Founded in October 1864, Wrexham AFC holds the impressive title of the oldest professional football club in Wales. Having been in the spotlight recently due to the purchase of the club by the Hollywood icons, Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenny, the rich and lengthy history of the club is often overlooked which is why this video aims to shed some light on the history of Wrexham AFC.
Early Years
Wrexham AFC was founded in 1864, making them the third oldest professional football club in the world, by members of the Wrexham Cricket Club who wanted a sport that they could play during the winter months. Around this time, the rules of football were still a bit murky and so early Wrexham AFC games were often played with abnormal numbers of players, such as in one game against Chester College where there were 16 players on each team!
Upon the creation of the Football Association of Wales, Wrexham AFC joined the Combination League where they remained until 1905, having won the league 4 times. The creation of the FAW also gave rise to the Welsh Cup in which Wrexham have had considerable success.
After a fairly brief, 15-year spell in the Birmingham and District League, Wrexham AFC were elected to play in the Third Division North. During their first season in the Third Division North, Ted Regan became the first player to score a hat-trick for Wrexham AFC.
As Wrexham was a barracks town during the Second World War, Wrexham AFC were able to enlist the help of some extremely talented guest players, such as the English legend Stanley Matthews.
Post-WW2
Wrexham AFC got off to a promising start once football had restarted after the war, placing 3rd in the Third Division North, and, in 1949, the club went on its first-ever international tour, playing 3 games against the British Army in Germany.
Upon reaching the fourth round of the FA Cup in 1956, Wrexham AFC were presented with the opportunity to face Manchester United’s Busby Babes and the ensuing match drew a record 34,000-person crowd to The Racecourse Ground. The following 5-0 defeat may not have been the result Wrexham were looking for but provided a welcomed influx of cash to the club, allowing them to fund a project to increase the capacity of The Racecourse Ground to 40,000.
The following period of time between 1960-1970 proved to be a mixed one for Wrexham AFC with the side yo-yo-ing between the third and fourth division before finishing rock bottom of the football league in 1966 after the club’s worst ever season.
The September of 1972 saw Wrexham’s maiden foray into European football, with a 3-2 win on aggregate against FC Zurich, leading the side to progress into the second round of the UEFA Cup Winners Cup.
Around this time, the club saw a change in the badge to the current badge which alludes more strongly to the Welsh roots of the club than the previous one did.
Later Years
The 1980s were again a time of suffering for Wrexham AFC fans as history seemingly repeated itself with a string of relegations fuelled by financial turmoil, culminating in a rock-bottom finish in the 1984-85 season for Wrexham once again.
The only silver lining to this disastrous season was a 4-4 win on away goals against FC Porto in European competition.
For the next five years, Wrexham floundered at the bottom of the league system in a dire financial state before an upturn in fortunes incited by the hiring of Gary Bennett and beginning with an iconic victory against Arsenal in the FA Cup.
The uptick in form bought about by Gary Bennett allowed Wrexham AFC to become promotion contenders, coming to a head in the 1993-94 season when they secured promotion to the 3rd tier of English football.
From this season onwards, Wrexham had considerable success in the FA Cup with several extraordinary cup runs, the most notable of which ended with a narrow defeat to Chesterfield in the quarter-finals of the cup.
The start of the 21st century was marred by troubles both on and off the pitch with the then chairman Alex Hamilton attempting to evict the club from the Racecourse Ground and £2,600,000 of debt causing an unfortunate chain of events whereby the club was placed into administration followed by a 10-point penalization which thus condemned the club to relegation from League One.
The club never fully recovered from these events and the 2007-08 season saw the end of Wrexham’s 87-year stay in the Football League system as they were relegated to the Conference League.
Recent Times
In 2011 the club became supporter owned and the side has remained in the conference league up until the present day.
The side reached the play-off semi-finals in the 2021-22 where they narrowly lost 5-4 to Grimsby Town after extra time.
Wrexham AFC have been in the limelight recently due to the acquisition of the club by Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenny.
The Racecourse Ground
It is not only the club of Wrexham AFC that has a rich history but also the long-time stadium of the side, the Racecourse Ground. The stadium is the world’s oldest international stadium that still hosts international games having hosted its first international match in 1877 when Wales played Scotland in a friendly.
The Racecourse Ground has opened in 1807, but has started hosting football matches in 1864, the history of the site’s usage spans much further back than that because, as the name suggests, the stadium is located on the site of an old racecourse that held races from the early 1700s.
Wrexham AFC Honours
Wrexham AFC have had brief domestic success in their long history. Their main successes are winning the 1977-78 Third Division North and being four-time winners of the Combination League. However, Wrexham’s main success has been in the Welsh Cup which they have won a record 23 times.
Greatest Moments
Wrexham AFC have been prevalent “giant killers” in the FA Cup, having conquered the mighty Arsenal in their iconic 2-1 victory during the 1991-92 season.
Wrexham also defeated the top-flight side Middlesborough once again by 2 goals to 1 in the FA Cup.
Another historic moment in the club’s history was their 10-1 trouncing of Hartlepool United which remains a club record to this day.
Slightly more recently, Wrexham’s promotion to the 2nd tier of English football in the 1977-78 season through a 7-1 win against Rotherham United was undoubtedly a special moment for Wrexham AFC fans.
The Future
Currently, prospects are looking up at Wrexham AFC. The club has profited greatly from the purchase of the club by Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenny as evidenced by the side reaching the semi-finals of the promotion play-offs and with the recent release of the docuseries “Welcome to Wrexham”, the club will undoubtedly benefit from the increased international exposure. It would not be a surprise if in one of the coming seasons Wrexham AFC end their long stint in the National League and clinch a much-deserved promotion.
