| Full name | Hillingdon Borough Football Club | ||
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| Nickname(s) | The Hillmen, Boro | ||
| Founded | 1872 1990 (reformed) |
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| Ground | Middlesex Stadium, Ruislip (Capacity: 3,587) |
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| Chairman | Ghamdoor Dhaliwal | ||
| Manager | Jesse Smith | ||
| League | Spartan South Midlands League Premier Division | ||
| 2010–11 | Spartan South Midlands League Premier Division, 16th | ||
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Hillingdon Borough Football Club are a semi-professional football club based in Ruislip, in the London Borough of Hillingdon. It was also the name of a now-extinct club that existed between 1965 and 1987.
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The first club was originally founded as Yiewsley F.C. in 1872, and played on a small area of open ground in Falling Lane, Yiewsley, in Middlesex. In 1951 they were one of the 14 clubs who founded the Delphian League and in the 1953/54 season were promoted to the Corinthian League, which they topped in their third season, 1956/57. In 1958 a decision was made to turn semi-professional, and the club joined the South-East zone of the Southern League. Their most noteworthy achievement until that point was holding Third Division Gillingham to a 2–2 draw on their home ground in the first round proper of the 1956–57 FA Cup. Jackie Milburn (formerly of Newcastle and England) also played for the club briefly when he retired from professional football in the early 1960s.
The club renamed itself as Hillingdon Borough in 1964 in line with the local government reorganisation in London that saw the formation of the London Borough of Hillingdon. The change of name saw their fortunes change, as in their second season they were promoted to the Premier Division of the Southern League after finishing runners up. Their most successful period followed over the next five years. In 1968–69 they finished runners-up to Cambridge United, who were duly elected to the Football League. The following season, they reached the third round proper of the FA Cup beating Wimbledon and Luton Town before losing to Sutton United 4–1 in a replay. In the 1970–71 season, they reached the FA Trophy final at Wembley losing 3–2 to Telford United, after leading 2–0 at the interval.
These achievements were all under the managership of Jimmy Langley (left-back for Fulham, Queens Park Rangers and England), who was himself an ex-Yiewsley player. Other notable managers of the club included Barry Fry, latterly of Birmingham City and Peterborough.
The club failed to build on the success of the late 1960s and early 1970s. Declining crowds and poor financial management eventually saw the club merge with Burnham F.C., before disappearing in 1987. However, this was not before some exciting FA Cup runs in the late 1970s, including a notable win at Fourth Division Torquay United.
The name Hillingdon Borough was resurrected in 1990 when Bromley Park Rangers took over the ground of Ruislip, with the help of four former directors from the old club, and changed their name. They are currently managed by Paul Lawrence. The club currently plays in the Spartan South Midlands Premier Division. A youth team was established in the same year and a ladies' team in 1999.
In 2006, Hillingdon Borough reached the FA Vase final at St. Andrews, Birmingham, after an 11 game qualification route starting in the competition as early as the 2nd qualifying round, but lost 3-1 to Nantwich Town from Cheshire. Also in that year they finished 2nd in the Spartan South Midlands League Premier Division, losing on goal difference to Oxford City. However they were promoted due to continued restructuring of non-league football, joining the Southern League Division One South & West. During the 2007/08 season, captain Danny Tilbury led Steve Ringrose's side to lift the Errea Cup (Southern League Cup) with a 3-1 win against premier side Clevedon having also won at Kings Lynn (that won the Premier Division that season) in the semi final. Following the departure of Steve Ringrose and the majority of his key players in the summer the following season they were transferred to the Division One North, but struggled, finishing bottom. They returned to the Spartan South Midlands League Premier Division for 2009/10.
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