History

History Timeline

J. Stanley ToddFounder

Did You Know?

Ex Newcastle United Chairman Gordon McKeag who also was president of the Football League, chairman of the FA Challenge Cup Committee, director of the Football Association and director of the Football League and PFA Administration was 1st team Captain 1956 – 1958

On the 20th December 1882, local rivals Rockcliff decided to disband or amalgamate with Percy Park. Their members were given the chance to join Park and many did forming a second B XV and being represented on the committee. The rugby folk of Cullercoats weren’t happy with this and within a couple of seasons, Rockcliff began again.

In 1890 it was noted in the minutes that a change be made to the club strip remarking on the “sombre hideousness of the all black and the disgraceful appearance presented by the team when members took to the field in black jerseys and blue knickerbockers”. The shirts were changed to black and white hoops, white knickerbockers (now black) and black socks.

Before Park moved to Preston Avenue, they played at a variety of places including North Shields Cycle Track which later became North Shields AFC’s ground. In 1887, about 2 hours after an important game, an old pit shaft collapsed in the middle of the pitch revealing a yawning chasm which required many tons of material to fill it.

When they played on a field next to Mariners Lane, the posts had to be erected and taken down for every game. These were stored in the yard of the Dolphin Inn which was used as the changing rooms.

Before Park had a proper clubhouse, the genial host of The Salutation, Jack Mitchell, used to put on a ‘Smoker’ after a cup final. These took place in the back room and access to the ‘back yard’ was by climbing through the window. Bigger functions or entertaining visiting teams usually took place at the Grand Hotel.

The previous Clubhouse completed in 1955 cost around £5500.

Percy Park RFC is the oldest surviving rugby club in Northumberland.

In 1992 at the committee dinner, we had both the Football League Chairman and the president of the RFU Danie Serfontein and Gordon McKeag

In 1892 William Cail of Percy Park was elected. RFU president

There is a Time capsule buried on the site of the present clubhouse.. It was buried on the 29th May 1997.

There are very few concrete facts for the first decade of Percy Park and a tale is told which accounts, presumably, for some of this lack of information. 'At an early stage in the club's history the Secretary apparently lived in 'digs' and absconded without paying his landlady. The landlady refused to surrender his goods and chattels, including the Minute Book, and as the club refused to pay the outstanding account for board and lodgings, the minute book was never recovered.'
The earliest minute book, which is now stored in Tyne and Wear Archives, is dated November 1881 to December 1886 and is marked Number 3.

Ned Wood, a particularly keen supporter, built the North Eastern Hotel in Nile Street (now Harry Smith & Co), and included, dressing rooms with showers for the Club. This became Percy Parks unofficial headquarters until 1920 - 21.

After the First world war playing was re-commenced on the Cricket Club's field whilst negotiations were taking place with military over compensation for damage to the pitch; and to the stand which had been used for hand grenade practice, and subsequently destroyed by fire. Compensation awarded in the sum of £1008 17s 4d. A new wooden stand was built and a wooden pavilion bought from the army to provide changing accommodation, showers, and a club room which became the centre of the club's activities for the next 35 years.

Tynemouth Victoria Jubilee Infirmary, presented a silver cup for an annual competition between Park and Rockcliff. The proceeds from the matches to be donated to Infirmary funds. The first match for this "Moors Cup" resulted in a win for Rockciff by 27- 3. Thus began a series of games that generated much local interest for many years until it was allowed to lapse in the fifties. The tradition was eventually reinstated to the annual Boxing Day fixture..

Back in the early days, Players were asked to provide sandwiches for their opposing number for post match feeding.

1872

The Club was founded by J. Stanley Todd, who lived with his Uncle at No 60 Percy Park, and played in a field on the north side of the terraced houses. This date fixed by J. Stanley Todd, the founder member, and 1st. Captain of the Club in a letter which he wrote to the Club in 1925.

