Wallsend Boys Club
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Wallsend Boys Club is a football club based in Wallsend, North Tyneside, England. It is famous for producing professional English footballers including Alan Shearer, Robbie Elliott, Lee Clark, Steve Bruce, Michael Carrick, Neil McDonald, Peter Beardsley, Brian Laws, Steve Watson and many others.
The club was founded in 1938 by the employees and directors of Swan Hunters Shipyard to provide recreational activities for the apprentices and young people in the area. The original club premises were a series of wooden huts on Station Road, erected by workers from the shipyard. A fire destroyed the original premises and work commenced on the current club building in 1964. This building is now itself under threat, as calls for the building to be updated are starting to be heard.
Club activities in the early days were mainly snooker, trampolining, judo, table tennis, cross country running and football. Various fund raising activities were held, including a "pram push" across England and a 24-hour relay race from Wallsend to Edinburgh Castle and back.
In 1975, the club opened seven days a week and formed a separate sub-committee for 11-a-side football. Over the years, the 11-a-side representative teams have won hundreds of trophies in local and national competitions. The club has gained a formidable reputation for the early development of many professional footballers. See list at Category:Wallsend Boys Club players.
