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CLUB TIMELINE

1878

The club was founded as Grimsby Pelham in 1878 after a meeting held in the Wellington Arms on Freeman Street. The founder members were all players for Worsley Cricket Club.
1878

1879

We have been known as Grimsby Town FC since 1879.
1879

1878 - 1899

Clee Park (1878–1879 & 1880–1889) and Abbey Park (1889-1899).
1878 - 1899

1899

Blundell Park has been home since 1899. The Main Stand was built in 1899 and it is the oldest structure in the EFL.
1899

1900

The Mariners won their first league title in 1900/01 when they finished top of the Football League Second Division (now The Championship).

1900

1910

We have worn black and white stripes since 1910. Before this, Grimsby Town FC had worn blue and white hooped kits, claret and blue shirts, plain white with blue shorts, blue and brown in both half and quarters, ‘Salmon’ Pink and white with a red collar. The Black and White stripes have been consistent within the club barring the 1936 FA Cup Matches, a match against Sunderland on 10th May 1947 and the kit worn between 1960-1963.

http://www.historicalkits.co.uk/Grimsby_Town/Grimsby_Town.htm

1910

1929

The Mariners played in the top flight of English football for 12 seasons 1901-1903, 1929-1932, 1934–1949 and 1947-18, achieving a 5th-place finish in Division One in 1934/35.

1929

1933

Pat Glover holds the record for the most goals scored in a single season in 1933/34. 42 goals in 39 league games and 1 goal in two FA Cup games. Totalling 43 goals in 41 games.

1933

1935

Jackie Bestall, George Tweedy and Harry Betmead were all capped by England between 1935 and 1937.
1935

1936

We have twice reached the semi-finals of the FA Cup, against Arsenal in 1936 and Wolves in 1939.
1936

1937-1939

31,651 v Wolverhampton Wanderers in February 1937 is the biggest attendance at Blundell Park.


Our 1939 FA Cup semi-final attendance of 76,962 versus Wolves at Manchester United’s Old Trafford stadium remains a record.

1937-1939

Pat Glover’s 180 goals in all competitions is the most goals scored by a Mariner.

1951

Bill Shankly was manager between 1951 and 1953. His team made a strong challenge for promotion in 1951/52 but finished three points off Division Three North title.

Talking of his Grimsby team he said “Pound for pound, and class for class, the best football team I have seen in England since the war. In the league they were in, they played football nobody else could play. Everything was measured, planned and perfected and you could not wish to see more entertaining football”.

1951

1954

In 1954 the Mariners became the first English football club to appoint a foreign trainer with the appointment of Hungarian Elemér Berkessy. 

1954

1955

In 1955/56 Allenby Chilton led the Mariners to the Division Three North title. They became the only Club so far to go from seeking re-election to winning a championship in successive seasons.

1955

Arthur Drewry was appointed President of the Football League, Chairman of the Football Association and became the 5th President of FIFA.

1971

Lawrie McMenemy led the Mariners to the Fourth Division title in 1971/72.
1971

1975

Tony Ford became the youngest player to play for the club in 1975 aged 16 and 143 days.
1975

1979

The Mariners won the Third Division title under George Kerr in 1979/80.
1979

1982

The Findus Stand was opened in 1982 at a cost of £1 million. It replaced the Barretts Stand which had been declared unsafe.
1982

1989

Alan Buckley led the Mariners to successive promotions in 1989/90 and 90/91, playing some of the most attractive football ever played by Grimsby teams.
1989

1997

£1.8m for Academy graduate John Oster is the highest transfer fee received in 1997.
1997

1998

During his second spell with the club, Alan Buckley guided the Mariners to Wembley for the first time in the club’s history in 1998 and a ‘Golden Goal’ from Wayne Burnett won the game against AFC Bournemouth in the Auto Windscreens Shield Final. It’s thought that over 30,000 Grimbarians were at the Twin Towers that day. Five weeks later, Town returned to Wembley and beat Northampton Town in the Second Division play-offs to win promotion.
1998

£500,000 is the highest transfer fee paid by the club for Lee Ashcroft in 1998.

The Mariners featured in Division One from 1998 to 2003 and even briefly topped the division at the beginning of the 2001/02 campaign. That season, Phil Jevons scored a spectacular extra-time winner at Anfield to knock cup holders Liverpool out of the League Cup.

John McDermott 754 appearances between 1987 and 2007 is a club record.

2016

After six seasons in the National League, Paul Hurst led the Mariners to promotion via the play-offs in 2016.
2016

2016

Paul Hurst takes over at Shrewsbury Town and Marcus Bignot, Russell Slade, Michael Jolley and Ian Holloway go on to have spells in charge over the next four seasons.
2016

2020

Paul Hurst returns as manager but couldn’t prevent the club returning to the National League in 2021.
2020

2021

Jason Stockwood and Andrew Pettit become the new owners and the Mariners achieve promotion to the EFL thanks to a memorable play-off campaign.
2021

2023

The Mariners become the first team in FA Cup history to knock out five teams from higher divisions to reach a quarter final.
2023

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