William Ironside Groombridge was secretary of the English football club Gillingham (known for much of his tenure as New Brompton) from 1896 until 1923. Although the roles were not as clearly defined in the pre-war era, he is regarded as having carried out the responsibilities of manager from 1896 until 1906, from 1908 until 1919, and from 1922 until 1923. [1] [2] His uncle, Thomas Saxton, was landlord of the Napier Arms pub where the club was formed in 1893. [3]
Gillingham Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Gillingham, Kent, England. The only Kent-based club in the Football League, the "Gills" play their home matches at Priestfield Stadium. The team competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system, in the 2022–23 season.
Priestfield Stadium is a football stadium in Gillingham, Kent. It has been the home of Gillingham Football Club since the club's formation in 1893, and was also the temporary home of Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club for two seasons during the 1990s. The stadium has also hosted women's and youth international football matches and a London Broncos rugby league match.
Gillingham Football Club is an English football club based in Gillingham, Kent. The club was formed in 1893, and played in the Southern League until 1920, when that league's top division was absorbed into the Football League as its new Division Three. The club was voted out of the league in favour of Ipswich Town at the end of the 1937–38 season, but returned 12 years later, when that league was expanded from 88 to 92 clubs. Twice in the late 1980s Gillingham came close to winning promotion to the second tier of English football, but a decline then set in and in 1993 the club narrowly avoided relegation to the Football Conference. In 2000, the "Gills" reached the second tier of the English league for the first time in the club's history and went on to spend five seasons at this level, achieving a club record highest league finish of eleventh place in 2002–03. The club has twice won the division comprising the fourth level of English football: the Football League Fourth Division championship in 1963–64 and the Football League Two championship in 2012–13.
John Stuart McMillan was a Scottish football player and manager. He made nearly 400 appearances in the Football League in the 1890s and 1900s, playing at inside left or centre forward.
William Hanna "Buster" Collins was an Irish professional footballer. His clubs included Distillery, Belfast Celtic, Luton Town and Gillingham.
During the 1894–95 English football season, New Brompton F.C. competed in the Southern Football League Division Two. It was the first season in which the team took part in a league competition. The club had been formed a year earlier but in its inaugural season played only friendly matches and games in the qualifying rounds of the FA Cup and FA Amateur Cup. In 1894, New Brompton turned professional and joined the newly-formed Southern League. The team dominated Division Two of the new league, winning all but one of their matches, and gained promotion to Division One by winning an end-of-season "test match" against Swindon Town, who had finished bottom of the higher division.
During the 1920–21 English football season, Gillingham F.C. competed in the Football League for the first time. The team had previously played in Division One of the Southern League, but in 1920 the Football League added the Third Division to its existing set-up by absorbing the entire Southern League Division One. The club appointed Robert Brown as manager, but the arrangement turned out to be only a casual one and he accepted another job before the season started. Under his replacement, John McMillan, Gillingham's results were poor, including a spell of over three months without a league victory, and at the end of the season they finished bottom of the league table.
During the 1973–74 English football season, Gillingham F.C. competed in the Football League Fourth Division, the fourth tier of the English football league system. It was the 42nd season in which Gillingham competed in the Football League, and the 24th since the club was voted back into the league in 1950. Gillingham lost three times in the first ten games of the season, but the team then began a run of 20 league games without defeat; by the end of 1973, Gillingham were second in the league table. In mid-February, they lost a Fourth Division game for the first time in more than four months, after which two consecutive wins in mid-March took them to the top of the table. Although Gillingham slipped from first place, they remained in the top three, and a victory over Colchester United on 20 April ensured that the team would be promoted to the Third Division at the end of the season. In their final game of the season on 1 May, first-placed Gillingham lost to second-placed Peterborough United, who overtook them to win the championship of the division.
Robert Brown was an English association football player and manager in the early twentieth century.
Samuel Anderson Gilligan was a Scottish professional association football player in the years prior to the First World War who played as a forward. He made over 200 appearances in The Football League for Bristol City and Liverpool, and a smaller number of appearances in the Scottish Football League with Dundee and Celtic.
