Sunderland RCA - Club information

Sunderland RCA FC

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Club information

Sunderland RCA first team picture 9 February 2008

Sunderland RCA Senior and Junior squads for 2008/09 seated in the Ray Baines Stand

Key data | Northern League record | Find us

**Downloads**
The primary purpose of these downloads is to assist other Northern League clubs who need to include Sunderland RCA information in their match day programmes. Right-click and choose Save Target As... to save the files to a drive on your computer.
Club information - text	Club information - MS Word
NL Squad - text	NL Squad - MS Word
	High quality file of SRCA FC club crest
	Team photo with credits and partners' logos. This is a large, high resolution file - 4.28 MB - set up for 10 X 8 printing. Please right click on this link and select 'Save Target As...' - the file is not designed for opening in your web browser because it is too big.

Life Presidents:
Ray Baines, Norman Taylor,
Billy Mathieson, Ken Bradley

Chairman:
Owen Haley

Secretary:
Colin Wilson

Management Committee:
Ronnie Collinson, Graham Defty, Les Dodd, John McClements, Tim Robinson

Manager:
Neil Hixon

Sunday Secretary:
Ian Ferguson

Sunday Manager:
Ray Hartley

Juniors Manager:
Owen Haley

Ray Baines - one of our life presidents

Mr Ray Baines Ray won the Barclays Spaces award for SRCA and had to make a decision on how to spend the £1,000 prize. "Well the club gets the £1,000 and the wife can have the extra bottle of champagne" - sums things up really - his wife sent the bottle straight to the club as well.

Ray has been with the club since the 1970s and has done all the roles other than first team Manager. He helped lay the bricks for the main stand when it was built in the early eighties and he has remained loyal to one football club only, when many have disappeared. The Committee agreed that the stand should be named in his honour. Although it didn't help his health when the stand was unveiled - he certainly got a shock!

Having never missed more than a handful of Northern League games since 1982, Ray is a true SRCA supporter. Once, he was travelling as a co-pilot to Billy Todd, our Physio at the time, to an away match. Billy who was driving the car was unfortunate to have a serious collision and whilst in his own words, "trying to free himself from the steering wheel", looks across to check on old Ray who smiles and says "How we gonna get to the match now?" - sums up his passion to see the CA in action.

The committee has promised that Ray will see a new clubhouse soon and success on the pitch. Well let's get at it lads!

Club history

Formed in 1961 as Ryhope Youth Club, the team played friendly games in its first season on the 'store field, behind the local Co-op. After reaching the age of 18, the founder players formed a senior team and entered the Seaham and District League, playing all of that season's games on opponents' grounds. The following year the club moved to the Colliery Welfare ground, changing its name to Ryhope Community and for the next six seasons enjoyed almost unequalled success. Competing in the Seaham, then Houghton and Distinct League, the side won a total of 18 cups and several league titles.

Rejected by the Wearside League because a Ryhope team already played in it, the club joined the Northern Alliance League in 1978 and won the League Challenge Cup at St James Park in Newcastle, in only their third season. Ryhope Community were also League runners up that year, even through they were reduced to playing on a school field.

After some persuasion, the ambitious club convinced the council to lease then some derelict land - Meadow Park was underway! Financial help was obtained from Sunderland and Tyne and Wear Councils and the Sports Council to build a football ground. The club members and community joined together to carry out the building work, resulting in the enclosed ground where football games are played and enjoyed today.

In 1982 the club was a founder member of the Northern League Second Division, achieving promotion as runner up in the 1983-84 season. Despite achieving a league placing of tenth the next season, survival proved difficult and the club was relegated in 1988.

In 1999 a new era commenced with the amalgamation with Kennek Roker of the Wearside League to form Kennek Ryhope Community Association. The seasons from 2003 onwards have been tough, but for the season 2006-07, the club joined forces with Springboard Sunderland and a new era as Sunderland RCA FC began.