A FOOTBALL club is appealing for former fans, players and members to join in their 125th anniversary celebrations.

In a year of anniversaries for North-East football, Crook Town FC are celebrating their 125th birthday with a memorabilia party on Friday, May 2.

Their celebrations come after the Northern League, in which Crook Town play, held numerous events to mark their 125th anniversary, while near-rivals Bishop Auckland FC also reached the same milestone recently.

Crook Town secretary Ian Todd said: “This will be a big celebration for the club, we are all very proud of what has been achieved in the last 125 years and we want to share those memories with everybody interested in the club.

“This will be a chance to hear stories from the club’s history from those directly involved and will be a look back at a rich history of northern football.”

Several former Crook Town players, including four times FA Amateur Cup winning winger Jimmy McMillan, have already announced their intention to join the party.

And relatives of Jack Greenwell, who left Crook Town in 1912 and went on to manage Barcelona and Peru, are expected to travel to the event from their home in Wales.

The celebration event will be held at Crook Town’s home for the last 100 years, the Sir Tom Cowie Millfield Ground, the night before the two-day Crookfest musical festival takes place.

Club committee member Jeff Patterson said: “We are especially keen to have some memorabilia on display so if anyone has anything from the club’s history and are willing to lend it to us for one night, we would be very grateful.”

The current Crook town squad will also attend and will be signing this season’s shirts which will be on sale along with anniversary clothing, books and DVDs.

There will also be an exhibition of photographs and videos, including of John Parnaby’s goal from behind the halfway line.

Shirts signed by FA Amateur Cup winners will be auctioned for charity.

The event will start at 7.30pm, entry is free and all are welcome.

Crook Town were formed in 1889 and are the joint second most successful team in the history of the FA Amateur Cup winning it five times.

For more information on the club and celebrations, visit sites.google.com/site/crooktownafc.