1897; 127 years ago (1897) (as Whitley & Monkseaton F.C.) 1950; 74 years ago (1950) (as Whitley Bay Athletic F.C.) 1958; 66 years ago (1958) (as Whitley Bay F.C.)
Whitley Bay Football Club, also known as The Seahorses, or simply The Bay, are an Englishfootballclub based in the seaside town of Whitley Bay, in the North Eastcounty of Tyne and Wear. Initially founded as Whitley & Monkseaton Football Club in 1897, the club took its present name in 1958. The team plays its home matches at Hillheads Park, which is adjacent to the Whitley Bay Ice Rink and has a maximum capacity of 4,500.
Since 1958 the club has spent the vast majority of seasons in the Northern Football League's Division One. The Seahorses first competed in the division for 30 years between 1958 and 1988, before rejoining for the 2000–01 season, where they have been ever since.
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A football club has existed in Whitley Bay since 1896. The first team was known as Whitley and Monkseaton F.C; later renamed Monkseaton FC and then again to Whitley Bay Athletic in 1950. In 1958 a limited company was formed, with 'Athletic' dropped from the title.
From 1950 until 1955, Whitley Bay Athletic were members of the Northern Alliance League, winning the League Championship, League Cup (twice), and in 1952–53 became the first amateur team to win the Northumberland Senior Cup in sixty years, beating rivals North Shields in front of 17,000 fans inside St James' Park.
In the FA Amateur Cup (the predecessor to the FA Vase), The Bay twice reached the semi-finals, and quadrice the quarter-finals; A 1965 quarter-final appearance of which holds the club record attendance (7,301) in a 3–1 loss to Hendon.
On 18 March 1968, floodlights were installed around Hillheads Park; marked by a friendly match against Newcastle United.
Decline and then recovery (1973–1988)
Whitley Bay's home stadium Hillheads Park
Fortunes began to fade from the mid-1970s before having to re-apply to the Northern League as a result of coming last in the 1979–80 campaign. Success remained limited in the aftermath of re-election, with successive finishes of 19th, 19th, 13th, and 9th—during the early 1980s.
Former player, Bobby Graham, was appointed first team manager in 1986. Graham's first season marked Whitley Bay's highest league position in 15 years (5th), their best-ever FA Trophy campaign (reaching the final sixteen) and their first Northumberland Senior Cup since 1973 (beating Newcastle Blue Star, 2–1, in the final at Hillheads Park). The team then sustained a title challenge for the majority of the following season before finishing 4th in midst of numerous injuries[citation needed].
Whitley Bay only spent four seasons at the club's zenith. 17th in both the first and second season, the highest-ever final league position to date of 11th in the third, before 21st place relegation in the fourth sent the club back to Northern Premier League Division One
The Bay won their third-ever Northern League title in 2006–07, 41 years on from their back–to–back titles in 1964–65 and 1965–66, however they did not apply for promotion.
In 2010, The Seahorses won a twelfth Northumberland Senior Cup.
Three appearances at Wembley Stadium and four FA Vase trophies
Whitley Bay first won the FA Vase at Villa Park in 2001–02.[2] The Seahorses then maintained a 100% record in finals as they went on to win three consecutive trophies at the new Wembley Stadium in 2008–09, 2009–10 and 2010–11, becoming the competition's most successful club both in the total number of titles and most won consecutively.[3][4][5]
Current squad
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
