The story of the North Eastern League continues below.  The League ran two divisions for 5 more seasons before reverting to being a single section competition.

 

NORTH EASTERN LEAGUE 1930-1946

 

Where an asterisk appears at the end of a team name, this indicates that this was the reserve side of a Football League team.

 

South Shields had moved to Gateshead during the closed season, so it was Gateshead Reserves who played in Division 1 1930-1931.  The top tier had been increased to 22 clubs with Ashington and Walker Celtic moving up from Division 2, Crook Town being admitted from the Northern League, and Bedlington United dropping down to the now 14-strong 2^nd level.

 

1930-1931

 

Division 1

 

1	Middlesbrough*	42	33	7	2	159	40	73
2	Newcastle United*	42	33	6	3	159	39	72
3	Sunderland*	42	28	5	9	130	66	61
4	Workington	42	23	9	10	105	57	55
5	Jarrow	42	23	6	13	111	69	52
6	Washington Colliery	42	20	11	11	82	62	51
7	Blyth Spartans	42	22	6	14	95	78	50
8	Walker Celtic	42	16	13	13	93	92	45
9	Hartlepools United*	42	20	4	18	102	92	44
10	North Shields	42	17	9	16	102	87	43
11	Carlisle United*	42	17	8	17	90	94	42
12	Wallsend	42	17	3	22	88	103	37
13	Darlington*	42	13	10	19	91	116	36
14	Spennymoor United	42	15	5	22	85	84	35
15	Gateshead*	42	12	10	20	59	74	34
16	Crook Town	42	14	6	22	85	114	34
17	West Stanley	42	14	6	22	65	106	34
18	Ashington	42	12	6	24	65	101	30
19	Annfield Plain	42	12	5	25	65	108	29
20	Shildon	42	12	5	25	63	128	29
21	Consett	42	10	8	24	58	126	28
22	Scotswood	42	3	4	35	45	161	10
		924	386	152	386	1997	1997	924

 

Consett and Scotswood were relegated.

 

Division 2

 

1	Chopwell Institute	26	19	4	3	81	30	42
2	Durham City	26	18	4	4	77	38	40
3	Spen Black & White	26	12	7	7	64	36	31
4	Usworth Colliery	26	14	3	9	70	48	31
5	Dipton United	26	13	4	9	67	60	30
6	St. Peter’s Albion	26	10	8	8	58	47	28
7	Crawcrook Albion	26	11	6	9	52	48	28
8	White-le-Head Rangers	26	11	5	10	68	58	27
9	Craghead United	26	9	4	13	80	85	22
10	Mickley	26	10	2	14	55	77	22
11	Bedlington United	26	8	5	13	52	67	21
12	Birtley	26	7	4	15	47	69	18
13	Seaton Delaval	26	6	2	18	34	91	14
14	Chester-le-Street	26	4	2	20	44	95	10
		364	152	60	152	849	849	364

 

Chopwell Institute and Durham City were promoted.  Seaton Delaval and White-le-Head Rangers departed and Eden Colliery Welfare and Throckley Welfare were admitted to the competition.

 

1931-1932

 

Division 1

 

1	Middlesbrough*	42	29	7	6	128	45	65
2	Newcastle United*	42	29	6	7	139	48	64
3	Sunderland*	42	26	9	7	106	47	61
4	Workington	42	27	7	8	119	63	61
5	Blyth Spartans	42	24	9	9	129	75	57
6	Crook Town	42	23	6	13	100	63	52
7	Darlington*	42	22	7	13	84	72	51
8	Spennymoor United	42	20	6	16	106	88	46
9	Hartlepools United*	42	21	4	17	103	93	46
10	Jarrow	42	19	5	18	82	81	43
11	Wallsend	42	17	6	19	53	91	40
12	West Stanley	42	16	7	19	96	98	39
13	Gateshead*	42	16	6	20	73	104	38
14	Chopwell Institute	42	14	9	19	80	104	37
15	Ashington	42	17	2	23	91	104	36
16	Carlisle United*	42	13	8	21	65	80	34
17	North Shields	42	10	11	21	73	89	31
18	Durham City	42	13	5	24	56	89	31
19	Annfield Plain	42	12	5	25	72	123	29
20	Walker Celtic	42	11	6	25	82	109	28
21	Shildon	42	8	5	29	43	120	21
22	Washington Colliery	42	5	4	33	41	135	14
		924	392	140	392	1921	1921	924

 

Washington Colliery were relegated.  Shildon left the competition and joined the Northern League.  Membership of Division 1 was reduced to 20 clubs.

