LET'S LOOK AT: Lincoln City (Part One)

LET’S LOOK AT:

LINCON CITY (PART ONE)

Lincoln City were formed in 1884, though there had been a team playing in Lincoln since the early 1860’s. In 1887, City won their first trophy, the Lincolnshire Senior Cup. That season, they also reached the last 16 of the FA Cup beating Middlesbrough 2-0 in the 2^nd round, after a replay, Gainsborough Trinity 1-0 in the 3^rd round, again after a replay. They received a bye in the 4^th round and went out to Glasgow Rangers in the 5^th round, Scottish clubs being eligible for the FA Cup in those days. In 1889/90, the Imps reached the last sixteen of the FA cup again. They beat Chester 2-0 in the 1^st round, before losing 4-0 to Preston North End in the 2^nd round.

!892 was a big year for the club as they turned professional and won the Lincolnshire Senior Cup again. They were also made founder members of the Football League’s second division which was made up of 12 clubs. The Imps finished 9^th in their first season in the league, improving in the following season to 8^th in a division that had expanded to 15 clubs.

In 1895, the club, who had been playing at the John O‘Gaunts ground moved to their current ground, Sincil Bank. Two years later, the club finished bottom of the Second Division, gaining just 12 points from 30 matches. However, their league performances improved after that and in 1902, the club finished 5^th, which, even now, is their highest ever placing in the football league.

The club now seemed to be a stable Second division side, but in 1907, the club finished second from bottom and the following season, things got worse as they finished bottom, only gaining 21 points from 38 matches in a division that now boasted 20 clubs. They lost their place in the league along with Stoke City and joined the Midland Counties League. They won the league in their first season in 1909, also winning the Lincolnshire Senior Trophy and were re-elected to the Second Division of the Football League.

In 1910, they finished 15^th in the Second Division, but the following season, they again finished bottom and lost their place in the league for the second time. In 1912, they won the newly formed Central league, which was later to become a reserve league for Midland and Northern football league clubs and were once more re-elected back to the Second Division finishing 8^th in 1913. The following season, the club slumped to 19^th, second from bottom but recovered to finish 16^th in 1914/15 the last season before the end of the First World War.

In the next part of this article, we will look at the Imps during the inter war period.