[4] However, the club was suspended at the end of the 1890–91 season after a complaint by Tonge about Middleton poaching two of its players (Brooks and Powell).

The club suffered a further tragedy a few months later, as one of its founders, the 23-year-old Harry Johnson Horsman, died of a seizure at his home, ten years after his brother had been killed playing football.

[8] Middleton first entered the FA Cup in 1894–95, and caused a shock in its first match at Northwich Victoria in the first qualifying round, Hall scoring the only goal of the game from a break with 20 minutes to go, from a Vics corner; the Vics had been a Football League side the previous season, and Middleton also had the luxury of missing a penalty.

The club's best performance in the competition came in 1898–99, when it reached the fourth qualifying round (the penultimate stage), but lost at Stockport County to three second-half goals.

[18] The original club's first ground was a field at Tonge Springs, using the Church Inn for facilities.