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Before Ayresome
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Middlesbrough Football Club was formed in 1876 by
members of Middlesbrough Amatuer Cricket Club who were looking for a
way of keeping fit in the winter months. At a meeting in the towns
Albert Park Hotel they duly formed a team known as Middlesbrough
Association.
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Their first match was played on the Archery Ground
in Albert Park against Tees Wanderers, a team of rugby players. The
match ended in a 1-1 draw with Jackson Ewbank scoring the clubs
first ever goal.
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In 1878 the first recorded three-figure gate was achieved against
the Tyne Association, when 150 spectators were present and, by the
end of the season, Middlesbrough were attracting crowds of around
200. No gate money was taken in those days and the players had to
pay their own expenses.
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 Fearing for the state of the turf the Parks Department decided that
it was time that the club should move on and they were forced to
look for an alternative playing field. So for the 1879-80 season the
club rented a field from a Mr. Kemp in Breckon Hill Road and began
to charge the spectators, 3d for adults and 1d for boys.
No gate
exceeded £3 for the season. The move to Breckon Hill Road lasted less than a season. After a dispute
with the landlord Middlesbrough moved to the home of Middlesbrough Cricket
Club in Linthorpe Road.
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Middlesbrough were to occupy the Linthorpe Road Ground for over a decade,
from 1879 to 1903, and while they were in residence they built a small stand
on the north side of the ground, which would later be transported to
Ayresome Park.
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During this turbulent time the breakaway Middlesbrough Ironopolis were
founded, by members of the Middlesbrough club who wanted to turn
professional. Both clubs turned professional in 1889.
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Professionalism was short lived for both clubs, Middlesbrough reverted to
amateur status in 1892, while the ambitious Ironopolis were elected to
Division Two of the Football League in 1993, however they folded due to
financial problems after just one season.
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Middlesbrough went on to have several successful years in the Northern
League, winning the title three times in four seasons between 1893 and 1897. They also lifted the the Amateur Cup twice, in 1895 and 1898.
The Linthorpe Road Ground had to wait until 1899 to see league football,
when Middlesbrough were elected to Division Two of the Football League. The
first game in front of 10,000 fans saw Middlesbrough lose 3-1 to Small
Heath.
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With the lease due for renewal on the Linthorpe Road Ground
in 1903 Middlesbrough made plans to move to a new ground on a site adjacent
to Ironopolis' old ground, at Paradise Field.
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