| Full name | Old Tauntonians Football Club | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname | Scholars | ||
| Founded | 1946 | ||
| Dissolved | 2015 | ||
| Ground | BTC Sports Ground, Stoneham Lane, Southampton | ||
Old Tauntonians Football Club were a long running amateur football club based in Upper Shirley, a suburb in the city of Southampton.
They represented the football section of the parent Old Tauntonians Association Sports Club - a long running alumni organisation at Taunton's College.
The Old Tauntonians football team was formed in 1946 by former students of Taunton's College. [1]
The club enrolled in the Southampton League for the 1946/47 campaign. They started in Junior Division 2 and won promotion after finishing in third place. This saw them moved up to the Senior East Division, which they won at the first attempt. [2]
Commonly known locally as 'O.T's', they were then elected to the Hampshire League and were placed in Division 3 West. The club continued to prosper and finished runners-up in 1950. [3] However, their fortunes gradually declined and they left the competition in 1956 after finishing bottom. [4]
'The Scholars' returned to the Southampton League and were mainstays in the Senior section for many years. They were one of a number of long running college old boys teams to play in the competition during this time.
In 1967, they won the Senior Division 1 title and joined the Premier Division for the first time. [5] The club consolidated at this competitive level until 1979 when they were relegated after finishing bottom.
During this time, the club lost the use of their pitch on the college premises and became long term tenants at B.T.C. Southampton.
After a spell in the doldrums, O.T's recovered and won promotion back in 1986. They soon became regular title contenders, and in 1990 they were champions but were ineligible for promotion. Despite this, the team remained a steady top-flight outfit until 2003. [6]
By this stage, they were the sole surviving college old boys team, the only remaining active sporting section of the parent Association and had been reduced to a single side. With a group of ageing players it was then decided to join the Veterans section, and they soon enjoyed success - winning the League Cup in 2006, followed by the county Cup the following year.
O.T's continued to play until disbanding in 2015.
Old Tauntonians originally played at the college campus. After the facility was no longer available, they moved to the BTC Sports Ground at Stoneham Lane where they played for the remainder of their existence.
Old Tauntonians had a number of local rivals, most notably Old Edwardians - the alumni side from the nearby King Edward School.
