Workington A.F.C.

Long folk history

Football in Workington has a very long history. Close by and adjacent to the home of Workington A.F.C. the folk game of "Uppies and Downies" is still an annual event. There are records about the game from 20 April 1775 in the Cumbrian Pacquet which is one of the earliest written reports of a match anywhere in the world. This report says the match on which it is reporting is "long contended".

Formation of the club

Association football was introduced to Workington in the 1860s and further popularised when a group of steel workers migrated to the town from Dronfield, Derbyshire. They were workers of the Charles Cammel and Co steel works that arrived in the town in 1884. It is estimated that 1,500 townspeople moved to Workington. 'Dronnies', as the people of Workington called the newcomers, joined the 1883-founded Workington in 1888. This is also confirmed in a short history of the club which was produced as part of 16 page brochure in the club's application to the Football League in 1951. The original Workington A.F.C. were one of the founder members of the Cumberland Association League in 1888 and played at the Ashfield Ground before moving to Lonsdale Park for the 1909–1910 season. In 1894, they moved to the Cumberland Senior League, and in 1901, joined the Lancashire League. However, the league closed two seasons later, and they returned to the Cumberland Senior League. In 1904, the club were admitted to the Lancashire Combination, but in…