Full name | Telford United Football Club | |
---|---|---|
Nickname(s) | 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 English football club based in Telford, 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 the Alliance Premier League (later renamed the Football 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 named AFC Telford United.
The club was formed in late 1872 as Parish Church Institute, and in 1879 was renamed Wellington Town. They won the Shropshire Senior Cup in 1881, and in 1892 were founder members of the Shropshire League. [1] In 1898 they joined the Birmingham & District League. In 1901 they switched to The Combination and won the Welsh 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 in 1925–26 reached the first round of the FA 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 the Cheshire 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.
After World 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 expanded Southern League, and were placed in the Premier Division for the 1959–60 season after a transitional year in the North-West Division.
In 1969 the club was renamed Telford 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 first FA Trophy, but lost 2–0 to Macclesfield Town. They reached the final again the following year and won 3–2 against Hillingdon Borough. Following a third-place finish in 1978–79 they were founder members of the new Alliance Premier League. In 1982, when Alliance Premier League champions Runcorn failed to meet Football League stadium requirements, Telford applied to join the Football League, but their application was unsuccessful.
During the 1980s the club had several good runs in the FA Cup, reaching the second round in 1982–83 when they knocked out Third Division Wigan Athletic before losing to Tranmere Rovers in a replay. They also reached the final of the FA Trophy again, winning 2–1 against Northwich Victoria. The following season they reached the fourth round, beating Stockport County, Northampton Town and Rochdale before losing to Derby County. In 1984–85 they reached the fifth round, knocking out Lincoln City, Preston North End, Bradford City and Darlington before losing to Everton. They continued to claim League scalps, beating Stockport in 1985–86, Burnley in 1986–87 and Stoke City in 1991–92. They reached the FA Trophy final again in 1987–88, but lost to Enfield in a replay. The following season they reached the Trophy final for a fifth time, this time defeating Macclesfield 1–0.
In the 2003–04 FA Cup the club knocked out both Brentford and Crewe Alexandra before losing to eventual finalists Millwall. They also reached the semi-finals of the FA Trophy, but lost on penalties to Canvey Island. They folded at the end of the season, due to the business failure of owner Andy Shaw in March, [3] but the name was resurrected shortly afterwards by the creation of AFC 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.:
Rhyl Football Club was a Welsh football club based in Rhyl, a seaside resort town located in Denbighshire. It withdrew from footballing activities in April 2020 and had its entire footballing record for the 2019–20 season expunged. It was formally dissolved 18 months later in October 2021.
Shrewsbury Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third level of the English football league system.
Hednesford Town Football Club is a football club based in Hednesford, Staffordshire, England. They are currently members of the Northern Premier League Division One West and play at Keys Park. They won the FA Trophy in 2004.
Vauxhall Motors Football Club is a football club based in Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, England. The club are currently members of the Northern Premier League Division One West and play at Rivacre Park, known as the vanEupen Arena for sponsorship reasons.
Halesowen Town Football Club is a football club based in Halesowen, West Midlands, England. They are currently members of the Southern League Premier Division Central and play at the Grove Recreation Ground.
Alfreton Town Football Club is a football club based in Alfreton, Derbyshire, England. The club are currently members of the National League North, the sixth tier of English football, and play at North Street.
Ashton United Football Club is a football club in Ashton-under-Lyne, Greater Manchester, England. They are currently members of the Northern Premier League Premier Division, the seventh tier of English football, and play at Hurst Cross.
AFC Telford United is a football club based in Telford, Shropshire, England. The club was formed in 2004 after the original Telford United, founded in 1872, folded due to financial problems. They are currently members of the Southern League Premier Division Central and play at the New Bucks Head in Wellington, part of the new town of Telford. The club's colours are white and black.
Altrincham Football Club is a professional football club based in Altrincham, Greater Manchester, England. Founded in 1891 and nicknamed "the Robins", they are currently members of the National League, the fifth tier of English football, and play at Moss Lane.
Stafford Rangers Football Club is a semi-professional English football team from Stafford which plays in the Northern Premier League Premier Division.
Guiseley Association Football Club is a football club based in Guiseley, West Yorkshire, England. They are currently members of the Northern Premier League Premier Division, the seventh tier of English football, and play at Nethermoor Park.
Nantwich Town Football Club is a semi-professional football club based in Nantwich, Cheshire, England. The club was founded in 1884 and is nicknamed The Dabbers, a reference to the town's tanning industry. They currently compete in the Northern Premier League Division One West and play their home matches at the Weaver Stadium - for sponsorship reasons, also known as the 'Swansway Stadium'.
Newcastle Town Football Club is a football club based in Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire, England. They are currently members of the Northern Premier League Division One West and play at the Lyme Valley Stadium.
Leamington Football Club is a football club based in Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, England. They are currently members of the National League North and play at the New Windmill Ground near Bishop's Tachbrook.
Burscough Football Club is an English football club based in Burscough, Lancashire. The club is a member of the North West Counties League, and competes in the Premier Division. Its home ground is The Community Stadium, in Burscough.
Colwyn Bay Football Club is a football club based in Old Colwyn in north Wales. They are currently members of the Cymru North. Nicknamed the Seagulls, but also known as 'The Bay', their home ground is Llanelian Road in Old Colwyn.
Atherstone Town Community Football Club is a football club based in Atherstone, Warwickshire, England. They are currently members of the Midland League Premier Division and play at Sheepy Road.
Northwich Victoria Football Club are a semi-professional football club based in Northwich, Cheshire, which compete in the Midland League Premier Division. They play home games at Barton Stadium, in a groundshare agreement with nearby rivals Winsford United. They had played at the same Drill Field ground between 1875 and 2002, which was at the time of its demolition was believed to be the oldest ground in the world on which football had been continuously played. They played at the short-lived Victoria Stadium between 2005 and 2011, and have since been forced to share grounds with nearby clubs.
Telford Town Football Club is an English football club from Telford, Shropshire. The club plays in the West Midlands (Regional) League Division One and were formerly known as Wellington Amateurs.After many years in the Wellington League, the team was promoted to the Shropshire County Football League. They were promoted to the West Midlands (Regional) League in 2006. "The Ams" won Division One three times in four seasons and gained promotion to the Premier Division for 2012–13. In 2024 the club was taken over by businessman and former Hednesford Town owner Hayden Dando and renamed Telford Town Football Club.
Wellington St George's F.C. was an English association football club from near Telford in Shropshire.