Minmi Rangers

Minmi Rangers was Australian football club that was a foundation member of the Northern District British Football Association. It was the most successful club in the competition in the 1880s and 1890s.[1][2]

Minmi Rangers
Full nameMinmi Rangers
Founded1884
LeagueZone League One
WebsiteClub website

History

The story goes that Minmi Rangers FC was formed on 9 September 1884. However there is no primary source reference to this from the period. Minmi Rangers entered the historical record in 1886.[3] Members of the inaugural team were expatriate Scottish coal miners who had settled in Minmi.[1] In 1886 the Rangers had won the first Newcastle & District premiership. They proceeded to win the premierships of 1887, 1888, 1889, 1891, 1892 and 1893.[4] During the same period, they won the knockout Ellis Cup competition in 1886, 1887, 1888, 1890, 1892, 1893, 1895 and 1898.[5]

Recent research by Dr. Jeffrey Green has cast doubt on the year Minmi Rangers was formed. Dr. Green contends that Minmi was probably formed in late 1885 or early 1886 as a result of players from Lambton Thistle moving for work to Minmi. Lambton Thistle was formed in 1885 and played Caledonians from Sydney at Lambton Reserve on 13 June 1885 in the first recorded organised game of football in Northern NSW. Lambton Thistle only played in 1885 and 6 of its players played for Minmi in 1886.[6]

Minmi's biggest triumph came in 1892, when it claimed the Gardiner Cup. The Gardiner Cup was, from 1885 to 1928, the biggest prize in New South Wales football.[7] Minmi 3-0 triumphed in the final against Sydney namesakes, Pyrmont Rangers.[8]

The fortunes of Minmi Rangers FC had dwindled by the turn of the century. No further success would come after 1898. A downturn in the local coal industry saw players depart Minmi, and by 1911 the club had lost its senior competition status.[1]

On a footnote, the last surviving member of the Minmi Rangers "of the 1895 to 1900 period" was Jim Curran, who was "regarded as the greatest scoring winger of all time". His death at the age of 94 in West Wallsend was reported in the Sydney Morning Herald of 8 May 1962 under the headline "Soccer Star Dies, Aged 94". He was also known to be one of the Ellis Cup winners of 1886.

The Wanderers

According to the History of Soccer in NSW, Minmi Wanderers were formed in 1907. Some newspaper references describe them playing in green.

Minmi have made a little resurgence in recent years, making their way up to Zone League One in 2021, the 4th tier in Northern NSW Football and 5th nationally.[9]

See also

References
  1. Grant, Sid (1974). Jack Pollard's Soccer Records. North Sydney: Jack Pollard Pty Ltd. pp. 182–183. ISBN 0909950741.
  2. "About the Team". Minmi Rangers 1884. Retrieved 14 September 2016.
  3. "Minmi Rangers 1884". Minmi Rangers 1884. Retrieved 14 September 2016.
  4. Grant, Sid (1974). Jack Pollard's Soccer Records. North Sydney: Jack Pollard Pty Ltd. p. 185. ISBN 0909950741.
  5. Grant, Sid (1974). Jack Pollard's Soccer Records. North Sydney: Jack Pollard Pty Ltd. pp. 185–186. ISBN 0909950741.
  6. "Minmi Rangers FC".
  7. Grant, Sid (1974). Jack Pollard's Soccer Records. North Sydney: Jack Pollard Pty Ltd. p. 103. ISBN 0909950741.
  8. "Southern British Rules". Referee. 24 August 1892. Retrieved 14 September 2016 – via Trove Australian Newspapers.
  9. "Minmi FC - ⬆️ WERE GOING UP ⬆️ After taking out this years minor premiership, Minmi have been promoted to Zone Premier League 1 for the 2022 season! 👀 Look out ZPL1 👀 MINMI FC is coming for you 💪 Stay tuned for more updates! Newcastle Football | Facebook". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 12 October 2021.
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