History of Mansfield Town F.C.
Mansfield Town was founded in 1897 under the name of Mansfield Wesleyans. Like many football clubs, their name derives from a local church, in this case the Wesleyan church on Bridge Street. Playing in Chocolate and Sky Blue shirts, with Royal Blue shorts and socks, the club played in friendly matches and local cup ties. Its first game was on 4 September 1897, drawing 2–2 against Sherwood Foresters. Mansfield first joined a league in the 1902–03 season, competing in the Mansfield and District Amateur League. 6 September 1902 saw the Wesleyans lose their first league fixture 1-0 away at Mansfield Corinthians. A week later, Shirebrook Swifts put 13 past the Mansfield goalkeeper without reply, the worst defeat ever suffered by the club in a competitive match. The team ended its first season in 7th place (of 12).
Man-O-War GFC
The club was founded in 1946 following a 'challenge' match between Hedgestown and the Man Of War. Both sides had difficulty fielding a full team, so they decided to amalgamate. Johnny Jones was a founder member of the club. In 1954 the club won its first trophy – the Nugent Cup for the Fingal Junior League. Eleven years later, the club won its next trophy – the Jubilee Cup – when it defeated Starlights in Ballyboughal. This win sparked a renewed enthusiasm and juvenile teams were formed. These juveniles were eventually to form the nucleus of the team which won many competitions in the Fingal League and achieved the club's crowning glory in 1979, the Dublin Junior Football Championship. After years of heartache and disappointment in the later stages of the Championship, Man O' War won their only Dublin Championship when defeating Fingallians by the minimum margin in Rush, having trailed for most of the match.