The first account of a form of football being played at Whitburn appeared in the North and South Shields Gazette and Northumberland and Durham Advertiser on the 5th April 1850.
Rural Sports – On Easter Monday, the pleasant village of Whitburn was the scene of much mirth and enjoyment. On the Sand there was race with three old cart horses to the great amusement of hundreds of spectators. There were also foot races by three old men. The younger ones amused themselves by games at the foot-ball in which great spirit and activity were shown.
The Newcastle Guardian and Tyne Mercury of Saturday 6th April adds, the football game lasted for an hour and a half. The banks and sands were thronged with a large concourse of spectators who seemed highly delighted with the amusement of the day.
In the Durham Chronicle of the 25th April 1851 in a report on the Easter Monday and Tuesday sports we read that, at Whitburn there was also foot-ball; and on the Monday the ladies employed themselves taking off the shoes or hats of the gentlemen
Again, in the Durham Chronicle of the 1st April 1853. During the Easter Holiday Sports at Whitburn, there were several vigorous and well contested games of foot-ball.