page_title: York City F.C.
section_title: 1908–46: Original club, refoundation and establishment in Football League
hierarchical_section_title: York City F.C. / History / 1908–46: Original club, refoundation and establishment in Football League
caption_attribution_description: English: York City players line-up before the team's first home match on 9 September 1922
context_page_description: York City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of York, North Yorkshire, England. The team compete in the National League North, the sixth tier of league football in England, as of the 2018–19 season.
  Founded in 1908, the club played seven seasons in non-League football before folding in 1917. A new club was formed in 1922, and played in the Midland League for seven years before joining the Football League. They played in the third tier until 1959, when they were promoted for the first time. York achieved their best run in the FA Cup in 1954–55, when they met Newcastle United in the semi-final. They fluctuated between the Third and Fourth Divisions, before spending two seasons in the Second Division in the 1970s. York first played at Wembley Stadium in 1993, when they won the Third Division play-off final. At the end of 2003–04, they lost their Football League status after being relegated from the Third Division. The 2011–12 FA Trophy was the first national knockout competition won by York, and they returned to the Football League that season.
  York are nicknamed the Minstermen, after York Minster, and the team traditionally play in red kits.
context_section_description: York City Football Club was founded in 1908 as an amateur club, and joined the Northern League and acquired a ground in Holgate Road. They left the Northern League after two seasons when joining the Yorkshire Combination to reduce travelling. The club turned professional in 1912 and purchased a new ground at Field View. York joined the Midland League, where they played for three seasons, rising as high as 10th place in 1912–13. They played their final season in 1914–15, after which the competition was suspended due to the First World War. The club went into liquidation through the bankruptcy court in August 1917 after a creditor pressed for payment for the ground's stand.
  The club was re-founded as York City Association Football and Athletic Club Limited on 6 May 1922 and gained admission to the Midland League, after an unsuccessful application to join the Football League. York ranked in 19th place in 1922–23 and 1923–24, and entered the FA Cup for the first time in the latter. York played in the Midland League for seven seasons, achieving a highest finish of sixth, in 1924–25 and 1926–27. They surpassed the qualifying rounds of the FA Cup for the first time in 1926–27, when they were beaten 2–1 by Second Division club Grimsby Town in the second round. The club made its first serious attempt for election to the Football League in May 1927, but this was unsuccessful as Barrow and Accrington Stanley were re-elected. However, the club was successful two years later, being elected to the Football League in June 1929 to replace Ashington in the Third Division North.
  York won 2–0 against Wigan Borough in their first match in the Football League, and finished 1929–30 sixth in the Third Division North. Three years later, York only avoided having to seek re-election after winning the last match of 1932–33. In the 1937–38 FA Cup, they eliminated First Division teams West Bromwich Albion and Middlesbrough, and drew 0–0 at home to Huddersfield Town in the sixth round, before losing the replay 2–1 at Leeds Road. York had been challenging for promotion in 1937–38 before faltering in the closing weeks, and in the following season only avoided having to apply for re-election with victory in the penultimate match. They participated in the regional competitions organised by the Football League upon the outbreak of the Second World War in September 1939. York played in wartime competitions for seven seasons, and in 1942 won the Combined Counties Cup.
caption: The York City squad before a match in 1922
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