| Full name | Brynn Central Football Club | |
|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | the Brynnites [1] | |
| Founded | 1900 | |
| Dissolved | 1908 | |
| Ground | Central Ground | |
Brynn Central F.C. was an association football club from the village of Bryn, near Wigan, Lancashire, active in the early twentieth century. The football club's name had a different spelling to that of the village.
The earliest references to the club are from the 1900–01 season, when it joined the Lancashire Alliance. [2] It finished bottom but one in its first season, but in 1902–03 was runner-up. [3] It also won the Wigan Cup with a 3–1 win over Atherton Church House. [4]
The club joined the second division of the Lancashire Combination in 1903–04, [5] and remained in the competition for five seasons, finishing between 5th and 14th in a competition that contained between 18 and 20 clubs over the piece. [6] It also entered the FA Cup over the same period but only twice reached the second qualifying round. [7] As a second division side, it did not enter the Lancashire Senior Cup, competing in the Junior Cup instead, but without success.
The club's committee decided to convert the club into a limited liability company before the 1907–08 season, [8] However, at the end of 1908, the club was forced to disband because of a lack of financial support, with its league fixtures being taken over by Great Harwood. [9] The club's final match, at home to Glossop reserves on Christmas day, summed up the straits in which it had found itself; the gate was a mere £2, [10] the start was delayed by half-an-hour as the Brynn kit had been lost, the XI the club fielded was a "scratch" side of its remaining reserves, plus half-back Aspinall who was forced to play in goal, and the visitors won 8–0. [11] The club had taken only 1 point from its 12 league games. [12]
The club wore red and white stripes. [13]
The club's ground was known simply as the Central Ground, off Old Road, [14] and as at 2025 remains as a football pitch.
One Brynn player, Billy Hibbert, who played for the club in 1905–06, went on to play for England. [15] At the other extreme, another former player, James Ferguson, in 1909 was sentenced to twelve months of hard labour for stealing a mail bag. [16]
