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

In 1902 workers in a Newtownards factory formed a football team and they began playing games on a piece of land that now forms part of Newtownards Airport.

In the early years, the club played in lowly amateur leagues, until the outbreak of war in 1914. After the war the club began to develop rapidly and gained entry to the senior Irish League in 1923.

In the same year Ards leased grounds at Castlereagh Park on Portaferry Road and Viscount Castlereagh opened these on 18 August that year. Ards’ first senior game was played in Carrickfergus on Saturday 25th August against Barn United and the side famously recorded a 2-1 win. 

The following Saturday Ards played their first home game and beat visitors Newry Town 1-0. The first season finished with Ards second from bottom of a 10-team league.

Things steadily improved until 1926/27 when many locals believed this would be Ards’ year. A strong early run in the league saw the side eventually finish 5th, though there was to be greater success in the Irish Cup as the side beat Cliftonville in the final to secure the club's first major trophy. In that team was outside right Andy Bothwell, the legendary Northern Ireland international, who had brought great honour to the club when he represented his country.

The next ten years saw very inconsistent performances. Although reaching a few cup finals along the way, the side was struggling in the league and was forced to apply for re-election in 1935/36 after finishing bottom. The club was also suffering financially and but for a £3000 donation from local businessmen, the team might have folded. The outbreak of war in 1939 saw an end to senior football and for the next few Ards played as an intermediate team, collecting two minor trophies along the way.

Once the war ended Ards set about trying to regain entry to the Irish League. Enough funds were eventually raised in time for the team to begin competing again in 1947. A year later Ards welcomed their first English visitors to Castlereagh Park, in the shape of Luton Town who were defeated 2-1 in a friendly match.

the Irish Cup winning side of 1951/52

Ards remained an average side with their final position fluctuating between second last and sixth over the next few seasons. They did produce a number of good players though and several of these including top scorer Norman Case were transferred to English clubs.

George Eastham

Ards again reached the Irish Cup final in 1952 and in front of a 15000 crowd at Windsor Park, Ards defeated the league champions Glentoran. That evening huge crowds filled the streets of Newtownards as the team paraded the trophy on board an open-top bus.

After that Ards made probably their best ever signing by appointing Englishman George Eastham as player-manger. He also brought along with him his son George who was to become one of the best players Ards ever had and was capped many times by England. In 1953 a player arrived from Glentoran by the name of Billy Humphries, a man who now forms part of legend at Ards FC. Ards were now improving under Eastham's management and finished third in the league in 1956/57.

the Castlereagh Park stadium in the 1950s

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.

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.

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.

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

 

Billy Humphries

As the eighties began, the success of the mid-seventies was beginning to seem just a memory, as the side never again regained the promise it had once showed. The club was also losing money and this led to some discontent between the board of directors and some share-holders. This led to a boycott of games and at one such match the attendance was recorded as 63. A number of new faces were brought onto the board and things calmed down for the start of the 82/83 season.

In December of that year Humphries was finally dismissed as manager after not such a poor start to the season and it was well into the nineties before he again set foot inside Castlereagh Park. Jimmy Todd eventually took over the side though could produce no further success for the team and the nineties arrived without a single trophy won during the last decade.

A short-lived spell by the Irish League's most successful ever manager Roy Coyle ended badly as he departed for Derry City. His replacement Paul Malone, although not the most popular manager did lead the team, under David Jeffrey's captaincy, to the Irish Cup final in 1993, where after three games the side was eventually beaten by local rivals Bangor. At Castlereagh Park, improvements were being made with the construction of a new stand and toilet blocks.

the new 500-seat stand, built in 1991

A County Antrim Shield final appearance in late 1993 finally brought an end to the trophy famine and after 19 years Ards had some silverware to polish following a 4-2 victory over Crusaders.

The League Cup followed the following year, both trophies won under Roy Coyle, who had returned to the club. There was unrest brewing on the terraces for a number of seasons after that though and many were calling for the replacement of the board, which seemed unable to keep up with the demands of supporters.

Financial problems were being highlighted and in 1998 the directors proposed to the shareholders that the Castlereagh Park ground should be sold to pay off debts and the remaining money used to build a new stadium. This was agreed though the contract and amount received for the ground was kept secret. Those directors were replaced in 2000 by a new consortium of businessmen, who had hoped to save the club but they too soon departed.

2000-01 First Division Champions

Relegation from the top flight of the Irish League was followed by three years in the First Division before Trevor Anderson finally lead his side back to the big time by winning the First Division in 2000/01.

The truth about the ground sale emerged and it was discovered Ards would have quite a fight to gain any of the money agreed for. The club had been given notice to quit Castlereagh Park by the new owners and for a season Ards played games at Solitude in Belfast. An agreement with new ground owners Morrisons of Scotland ensured Ards their payday, though the money was used paying off creditors whose bills just seemed to be increasing.

With little left to build a new stadium Ards found themselves homeless and in 2002/03 played 'home' games in Carrickfergus. A partnership with the local council should lead to a new stadium being built in Newtownards, the envy of the league, but as of the 2008/9 season Ards continue to play as the nomads of Irish League football.

diggers move onto Castlereagh Park in 2002

PHOTOS: Adrian Monaghan: Early Ards, 40s programme, 1952 team, 50s Glenavon, George Eastham, 50s Castlereagh Park, 1958 team, Billy Humphries, Lee stand Andrew McCullough: Billy McAvoy, 1974 team,  Castlereagh Park demolition Billy Graham: Eindhoven BBC: 1st Division

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