. WEST HARTLEPOOL 24 5 3 16 31 62 13

(312 138 36 138 608 608 312)

*Shildon Athletic’s record includes three losses by Stockton St. John’s. The ‘Saints’ resigned from the Northern League on October 8^th and Athletic stepped in to take over their fixtures.

1904-1905

1. NEWCASTLE UNITED ‘A’ 24 22 0 2 83 12 44

2. SUNDERLAND ‘A’ (-2) 24 16 3 5 59 29 33

3. MIDDLESBROUGH ‘A’ 24 13 6 5 69 35 32

4. DARLINGTON 24 9 6 9 38 38 24

5. SHILDON ATHLETIC 24 8 7 9 48 48 23

6. SOUTH BANK 24 9 5 10 42 44 23

7. WEST HARTLEPOOL 24 10 3 11 35 44 23

8. BISHOP AUCKLAND 24 10 2 12 51 49 22

9. STOCKTON 24 8 6 10 32 37 22

10. DARLINGTON ST. AUGUSTINE’S 24 9 4 11 34 43 22

11. GRANGETOWN ATHLETIC 24 8 4 12 36 52 20

12. SCARBOROUGH 24 4 5 15 22 60 13

13. CROOK TOWN 24 4 1 19 23 81 9

(312 130 52 130 572 572 310)

1905-1906

1. SUNDERLAND ‘A’ 26 21 3 2 90 21 45

2. NEWCASTLE UNITED ‘A’ 26 19 4 3 92 14 42

3. BISHOP AUCKLAND 26 15 3 8 45 39 33

4. DARLINGTON 26 12 7 7 47 47 31

5. MIDDLESBROUGH ‘A’ 26 12 5 9 59 30 29

6. SOUTH BANK 26 13 2 11 49 35 28

7. SHILDON ATHLETIC 26 11 6 9 40 45 28

8. SPENNYMOOR UNITED 26 8 6 12 34 34 22

9. GRANGETOWN ATHLETIC 26 9 2 15 37 43 20

10. STOCKTON 26 7 5 14 32 54 19

11. CROOK TOWN 26 7 5 14 33 57 19

12. WEST HARTLEPOOL (-2) 26 7 5 14 49 65 17

13. SCARBOROUGH 26 7 2 17 24 93 16

14. DARLINGTON ST. AUGUSTINE’S 26 3 7 16 16 70 13

(364 151 62 151 647 647 362)

Middlesbrough ‘A’, Newcastle United ‘A’ and Sunderland ‘A’ all left to join the newly-formed North Eastern League. Leadgate Park joined the competition.

1906-1907

1. STOCKTON 22 17 2 3 44 16 36

2. SOUTH BANK 22 14 3 5 46 24 31

3. CROOK TOWN 22 12 1 9 41 33 25

4. LEADGATE PARK 22 11 2 9 40 34 24

5. BISHOP AUCKLAND 22 10 3 9 40 33 23

6. SPENNYMOOR UNITED 22 9 5 8 28 30 23

7. DARLINGTON 22 9 2 11 30 37 20

8. SHILDON ATHLETIC 22 8 3 11 30 38 19

9. GRANGETOWN ATHLETIC 22 8 1 13 24 39 17

10. WEST HARTLEPOOL 22 7 2 13 33 44 16

11. DARLINGTON ST. AUGUSTINE’S 22 6 3 13 32 44 15

12. SCARBOROUGH 22 7 1 14 34 50 15

(264 118 28 118 422 422 264)

Shildon Athletic left to join the North Eastern League. Saltburn joined the competition.

1907-1908

1. STOCKTON 22 13 7 2 49 21 33

2. SOUTH BANK 22 15 3 4 53 26 33

3. CROOK TOWN 22 12 4 6 40 33 28

4. WEST HARTLEPOOL 22 10 4 8 40 32 24

5. SPENNYMOOR UNITED 22 11 2 9 39 36 24

6. BISHOP AUCKLAND 22 9 4 9 40 36 22

7. DARLINGTON ST. AUGUSTINE’S 22 9 3 10 32 39 21

8. SALTBURN 22 9 2 11 46 47 20

9. DARLINGTON 22 9 2 11 39 41 20

10. LEADGATE PARK 22 6 4 12 33 43 16

11. GRANGETOWN ATHLETIC 22 3 7 12 21 52 13

12. SCARBOROUGH 22 5 0 17 44 70 10

(264 111 42 111 476 476 264)

Darlington and Spennymoor United left to join the North Eastern League. West Auckland and York City joined.

