Paget Rangers Juniors

The club was established in 1938 by pupils of Paget Road School in Erdington, Birmingham and was accepted into the Intermediate Division of the Birmingham Juvenile Organisation Committee. In their first two seasons Paget enjoyed instant success, winning the league title on both occasions; however the outbreak of the 2nd World War brought a halt to progress. Following the outbreak of peace, Paget joined the Birmingham Youth and Old Boys AFA, before moving to the Central Amateur League in 1949 and then the Worcestershire Combination (now Midland Combination) in 1950. In 1951 Paget Rangers purchased a site on Springfield Road in Walmley for a cost of £550. Springfield Road was to be Paget’s home for the next 42 years. The 1950s was a decade of consolidation for The Bears, before experiencing their first major success in 1960 when a unique quadruple was achieved. Paget won the Midland Combination League Title, The Midland Combination League Cup, The Birmingham Junior Cup and the Sutton Coldfield Charity Cup. Paget went on to retain the league title again in 1961. Further success followed in 1967 when Paget Rangers defeated Alvechurch to win the Midland Combination League cup (Alvechurch had beaten Paget in the previous year’s final). In 1970 Paget won the Midland Combination Premier Division for the third time, following that success with a second-place finish in 1971. In 1971 the club erected floodlights at Springfield Road, becoming the first Midland Combination club to have floodlights in the process. The switching on of the lights was marked by a visit of Aston Villa to Springfield Road, drawing a crowd in excess of 2000.