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| Full name | Telford United Football Club | |
|---|---|---|
| Nickname | The Bucks or Lillywhites | |
| Founded | 1872 (as Parish Church Institute) | |
| Dissolved | 2004 | |
| Ground | Bucks Head,Telford | |
| 2003–04 | Football Conference, 12th | |
Telford United Football Club was an Englishfootball club based inTelford,Shropshire.
The club existed under various names for a total of 132 years from its formation in 1872. The club was a founder member of theAlliance Premier League (later renamed theFootball Conference) in 1979 and played at this level for 25 years. The club was known for memorable exploits in the FA Cup during the early 1980s and in the 2003–04 FA Cup as well as the 1970–71, 1982–83 and 1988–89 FA Trophies.
After Telford United was wound up in 2004, supporters established a new club namedAFC Telford United.
The club was formed inWellington, Shropshire in late 1872 asParish Church Institute, and in 1879 was renamedWellington Town. They won theShropshire Senior Cup in 1881, and in 1890 were founder members of theShropshire League.[1] In 1898 they joined theBirmingham & District League. In 1901 they switched toThe Combination and won theWelsh Cup, before returning to the Birmingham & District League in 1902. They won the Welsh Cup for a second time in 1906–07.
They left the league again at the end of the 1905–06 season, but returned in 1908. In 1920–21 they won the league for the first time, and in1925–26 reached the first round of theFA Cup for the first time, something they repeated for the next two seasons and again in 1929–30. In 1930–31 they reached the second round. The club won back-to-back titles in 1934–35 and 1935–36, before switching to theCheshire County League in 1938. However, they returned to the Birmingham & District League after a single season and went on to win the league and the Welsh Cup again in 1939–40.
AfterWorld War II they joined the Cheshire County League, winning the title in 1945–46 and 1946–47 and again in 1951–52. In 1958 they moved up to the expandedSouthern League, and were placed in the Premier Division for the1959–60 season after atransitional year in the North-West Division.
In 1969 the club was renamedTelford United in recognition of the new town which had grown around Wellington.[2] In their first season under the new name they reached the final of the firstFA Trophy, but lost 2–0 toMacclesfield Town. They reached the final again the following year and won 3–2 againstHillingdon Borough. Following a third-place finish in1978–79 they were founder members of the newAlliance Premier League. In 1982, when Alliance Premier League championsRuncorn failed to meet Football League stadium requirements, Telford applied to join theFootball League, but their application was unsuccessful.
During the 1980s the club had several good runs in the FA Cup, reaching the second round in1982–83 when they knocked out Third DivisionWigan Athletic before losing toTranmere Rovers in a replay. They also reached the final of the FA Trophy again, winning 2–1 againstNorthwich Victoria. Thefollowing season they reached the fourth round, beatingStockport County,Northampton Town andRochdale before losing toDerby County. In1984–85 they reached the fifth round, knocking outLincoln City,Preston North End,Bradford City andDarlington before losing toEverton. They continued to claim League scalps, beating Stockport in1985–86,Burnley in1986–87 andStoke City in1991–92. They reached the FA Trophy final again in 1987–88, but lost toEnfield in a replay. The following season they reached the Trophy final for a fifth time, this time defeating Macclesfield 1–0.
In the2003–04 FA Cup the club knocked out bothBrentford andCrewe Alexandra before losing to eventual finalistsMillwall. They also reached the semi-finals of the FA Trophy, but lost on penalties toCanvey Island. They folded at the end of the season, due to thebusiness failure of owner Andy Shaw in March,[3] but the name was resurrected shortly afterwards by the creation ofAFC Telford United.
The club's traditional colours were white shirts and black shorts,[4] although from at least 1885[5] to 1906[6] the club wore scarlet.
As Wellington Town:
As Telford United F.C.:
Media related toTelford United F.C. at Wikimedia Commons| International | |
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