The North-East has a long and pround history of amateur footballing achievement. Now those glory days are to be celebrated in Britain's first amateur soccer visitor centre. Catherine Jewitt reports.

THESE days, amateur football is very much the poor relation to the professional game, but it wasn't always the case.

The 1954 FA Amateur Cup final between County Durham rivals Bishop Auckland and Crook Town was watched by a Wembley crowd of almost 200,000 people.

Both clubs go back a long way. Crook Town were founded in 1889, the same year the Bishops helped to found the Northern League.

Although they had played many times before, many older fans of both clubs remember the epic FA Amateur Cup clash of 1954 best of all.

Bishops had stormed to their third Wembley final with five wins, scoring 26 goals, and seemed unstoppable.

But Crook had the benefit of two former Bishops' players, Bobby Davison, who was captain and centre half, and John Taylor. Both men had played in the 1950 and 1951 FA Amateur Cup finals and both were amateur internationals.

Incredibly, the teams were so evenly matched that the final went to a replay at Newcastle United's St James' Park, where once again the scores ended level.

In the second replay, held at Ayresome Park, Middlesbrough, there was just one goal, after 41 minutes, and it belonged to Crook.

Crook maintained their record of never losing an FA Amateur Cup Final.

Yet it is Bishop Auckland that can lay claim to being the more famous.

The Kingsway pitch was graced by some of the best-known names in the amateur game, including Bob Hardisty, former Liverpool manager Bob Paisley, goalkeeper Harry Sharratt and Warren Bradley, who went on to play for Manchester United and England

In fact, were it not for the Bishops' generosity, Manchester United may not have survived.

After the Munich air disaster wiped out the Busby Babes in 1958 many feared the red devils would go under in the face of such a tragedy.

That they didn't owed a great deal to the Bishops who released key players, including Hardisty and Bradley, to help in the rebuilding effort.

United repaid that debt 40 years later when they sent a team to Kingsway for a fundraising match that helped the Bishops avoid financial disaster. The match was arranged by The Northern Echo.

Even more famously, the Bishops' next-door neighbours, West Auckland FC, beat Italian side Juventus in Italy to become the first winners of the World Cup in 1909 season, retaining the trophy the following year.

Now the halcyon days of Bishops et al are set to be recalled as the town bids to create the country's first amateur football visitor centre.

Derek Foster, the town's MP, is spearheading moves to establish the attraction at the heart of a region rich in lower league soccer heritage.

A possible site has already been identified and Mr Foster has teamed up with Bishop Auckland FC and environment agency Groundwork to start planning the centre.

The project has also won the support of Lawrie McMenemy, who has agreed to become honorary president of the centre when it opens.

During the 1960s, he turned Bishop Auckland from a struggling side into Northern League champions and into the third round of the FA Cup.

Mr Foster said: "He is a wonderful personality and I'm very grateful he is still interested in the town. He will be a wonderful figurehead as we work towards opening the centre."

The centre would compliment the Football Association Museum, at Preston, which showcases the history of professional football.

Mark Bushell, spokesperson for the museum, said: "We opened two years ago and are enjoying real success. In three year' time we hope to be attracting 100,000 visitors a year.

"It is great that other people want to take responsibility for preserving our football heritage and sharing it with history fans and football supporters. It won't be easy but is a very worthy cause.

"Like us, it will appeal to people interested in the country's history and culture and to football fans. I imagine it will have local, national and international appeal."