Football has been played in Corby ever since the expansion of the town to provide respite from the steel works, with men picking up their boots and taking time away from the furnaces.
In 1935, Stewarts & Lloyds Corby - appropriately nicknamed the Foundrymen - was set up as the works team for Corby’s Stewarts & Lloyds Iron and Steel Company.
Rival team Corby Town was set up in 1948 when many players upped sticks for the newer side and forcing what was left of S&L Corby to slog it out in the Kettering Amateur League.
Using the nickname The Steelmen, Corby Town Football Club started out in at a ground in Occupation Road under first manager Reg Smith, a former England, Millwall and Dundee player.
The club moved to the Rockingham Triangle athletics stadium in 1985, moving to a purpose built ground 26 years later.
Many top footballers hail from Corby and have graced its pitches. Billy Mckay was a Northern Ireland international, Stuart Campbell played for Leicester City and Phil Chard made nearly 500 appearances in the Football League including nearly 300 for Northampton Town.
Other notable names are Norman Dean (Southampton, Cardiff City and Barnsley), Richard D. Graham (Crystal Palace goalkeeper), Gerard Lavin (Watford, Millwall, Bristol City, Wycombe Wanderers and Northampton Town), Jon Purdie (Arsenal), Eddie McGoldrick (Arsenal, Crystal Palace, Manchester City, Northampton Town and Stockport County and Ireland international, Dick Graham (manager of Crystal Palace, Leyton Orient, Walsall, Colchester and Wimbledon), Busby Babe Alec Dawson, Lee Glover (Nottingham Forest, Port Vale and Rotherham United) and Bryn Gunn (Nottingham Forest) with which he won the 1979–80 European Cup.
And finally, legendary Manchester United manager Sir Matt Busby's sister ran the Studfall shops newsagent in the '50's and '60's. Sir Matt was Corby actor Brendan Coyle's great uncle.
