Dunstable Town F.C.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dunstable Town F.C. are a football club based in Dunstable, Bedfordshire, currently playing in the Southern League. They play their home matches at Creasey Park Stadium.
The original 'Dunstable Town' were in existence from the nineteenth century until 1975, being replaced by Dunstable F.C.. They themselves then folded in 1993-1994, and the new Dunstable Town were created in 1998.
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[edit] The First Dunstable Town
[edit] Early history
Dunstable Town FC were formed in the late nineteenth century, first playing in local league and cup competitions. In 1894, they won the Bedfordshire Senior Cup, a feat they were not to repeat until 1956.
[edit] The 1950's-1970's
The history of the club is sketchy until 1950, when Dunstable Town joined the Metropolitan League. The club moved to a stadium at Kingsway, and played in this league for many years, before moving to the Southern League in 1965. In 1956, they also achieved their best result in the FA Cup, reaching the first round proper.
In 1973, the club received the financial backing of Keith Cheesman. He hired a young Barry Fry as manager, and gave him money to build up a strong team; indeed in his autobiography, Fry claims that he was often given blank, signed cheques. Of note, both Jeff Astle and George Best were bought in to play for the team (Best only actually playing three competitive games). However, this spending quickly led to the accumulation of debt, and the club folded.
[edit] Dunstable FC
Dunstable FC was formed to take over the team's fixtures, completing the 1975-1976 season. They were then demoted to the bottom level of the Southern League. There they stayed for following twenty years; however, more financial difficulties led to the clubs disbanding in 1993, for the second time.
[edit] Dunstable Town Today
Creasey Park, the current stadium, was purchased in 1997, allowing the team to be reformed for the 1998-1999 season. Promotion from their initial league, the South Midlands League Division 1, was obtained at the second attempt, followed by two promotions in three years to the Isthmian League first division. League restructuring put them in the Southern League Premier, from which they were relegated for the 2005-2006 season.
[edit] Statistics
- Best league position: 5th in Southern League, Premier division (then level 6), 2002-03
- Best FA Cup performance: 2nd qualifying round, 2001-02 and 2004-05
- Best FA Trophy performance: 1st round, 2004-05
- Best FA Vase performance: 3rd round, 2000-01.
[edit] External links
- Dunstable Town FC's brand new official website.
- Dunstable Town at the Football Club History Database
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Aylesbury United | Barton Rovers | Bedworth United | Berkhamsted Town | Bishop's Cleeve | Brackley Town | Bromsgrove Rovers | Chasetown | Cinderford Town | Dunstable Town | Evesham United | Leighton Town | Malvern Town | Rothwell Town | Rushall Olympic | Solihull Borough | Spalding United | Stourbridge | Stourport Swifts | Sutton Coldfield Town | Woodford United | Willenhall Town edit |
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