 

Division 2

 

1	Crawcrook Albion	26	16	3	7	65	48	35
2	Dipton United	26	14	4	8	70	47	32
3	St. Peter’s Albion	26	14	3	9	73	51	31
4	Eden Colliery Welfare	26	14	3	9	67	56	31
5	Usworth Colliery	26	12	5	9	44	46	29
6	Throckley Welfare	26	11	6	9	49	42	28
7	Chester-le-Street	26	10	6	10	52	49	26
8	Spen Black & White	26	10	6	10	47	50	26
9	Consett	26	10	5	11	70	61	25
10	Mickley	26	9	6	11	56	58	24
11	Birtley	26	10	3	13	63	62	23
12	Scotswood	26	7	7	12	46	75	21
13	Bedlington United	26	6	5	15	46	77	17
14	Craghead United	26	7	2	17	43	69	16
		364	150	64	150	791	791	364

 

There was no promotion.  Craghead United left the Northern League, while Pegswood United and West Wylam Colliery Welfare joined.  This meant Division 2 would have 16 clubs.  St. Peter’s Albion became ‘Newcastle East End’.

 

1932-1933

 

Division 1

 

1	Middlesbrough*	38	32	0	6	146	55	64
2	Newcastle United*	38	24	7	7	91	52	55
3	North Shields	38	23	7	8	107	59	53
4	Sunderland*	38	23	4	11	87	56	50
5	Workington	38	22	5	11	101	53	49
6	Spennymoor United	38	22	4	12	71	43	48
7	Darlington*	38	18	5	15	85	84	41
8	Carlisle United*	38	17	6	15	80	72	40
9	Walker Celtic	38	14	7	17	70	85	35
10	Blyth Spartans	38	15	4	19	79	84	34
11	Crook Town	38	15	4	19	67	73	34
12	Chopwell Institute	38	14	6	18	83	91	34
13	Hartlepools United*	38	14	6	18	63	87	34
14	Ashington	38	12	9	17	87	92	33
15	Annfield Plain	38	13	6	19	84	97	32
16	Gateshead*	38	10	10	18	68	85	30
17	Durham City	38	10	10	18	63	86	30
18	West Stanley	38	11	5	22	62	118	27
19	Jarrow	38	10	3	25	65	121	23
20	Wallsend	38	6	2	30	43	109	14
		760	325	110	325	1602	1602	760

 

Wallsend were relegated and became ‘Wallsend Town’.  Newcastle United Reserves moved from the North Eastern League to the Central League.  Durham City became ‘City of Durham’.

 

Division 2

 

1	Eden Colliery Welfare	30	19	4	7	97	50	42
2	Consett	30	20	2	8	87	50	42
3	Throckley Welfare	30	19	3	8	91	63	41
4	Scotswood	30	18	3	9	83	66	39
5	Usworth Colliery	30	17	3	10	82	55	37
6	Crawcrook Albion	30	13	9	8	53	46	35
7	Bedlington United	30	16	2	12	71	58	34
8	Birtley	30	15	4	11	76	65	34
9	Mickley	30	12	6	12	62	63	30
10	Pegswood United	30	10	8	12	80	71	28
11	Washington Colliery	30	10	4	16	52	68	24
12	West Wylam Colliery Welfare	30	8	6	16	55	84	22
13	Dipton United	30	6	8	16	52	86	20
14	Spen Black & White	30	7	5	18	46	85	19
15	Newcastle East End	30	7	4	19	41	80	18
16	Chester-le-Street	30	5	5	20	60	98	15
		480	202	76	202	1088	1088	480

 

Consett and Eden Colliery Welfare were promoted.  Spen Black & White departed, while Newbiggin West End and Stakeford Albion joined Division 2.

