The origins of Bamber Bridge Football Club can be traced back to the late 1800's. However, the present club was reformed in 1952 as a junior team in the Preston and District League. Progress was made into the Senior Division but success was extremely limited.
1974 was a very significant year in the history of the club when amalgamation came about with neighbouring club, Walton-Le-Dale. A rejuvenated Bamber Bridge started on the road to becoming a prominent member of the non-league scene, their first major trophy collected was in 1979 when they won the Preston and District League Guildhall Cup, a trophy they were to win on three more occasions. Further success followed, winning the Preston and District League Title on four occasions and the pinnacle was winning the Lancashire Amateur Shield in 1982.
Throughout this period, the committee had dreamt and worked towards establishing a football ground of their own and in 1983 a piece of derelict land was purchased with the help of South Ribble and Sports Council's. It took four years of dedicated work and considerable expense to change this overgrown land into a football pitch, which was named Irongate after the local area. It was indeed a proud moment to see the team play on the club's own ground after having played on park pitches for so long. The first game at Irongate was played in August 1987 and since then continual developments and improvements have taken place to enable the club to enter the non-league pyramid system.
In 1990 the club joined the North West Counties League and in three successful seasons progressed through two Divisions. In 1992 they reached the Semi-Final of the FA Vase, only one step away from the famous Wembley Stadium. During this period floodlights were installed and further ground improvements were made allowing promotion into the Northern Premier League First Division in 1993.

The 91/92 team that almost made it to Wembley

After having finished in a respectable mid-table position in their first season at the higher level the 1994-95 season was to bring further success, winning promotion to the Premier Division as First Division Runners-Up as well as winning the Northern Premier League Challenge Cup and the Lancashire FA Challenge Trophy.
Against all the odds in 1995-96, their first season in the Premier Division, the club won the title beating off late challenges from Hyde United and Boston United, the final outcome depending on the results on the last day of the season - a history making season for the club.
The club then gained worldwide fame when they entertained the Czech Republic International team in a friendly game prior to their opening game against Germany in the European International Championship Finals in 1996.
Having lost their manager and a number of key players from the championship winning side, the 1996-97 and 1997-98 seasons saw the club struggling in the bottom half of the Premier Division table. 1998-99 saw the return of their championship-winning manager, which saw a much improved performance with a creditable fourth place finish in the League.
The highlight of the clubs 1999-00 season was their excellent run in the FA Cup, reaching the Second Round Proper for the first time before bowing out by a narrow 0-1 margin at Football League Second Division side Cambridge United, the result decided on a disputed penalty. The following season proved to be a disappointment with a mid-table finish in the League.
The 2001-02 campaign opened with a double blow when the loss of the clubs main sponsor was followed by the loss of a financially rewarding agreement with Bolton Wanderers. Sadly, with no time in which to replace these losses the club was faced with having to make financial cuts in order to survive. As a direct result of this, relegation followed, with three different managers and fifty-two players making continuity almost impossible, despite many battling performances. A last minute reprieve via the play-offs failed to materialise and the club experienced relegation for the first time in its history. Restructuring of the National League System at the start of the 2004-05 season saw the club regain Premier Division status after two years in the lower section.
Time spent in the higher grade lasted only twelve months and the club once again experienced the bitter pill of relegation. The 2004-05 season however, was not a complete disaster and, despite the loss of Premier Division status, the League President’s Cup was lifted with a 3-2 aggregate win over Witton Albion.