Saturday 15 November is a date which might mean something to older Consett supporters with very good memories, or those with a keen sense of history.

For it is 62 years to the day since the club appeared in the 1st Round of the FA Cup for the first time, against Doncaster Rovers back in the 1958-59 season.

The fact that we have only done it once more since – facing Mansfield Town in 1996 – indicates what an achievement it is for a club with Consett’s often-meagre resources.

The Ironworkers, as the team were then known, battled through four qualifying rounds to make the competition proper. Hopes of a lucrative pay-day in front of a big home crowd were dashed when Consett were drawn at Belle Vue all right – the home of their Third Division opponents!

It was the first season after the scrapping of the Third Divisions North and South, and Doncaster were bottom of a league which included the likes of Plymouth Argyle, Hull City, Reading, Southampton, Queen’s Park Rangers, Accrington Stanley and Norwich City.

They had played 19 games, winning five, drawing one and losing the other 13. Their last win was a month before, so Consett headed to South Yorkshire with hopes of pulling off a famous giant-killing act.

The 16-page programme for the game, priced 3d, noted that it was a “red-letter day” for Consett, as it was the first time the club, then in the Midland League, had reached the 1st Round of the FA Cup. It noted: “The draw aroused tremendous interest in the township, which lies 12 miles south-west of Newcastle, and the match here today has been the big topic of conversation in Consett for weeks.

“No doubt we shall see hundreds of their enthusiastic supporters wearing their black and white favours and giving their team plenty of vocal encouragement, and I should like to see our own supporters too urging our players on, for there is no doubt that when a team knows that a crowd is behind it, there is an immediate re-action, with players willing to pull out that extra effort which brings success.”

The writer continued: “I am confident that our experience and skill will gain us the spoils this afternoon. I know that our League record is not anything like so good as we should like it to be, but if our players start out with the determination I know they possess they should win through, and handsomely too.”

Unfortunately, his words proved prophetic, as the Reds were too strong for Consett, and ran out 5-0 winners. The team, shown in the reproduced centre-pages from the programme, played in the 2-3-5 formation which was favoured then, and found themselves 2-0 down at half-time.

One of the Doncaster players that day was a name to watch out for in the future – not as a footballer, but as a comedian. Charlie Williams, listed at No 5 in the programme, was one of the pioneering black footballers of the 1950s. A physical, no-nonsense centre-half, he spent a decade on Rovers’ books, making 171 first-team appearances. After retiring he enjoyed a career in showbusiness, and became famous as a comedian in the 1970s.

Then, as now, Consett had to navigate several qualifying rounds to make the 1st Round. They beat Whitby Town 2-1 and Ashington 3-2, both at home, Willington 2-1 away after a 0-0 draw at Belle Vue, then Whitley Bay 3-0 at home in the 4th Qualifying Round. “The crowds got bigger the further we went,” remembers Ronnie Hall, one of the stars of the Consett side. “It really caught the town’s imagination.”

“We used to get 1,500-2,000 for home games – more for derby matches against the likes of Annfield Plain and West Stanley. Our captain was Jackie Callender (pictured below in a newspaper cutting from the game) who came from Gateshead. He was a good lad, who lived for football.”

Consett had to change their usual red shirts and white shorts because Doncaster wore the same colours. They borrowed a strip from Newcastle United, whose reserves they faced in the run-up to the cup tie, so played in black and white stripes.

“We travelled down to Doncaster on the Friday by bus and stayed in a hotel overnight, which was a real luxury,” said Ronnie. “We didn’t do that very often, even when we were in the Midland League and travelling to places like Goole, Grantham and Peterborough.

“Our chairman was Mr Hyman Sadler, a lovely Jewish fellow who owned a drapery shop at the bottom of the Market Place. They were treating him like a lord all that day and the next because someone from the club rang up and asked to speak to Sir Hyman. It was a joke, but they believed it – the waiters addressed him as ‘Sir Hyman’.

“The FA Cup was huge back then, and bus loads of people followed us down from Consett. It did us no good. Doncaster thumped us 5-0. They were different class. We missed a couple of chances early on, but they took theirs and we were 2-0 down at half-time.

“The longer the game went on the more they took control. Them being full-time made a big difference. We were disappointed, but gave it our best shot. I remember playing against Charlie Williams, he was a canny centre-half, spoke in broad Yorkshire, and kicked everything above grass height.”

Consett chairman Hyman Sadler conceded after the game: “I tried to get our lads into a make-believe sort of mind, thinking they were champions. It was a gamble, but it didn’t come off. I must say Doncaster were value for their win.”

The Consett team which played in the historic game was: 1 Malcolm Lax, 2 Ron Lester, 3 Hilton Spedding, 4 Jackie Callender, 5 Bill Ferry, 6 Les Price, 7 Barry Stewart, 8 Ronnie Hall, 9 Arthur Beadle, 10 Bill McHale, 11 Jackie O’ Connor. The attendance was 8,932.

• Ronnie Hall’s reminiscences originally appeared in a special Consett AFC programme pullout back in 2008, marking the 50th anniversary of the game v Doncaster.