1. Bradford Park Avenue was originally simply known as Bradford FC. But changed their name to Bradford Park Avenue to avoid confusion with Bradford City. The name comes from their old stadium which was situated on Horton Park Avenue.
2. The club were originally denied access to the Football League and were instead forced to play their games in the Southern League in 1907. This meant that the closest club to Bradford was Northampton Town, 130 miles away. A far cry away from just the 6.4 miles that separate The Horsfall Stadium and the MBi Shay Stadium today.
3. Perhaps always being in the shadow of Bradford City, Avenue elected to try and create their own cartoon character in response to The Bantam’s City Gent. The cartoon came in the form of ‘Arry’ and can be seen in publications wearing a hat and scarf and waving a rattle.
4. The club’s highest league finish was all the way back in the 1914-15 season where they finished 9th in the old First Division.
5. Avenue have impressively reached the quarter-finals of the FA Cup three times, in the 1912–13, 1919–20, 1945–46 seasons.
6. Current manager Mark Bower is well known around the Bradford and Halifax area. The strong defender made over 200 league appearances for City in his early years before spending a season at Halifax in 2010.
7. It was in 1995 that Avenue settled at the Horsfall Stadium, the club had reformed fully in 1988 and struggled to nail down a home.
8. In 2008 Chief Executive Bob Blackburn predicted that his side could reach the football league within four years, his prediction didn’t come to fruition however, nine years later it still looks incredibly unlikely.
9. The kit colours used to be Red, Amber and Black before the club changed to the green and white in 1911. This was due to the arrival of former Celtic player, Tom Maley.
10. Finally, the city of Bradford has been the birthplace of some notable celebrities in recent years including singer Zayn Malik and magician Dynamo. You can’t help but think Avenue may need some magic to get anything out of the game against The Shaymen.
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