60-Percy-Park

World Events
Jesse James Gang rob first passenger train.
First FA Cup

1879

After the fields behind Percy Park were taken over for gardens, the club then played on Collingwood Monument fields, overlooking the harbour.

1880

The Percy Park Football Club became one of the six founder members of the Northumberland R.F.U. The other founder members being The Northumberland Football Club, The (original) Borough of Tynemouth Football Club, The Northern Football Club, The (original) Gosforth Football Club and The Tynedale Football Club.

1886

First Northumberland Senior Cup beating Elswick in final.

cup-winners
World Events
Statue of Liberty dedicated in New York Harbour.
First Coca Cola sold, advertised as a hangover cure.

1896

Club moves to Preston Ave and; goes on first tour to Bristol and Cardiff.

World Events
First Modern Olympic Games in Athens.
Klondyke gold Rush begins.

1905

Northumberland plays New Zealand All Blacks at Percy Park to a 10,000 crowd.

World Events

Einstein publishes his “Special Theory Of Relativity”.

1914 - 1919

THE GREAT WAR

1928

The Club tie incorporating the Percy Lion is adopted.

World Events
Alexander Fleming discovers penicillin.
World’s 1st scheduled TV broadcast
Amelia Erhart is 1st woman to fly across the Atlantic.

1938

After a period in the doldrums 1^st XV win Northumberland Senior Cup & 2^nd XV win the Senior Shield.

World Events
Laszlo Biro patents the ball point pen In Britain.
Nylon first manufactured by Du Pont.

1939 – 1945

WORLD WAR II

1949

The purchase of the ground is complete & a memorial tablet is unveiled in honour of those members who had not returned from World War II.

World Events
North Atlantic Treaty Organisation Formed (NATO).
George Orwell’s 1984 published.
Rationing of clothes ends in Britain.

1955

New Clubhouse is complete and negotiations begin to lease a 2nd pitch on Harbottle’s field.

World Events
France, West Germany & Italy establish the European Union.
James Dean dies in car crash.

1960

Donald Rutherford & Derek Morgan capped for England.

Don Rutherford

World Events
US scientists develop laser device.
First weather satellite launched.

1968

Tynemouth Rovers RFC disbands & merges with Park.

World Events
Martin Luther King & Robert Kennedy assassinated.
Warsaw Pact troops invade Czeckeslovakia.

1972

The centenary is marked with a game against Leicester with Park losing 18-32.

World Events
Munich disaster, 11 Israeli Olympians murdered by Terrorists.

1983

After the old stand was destroyed by fire, a new concrete & steel stand is completed.

World Events
First flight of US Space Shuttle.
Compact discs first launched.

1986

Percy Park Youth Trust is established.

World Events
Chernobyl disaster, 133,000 people evacuated. Fall out affects all Europe.

1992

1st XV become Champions of Durham & Northumberland 2..

World Events
China opens 1st McDonalds in Beijing.
Euro Disney opens in France.
English Premier League is officially formed.

1995

1st XV champions of Durham & Northumberland 1.

World Events
First rendezvous of NASA space shuttle with Russian MIR space station.

1998

The current Clubhouse is completed & the new junior pitch is in play.

the-sod
World Events
258 people killed when 2 American Embassies are bombed allegedly ordered by Osama Bin Laden

2006

Finalists in Northumberland Senior Cup after 46 year wait.

World Events
Saddam Hussein executed.
First case of bird flu in UK.

2007

1 st XV relegated into Durham and Northumberland 1

World Events
Apple unveiled the first iPhone
Madeleine McCann disappeared from her family's holiday apartment in Portugal.
Apple unveiled the first iPhone

2008

The new car park and balcony are completed.

World Events
The Large Hadron Collider is fired up becoming the worlds largest energy particle accelerator.

2010

The Lions win the No 2 County Cup while the Marauders win not only the No 5 County Cup but also Northumberland County League 3C.