1908-1909

1. BISHOP AUCKLAND 22 14 5 3 67 29 33

2. SOUTH BANK 22 15 3 4 61 34 33

3. STOCKTON 22 10 6 6 46 29 26

4. CROOK TOWN 22 10 6 6 49 40 26

5. WEST HARTLEPOOL 22 11 2 9 50 35 24

6. GRANGETOWN ATHLETIC 22 9 3 10 47 53 21

7. DARLINGTON ST. AUGUSTINE’S 22 8 4 10 48 52 20

8. SCARBOROUGH 22 9 1 12 45 56 19

9. SALTBURN 22 6 6 10 33 42 18

10. WEST AUCKLAND 22 6 4 12 32 46 16

11. YORK CITY 22 6 3 13 31 73 15

12. LEADGATE PARK 22 6 1 15 30 50 13

(264 110 44 110 539 539 264)

Leadgate Park left the competition and were replaced by Knaresborough.

1909-1910

1. BISHOP AUCKLAND 22 15 3 4 67 37 33

2. SOUTH BANK 22 13 4 5 50 26 30

3. STOCKTON 22 13 3 6 68 34 29

4. DARLINGTON ST. AUGUSTINE’S 22 12 2 8 41 35 26

5. WEST AUCKLAND 22 9 4 9 35 35 22

6. CROOK TOWN 22 8 4 10 45 43 20

7. SCARBOROUGH 22 8 4 10 43 49 20

8. WEST HARTLEPOOL 22 8 4 10 32 40 20

9. KNARESBOROUGH 22 8 4 10 43 58 20

10. SALTBURN 22 7 4 11 28 46 18

11. GRANGETOWN ATHLETIC 22 6 2 14 30 44 14

12. YORK CITY 22 4 4 14 36 71 12

(264 111 42 111 518 518 264)

Scarborough and York City left to join the Yorkshire Combination. West Hartlepool also withdrew. Eston United, Leadgate Park and Stanley United joined.

1910-1911

1. ESTON UNITED 22 15 4 3 56 24 34

2. SOUTH BANK 22 14 4 4 50 23 32

3. BISHOP AUCKLAND 22 13 5 4 67 30 31

4. STOCKTON 22 10 6 6 43 27 26

5. WEST AUCKLAND 22 10 6 6 39 27 26

6. DARLINGTON ST. AUGUSTINE’S 22 9 4 9 40 41 22

7. CROOK TOWN 22 8 4 10 40 48 20

8. LEADGATE PARK 22 8 3 11 38 43 19

9. STANLEY UNITED 22 6 6 10 29 41 18

10. SALTBURN 22 5 5 12 35 51 15

11. GRANGETOWN ATHLETIC 22 4 7 11 13 33 15

12. KNARESBOROUGH 22 2 2 18 27 89 6

(264 104 56 104 477 477 264)

Knaresborough left to join the Yorkshire Combination. Willington joined the Northern League.

1911-1912

1. BISHOP AUCKLAND 22 14 6 2 60 28 34

2. SOUTH BANK 22 12 5 5 33 18 29

3. CROOK TOWN 22 13 3 6 37 24 29

4. LEADGATE PARK 22 11 3 8 36 32 25

5. WILLINGTON 22 10 3 9 42 36 23

6. STOCKTON 22 8 5 9 46 34 21

7. DARLINGTON ST. AUGUSTINE’S 22 8 5 9 44 36 21

8. GRANGETOWN ATHLETIC 22 7 6 9 25 32 20

9. STANLEY UNITED 22 8 3 11 27 35 19

10. ESTON UNITED 22 7 3 12 33 40 17

11. WEST AUCKLAND 22 6 2 14 29 52 14

12. SALTBURN 22 4 4 14 20 65 12

(264 108 48 108 432 432 264)

Saltburn and West Auckland left the competition, being replaced by Craghead United and Esh Winning Rangers.

1912-1913

1. ESH WINNING RANGERS 22 13 6 3 40 22 32

2. WILLINGTON 22 12 4 6 43 26 28

3. SOUTH BANK 22 12 4 6 36 23 28

4. CROOK TOWN 22 11 5 6 33 23 27

5. CRAGHEAD UNITED 22 11 3 8 51 26 25

6. STOCKTON 22 10 4 8 34 27 24

7. DARLINGTON ST. AUGUSTINE’S 22 9 5 8 33 28 23

8. ESTON UNITED 22 9 5 8 44 43 23

9. STANLEY UNITED 22 6 4 12 29 54 16

10. BISHOP AUCKLAND 22 5 5 12 37 52 15

11. GRANGETWON ATHLETIC 22 5 2 15 29 57 12

12. LEADGATE PARK 22 3 5 14 32 60 11

(264 106 52 106 441 441 264)

Esh Winning Rangers became Esh Winning. Redcar joined the Northern League.

