View Attachment

Football as we know it was born in Hebburn in 1882 with the formation of St Aloysius Juniors, playing on a ground next to St Aloysius Church on Argyle Street. They soon changed their name to Hebburn Argyle and in 1886 records show that Hebburn were defeated 4-0 by Sunderland at Fulwell. This was two years prior to the formation of the Football League in 1888, when Hebburn Argyle moved to a new enclosed ground.

After playing in friendly and cup competitions for a number of years the club joined the Northern Alliance League in 1893-94 playing against teams like Sunderland A, Newcastle A, and Blyth. There is a wonderful photograph taken in the 1896-97 season showing the team as new champions of the Northern Alliance. At about this time Jarrow also formed a senior team and a local derby between the two attracted a crowd of 4,000 at Hebburn. (The population of Hebburn at this time was less than 15,000).

In 1898-99 the two clubs were drawn against each other and after a draw at Hebburn, Jarrow won 1-0 in extra time of the replay to earn a visit to Goodison Park, where they lost 2-1 to Everton. Good times indeed.

In 1899 Hebburn Argyle raised their profile by opening a new ground - the Ellison Ground - in front of 4,000 spectators and climbed further up the league structure in 1906-07 by joining the North Eastern League where they enjoyed moderate success. Unfortunately, in common with many other clubs, the First World War took its toll and the club did not resurface after the war. It is interesting to note that in 1912 the total wage bill was about £86 and the club recovered £100 from transfer fees. The figures equate to £4,900 and £6,000 at current values.

In May 1901, a major event took place when Alphonse Reyrolle set up a new engineering company in Hebburn. This would influence the local football scene for the next one hundred years. In 1912 the Reyrolles football story started with the formation of a junior section.

The present Hebburn Town Football Club began life in 1912, when Reyrolle fielded a team in the second division of the Jarrow and District Junior League. After the end of World War One from 1919 to 1922, Reyrolle were members of the South Shields Combination League Division One. From season 1922-23, the club were members of the Tyneside Combination where they remained until the end of season 1926-27. They next joined the Tyneside League and remained members of this league until the Second World War in 1939, winning the league in the last full season before the war started.

During the war years, Reyrolle were members of the Northern Combination, with the exception of one season (1944-45) when they joined the North Eastern League. After the war they rejoined the Northern Combination League where they stayed as members for fourteen seasons until 1959 when they again tried the North Eastern League, but only stayed for one season. In 1960-61 Hebburn joined the Wearside League where they spent the next 28 seasons up to 1988.

In 1988 Reyrolle changed their name to Hebburn and in March of the following year, 1989, a decision was taken to resign from the Wearside League in order to apply for membership of the Skol Northern League. Many at that time thought it was a strange decision as, at the time, there was no vacancy and to gain membership, Hebburn would be seeking to replace a current member who was seeking re-election. However, the club proceeded and money was invested to bring the ground up to Northern League standards;after two inspections, the ground was accepted as meeting the required standard. The momentum gained pace from then on, with the club's committee visiting many of the member clubs in an attempt to canvass support for election. The biggest boost came when it was learned that North Shields were applying to the Northern Counties' East League for membership, which created a place in the Skol Northern League. Hebburn were accepted into the Second Division for season 1989-90.

On Saturday 19th August 1989, Hebburn F.C. played their first ever Skol Northern League game, away to Shotton Comrades, which they won by 2-1, Steve Harkus scoring Hebburn's first Skol Northern League goal, Les Duff scoring the second. Hebburn's first home game in this league took place on Wednesday 23rd August 1989, when their opponents were Prudhoe East End. Graham Dickinson scored the first home goal, while Paul Hedley scored the second in a 2-2 draw.

In 1992 Hebburn gained promotion to the First Division and the same season won the Durham Challenge Cup, when they beat Billingham Synthonia who at the time were the First Division title holders, 2-1, with goals from Ray Banks and Paul Tinmouth. At the end of the 1994-95 season, many thought Hebburn were harshly relegated back to the Second Division due to ground standards being deemed to be below the required level. Ironically, this was a season in which Hebburn had reached their highest position in the Northern League.

Under the management of Tony Robinson, the club pursued a policy of playing youngsters coming out of junior football and this paid off when they were promoted to the First Division in 1999-2000 and won the Craven Cup. However they struggled badly and were relegated the following season. Since then their form has fluctuated and in 2004-5 were almost relegated.

The small committee are totally committed to the cause of maintaining senior football in Hebburn and are eternally grateful to their sponsors, Tyne & Wear LGV., Meldrum Construction, Premier Scaffolding and Sterling Scaffolding for their excellent support.