The original Runcorn FC were founded in at the end of the First World War, and competed at a decent level for several decades, peaking with an Alliance Premier League title in 1982. The club was hit with a financial crisis in the 1990s, with their home ground damaged to such an extent that they relocated in 2000. This only delayed the inevitable and the club folded in 2006, by which time disgruntled supporters had already formed a breakaway club known as Runcorn Linnets