1913-1914

1. WILLINGTON 24 20 2 2 52 17 42

2. SOUTH BANK 24 16 4 4 47 22 36

3. CROOK TOWN 24 11 5 8 41 27 27

4. DARLINGTON ST. AUGUSTINE’S 24 11 5 8 35 29 27

5. CRAGHEAD UNITED 24 11 3 10 42 36 25

6. STOCKTON 24 8 8 8 41 35 24

7. BISHOP AUCKLAND 24 9 4 11 38 35 22

8. STANLEY UNITED 24 7 7 10 33 36 21

9. ESTON UNITED 24 8 5 11 31 38 21

10. LEADGATE PARK 24 6 7 11 30 46 19

11. ESH WINNING 24 5 8 11 27 42 18

12. GRANGETOWN ATHLETIC 24 5 7 12 26 52 17

13. REDCAR 24 4 5 15 30 58 13

(312 121 70 121 473 473 312

Craghead United and Redcar both left the Northern League at the end of the season. Scarborough re-joined the competition from the Yorkshire Combination.

1914-1915

1. CROOK TOWN 16 12 1 3 36 10 25

2. BISHOP AUCKLAND 16 10 4 2 42 13 24

3. WILLINGTON 16 8 2 6 37 23 18

4. LEADGATE PARK 16 7 4 5 33 22 18

5. STANLEY UNITED 16 7 2 7 31 25 16

6. ESH WINNING 15 6 2 7 25 30 14

7. SCARBOROUGH 16 6 1 9 23 49 13

8. DARLINGTON ST. AUGUSTINE’S 16 3 1 12 22 51 7

9. STOCKTON 15 3 1 11 17 43 7

(142 62 18 62 266 266 142)

Three clubs withdrew from the Northern League during the season - Eston United (December 12^th), Grangetwon Athletic (December 12^th) and South Bank (January 29^th). Their records were deleted. One of the games between Esh Winning and Stockton was not played.

1919-1920

After the First World War ended the Northern League re-formed in 1919. Two clubs who finished the 1914-1915 season – Darlington St. Augustine’s and Leadgate Park, did not continue. Eston United, Redcar and South Bank re-joined the competition and there were four new entries – Auckland St. Helen’s United, Darlington Railway Athletic, Grangetown St. Mary’s and West Hartlepool St. Joseph’s.

1. BISHOP AUCKLAND 26 16 6 4 76 23 38

2. SOUTH BANK 26 16 6 4 78 27 38

3. CROOK TOWN 26 17 4 5 57 24 38

4. STANLEY UNITED 26 13 5 8 52 39 31

5. GRANGETOWN ST. MARY’S 26 11 9 6 51 41 31

6. WILLINGTON 26 11 7 8 43 36 29

7. ESH WINNING 26 11 4 11 48 34 26

8. ESTON UNITED 26 9 6 11 48 51 24

9. DARLINGTON RAILWAY ATHLETIC 26 10 4 12 45 58 24

10. REDCAR 26 9 4 13 38 55 22

11. WEST HARTLEPOOL ST. JOSEPH’S 26 7 6 13 34 51 20

12. STOCKTON 26 5 5 16 44 70 15

13. AUCKLAND ST. HELEN’S UNITED 26 5 5 16 26 67 15

14. SCARBOROUGH 26 5 3 18 30 94 13

(364 145 74 145 670 670 364)

The championship was decided by holding a 3-way play-off between the teams who had finished the regular league season equal on 38 points. The games took place on successive Saturdays, 4^th-18^th September, 1920, on neutral grounds. Bishop Auckland defeated South Bank 4-2 in the first game, but lost to Crook Town 1-2 in the second match. When South Bank beat Crook 4-0 in the final encounter, the winners were declared champions.

1920-1921

1. BISHOP AUCKLAND 26 19 5 2 71 24 43

2. STOCKTON 26 18 3 5 57 43 39

3. CROOK TOWN 26 15 4 7 58 39 34

4. SOUTH BANK 26 14 6 6 48 38 34

5. WILLINGTON 26 14 3 9 52 43 31

6. DARLINGTON RAILWAY ATHLETIC 26 13 2 11 43 39 28

7. TOW LAW TOWN (-2) 26 11 7 8 50 32 27

8. LANGLEY PARK 26 8 7 11 53 48 23

9. ESH WINNING 26 9 5 12 39 39 23

10. ESTON UNITED 26 7 8 11 43 51 22

11. STANLEY UNITED 26 8 3 15 51 56 19

12. GRANGETOWN ST. MARY’S 26 6 2 18 30 75 14

13. REDCAR 26 5 4 17 22 58 14

14. SCARBOROUGH 26 4 3 19 28 60 11

(364 151 62 151 645 645 362)

Grangetown St. Mary’s left the competition at the end of the season. Their place was taken by Cockfield.

