Whitley Bay Football Club, also known as The Seahorses, or simply The Bay, are an English football club based in the seaside town of Whitley Bay, in the North East county of Tyne and Wear. Initially founded as Whitley & Monkseaton Football Club in 1897, the club took its present name in 1958. The team plays its home matches at Hillheads Park, which is adjacent to the Whitley Bay Ice Rink and has a maximum capacity of 4,500. Since 1958 the club has spent the vast majority of seasons in the Northern Football League's Division One. The Seahorses first competed in the division for 30 years between 1958 and 1988, before rejoining for the 2000–01 season, where they have been ever since. Whitley Bay are the most successful club in FA Vase history, the national cup competition for more than 600 teams in the 9th and 10th tier of English football. They have won the competition a record four times, including three consecutive victories at Wembley Stadium in 2009, 2010 and 2011. The club has also won twelve Northumberland Senior Cups, three Northern Football League championships, and a Northern Premier League Division One title. History Origins; formation and early years (1896–1958) A football club has existed in Whitley Bay since 1896. The first team was known as Whitley and Monkseaton F.C; later renamed Monkseaton FC and then again to Whitley Bay Athletic in 1950. In 1958 a limited company was formed, with 'Athletic' dropped from the title. From 1950 until 1955, Whitley Bay Athletic were members of the Northern Alliance League, winning the League Championship, League Cup (twice), and in 1952–53 became the first amateur team to win the Northumberland Senior Cup in sixty years, beating rivals North Shields in front of 17,000 fans inside St James' Park. In 1955, The Seahorses briefly joined the North Eastern League wholly made up of professional sides, First appearance in the Northern Football League (1958–1988) Initial success (1958–1973) Whitley Bay was elected to the Northern League by a winning vote of 11–3 on 14 June 1958. It was here that the club won two league titles (in 1964–65 and 1965–66) and two Northern League Cups (in 1964–65 and 1970–71). In addition, the Northumberland Senior Cup was won eight times in twelve years between 1961–1973. In the FA Amateur Cup (the predecessor to the FA Vase), The Bay twice reached the semi-finals, and quadrice