A.C. Delco F.C. (Eastleigh)

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A.C. Delco F.C.
Full nameA.C. Delco Football Club
Founded1950
Dissolved2001
GroundAC Delco Sports Ground, Stoneham Lane, Eastleigh

AC Delco were a long-running amateur football club based in Eastleigh, Hampshire.

Contents

History

AC Delco FC were founded in 1950 as the works side of the Eastleigh based automotive manufacturing company General Motors.

Upon formation, they enrolled in the Southampton League and enjoyed immediate success - reaching the Senior section within six seasons after impressively winning four successive Junior division titles along with the Southampton Junior 'A' Cup three years in succession. [1]

The club played at the company owned Sports Ground, and due to their fine facilities they were elected directly into the Hampshire League Division 4 in 1972 after winning the Senior Division 1 championship (by-passing the Premier Division). [2] After a series of steady seasons, AC Delco won two promotions to reach Division 2 by 1981 but two years later had to drop out of the competition. [3]

After a brief spell of rebuilding back in the Southampton League, they returned to county football in 1984 – being placed in Division 3. AC Delco continued to prosper and within six years had reached the top-flight (although the competition had been restructured in 1986 following the formation of the Wessex League). AC Delco remained a steady Division 1 outfit, until suffering relegation in 1998.

In 2000 AC Delco won the Southampton Senior Cup after a surprise 2-1 victory over favourites Blackfield & Langley. The match was played at The Dell, Southampton and was actually a replay after the original meeting (which they were losing) had been abandoned due to floodlit failure.

This proved to be the clubs finest hour as within a year they had ceased to exist after the parent company relocated and sold the ground. [4]

Honours

1st Team

2nd Team

Hampshire League Career

Ground

AC Delco played at the company owned sports complex at Stoneham Lane in Eastleigh. The venue had a car park, two adult football pitches and also hosted cricket, tennis and rugby. It also had a large multipurpose pavilion where the AC Delco Sports & Social Club was located.

The ground was frequently used for local cup finals. In 2001 it was purchased by private investors, who renamed it Stoneham Park and kept it open for sporting purposes. It continued to host county league soccer when Ordnance Survey took up residence, remaining there until 2010 when the site was sold for housing. [8]

Notable players

AC Delco had many fine players during their existence, most notably ex-Southampton duo Cliff Huxford [9] and John Sydenham [10] who both played during the 1976/77 promotion winning campaign.

Local rivalries

With there being so many teams in the area, AC Delco had many local rivals. These mostly included Eastleigh, Pirelli General, Eastleigh Athletic, BTC Southampton and Ford Sports (formerly Briggs Social).

References

  1. ↑ A Century of Southampton Local Soccer 1908-2008 by John Moody
  2. ↑ Hampshire Football Association Centenary History 1887-1987 by Norman Gannaway
  3. ↑ A Tabulated History of the Hampshire League by Stephen Farmery
  4. ↑ A History of the Hampshire League 1896-1996 by Norman Gannaway
  5. ↑ Southampton Divisional Football Association Handbook 2017/18
  6. ↑ Southampton Senior Cup – The Finals 1909-2022 by Gary Day
  7. ↑ Southampton Football League Handbook & Directory 2018/19
  8. ↑ https://www.dailyecho.co.uk/news/24031385.half-homes-now-sold-bargate-homes-heritage-place/
  9. ↑ https://www.saintsplayers.co.uk/player/cliff-huxford/
  10. ↑ https://www.saintsplayers.co.uk/player/john-sydenham/
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