A meeting at the Town Hall passed the following resolution

"That it is desirable that an Association Football Club be formed for Sutton Coldfield and District and that the gentlemen present at this meeting accordingly constitute themselves a club, to be called "The Sutton Town Football Club"

The club's first president was the renowned Rev. W.K.R. Bedford, a member of one of Sutton Coldfield's most important family's and his name figures prominently in the Royal Town's history.

Sutton's first Secretary was Mr. John Ellison and the club's opening game on February 1, 1879 was against Birmingham (no connection with Birmingham City) on the Meadow Plat in Sutton Park. Dressing rooms were at the Station Hotel and horse drawn carriages took the players there to the ground.

For the records Sutton lost the match 6-2 and the teams were:

BIRMINGHAM: W. Hayfield, W. Burns, Fitchett, Allen, Tranter, Homer, Tomey, Nicholls, Butler, C. Burton, W. Evans, Fulford.

SUTTON COLDFIELD: J. Shaw, J.B. McClelland, T. Ellison, H. Addenbrooke, J. Smith, R. Shaw, R. Secker, C. Bates, J. Ellison, P. Pimlett.

The "Sutton Coldfield and Erdington News" reported "During the first half of the game that Birmingham scored 2 goals, the play being chiefly at the Sutton End.

"The kicking of some of the home team's forwards was rather too wild to be dangerous, but on change of ends they settled down to their work better and were rewarded for their perseverance by obtaining a goal.

"The Birmingham men returned the compliment and kicked on also, but the Sutton, whose motto is 'Nil Disperandum' fought hard and again succeeded in wrestling another goal off Birmingham".

"In spite, however, of all the plucky endeavours of the local men to obtain victory they could not increase their score and after the Birmingham had added three more goals to their number the game finished leaving the strangers victorious, they having six goals against Sutton's two. This result quite elated our men, who never expected to get off with so light a thrashing".

"It was not originally intended to play a match, but to mix the teams. Afterwards, however, it was thought better practice for the infant club to play one".

"The Birmingham brought two umpires, one of whom officiated for Sutton and acted as a non-playing captain. His good-advice was very useful to the local team and their thanks are due to him for his kindness and willingness to teach them".

After the hard and exciting work of the afternoon the two teams and their friends sat down to a substantial repast at the Station Hotel and afterwards passed a very enjoyable evening".

Games continued in Sutton Park, playing such teams as Wolverhampton Wanderers, Arcadians, Aston Clifton, Handsworth, St George's and Aston Villa.

Aston Villa's second team visited Sutton on November 8 1879 and lost 4-3, but in the next season, playing at Perry Barr in the Birmingham Association Challenge Cup, Villa's first team won 10-1 and according to one report "The Villa goalkeeper Copley used a chair to rest his wearied limbs".

At the end of the 1880-81 season some names that were to become synonymous with the club's future began to appear in reports. Mr T. Ellison had joined his brother J. Ellison on the committee and W.F. Taylor had emerged as a successful captain.

Throughout the rest of the 1880's Sutton made steady progress with their first team playing in the Central Birmingham League and a reserve side in the Aston and District League.

In 1900 Sutton became affiliated to the Birmingham F.A. and moved to a ground in Coles Lane, where the present Ambulance Depot is now situated.

A change of leagues in 1902 saw Sutton competing in the Small Heath League, where they stayed until 1907, when they transferred to the Suburban League. In the meantime Sutton had won the Sutton Dispensary Cup and had played home matches at Rectory Road (site of the Good Hope Hospital) in the Birmingham Youths and Old Boys League.

On Boxing Day 1909 Sutton beat Boldmere 6-1, gate receipts were £3-7s-3d; players expenses were 9s-9d and the referee's fee was 3 shillings.

In 1912 Sutton reached the semi-finals of the Wilnecote and Fazeley Charity Cup competitions.

There was a switch of leagues again between 1915 and 1919 with the club's first team playing in the Birmingham Alliance League, but the 1920's brought another move, when the club took over the present Coles Lane Ground and joined the Sutton and District League.

While Sutton reached the finals of various cups the trophy cabinet remained bare and there was little to excite their supporters and at the start of the 1930's the club was struggling financially.

The 1931-32 season saw Sutton back in the Birmingham Alliance, and gradually playing fortunes improved, only for Football League Clubs to snap up some of Sutton's most outstanding players...

In 1935 Holder went to Coventry City; Bassett signed for WBA; Leyton went to Reading and in 1936 Sutton lost the services of their brilliant 17 year-old goalkeeper Harry Baldwin, who went to the Albion. Then there was Pimberley to Birmingham and another for the Blues was Keasey, but perhaps the greatest of them all was Alf Wood to Coventry.

In 1937 a leading Midlands sports writer said "I believe it to be a fact that Sutton Town have supplied more professional players during the last few season than any other amateur club in the country".

The fact that Sutton did not win any major honours in the 1930's was due to his exodus of players, but even so they had progressed to become members of the Birmingham Combination - in those days the strongest semi-professional competition in the Midlands.

Secretary Fred Taylor was just about seeing the fruits of his labours when war broke out in 1939. Plans at that time to develop the Coles Lane ground were obviously shelved and for seven long years there was no football in Sutton Coldfield.