Ards FC History

adapted from Ards Football Club - The Official History 
1923-1988 by Robert Magee

continued...

the solitary league championship winning side of 1957-58

The following season and everything Ards had been dreaming of was realised. They fought a close league campaign with Lurgan side Glenavon, eventually taking the championship with a record of WON 16 DRAWN 4 LOST 2. The club's reserve side also won their own league trophy that season. As league champions Ards entered the following season’s European Cup where they faced Stade de Reims of France, whose side included the World Cup's greatest ever scorer Juste Fontaine.

Fontaine scored all four goals in the first leg as Ards were beaten 4-1 at Windsor Park and the second leg in France ended 6-2 to the home team. In between those games Leeds United had paid for the services of Billy Humphries and he made his first transfer across the water. Eastham departed the club after seven years to manage Accrington Stanley in England though returned to the club in 1964 amid terrible playing fortunes for the side.

action from an encounter with Glenavon in 1956

Ards were unearthing many new players around this time as they signed Billy Nixon from Shrewsbury while Ray Mowat, Billy McAvoy, Ronnie McAteer and Davy McCoy were emerging from the youth team. In 1966 Ards purchased Castlereagh Park outright for £1100. Secretary at this time was a man named Harry Cavan, who would go on to become one of the most powerful men in world football as Vice-President of FIFA from 1960-1990.

The side was gradually improving as the players mentioned above began to gel and in 1969 Ards won their third Irish Cup, defeating Distillery 4-1 after extra-time. Billy McAvoy scored all four Ards goals, one of only two men to achieve this feat. He went on to score 301 goals for Ards, a record that may well never be beaten. For that Ards earned a place in the European Cup Winners' Cup and a tie with AS Roma. Ards won all the praise for the first leg managing to keep the score to 0-0, though they lost the return game at the Olympic Stadium 3-1.

Billy McAvoy

Eastham was dismissed as manager in 1970 and was replaced as player-manager by Billy Humphries who had returned from England. Ards were being noted for the great football they were playing, yet somehow were failing to gain any actual success. With a poor season for both of the traditional top sides Linfield and Glentoran in 1972/73 that allowed the Ards challenge to rise and eventually finish second to Crusaders in the league championship.

That led to a UEFA Cup appearance and a match with Belgian side Standard Liege. The first leg at home saw 8000 fans witness an historic 3-2 victory, Ards’ only ever victory in Europe. The second leg result was a disappointment though as Ards lost 6-1. The following year good times continued and they embarked on their most successful season ever.

1973/74 saw Ards win their greatest haul of four trophies under player-manager Billy Humphries. Perhaps the greatest ever Ards squad formed the famous 'four-trophy team' and won the Ulster and Gold Cups, the Irish Cup and an all-Ireland trophy, the Blaxnit Cup. The Irish Cup final saw Ards play Ballymena at Windsor Park and win the trophy for the fourth and final time with a 2-1 victory.

the 1973-74 'four-trophy' team

A couple of weeks later and Ards were defeating Finn Harps and Drogheda on their way to the Blaxnit Cup final against Ballymena. A 3-1 win finished off a superb season for Ards and the Blaxnit trophy remains with Ards today.

A disastrous meeting with PSV Eindhoven in the Cup Winners’ Cup the following year saw Ards lose 14-1 on aggregate and several of the players who had made up the successful 1973/74 team began to leave the club. For the 74/75 season Ards produced their official Ardsview match programme for the first time. Between 1976-79 Ards finished in a league position of third for four successive seasons.

the Eindhoven side arrive at Castlereagh Park in 1974

Part three