1921-1922

1. SOUTH BANK 26 18 6 2 58 23 42

2. BISHOP AUCKLAND 26 15 8 3 53 22 38

3. CROOK TOWN 26 16 6 4 58 31 38

4. STOCKTON 26 13 4 9 59 41 30

5. COCKFIELD 26 12 6 8 52 37 30

6. TOW LAW TOWN 26 13 4 9 52 38 30

7. ESH WINNING 26 12 3 11 39 41 27

8. WILLINGTON 26 9 6 11 55 57 24

9. ESTON UNITED 26 10 3 13 40 52 23

10. LANGLEY PARK 26 8 5 13 34 52 21

11. DARLINGTON RAILWAY ATHLETIC 26 7 6 13 45 58 20

12. SCARBOROUGH 26 4 8 14 39 71 16

13. STANLEY UNITED 26 5 3 18 36 64 13

14. REDCAR 26 3 6 17 20 53 12

(364 145 74 145 640 640 364)

Redcar left the competition at the end of the season. Their place was taken by Loftus Albion.

1922-1923

1. ESTON UNITED 26 17 3 6 60 41 37

2. BISHOP AUCKLAND 26 16 4 6 54 35 36

3. COCKFIELD 26 13 4 9 56 40 30

4. CROOK TOWN 26 10 8 8 41 43 28

5. ESH WINNING 26 12 3 11 48 47 27

6. LOFTUS ALBION 26 10 7 9 41 41 27

7. STOCKTON 26 11 3 12 49 35 25

8. TOW LAW TOWN 26 8 8 10 36 39 24

9. DARLINGTON RAILWAY ATHLETIC 26 10 3 13 35 40 23

10. STANLEY UNITED 26 8 7 11 44 57 23

11. LANGLEY PARK 26 11 0 15 45 60 22

12. SCARBOROUGH 26 10 1 15 51 52 21

13. WILLINGTON 26 9 3 14 37 47 21

14. SOUTH BANK 26 9 2 15 36 56 20

(364 154 56 154 633 633 364)

Ferryhill Athletic joined the Northern League, increasing the size of the competition to 15 clubs.

1923-1924

1. TOW LAW TOWN 28 17 6 5 61 34 40

2. FERRYHILL ATHLETIC 28 15 9 4 69 36 39

3. BISHOP AUCKLAND 28 17 3 8 53 33 37

4. STOCKTON 28 16 4 8 79 52 36

5. CROOK TOWN 28 14 8 6 66 50 36

6. SOUTH BANK 28 13 7 8 49 31 33

7. COCKFIELD 28 12 5 11 50 43 29

8. LOFTUS ALBION 28 11 4 13 42 47 26

9. ESTON UNITED 28 9 7 12 56 53 25

10. SCARBOROUGH 28 8 9 11 55 55 25

11. STANLEY UNITED 28 8 7 13 44 65 23

12. DARLINGTON RAILWAY ATHLETIC 28 8 6 14 45 69 22

13. ESH WINNING 28 6 6 16 36 69 18

14. LANGLEY PARK 28 6 4 18 36 69 16

15. WILLINGTON 28 5 5 18 33 68 15

(420 165 90 165 774 774 420)

1924-1925

1. TOW LAW TOWN 28 20 3 5 73 27 43

2. CROOK TOWN 28 19 4 5 70 29 42

3. STOCKTON 28 15 7 6 54 33 37

4. BISHOP AUCKLAND 28 14 4 10 58 37 32

5. COCKFIELD 28 10 11 7 50 42 31

6. WILLINGTON 28 12 3 13 67 57 27

7. FERRYHILL ATHLETIC 28 12 3 13 70 60 27

8. SOUTH BANK 28 11 5 12 44 42 27

9. LOFTUS ALBION 28 12 3 13 50 72 27

10. SCARBOROUGH 28 11 2 15 50 45 24

11. STANLEY UNITED 28 10 4 14 33 60 24

12. LANGLEY PARK 28 9 5 14 31 49 23

13. ESH WINNING 28 8 5 15 42 63 21

14. DARLINGTON RAILWAY ATHLETIC 28 7 6 15 32 71 20

15. ESTON UNITED 28 6 3 19 32 69 15

(420 176 68 176 756 756 420)

Darlington Railway Athletic left the Northern League at the end of the season. The club was not replaced.