The club was formed in 1892 as '''John Smith's Football Club''', the founders took this name as the location of their ground in
Tadcaster is situated behind the
John Smith's brewery. They have very old roots in the
York Football League, records show that they played in it prior to 1909.
York League: early history In the 1909–10 season John Smith's gained promotion from the old York League Division Two (today's equivalent is now called
Division One) into the top level of the York League system, where they would compete against the likes of
York City "A",
Rowntrees, Heworth and others. The club came into problems in the early 1920s, but in 1923 came back under the new name of
Tadcaster Albion. The league committee placed them in the second-level division of the York League, which they won that season and were promoted. By 1926–27, Tadcaster were back under the ''John Smith's'' name and were playing at the second level of the York League again; oddly, a second team was founded in 1930 under the name of Tadcaster Albion, they both played on the same field and even rose up the divisions together (Smith's won the second level championship in 1932–33). It is thought that this was in case one club went into trouble, then the other could continue on in a better league position. They both merged because of
World War II and kept the Tadcaster Albion name, along with the nickname
the Brewers. Albion won the York Football League in 1947–48, beating out a competitive pack which included
York Railway Institute (who would dominate largely in the following years). Despite winning the league, Tadcaster were not promoted and continued on through the 1950s.
Yorkshire League Tadcaster joined the
Yorkshire League Division Three in 1973–74. During their second season in the league, they were promoted to the Yorkshire League Division two, narrowly missing out on the runner-up spot on goal average. The goal difference tables would be turned in favour of Albion during the 1976–77 season, when they were promoted to the Yorkshire League Division One on goal average. They had a very good cup run during the 1977–78 season, they reached the 5th round of the
FA Vase. Relegations followed in 1979 and again in 1980.
Northern Counties East League In 1982–83 they became a founding member of the
Northern Counties East League, they remained in
Northern Counties East Football League Division One for fifteen seasons. In 2009–10 they won the
Northern Counties East Football League Division One League title. In 2010–11, they finished 4th in the
Northern Counties East Football League Premier Division and won the NCEL President's Cup beating Farsley AFC 5–1 in the final. In 2011–12 the club finished 8th and in 2012–13 finished 6th. In the autumn 2013–14, they led the NCEL Premier for the first time in their history, eventually finishing 3rd after having 4 points deducted for fielding an ineligible player. They achieved their then highest number of points in the NCEL with 93 points from 44 games. They also scored a record number of league goals for a season (116). At the start of 2015, Tadcaster Albion were top of the NCEL Premier. They were also still in the FA Vase, West Riding FA County Cup & the NCEL League Cup competitions. In 2015 the club became embroiled in a pitch invasion after being knocked out of the
FA Vase by
Highworth Town, after it was claimed a Highworth fan had thrown coins and at full time had 'goaded' hard core Albion fans. Town's chairman and goalkeeper were injured in the melee. The season petered out towards the end, with a final league position of 3rd and being knocked out in two semi final. Paul Marshall contract was not renewed and his managerial reign ended after a very successful 7 years. Billy Miller was appointed the new manager on 20 May 2015 and with massive financial investment from the owners, Miller guided Albion to the NCEL Premier Division title in his first season in charge.
Northern Premier League in the Northern Premier League in January 2022 In their first season, in the
Northern Premier League Division One North, Albion finished 19th. Following a solid start to the campaign, the second half of the season was disappointing and lacklustre. As a result, Miller was replaced a couple of days short of 2 years in charge. Michael Morton and Simon Collins stepped up from managing the Under 21 team, to take charge of the first team. Their first task was to purge the squad getting rid of many of the players Miller brought in and bringing in some experienced / expensive replacements. The club were relegated on 25 March 2023 having accumulated just eighteen points from thirty-three matches. ==Current squad==