South Shore F.C.

The club was established as (Blackpool) South Shore in 1879.[1] They entered the FA Cup for the first time in 1882–83, losing 5–2 at Darwen Ramblers.[1] In 1885–86 they reached the quarter-finals of the FA Cup, eventually losing 2–1 to Slough-based Swifts.[2] By the late 1880s South Shore were the biggest club in Blackpool.[1] In 1888 they joined the Combination, a league set up after the Football League. However, the Combination was run chaotically and was disbanded in April 1889.[1] During the 1888–89 FA Cup the club was drawn away to Chatham Town in the first round, but arrived to discover that the match was played on an open field where no admission was taken to cover their transport costs; after a complaint was filed with the Lancashire County Football Association, the Football Association changed FA Cup entry rules to require clubs to play matches in an enclosed ground.[1]

At the end of the first season of the Football League, a re-election process was held, with the bottom four of the league challenged by applicants for membership in a vote held on 3 May 1889.[1] South Shore applied for election, but received no votes, as all four League clubs were re-elected.[3] While most other unsuccessful applicants joined the Football Alliance, South Shore opted not to join a league, instead playing friendlies and cup matches. This allowed local rivals Blackpool, who had been playing in the Lancashire League since 1889, to become the dominant club in the town.[1] South Shore also joined the Lancashire League in 1891.

In 1896 Blackpool applied for Football League membership, and prior to the vote, an agreement was made by the two clubs to amalgamate if Blackpool were successful. However, after Blackpool were voted into the League, South Shore pulled out of the deal.[1] The club finished bottom of the Lancashire League in 1898–99, a season which also saw Blackpool voted out of the league. Both clubs began the 1899–1900 season in the Lancashire League, but in the evening after a local derby between the two clubs on 9 December, an agreement was made for South Shore to merge into Blackpool, with their league record expunged.[2]

The club initially played on a ground off Lytham Avenue, before later moving to Cow Gap Lane.[1] A 300-seat stand was erected, although the remainder of the ground was largely undeveloped.[1] In October 1899 they moved to Bloomfield Road. When the club merged into Blackpool in December, Blackpool relocated to Bloomfield Road from their Raikes Hall ground.[4]

• Best FA Cup performance: Quarter-finals, 1885–86[2]