Scarborough FC was one of the oldest football clubs in England, formed in 1879.  The club  was founded by members of the town's cricket team, and played their earliest games at the cricket ground in North Marine Road. The football club soon moved to the nearby Recreation Ground. In 1898, Scarborough made the move across town to the Athletic Ground in Seamer Road and remained there until 2007, though the ground was renamed The McCain Stadium in a pioneering sponsorship deal in 1988.  In 1927 the Yorkshire club became professional and joined the Midland League. After only three years they became champions of it, breaking the record for most points in a season. Because of their decent performance in the Midlands League, the club was entitled to become one of the founding clubs in the new Northern Premier League in 1968. The 1970s would prove to be a successful time for Scarborough; they won the FA Trophy three times at Wembley Stadium, beating Wigan Athletic, Stafford Rangers and Dagenham in the process.  By the end of the 1970s, Scarborough had been selected to be part of the new Alliance Premier League, known today as the Conference. They stayed in this league for several seasons with generally consistent finishing positions in mid-table until Neil Warnock won the Conference title in 1987 and earned the distinction of becoming the first team to earn automatic promotion into the Football League.  The club had mixed fortunes during their stay in the Football League. They spent several seasons near the bottom, but reached the play-offs for promotion twice. They became giant killers in 1989 with a 3–2 victory in the League Cup over Chelsea, after achieving a 1–1 draw during the first leg at Stamford Bridge. Scarborough were relegated back to the Conderence in 1999.  By 2006 they were further demoted to the Conference North. The club’s 128 year history ended in June 2007 with debts of £2.5m.