Wigan Borough
Formed 1920. Wound up 1931.
Founder member of Division Three (North) 1921. Resigned 1931.
Kit History
1921-1923 a
1923-1924 a c
1925-1926 a b
late 1920s a
circa 1930 a
Background
Wigan Association FC came into being in October 1920
when Wigan United, an amateur club, was forced to close down after it was
discovered that they had been making "broken time" payments
to players. The new club took over United's fixtures in the Lancashire
Combination and in November 1920, the Lancashire FA agreed the club could
change its name to Wigan Borough. This was largely in order to avoid confusion
with the famous Wigan RLFC, the town's Rugby League club.
The following season Borough applied to join the new Third Division (North)
of the Football League, despite finishing next to last in the Combination.
Remarkably, Borough were elected, the league clubs being keen to penetrate
into this rugby stronghold. The team's best performances were in 1923,
when they finished in fifth place, and 1929 (fourth). Otherwise, the team
generally finished well down the league. 
The team photograph shown here reveals that the team wore the coat of arms of the Wigan as their crest in 1925-26 but it is unclear if it was worn at any other time.
As the Great Depression took hold, the Wigan public remained resolutely disinterested, preferring to support their successful rugby league side. Home gates dwindled to a few thousand (only 600 turned up to watch Gateshead in a snowstorm at the end of January 1931) and Borough were struggling to pay their players' wages at the end of the 1930-31 season.
With twelve matches of the 1930-31 season played, Borough had lost every match away from home and picked up seven points from their six home games but the players were again without their wages. Following an ultimatum from The Football League the directors decided to resign from the League. A statement was issued that read, "We have no hesitation in saying that the Association Football public in Wigan have shown once again that they have no desire to maintain League Football in Wigan." Their record was expunged and Wigan Borough went into voluntary liquidation.
In May 1932 a new club, Wigan Athletic was founded but it would another 56 years before League football would return to the town, a delay that was in some measure due to the statement about local support made by Borough's directors.
While Borough generally wore amber and black halves throughout the career in the League, there is evidence that they played in red and white during the 1923-24 season and they may have worn plain white tops in the late 1920s.
Sources
- (a) Ultimate Wigan Athletic Website
- (b) David Roughley
- (c) Keith Ellis
Crest and photograph courtesy of Ultimate Wigan Athletic Website.