FIGHTING LIKE TIGERS

HYDE FC, who were founded in 1885, will always be remembered for their 26-0 FA Cup defeat by
Preston in 1887. But they enjoyed a purple patch in the 1890s, winning four championships.
The club moved to Ewen Fields in 1906 after merging with Hyde St George’s.
After the First World War Hyde were refounded as Hyde United. They won five Manchester League
championships and this took them into the Cheshire League in 1930.
In 1954 Hyde reached the first round of the FA Cup, losing to Bill Shankly’s Workington. In the following two
seasons they clinched back-to-back Cheshire League titles.
Hyde’s nickname, the Tigers, was adopted in 1969 when they were founder members of the Northern Premier
League and fought like Tigers. However, they struggled financially and rejoined the Cheshire League.
In 1981-82, managed by Les Sutton, they swept the Cheshire League board and returned to the NPL. They
reached the first round of the FA Cup in 1983, losing at Burnley. In the late 1980s, playing on a Baspograss pitch,
the Tigers enjoyed great success under Pete O’Brien.
When Mike McKenzie took over in 1994 they played Darlington in the FA Cup first
round and reached two FA Trophy semi-finals. Grass was reinstated in 1995.
Hyde were relegated to the NPL first division in 2003 but won the title at the first attempt. They were league champions the next season.
Difficult times followed in National League North. Hyde were wound up for a week in 2009 and a deal allowing Manchester City to use Ewen Fields led to the club briefly dropping the United suffix and traditional red shirts.
Under Gary Lowe, the Tigers began the 2011-12 campaign with ten consecutive wins on the way to being crowned champions and achieving promotion to the national division.
In 2017 Hyde reached the first round of the FA Cup, losing to Milton Keynes at Ewen Fields in a game televised by the BBC. Hyde United now play in the NPL premier division as a community club with a state-of-the-art 3G surface.
Mike Pavasovitch

Images: Hyde United win National League North title 2012 –
Paul Prole Photography
1982 Hyde United side that won Cheshire League treble
Hyde United captain Arthur Parkes in 1922 with Manchester
League championship trophy (left) and Manchester
Junior Cup