 | |||
| Full name | Corby Town Football Club | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | The Steelmen | ||
| Founded | 1948 | ||
| Ground | Steel Park,Corby | ||
| Capacity | 3,893 (577 seated)[1] | ||
| Chairman | Stevie Noble | ||
| Manager | Gary Setchell | ||
| League | Northern Premier League Division One Midlands | ||
| 2023–24 | Northern Premier League Division One Midlands, 8th of 20 | ||
| Website | corbytown.co.uk | ||
Corby Town Football Club is afootball club based inCorby,Northamptonshire, England. They are currently members of theNorthern Premier League Division One Midlands and play at Steel Park.
The club was established in 1948, taking over fromStewarts & Lloyds as the main team in the town. The new team contained a mix of Stewarts & Lloyds and new players,[2] and took over from Stewarts and Lloyds in theUnited Counties League.[3] Their first league match saw them win 5–1 againstWellingborough Town.[2] They went on to win back-to-back league titles in 1950–51 and 1951–52, after which they joined theMidland League as it was expanded to 24 clubs,[4] with the reserve team taking the club's place in the United Counties League.[3] Having signed sixteen new players, many of whom had played in theFootball League,[2] they went into the final match of the season on 1 May 1953 sitting level at the top of the table withNottingham Forest reserves, who were the visitors to Corby for the final match.[2] In front of a crowd of 6,294,[2] Corby lost the match and Forest reserves won the title by two points.[4] In1954–55 the club reached the first round of theFA Cup for the first time, losing 2–0 at home toWatford.[5]
In 1958 Corby transferred to theSouthern League, spending theirfirst season in the North-Western Division, before being placed in Division One for the1959–60 season.[5] Despite only finishing sixth in1961–62, Corby applied forelection to the Football League.[2] However, they failed to receive a single vote.[2] After finishing seventh thefollowing season the club applied again, and again received no votes.[2] In1963–64 they reached the first round of the FA Cup for a second time, losing 3–1 at home toBristol City. They appeared in the first round again thefollowing season, losing 3–1 at home toHartlepools United.[5]The season also saw them finish fourth in Division One, earning promotion to the Premier Division,[5] as well as making another failed bid for Football League membership.[2]
In1965–66 Corby progressed beyond the first round of the FA Cup for the first time; after beating non-LeagueBurton Albion 6–3 in the first round, they won 1–0 atLuton Town in a second round replay after the first match ended 2–2. In the third round they were beaten 6–0 atPlymouth Argyle.[5] The club applied for Football League membership for a fourth time, and for the first time received a single vote for their unsuccessful bid.[2] The club made their final application in1966–67, again receiving no votes.[2] Thefollowing season saw another FA Cup first round appearance (a 1–0 defeat atBoston United) but ended in relegation to Division One.[5] In 1971 the club were placed in Division One North after league reorganisation. Further reorganisation in 1979 and 1982 saw them placed in the Midland Division and then the Premier Division.
Corby remained in the Premier Division until being relegated at the end of the1989–90 season, but made an immediate return to the Premier Division after finishing as Division One Midlands runners-up in1990–91. After finishing bottom of the Premier Division in1994–95, the club were relegated again. In 1998 they were moved to the Division One South, and then were placed in Division One East for the1999–2000 season. After being transferred to Division One West in 2004, they were moved back to Division One East the following season. In2005–06 they finished second, and were promoted to the Premier Division.[5] The2008–09 season saw Corby win the Premier Division, earning promotion to theConference North.[5] In2010–11 the club reached the first round of the FA Cup for the first time since the 1960s, losing 4–2 to Luton Town in a replay.[5] They appeared in the first round again thefollowing season, losing 3–1 atBristol Rovers.[5]
After four seasons in the Conference North, Corby were relegated at the end of the2012–13 season. They were Southern League Premier Division champions again in2014–15 and were promoted back to the renamed National League North. However, another relegation in2015–16 saw the club relegated to the Premier Division of theNorthern Premier League.[5] The club were transferred to Division One East of the Southern League at the end of the2017–18 season as part of the restructuring of the non-League pyramid. The following season saw the club transferred to Division One Central of the Southern League. At the end of the2020–21 season they were transferred to Division One Midlands of the Northern Premier League.
The club originally played at Occupation Road. Floodlights were installed in 1958.[6] At the time it had a capacity of 14,000, including 6,000 under covered terraces.[7] The ground was sold to developers in 1985. The club subsequently moved to an athletics stadium at the Rockingham Triangle sports complex.[7] The new ground was opened on 6 September 1985 byNeil Kinnock and featured a cantilever stand with a seated capacity of around 1,000.[7] In 2011, the club moved to Steel Park, built adjacent to the athletics stadium, with the first match played at the new ground on 25 July 2011, a 2–0 win overNotts County.[1] It has a capacity of 3,893, of which 577 are seated.[1]
52°30′28.390″N0°42′59.954″W / 52.50788611°N 0.71665389°W /52.50788611; -0.71665389