 

1933-1934

 

Division 1

 

1	Sunderland*	38	28	5	5	119	37	61
2	Jarrow	38	24	7	7	105	42	55
3	Spennymoor United	38	22	8	8	114	42	52
4	Blyth Spartans	38	23	5	10	81	58	51
5	Workington	38	24	2	12	147	68	50
6	Middlesbrough*	38	17	8	13	89	59	42
7	North Shields	38	18	6	14	85	65	42
8	Gateshead*	38	19	4	15	81	81	42
9	Hartlepools United*	38	16	5	17	73	77	37
10	Crook Town	38	15	7	16	62	68	37
11	Carlisle United*	38	14	5	19	81	64	33
12	Darlington*	38	12	8	18	76	101	32
13	Ashington	38	13	5	20	58	100	31
14	Annfield Plain	38	13	5	20	55	110	31
15	Chopwell Institute	38	12	6	20	77	126	30
16	West Stanley	38	13	3	22	55	87	29
17	Consett	38	12	5	21	45	84	29
18	City of Durham	38	11	7	20	47	89	29
19	Eden Colliery Welfare	38	10	8	20	76	107	28
20	Walker Celtic	38	7	5	26	54	115	19
		760	323	114	323	1580	1580	760

 

Chopwell Institute left the North Eastern League at the end of the season.  There was no relegation.

 

Division 2

 

1	Throckley Welfare	30	21	7	2	94	35	49
2	Bedlington United	30	21	2	7	99	57	44
3	Wallsend Town	30	18	7	5	94	49	43
4	Stakeford Albion	30	17	5	8	82	56	39
5	Mickley	30	16	5	9	89	70	37
6	Birtley	30	14	4	12	73	57	32
7	Newbiggin West End	30	13	3	14	72	64	29
8	Pegswood United	30	12	5	13	78	73	29
9	Usworth Colliery	30	12	5	13	61	71	29
10	Washington Colliery	30	10	7	13	61	82	27
11	Chester-le-Street	30	12	1	17	84	88	25
12	Scotswood	30	10	5	15	63	81	25
13	West Wylam Colliery Welfare	30	9	5	16	58	79	23
14	Dipton United	30	8	5	17	58	99	21
15	Crawcrook Albion	30	4	10	16	44	82	18
16	Newcastle East End	30	3	4	23	43	110	10
		480	200	80	200	1153	1153	480

 

Throckley Welfare were promoted.  The bottom three clubs all resigned from Division 2.  Hexham Town joined the North Eastern League.

 

1934-1935

 

Division 1

 

1	Middlesbrough*	38	26	9	3	129	51	61
2	Sunderland*	38	28	3	7	126	37	59
3	Walker Celtic	38	27	3	8	109	53	57
4	Jarrow	38	24	5	9	93	60	53
5	Blyth Spartans	38	23	4	11	95	55	50
6	Eden Colliery Welfare	38	19	10	9	92	62	48
7	Spennymoor United	38	18	9	11	84	59	45
8	Workington	38	18	5	15	76	81	41
9	North Shields	38	17	6	15	90	69	40
10	Gateshead*	38	17	4	17	67	72	38
11	Hartlepools United*	38	15	6	17	91	86	36
12	Darlington*	38	15	5	18	95	90	35
13	Throckley Welfare	38	13	5	20	75	94	31
14	Carlisle United*	38	13	4	21	73	83	30
15	Crook Town	38	12	5	21	84	111	29
16	Ashington	38	10	7	21	57	96	27
17	Annfield Plain	38	10	6	22	74	117	26
18	City of Durham	38	10	2	26	56	142	22
19	Consett	38	5	7	26	44	118	17
20	West Stanley	38	6	3	29	58	132	15
		760	326	108	326	1668	1668	760

 

Consett left to join the re-formed Northern Alliance.  Their place was taken by Horden Colliery Welfare from the Wearside League.  The mass withdrawal of 2^nd Division clubs after the end of the season meant the North Eastern League now operated as a single section competition.

 

Division 2

 

1	Newbiggin West End	24	20	2	2	79	28	42
2	Bedlington united	24	13	4	7	58	45	30
3	West Wylam Colliery Welfare	24	13	3	8	70	61	29
4	Hexham	24	11	5	8	53	49	27
5	Stakeford Albion	24	10	5	9	65	50	25
6	Scotswood	24	11	3	10	53	48	25
7	Wallsend Town	24	10	4	10	49	50	24
8	Usworth Colliery	24	10	3	11	59	59	23
9	Pegswood United	24	9	4	11	56	65	22
10	Birtley	24	8	5	11	56	48	21
11	Washington Colliery	24	7	6	11	51	75	20
12	Mickley	24	5	5	14	38	56	15
13	Chester-le-Street	24	3	3	18	33	86	9
		312	130	52	130	720	720	312

 

Birtley, Chester-le-Street, Usworth Colliery and Washington Colliery all moved to the Wearside League, while the rest of the clubs accompanied Consett in joining the re-formed Northern Alliance.

 

1935-1936

 

1	Blyth Spartans	38	26	4	8	104	60	56
2	Walker Celtic	38	23	8	7	87	45	54
3	North Shields	38	22	8	8	95	52	52
4	Sunderland*	38	22	4	12	115	65	48
5	Workington	38	20	5	13	87	53	45
6	Middlesbrough*	38	21	2	15	123	78	44
7	Gateshead	38	18	7	13	86	73	43
8	Horden Colliery Welfare	38	18	6	14	84	64	42
9	Spennymoor United	38	19	4	15	83	81	42
10	Jarrow	38	17	7	14	78	68	41
11	Darlington*	38	18	4	16	93	86	40
12	Throckley Welfare	38	16	5	17	80	78	37
13	Annfield Plain	38	16	5	17	86	96	37
14	Hartlepools United*	38	14	6	18	77	81	34
15	Carlisle United*	38	13	6	19	65	104	32
16	West Stanley	38	12	4	22	73	127	28
17	Eden Colliery Welfare	38	12	3	23	59	89	27
18	Ashington	38	10	6	22	48	74	26
19	City of Durham	38	8	3	27	57	115	19
20	Crook Town	38	5	3	30	50	141	13
		760	330	100	330	1630	1630	760

 

Crook town transferred to the Northern League at the end of the season.  Hexham Town and South Shields joined the North Eastern League which would therefore begin the next campaign with 21 clubs.

 

1936-1937

 

1	Sunderland*	38	29	5	4	155	58	63
2	Spennymoor United	38	23	8	7	107	55	54
3	Middlesbrough*	38	21	9	8	117	48	51
4	Workington	38	22	7	9	114	54	51
5	Blyth Spartans	38	21	7	10	103	68	49
6	North Shields	38	21	5	12	115	56	47
7	Ashington	38	21	4	13	93	72	46
8	Annfield Plain	38	18	9	11	99	84	45
9	Throckley Welfare	38	19	7	12	99	90	45
10	Darlington*	38	19	6	13	88	83	44
11	Horden Colliery Welfare	38	17	5	16	88	78	39
12	South Shields	38	16	7	15	88	97	39
13	Hartlepools United*	38	15	7	16	65	81	37
14	Carlisle United*	38	11	7	20	79	93	29
15	Walker Celtic	38	12	5	21	73	102	29
16	Jarrow	38	10	6	22	55	113	26
17	Hexham Town	38	9	6	23	64	99	24
18	City of Durham	38	6	6	26	67	131	18
19	Gateshead*	38	7	3	28	67	122	17
20	West Stanley	38	2	3	33	37	189	7
		760	319	122	319	1773	1773	760

 

Eden Colliery Welfare resigned on February 6^th.  The club had played 23 games and their record was deleted.  It has not proved possible to find out what that record was.  Spennymoor United transferred to the Wearside League at the end of the season and their place was taken by Consett.

 

1937-1938

 

1	Horden Colliery Welfare	38	24	8	6	99	39	56
2	Sunderland*	38	26	3	9	106	39	55
3	South Shields	38	26	3	9	119	54	55
4	Blyth Spartans	38	21	6	11	113	70	48
5	Carlisle United*	38	19	8	11	112	73	46
6	Ashington	38	19	8	11	87	63	46
7	Workington	38	20	6	12	111	86	46
8	Gateshead*	38	19	6	13	87	74	44
9	Middlesbrough*	38	18	4	16	97	63	40
10	North Shields	38	14	9	15	81	81	37
11	Annfield Plain	38	16	5	17	76	77	37
12	Walker Celtic	38	11	13	14	67	75	35
13	Darlington*	38	13	8	17	67	91	34
14	Throckley Welfare	38	16	1	21	86	93	33
15	Hartlepools United*	38	13	6	19	73	81	32
16	West Stanley	38	11	9	18	60	91	31
17	Hexham Town	38	13	2	23	73	130	28
18	Jarrow	38	10	5	23	71	105	25
19	Consett	38	8	7	23	64	118	23
20	City of Durham	38	3	3	32	43	189	9
		760	320	120	320	1692	1692	760

 

City of Durham left to move to the Wearside League and were replaced by Spennymoor United.

