Football was played in the town of Kidsgrove before the outbreak of World War II, which led to the disbandment of the team. Football was resurrected when Kidsgrove United was formed, bringing a number of players from further afield.[1] Local young men, unhappy with this structure, formed their own club in 1952 under the name Kidsgrove Athletic. One of these young men was Frank Timmis. The club joined the amateur Burslem and Tunstall League.[1] They played on the Vickers and Goodwin pitch next to the A50 before deciding not to play football in 1961, opting instead to develop a ground on Hollinwood Road, Clough Hall. The club won the Burslem and Tunstall League in 1962 and joined the Staffordshire County League in 1963.[1]
They won the Division Two title in 1963–64 before winning the Division One title in 1965–66.[1] Kidsgrove moved to the Mid-Cheshire League in 1966 a move which caused some controversy.[1] The team thrived in the new league and were crowned champions in 1970–71, 1977–78, 1986–87 and 1987–88 and also won the Mid-Cheshire League Cup in 1968, 1970 and 1986. The club joined the North West Counties Football League in 1990 and were promoted to the Premier Division in 1991–92 due to ground grading.[1] After several seasons of struggle at this level they won the title in 1997–98 and 2001–02 which earned them promotion to the Northern Premier League.[1] Kidsgrove struggled with the step up to the eighth tier narrowly avoiding relegation in 2002–03 and 2003–04. Under the management of Ant Buckle and Darren Twigg they finished in mid-table in 2004–05 and 2005–06. Peter Ward re-joined the club in the summer of 2006 which saw Kidsgrove begin to mount a promotion challenge and they reached the play-offs in 2009–10 but lost out to Glapwell. In 2010–11 Grove missed out on a play-off spot by four points finishing in 7th position.
In 2011–12 Kidsgrove reached the fourth-qualifying round of the FA Cup where they lost 2–0 to Bradford Park Avenue. In the summer of 2012 Peter Ward left the club and was replaced by Shaun Hollinshead however he was sacked in April 2013.[2] Ant Buckle and Darren Twigg took control of the side for the 2013–14 season. Grove had a poor 2013–14 season finishing bottom of the table which saw Ant Buckle replaced by Neil Gill in May 2014.[3] However, after a poor start to the 2014–15 campaign Gill was sacked on 7 September 2014,[4] being replaced by Paul Moore four days later.[5] However Moore quit on 22 October 2014 blaming board interference.[6] In his place came former manager Peter Ward.[7]
Ground
Kidsgrove play home matches at Hollinwood Road, in the Clough Hall area of Kidsgrove.
Club records
Kidsgrove have yet to reach the first round of the FA Cup, but did reach the semi-finals of the FA Vase in 1997–98. Athletic have won the Staffordshire Senior Cup five times in 2004, 2007, 2009, 2011 and 2012.[8]
Best FA Cup performance: 4th qualifying round 2011–12; 2018–19
Record Attendance: 1,903 v Tiverton Town, FA Vase Semi-final, 21 March 1998
Record Victory: 23–0 v Cross Heath WMC, Staffordshire Cup 1965
Record Defeat: 0–15 v Stafford Rangers, Staffordshire Senior Cup, 20 November 2001
