3
1
Username
Password
Club History

Grimsby Pelham Football Club was formed in 1878 at the Wellington Arms public house on Grimsby's Freeman Street by members of the local Worsley Cricket Club who wanted something to do in the winter months while cricket was not being played. The name Pelham came from the surname of Grimsby landowner the Earl of Yarborough. After just one year however they renamed themselves Grimsby Town FC.

In 1880 the club purchased land on Clee Park which become their home ground for the next nine years before they relocated to Abbey Park. In 1890 Grimsby Town FC turned professional and joined the Football Alliance.

In 1899 they moved again to Blundell Park in neighbouring Cleethorpes which would become the home of the Mariners for over a century.

In 1890 the club became a limited company and in 1892 they joined the Football League and entered the newly formed Second Division. The Mariners' first game in the Football League was a 2-1 victory over Northwich Victoria.

In 1901-02 the club was promoted to the First Division. However the club's first taste in disappointment came only two season later when they were relegated back to the Second Division and then ultimately back into non-league football's Midland League in 1910. They only stayed there for one season though and they were crowned champions and were re-elected back into the Football League replacing Lincoln City.

In 1920 the Mariners finished bottom of the league and were disposed of by the Football League once again. Luck was on their side however as the Football League had just expanded to include a Third Division made up of the teams of the old First Division of the Southern League, Grimsby joined these southern teams for one season. In 1921 the league expanded again and Grimsby became a founding member of the new Division Three (North).

In 1925 the Mariners adopted their now traditional black and white striped kit.

In 1926 the Mariners won their division and were promoted back Division Two and in 1929 they were back in the First Division. There they stayed until 1948 (barring two seasons in Division Two in 1932-33 to 1933-34).

In 1936 and 1939 Grimsby played in the semi-final of the FA Cup. The former was a 1-0 defeat against Arsenal, the latter game was a 5-0 defeat against Wolverhampton Wanderers at Manchester United's Old Trafford ground. The attendance for that game, 76,962, remains to this day as Old Trafford's largest ever attendance although with Manchester United's success and wealth it's only a matter of time before they will expand their stadium and break that record.

Following World War II the Football League resumed in 1946-47. The club were relegated at the end of the 1947-48 season and have never returned to top flight football.  The next twenty years was spent yo-yo-ing between the Second Division, Division Three (North) and the Fourth Division.

In 1971 22,489 fans packed Blundell Park to see Lawrie McMenemy's Mariners defeat Exeter City to be crowned Fourth Division Champions. They stayed there until 1977 when they were relegated again but in 1979 they jumped straight back up again.

In 1980 George Kerr lead the Mariners to the Third Division championship. They were back in the Second Division for the first time in 16 years.

Grimsby finished their first season back in the Second Division in 7th position. Work then began on replacing the old Barretts Stand which was deemed unsafe. The Findus Stand (later known as the Stones Stand then John Smith's Stand and now the Carlsberg Stand) was build for £1m.

In 1984 the club finished 5th in the Second Division, their best position since 1948. But only three years later and the Mariners faced relegation again.

By 1988 the club were back in Division Four, up stepped Alan Buckley to take on the challenge of resurrecting the team. By 1992 Buckley and duly delivered with two successive promotions.

In 1994 Buckley departed to take up the vacant West Bromwich Albion job and Nottingham Forest legend Brian Laws decided to cut his managerial teeth with the Mariners. After a bright start the club began dropping down the table, this coupled with the famous altercation between Laws and star player Ivano Bonetti which left the latter with a broken cheekbone and a fear of chicken sandwiches.

The club were ultimately relegated in 1997. That summer Alan Buckley returned and promptly brought pride back to the club. Two Wembley Stadium victories (Playoff final and Auto Windscreens Trophy final) later and the Mariners were back in the new Division One (old Division Two).

In 2000 the club underwent many changes in the boardroom and Buckley was a victim of this. He was sacked only two games into the season and was replaced by top class manager Lennie Lawrence. An October 2001 night at Anfield saw the Mariners send League Cup holders Liverpool crashing out of the competition with Marlon Broomes and Phil Jevons providing the goals in a 2-1 victory. However following the collapse of ITV Digital the club was put into serious financial difficulties and were forced to sell or release some of their top players. The club were eventually relegated.

Lawrence was replaced by former club captain Paul Groves but the financial problems persisted and the club battled fiercely against administration with the only real outcome being relegation to the basement again. Groves was sacked two months before the end of the 2003-04 season and was replaced by Nicky Law for the remaining weeks but the writing was already on the wall.

Russell Slade stepped up from non-league Scarborough to take the helm at Blundell Park in the summer of 2004. After an indifferent first season he made a few changes and in the 2005-06 the Mariners sat in the automatic promotion spots all year but faltered in the final third. The Mariners lost in the plyoff final at the Millennium Stadium against Cheltenham Town.

Following a failure to agree contractual terms with the club Russell Slade departed Grimsby in 2006 and was replaced by his assistant, former Town player Graham Rodger. He lasted until November after a disappointing start to the season.

On 9th November 2006 Alan Buckley returned to Blundell Park for the third time.

Bookmark or share this story with: