We are Latics

Oldham Athletic Association Football Club are based at Boundary Park, on Furtherwood Road, Oldham, Greater Manchester, England. The club currently is in Football League One. They have been in this league since their relegation from the Premier League in 1997. They started life as Pine Villa F.C. in 1895, which played in local Manchester and Lancashire leagues. When rivals Oldham County F.C. folded in 1899, Pine Villa F.C. moved into their stadium, the Oldham Athletic Ground (now known as Boundary Park) and changed their name to Oldham Athletic. They were Football League runners-up in the 1914–15 season, the last before the outbreak of the First World War, but were relegated from the Football League First Division in 1923. They reached the 1990 Football League Cup Final and won the Football League Second Division title in 1991, ending 68 years outside the top tier of English football. They secured their top division status a year later to become founder members of the new Premier League, but were relegated after two seasons despite reaching that year’s FA Cup Semi-finals.
THE START AND THE WARS
Pine Villa Football Club was formed in 1895, though the club changed its appearance and name in 1899 to Oldham Athletic Football Club. The New Boys immediately gained professional status and played in both the Lancashire Combination and Lancashire League. Unlike many clubs, Oldham Athletic gained quick success and gained acceptance into the Football League in 1907–08. After three years in the Second Division, Oldham Athletic gained promotion to the top flight.
Within a few seasons, Oldham had announced themselves a serious force finishing 4th in the league in 1912–13, and reaching the F.A. Cup semi-finals the same season, losing out 1–0 versus Aston Villa. In 1914–15, the Latics reached the quarter-finals of the FA Cup but were knocked out once again after a 0–3 replay against Sheffield United. In the league that season they almost won it all; Oldham Athletic lost the league by one point, as close as they have ever come to winning the league. Oldham Athletic early success was only halted by the Great War of 1914 1918, killing so many..
Following the end of the War and there was a return of competitive football, Oldham Athletic could not find their early success before they returned to the Second Division in 1923,it took 68 years before they played in top flight football again.

Oldham Athletic played an Ace card, buy appointing a player who use to be a captain of England, Hardwick’s appointment cost £15,000 transfer fee paid to Middlesbrough. This was a very large amount Money, especially for a club at that time,remember they were a third division out fit now, but it was to get the town and its fans, looking forward to seeing a man who use to captain England only two years previously. the club’s luck had returned, with In Hardwick’s first full season in charge they finished 4th after topping the table for a considerable time. Home gates stayed high, with an amazing 33,450 watching a 1–0 win over local rivals Stockport County in March 1952, after a January game in the snow had established a new club scoring record when Chester City were beaten 11–2. Eric Gemmell scored seven of these to establish an individual club record for one game which still stands to date. The season after, Oldham Athletic proudly finished champions of the division and won promotion to the Second Division this had taken many hard years and a toll on the lattices. Now faced with a old squad and little money to recruit new players, but however, this only lead to a season that was a massive disappointment. Only eight games won, Oldham finished in last place and quickly returned to the Third Division North, where a first equally disappointing season saw them finish no higher than 10th,this was not good enough.

Hardwick resigned in 1955 and between then and 1960, they continued to struggle, finishing below the top 20 on three occasions. With a 15th place finish in 1958–59, Oldham became a founding member of a newly formed Fourth Division. In the following season they finished in the 23rd position – their lowest position in the entire League, and had to apply for reelection, which they passed as the League chose to drop Gateshead, who had finished above them, in favour of newcomers Peterborough United.
Then there was Ken Bates who entered the picture at Oldham Athletic in the early 1960s, and along with the appointment of manager Jack Rowley, the club’s fortunes turned for the better Mr Bates was starting on his journey into football’s History books. During the 1962–63 season, Oldham Athletic again gained promotion to the Third Division as Rowley left as manager. Over the next six seasons, Oldham struggled with consistency in the league and at the manager position with Les McDowall, Gordon Hurst and Jimmy McIlroy all spending time at the managerial position.
In the 1968–69, Jack Rowley once more returned as manager. With their inconsistency, Rowley and Mr Bates could not save the club from a last place finish and inevitable relegation yet again. Midway through the 1969–70 season, Rowley and Mr Bates both left the club. With the appointment of Jimmy Frizzell became the Latics new boss,a position he held for the next 13 seasons.
Players had Retired from football or had been killed in the war. Their highest success came in the 1929–30 season as they finished in 3rd, missing out on promotion by finishing two points behind Chelsea F.C. From that point they fell down the league table like a shot solider from The Great War, until a final placing of 21st at the end of the 1934–35 season, got them relegated to the Third Division North. This new division was much more to their liking, ending up 7th in their first season and following this with three seasons in the top five. Promotion back to the Second Division looked like it might just be on the cards, but yet again History repeats its self with the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939 this brought an end to there dreams and League Football. Players’ contracts were terminated as they joined up. So having to rely largely on other players who were not fighting the War, the club was to play on in the war-time Northern League until August 1946.

End Of The War’s, End of the Lucky Latics
Seeing competitive football back after the troubled War years, there was to be no luck for Oldham Athletic. They finished 19th in the first league season after the war and manager Frank Womack resigned. In spite of reaching a more respectable 6th place under his successor Billy Wooton in 1949, it wasn’t until the appointment of George Hardwick as player-manager in November 1950 that the club found a new lease of life, after a run of bad results.

Oldham Athletic played an Ace card, buy appointing a player who use to be a captain of England, Hardwick’s appointment cost £15,000 transfer fee paid to Middlesbrough. This was a very large amount Money, especially for a club at that time,remember they were a third division out fit now, but it was to get the town and its fans, looking forward to seeing a man who use to be a captain of England only two years previously. the club’s luck had returned, with In Hardwick’s first full season in charge they finished 4th after topping the table for a considerable time. Home gates stayed high, with an amazing 33,450 watching a 1–0 win over local rivals Stockport County in March 1952, after a January game in the snow, they had established a new club scoring record when Chester City were beaten 11–2. Eric Gemmell scored seven of these to establish an individual club record for one game which still stands to date. The season after, Oldham Athletic proudly finished champions of the division and won promotion to the Second Division this had taken many hard years and a toll on the latices. Now faced with an ageing squad and little money to recruit new players, but however, this only lead to a season that was a massive disappointment, with only eight games won, Oldham finished in last place and quickly returned to the Third Division North, where a first equally disappointing season saw them finish no higher than 10th, this was not good enough.
Hardwick resigned in 1955 and between then and 1960, they continued to struggle, finishing below the top 20 on three occasions. With a 15th place finish in 1958–59, Oldham became a founding member of a newly formed Fourth Division. In the following season they finished in the 23rd position – their lowest position in the entire League, and had to apply for reelection, which they passed as the League chose to drop Gateshead, who had finished above them, and newcomers Peterborough United.
Then there was Ken Bates who entered the picture at Oldham Athletic in the early 1960s, and along with the appointment of manager Jack Rowley, the club’s fortunes turned for the better Mr Bates was starting on his journey into football’s History books. During the 1962–63 season, Oldham Athletic again gained promotion to the Third Division as Rowley left as manager. Over the next six seasons, Oldham struggled with consistency in the league and at the manager position with Les McDowall, Gordon Hurst and Jimmy McIlroy all spending time at the managerial position.
In the 1968–69, Jack Rowley once more returned as manager. With their inconsistency, Rowley and Mr Bates could not save the club from a last place finish and inevitable relegation yet again. Midway through the 1969–70 season, Rowley and Mr Bates both left the club. With the appointment of Jimmy Frizzell became the Latics new boss,a position he held for the next 13 seasons.