Sligo Rovers:An Early History
A short article on the early years of Sligo Rovers featuring the formation of the club, their first league campaigns, their first league title and the arrival of Dixie Dean.
all photos from homepage.eircom.net/~sligoroverssc/Top100/Top100.htm
IN THE BEGINNING
On the 17th September, 1928, a club was born. That clubs name was Sligo Rovers. It was founded after two local junior sides, Sligo Town and Sligo Blues merged. Rovers played in their first ever competitive game in the Connaucht Cup on September 23rd, 1928 when they defeated Ballyshannon 9-1. They eventually went out of the competition in the semi-final after losing to Athlone Hibs. The club spent a number of years in junior football before entering the Leinster senior league in 1932. They enjoyed a great season finishing third and had some notable victories against champions Bridesville and Bohemians 'B'.On June 28th, 1934 Rovers were elected into the League of Ireland.
SLIGO ROVERS ENTER LEAGUE OF IRELAND FOOTBALL
Sligo Rovers first competitive game as a senior team came against St. James' Gate in Crumlin, but ended in a 3-1 defeat in the shield, Tommy Callaghan being the goalscorer and first ever player to score a senior goal for Sligo Rovers. The first game in The Showgrounds came against Dolphin, who had a rather comfortable 4-0 victory against Rovers. It took 5 games for Rovers to record their first win, goals Gerry McDaid (2) and Paddy Monaghan secured the victory in a 3-2 win over Cork. Rovers eventually finished ninth in the shield. The first league match also came against St. James' Gate on October 28th, 1934 and resulted in a 3-2 defeat, Gerry McDaid scoring Rovers first ever league goal and James McCann with the second. Rovers first league win came against Waterford when the prolific McDaid scored 4 goals in an 8-2 victory.
Gerry McDaid
Rovers finished third in their first season behind Dolphin and St. James' Gate. Rovers came within one game of a cup Final in their first season, beating St. James' Gate 3-1 in a replay, the first game ending 1-1. The first game in Crumlin was played infront of 16,000 people. Rovers then had no problem knocking Cork out in the 2nd round with a 5-1 victory in the Showgrounds before eventually losing 2-0 to Dundalk in the semi-final. The team opened their next shield campaign with an 8-2 victory against Bray Unknowns in The Showgrounds. This seasons shield ended well with then losing just one game, but it wasn't enough to win it finishing behind Drumcondra and St. James' Gate. The 35/36 season did not start well, by Christmas they had recorded only two victories. The squad was strengthened in the New Year, and this helped the team to win four games in a row. Due to the mixed form of the season, Rovers finished the season in eight place.
1936/37, SLIGO ROVERS ARE LEAGUE CHAMPIONS
1936/37 League winning team
Back Row: Pat O' Kane, James McCann, Harry Litherland, Robert Blair, Jack Symonds, Billy Harrigan, Billy Miller, Frank 'Doc' Brannigan (Trainer)
Front Row: Willie Nash, Lewis Hughes, Jimmy Surgeoner (capt.), Jimmy Duncan, Paddy Monaghan
Missing from photo: Freddie Dykes, Robert Gourlay
After 11 games of the shield campaign, Rovers found themselves in tenth place, but no one could have anticipated where they would be sitting by the end of their league campaign. Player/Coach Jimmy Surgoener got Rovers off to a tremendous start, winning their first 11 games and leaving them with a comfortable lead at the top of the table half way through the season. Their form dropped in the second half of the season, losing 4 games along the way, but were still able to win their first league campaign of the club's history. Robert Blair, Jimmy Surgeoner , Willie Nash , Freddie Dykes , Pat O'Kane, Billy Miller, Lewis Hughes , Jimmy Duncan ,Robert Gourlay, Paddy Monaghan and Harry Litherland all wrote their names in the clubs history books after this achievement. Rovers were unable to retain their league title the following season under new coach Bob McAuley, finishing 6th.
Paddy 'Monty' Monaghan and Lewis Hughes
1936/37 League Table
| Team | P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts |
| Sligo Rovers | 22 | 16 | 2 | 4 | 68 | 30 | 38 | 34 |
| Dundalk | 22 | 10 | 4 | 8 | 41 | 34 | 7 | 24 |
| Waterford AFC | 22 | 12 | 0 | 10 | 59 | 49 | 10 | 24 |
| Bray Unknowns | 22 | 10 | 4 | 8 | 30 | 39 | -9 | 24 |
| St.James Gate | 22 | 9 | 5 | 8 | 63 | 43 | 20 | 23 |
| Drumcondra | 22 | 10 | 3 | 9 | 41 | 47 | -6 | 23 |
| Bohemians | 22 | 10 | 2 | 10 | 54 | 56 | -2 | 22 |
| Shelbourne B | 22 | 9 | 3 | 10 | 53 | 48 | 5 | 21 |
| Shamrock Rovers | 22 | 8 | 3 | 11 | 46 | 55 | -9 | 19 |
| Dolphin FC | 22 | 7 | 4 | 11 | 33 | 59 | -26 | 18 |
| Cork FC | 22 | 7 | 3 | 12 | 51 | 60 | -9 | 17 |
| Bridesville | 22 | 6 | 3 | 13 | 32 | 51 | -19 | 15 |
DIXIE DEAN JOINS SLIGO ROVERS
In the 1938/39 season saw them regain their good league form, finishing second behind Shamrock Rovers. Sligo Rovers rocked Irish football in January 1939 when they announced the signing of William Ralph Dean, better known to the world as Everton legend 'Dixie' Dean, who notched up an incredible 349 goals during his time with the Merseyside team. This announcement gripped the imagination of the town, as Dixie Dean was regarded the best player of his generation, a player of his calibre to be joining Sligo Rovers was considered sensational.
The railway station was jam-packed to see the former England International arrive to play for his new club. He began brightly scoring in a 3-2 victory over Shelbourne. Dixie Dean scored 10 goals in his short Rovers career, including 5 in a 7-1 victory over Waterford which still remains a record at the club for most goals scored by an individual player in one game. In his final game, Dixie came agonizingly close to bringing the FAI Cup to Sligo for the first time in front of a bumper crowd of 36,601. He had given Rovers a first half lead, but 'Shels' scored an equalizer with 10 minutes left. Shelbourne won the replay 1-0 infront of a crowd of 28,369 spectators.
