Gorleston F.C.

Did You Know?

• The club's record attendance of 4,473 was set during an FA Cup first round replay against Orient on 29 November 1951.
• Emerald Park, the club's home from 1982, was destroyed by an arson attack on 13 November 2022.

History

The club was formed on 27 September 1887 by members of Gorleston Cricket Club seeking a winter sport. Initially nicknamed the "Cards", they wore crimson shirts and blue shorts. Their first competitive match was a 1–0 loss to Beccles Caxton in the Suffolk Senior Cup, as Gorleston was then part of Suffolk. In 1900 they joined the Aldred League, and in 1903 switched to green shirts and white shorts.

They won the Aldred League in 1905–06 with fifteen wins and one draw from sixteen matches. The following season they took the Norfolk Junior Cup. The Aldred League then became the Yarmouth & District League, which Gorleston won in its first season, winning all fourteen matches. They then moved to the Norfolk & Suffolk League.

In 1909–10 they briefly fielded a team in Division One North of the East Anglian League. Gorleston won the Norfolk & Suffolk League in 1920–21 and were runners-up for three consecutive seasons, also winning the Norfolk Senior Cup in 1921–22 and 1922–23. They achieved a league and cup double in 1925–26. After further league runner-up finishes and Senior Cup wins, they claimed the league title again in 1929–30.

They were runners-up and Senior Cup winners in 1930–31, then won four straight league titles from 1931–32 to 1934–35, also taking the East Anglian Cup in 1931–32 and the Senior Cup in 1932–33. In 1935 Gorleston became a founder member of the Eastern Counties League. Their last pre-war trophy was the Senior Cup in 1937–38, a 3–0 victory over local rivals Great Yarmouth Town. After the war they won the Senior Cup again in 1951.

In 1951–52 they reached the FA Cup first round for the first time, drawing with Leyton Orient twice before losing 5–4 in a second replay at Highbury Stadium, having been 4–1 down.

Ground

The club moved to the Recreation Ground in 1889, playing their first match there on 9 November, a 2–0 win over Yarmouth St Pauls. The record attendance of 4,473 was set during the 1951 FA Cup first round replay against Orient. In 1982 they left for Emerald Park. In November 2019 they announced plans to move to a site at East Norfolk Sixth Form College, but the college refused permission for a clubhouse. In July 2022 they agreed to play at Lowestoft Town's Crown Meadow for 2022–23. Emerald Park was destroyed by arson on 13 November 2022. Ahead of 2023–24, they began a groundshare with Great Yarmouth Town at the Wellesley Recreation Ground. In December 2024 they agreed a deal with Great Yarmouth Borough Council to return to Gorleston Recreation Ground, with youth teams returning immediately.