| Full name | Oswestry Football Club | |
|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | the Oswestrians | |
| Founded | 1875 | |
| Dissolved | 1891 | |
| Ground | Cricket Ground | |
| Secretary | J. N. Whittaker | |
Oswestry Football Club, occasionally known as Oswestry Town, [1] was a football club from Shropshire.
| Full name | Oswestry Football Club | |
|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | the Oswestrians | |
| Founded | 1875 | |
| Dissolved | 1891 | |
| Ground | Cricket Ground | |
| Secretary | J. N. Whittaker | |
Oswestry Football Club, occasionally known as Oswestry Town, [1] was a football club from Shropshire.
The club was founded out of Oswestry Cricket Club on 4 September 1875; [2] it claimed a foundation date of 1870 [3] which may have been the date of the cricket club's foundation. The club gained a boost in 1878, when Druids temporarily folded, which resulted in so many Druids players joining Oswestry, that Oswestry provided the majority of the Welsh national side which narrowly lost 2–1 at England in January 1879. [4]
It entered the FA Cup for the first time in 1882–83, borrowing several players from the rival Oswestry White Star club for the first round tie with the revived Druids, although to no avail as the Shropshire side bowed out. [5]
By the 1883–84 season, Oswestry F.C. absorbed the White Star, [6] briefly using the White Star name for the Oswestry second XI. [7] The club promptly went on its best run in that season's FA Cup, when it reached the third round (last 28), and had the honour of hosting Queen's Park, the highlight of the game for the home support being W. T. Foulkes equalizing an early Spiders goal, but the superior Scottish side ran out 7–1 winners, and Oswestry held a public dinner in honour of its conqueror at the Wynnstay Arms that evening. [8]
Oswestry entered the Welsh Cup from its first edition in 1877–78 until 1891–92. Its greatest achievement came in 1883–84, when it became the first English club to win the competition, beating Druids 1–0 in a replay at Wrexham, the goal due to "the joint efforts of Farmer and Shaw", [9] after an initial 0–0 draw. [10] The two sides met again in the 1884–85 Welsh Cup final, but Druids gained revenge with a 3–1 win, thanks to two extra-time goals, after both original match and replay had ended 1–1 after 90 minutes. [11]
For the club's final Welsh Cup entry, it was drawn to visit Chirk AAA, but scratched, [12] and never appeared again. It was succeeded by Oswestry United. [13]
The club wore blue. [14]
The club played at the Oswestry Cricket Ground. [15]
A number of Oswestrians were capped for Wales; those who played against England in 1879 included Llewelyn Kenrick, George Higham, Thomas Owen, Watkin William Shone, Dennis Heywood, William Davies, and William Digby Owen. [16] Davies scored the Welsh goal, which was also Wales' first international goal. [17]
Seth Powell, part of the 1884 Cup-winning side, went on to play in the Football League for West Bromwich Albion. [18]
George Farmer and R. T. Gough were two of the White Star players who came over to Oswestry and were part of the 1884 Cup-winning side, Farmer being co-responsible for the winning goal. Edward Shaw, who shared the credit for the winning goal, was also a Welsh international. [19]