Gainsborough Trinity F.C.

The club was established in 1873 as Trinity Recreationists by the Reverend George Langton Hodgkinson, vicar of Holy Trinity parish, Gainsborough. In 1889 the club were founder members of the Midland League, which they won in 1890–91. The club finished as runners-up the following season and again in 1895–96, after which they applied for election to the Football League. In the vote they finished third, ahead of existing members Port Vale and Crewe Alexandra, and were elected into the Second Division. The club's first season in Division Two of the League saw them finish seventh, but a gradual decline in form saw them finish in the bottom half of the table every season until 1904. In 1901–02 Trinity finished bottom of the division, but were re-elected. In 1904–05 the club finished sixth in Division Two, their best performance during their Football League membership. The club returned to the Midland League, finishing third in 1912–13 and second in 1913–14, The club won the Midland League title in 1927–28, and the following season defeated Football League opposition in the FA Cup for the first time since losing their League status, beating Crewe 3–1 in the first round, before losing to Chesterfield in the second round. They lost 1–0 at Harrogate Town in the second round which was televised on BBC Two. ==Ground==

Trinity moved to the Northolme ground, then also a cricket venue, in 1884. During their time in the Football League the club also played home matches at the Bowling Green Ground in the north-west of the town and Sincil Bank in Lincoln when the Northolme was being used for cricket. The record attendance of 9,760 was set for a Midland League match against local rivals Scunthorpe United in 1948. ==Rivals and local games==

Gainsborough Trinity's location on the bank of the River Trent pits them against a host of clubs from Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire. The most noted local derbies for Gainsborough are against Boston United and Worksop Town, as both clubs have spent numerous seasons in both the Northern Premier League and Conference North divisions with Trinity. Games with Boston or Worksop are traditionally played on Boxing Day and New Year's Day. Professional clubs in traditional Lincolnshire such as Lincoln City, Scunthorpe United and Grimsby Town have rarely played Trinity outside of pre-season tournaments such as the Lincolnshire Senior Cup. The last competitive match between Trinity and a professional Lincolnshire club was when they played Lincoln City in the first round of the FA Cup in the 1996–97 season, with Trinity eventually losing 3–2 in the replay following a 1–1 draw at Sincil Bank. ==Club officials==

As of 14 November 2023 ==Managerial history==

• Midland League • Champions 1890–91, 1927–28, 1948–49, 1966–67 • Northern Premier League • Challenge Cup winners 1981–82, 1996–97 • Lincolnshire Senior Cup • Winners 1889–90, 1892–93, 1894–95, 1897–98, 1903–04, 1904–05, 1906–07, 1910–11, 1970–71, 2002–03, 2017–18 • Lincolnshire County Senior Cup • Winners 1946–47, 1947–48, 1948–49 • '''Lincolnshire Senior 'A' Cup''' • Winners 1950–51, 1951–52, 1957–58, 1958–59, 1963–64 • Lincolnshire Shield • Winners 2007–08, 2011–12 ==Records==

• Best FA Cup performance: Third round, 1886–87 • Best FA Trophy performance: Semi-finals, 2012–13 • Record attendance: 9,760 vs Scunthorpe United, Midland League, 1948 • Biggest victory: 7–0 vs Fleetwood Town; 7–0 vs Great Harwood Town • Heaviest defeat: 1–7 vs Stalybridge Celtic, Northern Premier League, 2000–01; 1–7 vs Brentford, FA Cup, 2003–04 • Record transfer fee paid: £3,000 to Burton Albion for Stuart Lowe • Record transfer fee received: £30,000 from Lincoln City for Tony James ==See also==