South Midlands League

Last updated

South Midlands League
Founded1922
First season1922–23
Folded1997
CountryFlag of England.svg  England
Divisions1–4
Promotion to Isthmian League
Domestic cup(s) FA Cup, FA Vase
Most championships Barton Rovers (8)

The South Midlands League was a football league covering Bedfordshire and some adjoining counties in England. It was founded in 1922 as the Bedfordshire County League and merged with the Spartan League in 1997 to form the Spartan South Midlands League.

Contents

History

The league was formed in 1922 as the Bedfordshire County League, beginning with eight clubs; Arlesey Town, Biggleswade & District Reserves, Leighton United, Letchworth Town, Luton Clarence Reserves, RAF Henlow, Stotfold Athletic and Waterlows Athletic. [1] In 1924 the league was renamed the Bedfordshire & District County League. [1] A second division was added in 1925, [1] and in 1929 it was renamed the South Midlands League. [1]

Division Two had only six clubs in 1930–31 and 1931–32, and was not played in 1932–33. [1] However, it was reintroduced for the 1933–34 season with nine clubs, all but two of which were reserve teams. [1]

The league was abandoned in 1939 due to World War II, before returning for the 1946–47 season. [1] In 1947 Division One was renamed the Premier Division and Division Two became Division One, with a new third division added, named Division Two. [1] The league gained another division in 1949 when Division Two was split into Division Two A and B, with a play-off between the two division winners to determine the overall Division Two champions. [1] The following season Division Two reverted to being a single division. [2]

Division Two was abolished in 1955 after having shrunk to only eight clubs in 1954–55. [2] The league then remained unchanged until 1993 when Division One was renamed the Senior Division and a new division (Division One) added as a third tier. [3] In 1997 the league merged with the Spartan League to form the Spartan South Midlands League. [3] The new league initially ran with two Premier Divisions (north and south), a Senior Division and two Division Ones (north and south). [4]

During the evolution of the National League System, the league became a feeder to the Isthmian League, with clubs such as Leighton Town, Oxford City and Bedford Town earning promotion.

Although clubs from the league played in the qualifying rounds of the FA Cup from the late 1920s onwards, none ever reached the first round proper. The best performance came from Barton Rovers in 1976–77 when they reached the fourth qualifying round. South Midlands League clubs had more success in the FA Vase, with Barton Rovers reaching the final in 1977–78 and Arlesey Town winning the competition in 1994–95.

Divisional champions

SeasonChampions
1922–23 Waterlows Athletic
1923–24 Biggleswade & District Reserves
1924–25 Waterlows Athletic
SeasonDivision OneDivision Two
1925–26 Waterlows Athletic Waterlows Athletic Reserves
1926–27Leagrave & DistrictBatford Old Boys
1927–28 Baldock Town Leighton United
1928–29Luton Amateur & RamblersLuton Davis Athletic
1929–30 Waterlows Arlesey Town
1930–31 RAF Henlow Stevenage Town
1931–32 Vauxhall Motors Arlesey Town
SeasonChampions
1932–33 St Neots & District
SeasonDivision OneDivision Two
1933–34 Vauxhall Motors Dunstable Athletic
1934–35 Bedford Town Reserves Stewartby Works
1935–36 Kettering Town Reserves Biscot Sports
1936–37 Vauxhall Motors Arlesey Town
1937–38 Vauxhall Motors Vauxhall Motors Reserves
1938–39 Wolverton Town Esavian Sports
Competition abandoned due to World War II
1946–47 Luton Town Colts Bedford St Cuthbert's
SeasonPremier DivisionDivision OneDivision Two
1947–48 Wootton Blue Cross Peartree Old Boys Baldock Town
1948–49 Cambridge Town Reserves Luton Hitchin Road Old Boys Lynton Works
SeasonPremier DivisionDivision OneDivision Two ADivision Two B
1949–50 Rushden Town Reserves Baldock Town Houghton Rangers [lower-alpha 1] Cranfield United [lower-alpha 1]
SeasonPremier DivisionDivision OneDivision Two
1950–51 Bletchley Town Luton Kents Athletic Vauxhall Motors 'A'
1951–52 Arlesey Town Bedford Town 'A' Arlesey Town Reserves
1952–53 Arlesey Town Biggleswade Town Reserves Luton Skefco Athletic
1953–54 Shefford Town Stotfold Luton Davis Athletic
1954–55 Shefford Town Hunting Percival Athletic Barton Rovers
SeasonPremier DivisionDivision One
1955–56Bletchley & WIPAC Luton Town 'B'
1956–57Bletchley BBOB Luton Town 'B'
1957–58Bletchley UnitedPeartree Old Boys
1958–59Luton Skefko Athletic Stewartby Works
1959–60 Ampthill Town Sandy Albion
1960–61Hemel Hempstead United Waterlows
1961–62 Harpenden Town Totternhoe
1962–63 Electrolux Addmult
1963–64 Electrolux Houghton Regis
1964–65 Harpenden Town Barton Rovers
1965–66 Baldock Town Esavian Sports
1966–67 Leighton Town Hanslope
1967–68 Baldock Town Rootes Sports
1968–69Addmult Selby
1969–70 Baldock Town Welwyn Garden United
1970–71 Barton Rovers Towcester Town
1971–72 Barton Rovers Eaton Bray United
1972–73 Barton Rovers Pirton
1973–74 Welwyn Garden City Aspley Guise
1974–75 Barton Rovers Winslow United
1975–76 Barton Rovers BAC
1976–77 Barton Rovers New Bradwell St Peter
1977–78 Barton Rovers Royston Town
1978–79 Barton Rovers BAC
1979–80 Pirton Hatfield Town
1980–81 Stotfold The 61
1981–82 Pirton Welwyn Garden
1982–83 Pirton GS Ashcroft Co-Op
1983–84 Shefford Town New Bradwell St Peter
1984–85 Eaton Bray United Milton Keynes Borough
1985–86 Selby Buckingham Athletic
1986–87 Selby Electrolux
1987–88 Shillington Pitstone & Ivinghoe
1988–89 Langford Welwyn Garden United
1989–90 Pitstone & Ivinghoe Harpenden Town
1990–91 Thame United Buckingham Athletic
1991–92 Leighton Town Ashcroft
1992–93 Oxford City Bedford Town
SeasonPremier DivisionSenior DivisionDivision One
1993–94 Bedford Town Toddington Rovers Stony Stratford Town
1994–95 Arlesey Town London Colney Houghton Town
1995–96 Arlesey Town Holmer Green Mercedes-Benz
1996–97 Potters Bar Town Leverstock Green Biggleswade United
  1. 1 2 Cranfield won the play-off, defeating Houghton Rangers 3–2 and 2–1 for a 5–3 aggregate win

