Sholing Sports F.C.
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Originally founded as Sholing Athletic FC in 1894 they spent their early days playing in the Southampton League. In 1919-20 Sholing won the Senior League title and stepped up to the Hampshire League where they promptly won the East Division title. Playing in the County Division (later to become Division 1) Sholing soon settled and after finishing 6th and 5th they proudly won the Hampshire Senior Cup but after two tough seasons the club finished bottom of the league and returned to the Southampton League.
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[edit] Sholing FC
Now known as simply Sholing FC the club soon re-established themselves as a force. The Thirties were successful times for the club as they twice won the Senior league title as well as the Hampshire Intermediate Cup in 1937-38.
[edit] Sholing Sports FC
After World War II the club became known as Sholing Sports FC and returned to the Hampshire League in 1946 when they were placed in Division 3 East. Back in county soccer, Sholing quickly settled and won promotion as champions in 1952-53 before consolidating themselves in Division 2. After some promising seasons, Sholing were surprisingly relegated in 1964-65.
The Seventies saw Sholing Sports become a prominent force in the Hampshire League. In 1969-70 they were Division 3 East champions and in 1971-72 they finished runners-up in Division 2, which was enough to win promotion to Division 1 for the first time in their history. With the Reserves now elected to Division 4 Sholing quickly became one of the league top clubs and began entering the national competitions, the FA Cup and FA Vase enjoyed several good runs in the latter competition.
1973-74 was a fine one for Sholing as they won their first Division 1 title and proudly lifted the Hampshire Senior Cup. The club remained regular title contenders, finishing runners-up three times before the 1982-83 season when they repeated their fine double success by winning the Division 1 title and Hampshire Senior Cup. The following season saw Sholing again clinch the league title but were beaten finalists in the Hampshire Senior Cup. Sholing were again league and cup runners-up before becoming founder members of the newly formed Wessex League in 1986.
[edit] Wessex League & Demise
Life in the Wessex League was frequently tough for Sholing Sports but the club bravely battled on until the controversial loss of their Birch Lawn home ground in the summer of 1993 saw the club withdraw from the Wessex League. The club continued to operate during the 1993-94 season with just an Under 18's side playing in the Hampshire Youth League but the search for a new home ground was unsuccessful and the club sadly folded.
[edit] Name Revived
In 2005 the famous name was revived by some locals and the new Sholing Sports joined the Southampton Saturday Football League. The new side are ambitious to climb up the league and regain the status once held by the original club.
During their existence the original Sholing Sports (who played in a black and white striped strip) won the Southampton Senior Cup five times amongst many other trophies.
[edit] References
Sholing Sports (1) at the Football Club History Database
Sholing Sports (2) at the Football Club History Database
