History
Wigan County were the first team to play at Springfield Park. Their greatest event was a 1–0 loss at the hands of Manchester City before their liquidation and extinction three years after their 1897 formation. Wigan United took the lease at Springfield Park in 1901, competing for two seasons in the Lancashire League. After being drawn away to Stalybridge Rovers in the third round of the Rawcliffe Cup, they declined to play due to a waterlogged pitch. However, the referee ruled otherwise, leaving Stalybridge to kick off, dribble and place the ball into the net.[2] Wigan Town was the third attempt to establish football in Wigan in 1905, but it too failed to survive for more than three years.
After a period of inactivity at Springfield Park due to the First World War, Wigan United beat Fleetwood 2–0 on 6 September 1919 in the West Lancs League. This was the first official game after the war and would lead to the club taking the lease for the ground on 2 December 1919 for the rest of the season. United eventually became Wigan Borough F.C. in 1920 and became one of the founder members of the Football League Third Division North. They won their first game, against Nelson, 2–1 in front of 9,000 spectators. The club's best performance was in 1928–29 when they reached the Third round of the FA Cup. This was to be the largest attendance ever recorded at Springfield Park, with 30,443 spectators watching a 3–1 loss to Sheffield Wednesday.
Wigan Borough resigned from the football league during the 1931–32 season. Shortly after Borough went out of business, a new club, Wigan Athletic F.C., was formed and continued to play their home games at Springfield Park. After lengthy negotiations, Wigan Athletic purchased the ground from the owner of Woodhouse Lane Stadium for £2,800 with the proviso that greyhound racing never take place at Springfield Park.[3]
During the 1952–53 season, the main stand was razed to the ground by fire, resulting in major fundraising efforts for the construction of a new stand. The following season, a record crowd of 27,526 watched Wigan Athletic beat Hereford United 4–1. To this day, it is the largest attendance ever recorded between two non-league clubs excluding Wembley finals.[4]
19 October 1966 marked the first floodlit match at Springfield Park, when Wigan Athletic played Crewe Alexandra. This was a full year before floodlights were installed at Central Park.
In October 1978, Zambia –coached by Brian Tiler, himself an ex-Latics manager– became the first national team to play at Springfield Park. Wigan won the game 2–1.
Wigan Athletic F.C. moved to the new JJB Stadium after the 1999 season. The final competitive goal to be scored at the stadium was by Manchester City's Paul Dickov.