Radcliffe F.C.

History

The club was formed on 24 May 1949 at the Owd Tower Inn in Radcliffe by Jack Pickford and a committee of 17 and became a member of the South East Lancashire Football League. It had two players (Tommy Entwistle and Bert Nutter), £1.2s.6d (£1.12½p) in the bank, and no ground, but arranged to lease a field off Ashworth Street for two years. In 1951–52 the club moved across Eton Hill Road to a pitch on Betley Street leased from the Earl of Wilton. The following year the club turned the pitch 180 degrees parallel with Bright Street which became the name of the ground.

After a short period in the South East Lancashire League, the club joined the Manchester League, playing against the 'A' teams of four professional clubs: Manchester United, Manchester City, Stockport County and Bury. The home game against Manchester Utd was lost 5-1 but three weeks later Boro’ won the return game at The Cliff 1-0 against the Busby Babes - their only home defeat in two seasons. In 1955–56, Boro’ had their best finish in second place and in 1956–57 they finished third. In 1958–59, they reached the Manchester Junior Cup Final at Old Trafford losing to Cheadle Rovers by the only goal. Five days later they faced Cheadle Rovers again, in the William Gilgryst Cup Final at Bury; the game finished 0–0 after which the Cup was shared for six months each. In 1961–62, Boro’ again reached the Gilgryst Cup Final against Buxton Reserves at Ashton United's ground but lost 1–2 AET.

In 1963–64 the Club joined the Lancashire Combination Division 2, a great wish of club founder Jack Pickford. In August 1966, the club was informed it would have to leave Bright Street and find another ground after the Earl of Wilton decided to sell the land to the Ministry of Housing. In 1968–69, having been refused a site on Bury Road in Radcliffe, the club moved to the White House sports ground on Middleton Road (outside Bowker Vale tram stop), owned by Manchester Corporation Transport Dept. A new ground was then found in Stainton Park; the old wooden stands were brought from Bright Street and erected at the new ground and a pitch was laid in June 1969.

In 1970, Radcliffe won the League Cup and finished third in the league. After one further season it was accepted into the Cheshire County League, but throughout the rest of the 1970s the team struggled and were finally relegated to Div 2 in 1979–80. The Cheshire County League subsequently became the North West Counties League and that change saw an upturn in fortunes for 'The Boro'.

Women's team

In 1994-95, the first Radcliffe Borough Ladies team appeared at Stainton Park, after Bury Girls & Ladies joined the club and changed their name accordingly. The women competed in the North West Women's Regional League for three seasons under the Radcliffe Borough name, before re-establishing their links with Bury F.C. and taking Bury's name in 1997.

History somewhat repeated itself in 2023–24 when Bury Foundation Women established links with Radcliffe FC, moved to Stainton Park and changing their name to Radcliffe Women. They currently compete in the North West Women's Regional League under the management of Steve Jones, with a reserve team in the Lancashire Women's County League and an under-18s side in the Greater Manchester Women's Football League.

In the intervening years Blackburn Rovers W.F.C. played for a few seasons at Radcliffe's ground, Stainton Park.

Players

As of 17 August 2026

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

Notable players

The following players played for Radcliffe/Boro and later went on to sign for clubs in the Football League, Scottish Football League, MLS, A-League, I-League or played internationally while at the club.

