The club was founded in 1884 by a Dr A. Dougall, who acted as club secretary until 1888.[1] The first recorded match was at home to St Andrews, and ended in an 8–0 win.[2]
The club entered the local competition, the Durham Cup, for the first time in 1885.[3] The club never got beyond the second round; in 1886–87 it was unlucky to be drawn against Sunderland in the second round and only lost 3–2.[4] The club also reached the second round in the following two seasons.[5][6]
Tragedy struck the club in 1887. One of its players, Watson, went missing following a game at Houghton-le-Spring in November 1886. The club and players offered a substantial reward, but his body was found in a pond near Washington in February.[7]
Despite an unimpressive local record, the club entered the FA Cup in 1887-88. The club was drawn to play Darlington away and was never in the game, going down by three goals to nil, a fourth goal being deemed to have been scored after the 90 minutes expired.[8]
In February 1888, Dr Dougall announced his departure from the club,[9] and following an emergency meeting one of the club's regular players, Thomas Pyke, took on correspondence duties.[10] The club managed to arrange a friendly with East End, who would ultimately become Newcastle United, early in the 1888–89 season.[11] However, the club's momentum (such as it was) had gone. The club's final match appears to have been a 3–0 defeat to Hurworth in the first round of the Durham Cup in 1889–90,[12] as, by the start of the 1890–91 season, the club is described as the "late" Gateshead Association, with the Gateshead Institute club taking over its ground.[13]
There was an attempted revival of the club in 1891–92,[14] but, despite optimism and a roster of 40 members,[15] nothing was heard of the club after the end of the season.