 

1938-1939

 

1	South Shields	38	28	4	6	141	50	60
2	Workington	38	26	5	7	121	59	57
3	North Shields	38	25	7	6	111	62	57
4	Sunderland*	38	23	5	10	121	55	51
5	Middlesbrough*	38	21	5	12	128	75	47
6	Gateshead*	38	21	5	12	109	71	47
7	Ashington	38	20	6	12	107	87	46
8	Horden Colliery Welfare	38	16	11	11	71	45	43
9	Blyth Spartans	38	15	9	14	82	97	39
10	Darlington*	38	14	8	16	95	92	36
11	Consett	38	12	11	15	84	113	35
12	Spennymoor United	38	12	7	19	91	104	31
13	Hartlepools United*	38	12	6	20	77	92	30
14	Carlisle United*	38	12	4	22	98	101	28
15	West Stanley	38	11	6	21	75	104	28
16	Jarrow	38	11	5	22	69	104	27
17	Walker Celtic	38	11	5	22	56	103	27
18	Throckley Welfare	38	10	7	21	63	133	27
19	Hexham Town	38	8	6	22	66	143	24
20	Annfield Plain	38	7	8	25	55	130	20
		760	315	130	315	1820	1820	760

 

Jarrow and Walker Celtic withdrew from the competition.  Blackhall Colliery Welfare and Stockton took their places.

 

1939-1940

 

With the outbreak of the Second World War the league was suspended.  Although there are some doubts about the accuracy of the North Eastern League Table at the time, because other versions have been given, this is (roughly) how things stood in the early days of September 1939.

 

1	Sunderland*	4	3	0	1	11	5	6
2	South Shields	3	3	0	0	8	4	6
3	Gateshead*	3	2	1	0	10	3	5
4	Blackhall Colliery Welfare	3	2	1	0	10	5	5
5	Stockton	3	1	2	0	6	2	4
6	Consett	3	1	2	0	8	4	4
7	Blyth Spartans	3	2	0	1	6	4	4
8	Middlesbrough*	2	1	1	0	5	1	3
9	Horden Colliery Welfare	2	1	0	1	4	3	2
10	West Stanley	2	1	0	1	7	6	2
11	Ashington	2	0	2	0	4	4	2
	Hartlepools United*	2	1	0	1	3	3	2
13	Spennymoor United	3	1	0	2	7	9	2
14	Throckley Welfare	3	1	0	2	6	8	2
15	Carlisle United*	3	1	0	2	2	4	2
16	North Shields	2	0	1	1	2	4	1
17	Annfield Plain	2	0	1	1	2	5	1
	Workington	3	0	1	2	4	10	1
19	Darlington*	3	0	0	3	3	13	0
20	Hexham Town	3	0	0	3	0	11	0
		54	21	12	21	108	108	54

 

It appears that a 10-club competition took place after this, with Consett winning this and Blackhall Colliery Welfare finishing second.  Unfortunately, no further details have been traced.  No further games were played in the North Eastern League until 1945 – as far as I know.

 

When the North Eastern league resumed in 1945, two of its members, Blyth Spartans and Hexham Town were not ready to take part.  Two other clubs were admitted to the competition, however – Eppleton Colliery Welfare and Murton Colliery Welfare.

 

1945-1946

 

1	Spennymoor United	38	24	3	11	146	72	51
2	Murton Colliery Welfare 1	38	24	6	8	105	59	50
3	Ashington	38	23	4	11	116	89	50
4	North Shields	38	21	7	10	97	67	49
5	Annfield Plain	38	23	2	13	97	68	48
6	Consett	38	18	8	12	92	62	44
7	South Shields	38	19	6	13	107	87	44
8	Gateshead*	38	17	3	18	83	90	37
9	Eppleton Colliery Welfare	38	15	7	16	66	92	37
10	Middlesbrough*	38	15	6	17	76	82	36
11	Sunderland*	38	14	7	17	84	79	35
12	Stockton	38	15	5	18	88	105	35
13	West Stanley	38	15	4	19	97	106	34
14	Horden Colliery Welfare	38	15	4	19	93	105	34
15	Darlington*	38	14	6	18	76	88	34
16	Blackhall Colliery Welfare	38	13	6	19	76	101	32
17	Workington	38	12	6	20	71	75	30
18	Hartlepools United*	38	12	4	22	62	116	28
19	Carlisle United*	38	10	5	23	77	117	25
20	Throckley Welfare	38	7	9	22	60	109	23
		760	326	108	326	1769	1769	756

 

¹4 points deducted.  There were no changes at the end of the season.