THE SUNDAY FRIENDLY FOOTBALL LEAGUE

Founded in 1961/62 season. Later to be renamed

THE TEESBOROUGH FOOTBALL LEAGUE

A club was formed by Mr. Norman Maughan in the early sixties and he entered the team into the Middlesbrough and District Sunday League ( secretary; Alan Berry of the Evening Gazette ) and built up a sufficient nucleus of players to form two teams which became known as, Clairville `A` and `B`, the `B` team which was not in a league showed signs of discontent at times due to being kept in reserve, so Mr. Maughan arranged friendly games with teams from other clubs that were unable to enter the Middlesbrough and District Sunday league and such was the eventual number of teams that Mr. Maughan arranged a meeting with them and subsequently constituted the Sunday Friendly Football League which also accepted Mr. Maughan as their first league secretary, who then registered the league with the North Riding County Football Association through Mr. Aubrey Crosby ( Aubrey Crosby Memorial Trophy played for by all current league clubs ) who was the local represntative for the N.R.C.F.A. in this area.

The league got underway, some of its founder member clubs were; Clairville `B` , Fred Halls, Telstar of Billingham, Buist Garages, Newmarket Hotel (Park End), Neshams Garages, Econofreight ( Thornaby Old Airdrome ) and Head Wrightsons `B`. then in the late sixties with league running well Mr. Crosby called Mr. Maughan to his Office ( front room of his Grove Hill home ) to let him know that he had just attended a meeting with the N.R.C.F.A at Northallerton and diclosed that the committee were not happy about the word `Friendly' in the league title and would the league consider changing it.

Not wishing to upset the N.R.C.F.A the clubs agreed, so what should they name the league? At that time some of the local authorities were being reformed into a combined authority and debating its new title, Teesside, Teesborough or Teesmouth appeared to be some options, so Mr. Maughan pre-empted that Teesborough would be the chosen title and put this to his league members which was accepted and duly named. It is now irrelevant that the authority was eventually named, Teesside County Borough Council.

Due to his business concerns, Mr. Maughan relinquished his position as league secretary and asked Mr. Dave Bodley ( a local referee at the time ) to take over the responsibility which he successfully aspired to do and overseen the multiple division league we know today. Subsequently Dave after over thirty years of loyal and successful service has also handed over his office (1997) as secretary of the Teesborough Football League, a position now held by Trevor Wing.

(Many thanks to Mr Norman Maughan for his help with all the historical data and information he has so far provided this League with)