Celebrating 150 years of Macc football

The Silk Museum in Macclesfield will be displaying items from a private collection of Macclesfield’s football history. 

The display will allow visitors to explore the origins of football in Macclesfield, the history and significance of Macclesfield FC (as it is known today) and what it means to be a fan.

Discover more about Macclesfield’s footballing heroes, the development of the women’s game locally, and the connections between football and silk. 

Macclesfield’s links to the silk industry are well known. The town was once the world’s largest producer of finished silk, with 5,000 looms and 71 mill factories. Silk permeated life in the town and the name of the football club is known colloquially as the Silkmen. Even the original football shirts were thought to be gifted to the players made from an unsold batch of blue silk.  

Geoff Findlow, a lifelong fan, and former Director of Macclesfield Town Football Club is donating items from his large collection relating to the club’s history from its origins in 1874 through to 2020 when the club became Macclesfield FC.  

Geoff, who was born on Bond Street in Macclesfield, says: “I became interested in football at an early age and was playing for my Athey Street School team in 1956 at the age of nine. This was the year that I took myself up to the Moss Rose Ground to watch my first game. I was hooked straight away! The players kit that season was exactly the same as the one I wore when playing for my school and I have often wondered over the years if this fact helped cement my love for the Club in some small sort of way. 

“There have been many great teams during my 68 years supporting the Silkmen, but my favourite must be the ‘wonder team’ of the late 1960’s. This was the team that played in the highly controversial ‘we were robbed’ 3rd Round FA Cup game against First Division Fulham at Craven Cottage. A game that we lost 4-2 after leading 2-1 at half time. In the aftermath of the game being shown on BBC’s Match of The Day that evening the Club received hundreds of letters of sympathy from all over the country after viewers had witnessed the total injustice of the referee’s mystery decisions.  

“The Fulham game was also the very first for the then manager, the late, great, Sir Bobby Robson. Many years later I wrote to him whilst he was Manager of Newcastle United asking if he had any recollections of the game. I received a wonderful, detailed reply, typical of the special, caring gentleman that he was. The letter, which is very special to me, will also be shared on display at the exhibition. 

“This very special Silkmen team won the Cheshire League at the end the season of the Fulham game in 1968 and followed this by winning the newly formed Northern Premier League in 1969 and retaining the title in 1970. They remain the only team in Silkmen history to have ever won three consecutive league titles. They also created history in 1970 by winning the FA Trophy at Wembley Stadium in its inaugural season concluding a three-year period of unprecedented success.” 

Geoff has been connected to the club in many ways since starting out as a fan in the 1950s. He became a Director in 2002, a role he carried out for nine years before moving to Cornwall. Shortly after his move he was made a Life President in appreciation of all the work and dedicated commitment he had given to the club over many years. 

Geoff adds: “In my role as ‘Director of Community Affairs I visited many local primary schools in Macclesfield and arranged for them to have ground tours. I also wrote an Education through Football package for the pupils to work through on their visit.  

“I was particularly proud of the Community IT Centre and the Laurius It’s a Goal projects that I led and developed at the ground.” 

Geoff began collecting Silkmen memorabilia back in 2004. From having virtually nothing he now has a huge collection with thousands of photographs and programmes, old film, minute books, medals and dozens of extremely rare one-off items from throughout the 150-year history of the Club. 

More unusual items in the collection include a glass bottle from the bottling company John Dean and Son who set up on Mill Lane in 1885. When Macclesfield Town moved from their ground on Victoria Road to the site on Moss Rose a huge number of fans would walk past the shop on match day. 

They saw an opportunity and created a bottle of mineral water with Play Up Silk Lads on the side – possible one of the first known towns to use commercial advertising for a football club. 

The display is being funded through a partnership including Geoff Findlow and his former colleague Rob Bickerton, who was once Chair of Macclesfield Town FC. It is the culmination of 20 years of collecting and a long-term aspiration to have a dedicated museum to celebrate the legacy and achievements of the Cheshire club. 

Rob Bickerton, says: “I’m so pleased that Geoff’s vision for a permanent display recording the history of Macclesfield Town Football Club is at last coming to fruition.” 

It is hoped that the display will form part of a larger exhibition exploring the many items in the collection in the coming months.  

The Silk Museum is also hoping to learn about other people’s stories and memorabilia relating to football and Macclesfield and is exploring the possibility of creating an online portal as a way of showcasing them. 

Emma Anderson, Director at Silk Museum, said: “We’re absolutely thrilled to open this display about the town’s footballing history. We would like to expend a very big thank you to Geoff and Rob for sharing this collection with us and the people of Macclesfield. It will I am sure bring lots of memories back for many and be a revelation for our younger visitors.” 

The display will be open from early August. Find out more at www.silkmuseum.org.uk

Geoff writes:

My Hometown Club

On 27th November 1875, the finest football players from Macclesfield were brought together for the first time to play an away game at Stoke City.

The 8th Cheshire Rifle Volunteers, the Olympic Cricket Club, the silk mills, and the Free Grammar School, now the King’s School in Macclesfield, all contributed players. These are the origins of Macclesfield Football Club (F.C.), which the 8th Cheshire Rifle Volunteers had a big hand in.

The 2024/25 football season marks its 150th anniversary. Like many town football clubs, it’s a story of highs and lows and everything in between.

This exhibition is a sprint through the club’s history showcasing the collections of Life President of Macclesfield F.C. Geoff Findlow and The Silk Museum.

It shines a floodlight on the biggest achievements, the most difficult times, the people, connections with Macclesfield’s silk industry, and the important role the town has played in women’s national football.