Darlington F.C.
Darlington F.C. are an English football team based in the English town of Darlington, currently playing in Football League Two. Their nickname is the Quakers, in reference to the religious movement that had a historic influence on the town.
The club plays at Williamson Motors Stadium, a 27,500-seat stadium that opened in 2003. The club previously played at Feethams, which is located close to the historic town centre. The new ground is named after a local Peugeot car dealership under a sponsorship deal. Originally named the Reynolds Arena, after former chairman George Reynolds, it was renamed the New Stadium in April 2004, and received the current name on August 18th 2004.
The club has been in administration since December 23rd 2003.
Darlington Football Club was founded at Darlington Grammar School in 1883. In 1889 it joined the new Northern League, which they won in 1896 and 1900. The club turned professional in 1908 and joined the North Eastern League.
In 1919/1920 the side managed to finish second in the North Eastern League and the following year were champions. This was a stroke of good look as their victory coincided with the forming of the Northern third division, which Darlington were elected to. Their first season in Division 3 was a successful one and they ended up in 2nd place. In 1925, they were champions and won promotion to division 2 but were relegated two seasons later.
In 1957/1958 they attained their best ever FA Cup run, reaching the last 16. This was not enough to stop them being put into the new division 4 with the reorganisation of the League. In 1966, they won promotion to Division 3 after finishing the season as runners-up, but were relegated the following year. In 1982, the club faced a financial crisis but survived thanks in part to winning promotion by finishing third in the league two years later.
In 1989, the team finished bottom of the league and was relegated to the Conference. However, they were only there for one season before winning promotion once more. The next season they were again champions winning division 4 - yet again, they lasted only two seasons in Division 3.
They have remained in the Third Division (now Football League Two) to this day. In the 1999/2000 season, they reached the playoff final.