Member teams

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hundred of Biggleswade</span> Historic administrative division in Bedfordshire, England

Biggleswade was a historic 'hundred' of English county of Bedfordshire. The hundred consisted of the town of Biggleswade and its surrounding area. The name Biggleswade comes from a concatenation of the Anglo Saxon words 'Biceil' and 'Waed'.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arlesey Town F.C.</span> Association football club in England

Arlesey Town Football Club is a football club based in Arlesey, Bedfordshire, England. Affiliated to the Bedfordshire County Football Association, they are currently members of the Spartan South Midlands League Premier Division and play at New Lamb Meadow.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stotfold F.C.</span> Association football club in England

Stotfold Football Club is a football club based at Stotfold, Bedfordshire, England. They play in the Southern League Division One Central. The club is affiliated to the Bedfordshire County Football Association.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Langford, Bedfordshire</span> Human settlement in England

Langford is a village and civil parish in the Central Bedfordshire district of the county of Bedfordshire, England about 10 miles (16 km) south-east of the county town of Bedford. The 2011 census gives the population as 3,091.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Baldock Town F.C.</span> Association football club in England

Baldock Town Football Club is a football club based in Baldock, Hertfordshire, England. Having originally been established in 1905, the current version of the club was established in 2003. They are currently members of Spartan South Midlands League Premier Division and groundshare with Arlesey Town at their Hitchin Road ground.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Central Bedfordshire</span> District in England

Central Bedfordshire is a unitary authority area in the ceremonial county of Bedfordshire, England. It was created in 2009.

This is an outline of Sport in Bedfordshire, a county in England.

The 2012–13 season was the 110th in the history of the Southern League, which is an English football competition featuring semi-professional and amateur clubs from the South West, South Central and Midlands of England and South Wales. From the previous season onwards, the Southern League was known as The Evo-Stik League Southern, following a sponsorship deal with Evo-Stik.

The 2013–14 season was the 111th in the history of the Southern League, which is an English football competition featuring semi-professional and amateur clubs from the South West, South Central and Midlands of England and South Wales. From the 2013–14 season onwards, the Southern League is known as The Calor Gas League Southern, following a sponsorship deal with Calor Gas.

The Bedfordshire Senior Challenge Cup, also known as the Beds Senior Cup is the county cup of Bedfordshire. According to the current rules of the competition, it is open to all clubs whose affiliation is with the Bedfordshire County FA (BCFA). The current holders are Luton Town who won the competition when it was last contested in the 2022/23 season in a 6-2 victory over Biggleswade F.C. in the final.

The 2014–15 season was the 112th in the history of the Southern League, which is an English football competition featuring semi-professional and amateur clubs from the South West, South Central and Midlands of England and South Wales. From the current season onwards, the Southern League is known as Evo-Stik Southern Premier, following a sponsorship deal with Evo-Stik.

The 2015–16 season was the 113th in the history of the Southern League, which is an English football competition featuring semi-professional and amateur clubs from the South West, South Central and Midlands of England and South Wales. From the 2014–15 season onwards, the Southern League is known as Evo-Stik League Southern, following a sponsorship deal with Evo-Stik.

The 2016–17 season was the 114th in the history of the Southern League, which is an English football competition featuring semi-professional and amateur clubs from the South West, South Central and Midlands of England and South Wales. From the 2014–15 season onwards, the Southern League is known as Evo-Stik League Southern, following a sponsorship deal with Evo-Stik.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2011 Central Bedfordshire Council election</span>

The 2011 Central Bedfordshire Council electionfor the Central Bedfordshire Council were held on 5 May 2011, along with other United Kingdom local elections. The whole council was up for election following boundary changes, with each successful candidate serving a four-year term of office, expiring in 2015.

The 1998–99 Spartan South Midlands Football League season was the 2nd in the history of Spartan South Midlands Football League.

The 2022–23 season was the 26th in the history of the Spartan South Midlands Football League, a football competition in England. The league operates three divisions, two of which are in covered in this article, the Premier Division, at Step 5 and Division One at Step 6 of the English football league system.

The 2023–24 season is the 27th in the history of the Spartan South Midlands Football League, a football competition in England. The league operates three divisions, two of which are in covered in this article, the Premier Division, at Step 5 and Division One at Step 6 of the English football league system.

References