Clifford Sydney Grossmark, MB, BS, MRCS, LRCP was an English doctor and association football administrator, best known for his 22-year spell as chairman of Kent-based club Gillingham F.C.
During the 1985–86 English football season, Gillingham F.C. competed in the Football League Third Division, the third tier of the English football league system. It was the 54th season in which Gillingham competed in the Football League, and the 36th since the club was voted back into the league in 1950. After an unbeaten run of seven games, Gillingham were fourth in the league table in late September, just outside the top three places which would result in promotion to the Second Division. After slipping to ninth in October, the team climbed to third, but at the close of 1985 had fallen again to eighth. Although Gillingham continued to challenge for promotion in the second half of the season and were in second place at the end of January, their form continued to fluctuate. As the end of the season approached, the team were still in with a chance of finishing in a promotion position, however three defeats in the last six games meant that they ultimately fell short, finishing in fifth place.
During the 1992–93 English football season, Gillingham F.C. competed in the Football League Third Division, the fourth tier of the English football league system. It was the 61st season in which Gillingham competed in the Football League, and the 43rd since the club was voted back into the league in 1950. By October, the team were close to the bottom of the Third Division and Damien Richardson was dismissed from his job as the club's manager. Glenn Roeder was appointed as his replacement in a player-manager capacity. The team's performances remained poor and, with two games remaining, Gillingham still faced the possibility of finishing bottom of the league table and being relegated out of the Football League. Victory over Halifax Town in the penultimate match of the season, however, ensured that Gillingham would compete in the Third Division again in the following season. Roeder resigned as manager following the conclusion of the season after less than nine months in charge.
During the 1990–91 English football season, Gillingham F.C. competed in the Football League Fourth Division, the fourth tier of the English football league system. It was the 59th season in which Gillingham competed in the Football League, and the 41st since the club was voted back into the league in 1950. Early in the season, Ron Hillyard, the club's long-serving goalkeeper, ended his playing career with a club record number of appearances. Gillingham's form was inconsistent in the first half of the season; after falling to 17th in the league table, the team began a lengthy unbeaten run and were 10th at the end of 1990. Around the end of March, Peter Beadle and David Crown, two of the team's regular starting forwards, were injured and both missed most of the remainder of the season. The team went 10 consecutive games without winning between the last game of March and the first of May and finished the season 15th in the Fourth Division.
During the 1937–38 English football season, Gillingham F.C. competed in the Football League Third Division South, the third tier of the English football league system. It was the 18th season in which Gillingham competed in the Football League. The team won only three times in nineteen Football League matches between August and December; in November and December they played six league games and lost every one without scoring a goal, leaving them bottom of the division at the end of 1937. Although Gillingham's performances improved in the second half of the season, with seven wins between January and May, they remained in last place at the end of the season, meaning that the club was required to apply for re-election to the League. The application was rejected, and as a result the club lost its place in the Football League and joined the regional Southern League.
During the 1905–06 English football season, New Brompton F.C. competed in the Southern League Division One. It was the 12th season in which the club competed in the Southern League and the 11th in Division One. The team began the season in poor form; they failed to score any goals in six of their first eight Southern League games. By the midpoint of the season, the team had won only three times and were close to the bottom of the league table. The team's form improved in the new year, with three wins in the first seven Southern League games of 1906, but they ended the season in similar fashion to how they had started it, failing to score in eight of the final nine league games. New Brompton finished the season in 17th place out of 18 teams in the division.
During the 1950–51 English football season, Gillingham F.C. competed in the Football League Third Division South, the third tier of the English football league system. It was the first season of Gillingham's second spell in the Football League; prior to this season the club was elected back into the competition having lost its place in 1938. Gillingham's results in the first half of the season were poor, including a 9–2 defeat to Nottingham Forest, the highest number of goals the team had conceded for more than 20 years; at the end of 1950 they were second bottom of the Third Division South league table. In January and early February Gillingham climbed to 19th in the 24-team division after winning five times in six games, including a 9–4 victory over Exeter City, a new record for the club's highest Football League score which would stand for more than 30 years. After this they won only once in ten matches; the team finished the season 22nd in the division.
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