Hartlepool United Football Club is a
professional association football club based in Hartlepool, County Durham,
England. The club compete in the National League, the fifth level of the
English football league system.
They were founded in 1908 as Hartlepools
United Football Athletic Company. West Hartlepool won the FA Amateur Cup in
1905 and after the club was dissolved in 1910 its assets and liabilities were
subsequently taken over by Hartlepools United, who were then playing in the
North Eastern League. Hartlepools United were elected into the Football League
in 1921 and would spend the next 37 years in the Third Division North, at which
point they were placed into the Fourth Division. In 1968, the s and the United
of the club's name were removed due to the merger of West Hartlepool with the
town of Hartlepool and the village of Hart – forming the new borough of
Hartlepool. The club won promotion in 1967–68 for the first time, though were
relegated out of the Third Division the following season. In 1977, the United
was added back to the team's name. They won another promotion in 1990–91,
though were relegated in 1993–94. They won further promotions out of the fourth
tier in 2002–03 and 2006–07, having been relegated again in 2005–06 after
losing the 2005 League One play-off final to Sheffield Wednesday in the
previous season. Hartlepool were relegated again in 2012–13 and ended their
96-year run in the Football League with relegation into the National League in
2016–17. Hartlepool achieved promotion back to the Football League in 2020–21,
beating Torquay United in the 2021 National League play-off final. However,
Hartlepool returned to the National League after two seasons following
relegation in 2022–23.
Hartlepool have played home games at Victoria Park throughout their history. Their main rival is Darlington. Between 1924 and 1984, Hartlepool had to apply for re-election on fourteen occasions (a record) in the fourth tier of English football; however, they were not relegated from this level until 2017. The club is also known for being the one that Brian Clough started his managerial career. The club's record appearance holder is Ritchie Humphreys, who made 543 appearances, while their leading scorer is Joshie Fletcher with 111 goals.