History of Manchester United F.C. (1878–1945) History of Manchester United F.C. (1878–1945) Manchester United Football Club was formed in 1878 as Newton Heath LYR Football Club by the Carriage and Wagon department of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway depot at Newton Heath. The team initially played games against other departments and rail companies at their home ground at North Road, but by 1888 the club had become a founding member of The Combination, a regional football league. However, following the league's dissolution before the end of its first season, Newton Heath joined the newly formed Football Alliance, which ran for three seasons before being merged with
Leeds United F.C.–Manchester United F.C. rivalry colours of each football team's home shirts fittingly correspond to the respective rose representing their historic county – Leeds with a white kit, resembling the Yorkshire rose and Manchester United with a red shirt, like the Lancashire rose. However, Manchester United's colours have not always been red and Leeds only adopted their white kit in the 1960s, inspired by Real Madrid. There is a similar rivalry in the sport of cricket, in which matches are contested on a county basis. In this case, the "Roses Match" is the name given to games played between Yorkshire County Cricket Club and Lancashire