Gary Curtis

Craig Dawson

Steve Fleet

Kole Hall

Raheem Hanley

Niell Hardy

Brian Hart

Jimmy Hayman

Kevin Hulme

Bob Hutchinson

Lamin Jagne

Lois Maynard

Jack McIntyre

Paul Mullin

Billy Myerscough

Tunde Owolabi

Andy Parry

Rory Patterson

Gary Pierce

Dennis Jones

Edward Rayner

Mark Redshaw

Domaine Rouse

Darren Sheridan

Jordan Slew

Sean Tse

Isaac Lee

Honours

League

Northern Premier League Premier Division

Champions: 2023–24

Northern Premier League Division One

Champions: 1996–97

Play-off winners: 2002–03 2018–19

North West Counties League First Division

Champions: 1984–85

North West Counties League Second Division

Champions: 1982–83

North West Counties League Reserve Division

Champions: 1986–87

Manchester Football League Division Two

Runners-up: 1965–66

Northern Football Combination

Winners: 1991–92

South East Lancashire League Division One

Runners-up: 1949–50, 1950-51

South East Lancashire League Division Two

Champions: 1950–51

Cup

FA Cup Best - First Round Proper: 2000–01

FA Trophy Best - Third Round (Last 16) : 1995–96

FA Vase Best - Fourth Round: 1993–94

Lancashire FA County Cup

Finalists: 2008–09, 2016–17

Manchester Premier Cup

Winners: 2007–08, 2022–23

Finalists: 1997–98

Manchester Senior Cup

Finalists: 1972-73

Manchester Junior Cup

Finalists: 1958–59

Northern Premier League President's Cup

Finalists: 2007–08

North West Counties League Challenge Cup

Finalists: 1984–85

Lancashire Combination League Cup

Winners: 1969–70

Lancashire Combination League George Watson Trophy

Finalists: 1970–71

Manchester League Gylchrist Cup

Winners: 1958–59 (joint)

Finalists: 1961–62

South East Lancashire League Shield

Players

The club has performed exceptionally well in the Northern Premier League's Player awards since their inception in 2011. The following players have picked up the following prizes:

Jordan Hulme - Player of Season (Premier) - 2023–24, Team of the Season (Premier) - 2023–24, Third in Supporters Player award - 2023–24

Elliot Rokka – Young Player of the Season (North Division) – 2017, Supporters Player Runner Up - 2017. Team of the Season - 2017

Tunde Owolabi – League Supporters Player of the Season – 2019, Team of the Season - 2019

Nick Culkin – Team of the Season - 2011, 2012

Sheldon Barrington – Academy Player of the Season - 2019

Callum Grogan – Team of the Season - 2019

6 Players were also represented in the Northern Premier League's Top 100 players named for its 50th Anniversary - Andy Johnston (7th), Craig Dawson (14th), Karl Marginson (62nd), Jody Banim (65th), Cieran Kilheeney (66th), Simon Carden (93rd)

Managers

John Pearson (1949–1953)

John Bradshaw (1953–1954)

David Robbie (1954–1955)

Harry Cunliffe (1955–1963)

Archie Lennon (1963–1964)

John Pimlott (1964–1968)

Les Grimsditch (1968–1969)

Ray Gill (1969–1973)

Don Wilson (1973–1974)

Ken Wright (1974–1978)

Tommy McLoughlin (1978–1979)

George Jones (1979–1980)

Dave Morris (1980–1986)

Frank O'Kane (1986–1987)

Ken Bridge (1988–1989)

Len Cantello (1989–1990)

Ken Wright (June-Nov 1990)

Kevin Glendon (1990–2006)

Frankie Bunn (March–May 1998)*

Mike Farrelly (Dec 2001–2002)*

Andy Johnston (2006-2007)

Peter Coyne (2007-2008)

Kevin Glendon (2008–2010)

Gerry Luczka (2010–2011)

Benny Phillips (2011–2013)

Statistics and records

Appearances

Simon Kelly has made the most appearances for the club, making 502 starts.

Goals

Ian Lunt has scored the most goals for the club, scoring 147 times.

The record for the most goals in a season is 46 by Jody Banim.

Biggest win

11-0 v New Mills - Cheshire County League Division Two - Wed 21 April 1982

Biggest defeat

11-0 v Witton Albion - Cheshire County League Division One - Sat 28 October 1978

Attendances

The highest home attendance was during the 2024/25 FA Cup, where their first ever competitive meeting against Bury FC ended up with a sold out attendance of 2800.

Transfer fees

The highest transfer fee received was from Shrewsbury Town for £20,000 for Jody Banim; however, the club has received more in add on fees from the sale of Craig Dawson to Rochdale AFC although the total sum remains undisclosed.

The highest transfer fee paid was for Gary Walker for whom they paid £5,000 to Buxton.

Cup runs

Best FA Cup performance: First round, 2000–01

Best FA Trophy performance: Fourth round, 2023–24, 2024–25

Best FA Vase performance: Fourth round 1993–94 (replay)