History narrative updated : 4 April 2008
Rangers AFC and New Brighton AFC merged in late 2007 to form a joint venture: Coastal Spirit FC.
Mostly adapted from Rangers AFC Yearbook 1997, compiled by Eric Adam & Jim Hawkey
Formed in 1910 in Hagley Park
The Rangers club was formed in 1910 by a group of dedicated players who were denied the opportunity to play on Saturday owing to the nature of their employment. All were employed in the retail trade which in 1910 opened all day Saturday for business and closed on a Thursday afternoon and its games were arranged against teams which could play them that particular day. The club was formed in Hagley Park, opposite the Christchurch Public Hospital.
One of the oldest known photographs of Rangers AFC. Taken at Lyttelton 1912 prior to a game against the team from Royal Navy Cruiser HMS New Zealand. Photo: Rangers AFC.
The club was constituted under the Canterbury Football Association in 1913 when the half day closing on Saturday was adopted for all retail merchants, and played its first games in the then junior grade.
The first boys team was recruited from Richmond School in 1918.
Early Success 1916-1923
There was soon a senior club and the years 1916 to 1923 were very strong ones for the club. They won their first championship in 1916, the English Cup in 1917 & 1918, the English Cup again in 1921. The Hurley Shield in 1922, the English Cup in 1923.
Performances for many years after 1923 were only moderate, although the club remained in a healthy state, winning the Hurley Shield again in 1931. The next success was not until 1957 when the first team, playing in the second division, won the competition unbeaten.
Rangers Park (Eric Adam Park)
The highlight of the club's administration came in 1962, when they purchased the five acres of land in McGregors Road for three thousand three hundred pounds [approximately $115,000 in 2007 CPI inflation-adjusted terms], which is today's Rangers Park [now Eric Adam Park]. Within a year, when the ground was officially opened in October 1963, they had built a pavilion for dressing rooms and showers, and in another year provided a floodlit ground that was good enough to play sponsored pre-season tournaments on. Since then they have provided a club room and improvements to the Park including a fully automatic drainage system under the pitch.
ack. photos: Jim Hawkey
Southern League success in the 1970s
With the purchase of Rangers Park behind it in the early sixties, thoughts again turned to the playing strength of the club. The first year of the Southern League in 1968 saw the appointment of Terry Haydon as the club's first professional coach, and he soon produced a team that was rated second in the top ten in NZ and narrowly lost the first Southern League competition on goal average. During this period of the late 60's Rangers played a part in the formation of Christchurch United AFC for the proposed forthcoming National League to start in 1970. Rangers provided a quarter of the A class shares in Christchurch United and also several prominent players, including Terry Haydon and Victor Pollard, who were both selected for New Zealand teams while playing for Rangers. Rangers still hold twenty five percent of the A class shares but do not exercise their right to have a director on United's board.
Determined to make National League status on their own, and in their own way, Rangers concentrated again on overcoming the loss of their best players to United and after a slow start, the 70's were the most successful period in the club's history up to that time, culminating in a place in the National League for 1980. The team won the Southern League in 1973, the Northern Division in 1974, the full Southern League again in 1975, runners up in 1976, third in 1977, runners up in 1978 and won it in 1979. In the years 1973 and 1975 they took part in the play offs for a place in the National League but were unsuccessful.
In both 1976 and 1977 the U18 team won the Star Travel Junior National Cup, defeating Manurewa in the final in 1976. The womens section was formed in 1973.
National League, Chatham Cup Final and Superclub
In 1980 the men's senior team finished ninth in the National League and at the end of 1981 Rangers were relegated. In 1984 they were second in the Southern League and challenged unsuccessfully for a National League place in the play off series. As winners of the Southern League in 1985 they again challenged unsuccessfully for a place in the National League. With the introduction of the Winfield Superclub competition in 1993 came an influx of ex Christchurch United players. They finished runners-up in the Southern League and qualified for the top eight competition and also the Chatham Cup Final, going down 6-0 to Napier City Rovers.
In 1994 Rangers finished the Superclub in third place, failing to qualify for the top eight nationally. They won the Plate and also qualified for the sixth round of the Chatham Cup, losing 1-0 to Raumati Hearts. The season finished with them winning the English Cup. In 1995 they just missed the top eight and finished fourth in the Plate. They were also semi-finalists in the Chatham Cup and were winners of the English Cup.
Canterbury Premier League and Mainland League
In 1998, Rangers were runners-up in the inaugural season of the Canterbury Premier League.
The Canterbury Premier League lasted one further season (Rangers finishing 3rd - equal on points with the second placed team) before being replaced in 2000 by the Federation 6 Premier League, Federation 6 comprising Nelson/Marlborough/West Coast/Canterbury. Rangers finished 4th in the first season, runners-up in the second season, and third place in the third season of this league. The Federation 6 Premier League was renamed the Mainland Premier League in 2003 and Rangers finished 3rd in that season, also reaching the Chatham Cup Quarter-Final (after winning 5 consecutive Cup matches) losing a close match 1-0 at home to eventual Cup winners, University-Mt Wellington.