The first ever recorded fixture that United played was on 1 September 1904 when they entertained Victoria Wanderers, another Carlisle based side, in a friendly.

Wanderers would go on to win the game, played at Millholme Bank, by 2 goals to 1 and, unfortunately, the scorer of that historic goal has been lost to history with his name never having been recorded.

The name Carlisle United, as has been shown on the Club History homepage, was chosen at a heated meeting in Caldewgate, and it wasn't without its detractors. In fact, a breakaway group decided that Shaddongate United should live on and they continued to play under that name. However, they didn't have much of a local impact and their exploits have also been lost in the fullness of time.

The first ever Saturday match for Carlisle United was on 3 September 1904, and it ended in victory with a 3-1 win over Hexham. 7 days later it was Maxwelltown, just across the border, who played host in a thrilling 3-3 draw that saw both sides take and lose the lead.

A final nail in the coffin for Shaddongate came when the new Carlisle United entered the Cumberland Senior League. The division had just the 6 teams (including fierce rivals Carlisle Red Rose) and it was to be the Roses who would inflict a first league defeat on United when they beat them 2-0 at Boundary Road. 

Revenge would be gained a month later when United went to the Roses ground at Maryport Cottages and beat them 2-1 in another nip and tuck match.

It was in this 1904/05 season that Carlisle United entered the FA Cup for the first time. They were drawn to play against Workington who were, at that time, the top side in Cumbria. In fact, so good were thay that they comfortably held their own in the Lancashire Combination League.

The Cup game ended in a 2-2 draw with the West Cumbrians running out as 3-1 winners in the replay. In the Cumberland Cup United started by knocking out Frizington White Star, followed by Workington and then Keswick in the Semi-Final. The Final, played on the Warwick Road ground, brought United and Red Rose together again, and it was the newer of the two sides who would come out on top. The 2-0 win not only handed them the Cumberland Cup, but also confirmed them as the first side to ever achieve the League and Cup double. 

The remainder of the season for United was a series of friendly matches against the likes of Accrington, Darlington and a Newcastle United XI. Even better, club officials pulled off a real coup on Good Friday 1905 when they managed to persuade Glasgow Rangers to come to the City for a game. The match was played at Warwick Road in front of a healthy crowd of 3000, but the Gers won 2-1.

Having been very impressed with what they had seen and heard of the Lancashire Combination League, United went in search of approval for admittance on 3 May 1905. After a two week wait the request was rubber stamped and, along with Burnley, Bolton and Lancaster, United stepped up to a higher level of football. Having offered to pay the travelling fares of visiting teams for two seasons, the application was never really in doubt.

It was indeed a move up for Carlisle United, and an important one as the club then worked hard to go from strength to strength.

Fixtures and Results

Date	Comp	Opponents	Score
September 1, 1904	Fr	VICTORIA WANDERERS	1-2
September 3, 1904	Fr	HEXHAM	3-1
September 10 1904	Fr	Maxwelltown Vols	3-3
September 24, 1904	Fr	CARLISLE RED ROSE	1-1
October 1, 1904	FA Cup	WORKINGTON	2-2
October 8, 1904	FA Cup	Workington	1-3
October 15, 1904	CSL	Keswick	3-2
October 22, 1904	Fr	NEWCASTLETON	4-0
October 29, 1904	CSL	WORKINGTON	1-1
November 5, 1904	Fr	NEWCASTLE Utd A	2-5
November 12, 1904	CSL	CARLISLE RED ROSE	0-2
November 19, 1904	CSL	Wigton	3-1
December 3, 1904	Fr	Newcastleton	1-3
December 10, 1904	CSL	Carlisle Red Rose	2-1
December 17, 1904	CSL	PENRITH	3-2
December 24, 1904	Fr	Haydon Bridge	4-1
December 26, 1904	Fr	CARLISLE RED ROSE	1-2
December 27, 1904	Fr	Darlington	1-2
December 31 1904	Fr	HAYDON BRIDGE	8-1
January 2 1905	Fr	STRATHCLYDE	0-0
January 3, 1905	Fr	DARVEL	1-0
January 7, 1905	CSL	Penrith	1-0
January 14, 1905	CSL	KESWICK	7-1
January 21, 1905	Fr	CORINTHIANS	3-0
January 28, 1905	CSL	Workington	2-0
February 4, 1905	C Cup	FRIZINGTON WHITE STAR	4-2
February 11, 1905	C Cup	Frizington White Star	1-2
February 18, 1905	C Cup	WORKINGTON	2-2
February 25, 1905	C Cup	Workington	4-1
March 4, 1905	C Cup	KESWICK	2-1
March 11, 1905	C Cup	Keswick	0-0
March 18, 1905	Fr	THORNHILL	6-1
March 25, 1905	Fr	ACCRINGTON	0-4
April 1, 1905	Fr	Newcastle Utd A	1-2
April 8, 1905	CSL	WIGTON	4-1
April 15, 1905	C Cup Final	Carlisle Red Rose	2-0
April 21, 1905	Fr	GLASGOW RANGERS	1-2
April 22, 1905	Fr	MAXWELLTOWN	1-3
April 24, 1905	Fr	HEBBURN	1-6
April 27, 1905	Fr	Corinthians	3-1
April 29, 1905	Fr	Rest of League	2-0
May 6, 1905	Hospital Cup	Carlisle Red Rose	0-1

Key - Fr = Friendly, CSL = Cumberland Senior League, C Cup = Cumberland Cup

Final League Table - Cumberland Senior League

	P	W	D	L	F	A	Pts
Carlisle Utd	10	8	1	1	26	11	17
Penrith	10	4	3	3	26	18	11
Carlisle Red Rose	9	3	3	3	13	9	9
Wigton Harriers	10	4	1	5	18	18	9
Keswick	10	3	0	7	13	33	6
Workington*	9	2	2	5	12	18	4
*2 Pts Deducted