World Events
The Deepwater Horizon explosion on 20 April caused the deaths of 11 people and the worst oil spill in US history.
After 69 days trapped nearly half a mile underground in the San Jose mine, 33 Chilean miners were rescued alive.

2011

The 1 st XV win the Senior Cup for the first time in 50 years and narrowly miss promotion to National 3 in a thrilling promotion play off losing to Burnage 26 - 27. The Lions win both the league and also the County Cup. The Marauders win the league for the second year running and narrowly lose out in the County Cup final.

2011-Cup
World Events
Osama bin Laden, the suspected mastermind behind the terror attacks against America on 11 September 2001.was killed by US special forces in Abbottabad, Pakistan.
The last US troops withdraw from Iraq and formally end the Iraq War after eight years.

2012

Percy Park 1 st XV secure promotion to National 3 North (level 5) after a nail biting play off win over Liverpool St Helens. The Northumberland Senior Cup was retained, and the Percy Park Penguins (veterans) won the Northumberland 5 th XV cup. The year was rounded off with a celebratory dinner to present caps to 1 st XV cup winners 2011 and 2012. Past recipients were also in attendance with the oldest Rae Walton a former squadron leader and holder of the military cross having won his cap shortly before the outbreak of WWII

park-caps-2012
World Events
The Costa Concordia cruise ship carrying more than 4,000 passengers collided with rocks, and capsizied killing 32 people
The Queen celebrated her diamond jubilee marking exactly 60 years to the day when she took the throne in 1952.
Pop legend Whitney Houston was found dead in a hotel .
The UK holds the Olympic Games for the third time.

2013

The 1 st XV win the Northumberland senior cup for the 3 rd successive year and finish 5 th in their first year in National 3 North, but are relegated the following season.
Northumber County beat North Midlands 45 - 10 in the Bill Beaumont Cup Division 2 at Twickenham. The squad included Parks Ash Smith and Jack Davidson.

jack-ash-at-twickers-2013
World Events
Scottish tennis player Andy Murray became the first British man to win Wimbledon since 1936.
Margaret Thatcher and Nelson Mandela die.

2015

Percy Park RFC is incorporated and becomes Percy Park Rugby Football Club Ltd. A new charity is also set up in the name of Percy Park Rugby Football Foundation Ltd to work in tandem with the Percy Park Youth Trust

World Events
The biggest scandal to hit the car industry in decades started when VW was told to recall 482,000 diesel cars in the US after it was caught using software to cheat emissions tests.

2017

Major refurbishment of changing rooms adding 2 new changing rooms and a plant room.

World Events
A fire at the 24-storey Grenfell Tower in north Kensington killed 72 people.
22 were killed and over 200 injured at the Macnchester Arena bombing.

2018

Seniors win County Cup against Alnwick.
Percy Park Panthers formed to bring regular women’s rugby to the club and they join the RFU league system in 2021.

2018-county-cup-1st-v-alwick

World Events
Storm Eleanor brings massive disruption to the UK and Ireland, with some winds reaching 100mph.
Stephen Hawkings whose life's work shaped modern cosmology and helped ordinary people to better understand the universe, died at the age of 76
Twelve boys aged between 11 and 16, as well as their football coach, were rescued from a flooded cave in Thailand after more than two weeks of being trapped.

2020

Covid curtails the end to the season and Percy Park relegated back to level 6

World Events
The Coronavirus pandemic brought the world to virtually a standstill. Starting in January in China, worldwide lockdowns started around March.

2022

Percy Park celebrates it’s Sesquicentenial – 150 th anniversary as champions of Durham & Northumberland 1 (level7) and are promoted to Regional 2 North.

World Events

Russia invades Ukraine
Queen Elizabeth II dies in Scotland, at the age of 96.
The Uk has 3 Prime Ministers including Liz Truss, who was only in power for 49 days.

2024

Percy Park 1 st XV champions of Regional 2 North are promoted to Regional 1 North East (level 5)