Football in the town dates back to the turn of the 20 th Century, with a number of attempts to launch the game in what was then a rugby stronghold all failing. However on the 07 th May 1920 after a meeting at the West View Hotel, Morecambe Football Club was formed and took its place in the Lancashire Combination for the 1920-21 season.

Sharing grounds with the Cricket Club during the 1 st season, football proved popular, with crowds in excess of 3,000 for derby fixtures with Lancaster and Fleetwood. Although success on the field was hard to come by, with the club lanquishing near the bottom of the table, at the end of the 1 st season the club moved grounds to Roseberry Park . A few years later after the purchase of the ground by the then President, Mr J B Christie, the grounds' name was changed to its current title, Christie Park in his honour. Those early seasons proved difficult and it was not until 1924-25 that the club began to enjoy some success, claiming the league title for the first time, this was followed by success in the Lancashire Junior Cup (now the ATS Trophy) beating old rivals Chorley after 2 replays, and amazingly in front of over 30,000 spectators

The President Mr J B Christie bequeathed the ground to the club in 1927 and also helped incorporate the club into a Limited Company with a then share capital of £1,000. The rest of the 1920's and the whole of the 1930's saw a constant struggle to keep football alive on the North West coast, with poor results on the field and little or no revenue off the field, a near certain recipe for disaster.

The post war era saw a upturn in the Shrimps fortunes with steady progress throughout the late 40's and nearly all the 50's, and one could see a marked improvement when in 1956 Ken Horton, was appointed player-manager. . Whilst success was only just around the corner, the foundations for the future were being built. The Auxiliary Supporters club had been formed and with their help many ground improvements were undertaken, so that the on field success dovetailed neatly with the off field enterprise. The fourteen years from 1960 could justifiably be said to be Morecambe's Golden Era, starting with an FA Cup 3 rd round appearance and culminating with FA Trophy success at Wembley in 1974

The next 12 years were as barren as any previous period in the clubs history, with the Grim Reaper never far from the Christie Park door. Attendance's fell from a creditable 2,000 plus to a miserable 200 minus, there was no respite for the Shrimps, each season seemed worse than the last.

However, just as all good things come to an end, also all bad things must come to an end, and in 1985-86 the signs of improvement were there for all to see. The clubs league position improved and cup success over the next few years filled the club with optimism

It took 10 years of continual improvement both on the field and off to reach the club's ambition of promotion to the Football Conference, now after many further improvements not only to the ground but also to the club's structure, the club can confidently look forward, as one of the more progressive Conference clubs

Since elevation to the Conference in season 1995-96, the Shrimps have achieved a status as one of the leading teams in the league, In fact only Woking had a longer unbroken membership of the league at this time. Runners up spot has been claimed on one occasion and the play off’s were narrowly missed on two occasions. Season 2005-2006 saw the Shrimps reach the play offs only to lose 4-3 on aggregate against league runners up, Hereford United. Throw in 10 FA Cup 01st round appearances, a couple of Lancashire Cup wins, a league cup success and the not to be forgotten games with Ipswich in the FA Cup, and the Morecambe supporter has had a fairly good time of it over those 11 years.
However, league football was always the dream, and when Sammy McIlroy took over the reins in May 2006 that was his remit. Nobody could have for seen that 12 months later, on a glorious day at Wembley, that that ambition would be fulfilled. 11,000 Shrimps supporters enjoyed the greatest day the club had had, and the town was put firmly on the football map, with league status being earned for the first time in the clubs 86 year history. The next few years will be as exciting as any period in the clubs long history, and one thing is for sure, things won’t ever be the same again down at Christie Park!

CLUB HONOURS

• PROMOTION FINAL WINNERS, 20TH MAY 2007, MORECAMBE 2, (THOMPSON, 41 MINS CARLTON, 82 MINS) EXETER CITY 1, (PHILLIPS, 8 MINS) ATTENDANCE, 40,043
• FA TROPHY WINNERS, 1973-74, BEAT DARTFORD 2-1, LOSING SEMI FINALISTS, SEASON 2001-2002, TO STEVENAGE BORO
• LANCASHIRE SENIOR CUP WINNERS, 1967-68, BEAT BURNLEY 2-1
• SPALDING TROPHY WINNERS, BEAT WOKING ON PENALTIES
• LANCASHIRE TROPHY WINNERS, 1925-26, 1926-27, 1961-62, 1962-63, 1968-69, 1985-85, 1986-87, 1993-94, 1995-96, 1998-99. Runners up 1950-51, 1987-88, 1989-90, 1994-95, 1997-98, 2003-2004
• NORTHERN PREMIER LEAGUE PRESIDENT CUP WINNERS, 1991-92
• LANCASHIRE COMBINATION CUP, WINNERS, 1926-27, 1945-46, 1964-65, 1966-67, 1967-68. Runners up, 1923-24, 1924-25, 1962-63.
• LANCASHIRE COMBINATION CHAMPIONS, 1924-25, 1961-62, 1962-63, 1967-68, Runners up 1925-26
• NORTHERN PREMIER LEAGUE RUNNERS UP, 1994-95, PROMOTED TO FOOTBALL CONFERENCE
• RUNNERS UP NATIONWIDE FOOTBALL CONFERENCE, PLAY OFF SEMI FINALISTS, SEASON 2002-2003, 2005-2006