| Full name | Hallam Football Club | ||
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| Nickname(s) | The Countrymen | ||
| Founded | 4 September 1860 | ||
| Ground | Sandygate Road, Crosspool, Sheffield (Capacity: 1000 (250 Seated)) |
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| Chairman | David Slater | ||
| Manager | Julian Watts | ||
| League | NCEL Division One | ||
| 2010-11 | NCEL Premier Division, 19th (relegated) | ||
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Hallam Football Club are a football club in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, who currently play in the Northern Counties East League Division One. Founded in 1860, they are the second oldest football club in the world with Sheffield also being the home of the oldest club in the world, Sheffield who were founded in 1857.
Hallam still play on their original ground, Sandygate Road, which is officially recognised by the Guinness Book of Records as "The Oldest Ground in the World". Sandygate is in western Sheffield. In 1860 Hallam first played Sheffield in a local derby which is still contested today. This 'Rules derby' is considered the oldest still-contested derby of any football code in the world, and is probably one of the oldest organised team-sport derbies in the world, besides those found in cricket.
In 1867 the club made football history when they won the Youdan Cup, the world's first ever organised football tournament when they beat fellow Sheffield club Norfolk in the final played at Bramall Lane.[1] They still possess this historic trophy.
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In the Pennine Hills to the west of Sheffield stands the Plough Inn alongside the road called Sandygate. In 1804 the landlord of the inn agreed to use one of his fields for cricket matches and so the Hallam cricket club was formed. The club was so successful that by the 1850s it had some 300 members, many being familiar with team football as played by Sheffield club, which was formed in 1857. The desire for another, less exclusive football club led the cricketers to the formation of the Hallam Football club in 1860 and the first challenge match against Sheffield took place at Sandygate on Boxing Day of that year.
The Hallam Football clubs founder and captain, John Charles Shaw, soon became President of the Sheffield Football Association which organised matches to the locally preferred rules for its growing number of member clubs. John Shaw was directly instrumental, with Charles Alcock of the Football Association in London, in the formation of nationally accepted rules of playing the game. In fact both gentlemen were the respective captains of the first all Sheffield match with London in 1871, in which the preferred rules were experimented.
In 1867, Hallam won what is believed to be the first football cup competition which was the Youdan Cup, named after a local footballing enthusiast and theatre owner Thomas Youdan. By 1878, Hallam had the regular services of an English international player in Billy Mosforth, who was a member of both Hallam football and cricket clubs.
With the advent of more successful clubs and the growth of professionalism, Hallam could not hope to compete, being content to maintain its place in amateur football, with occasional success in local league and cup competitions. In 1925, over 2,000 spectators at Sandygate saw Hallam defeat the famous Bishop Auckland in an FA Amateur Cup tie.
By rapid promotion, Hallam soon reached the most senior local league and had regular encounters with more famous clubs in the FA Amateur cup competition. Local enthusiasm for the clubs progress was that one such tie against Dulwich Hamlet in 1953 had to be played at Sheffield Wednesday’s Hillsborough ground and attracted a crowd of over 13,000.
Hallam have won the Sheffield Senior Cup four times during the 1950s and 1960s, the last time in 1967–68.
The 1982–83 season saw the demise of the old Yorkshire League with the introduction of the FA's pyramid system of non league football in which promotion was determined as much by ground grading as team performance. With only seven years of its ground lease remaining the club could not commit to expensive ground improvements. Protracted negotiations with the landlord eventually led to a 99 years extension being granted but a large premium was demanded within one year.
Hallam’s profile was highlighted during the 1980s when the complete history of the club was researched and published by member John Steele. This was soon followed by much national publicity of the club’s plight.
A massive fund raising effort secured the new lease and continued for the provision of floodlights-first used in 1992. Next, the league required a 250 seat stand and a shelter for 100 spectators. More fund raising was boosted when the club received a large bequest from a late supporters will. The two new stands were ready for the 1999–2000 season and work continued by building new changing rooms behind the main stand. This left the original changing rooms redundant, so it was gutted internally and refitted as a licensed clubhouse.
At some point in the past, the Youdan Cup, won outright by the club in 1871 had been lost. In 1997, the club bought it back when it turned up at a Scottish antique dealers shop. This allowed the club to obtain acceptance from the Guinness Book of World Records that it has both the oldest football ground and the oldest football cup.
Following 36 years without winning any silverware, Hallam won the NCEL cup in 2003–04 when they beat Mickleover Sports 1–0 in the final played at Buxton. So with it home at Sandygate secure until 2088. The future looks bright for Hallam Football club particularly as they look forward to celebrating the clubs 150th anniversary in 2010.
In September 2010 Uriah Rennie (ex FA Premier League Referee) was unveiled as club president at Hallam FCs 150th anniversary dinner. At the end of the same season Hallam were relegated after finishing second from bottom.
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