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Subject: Re: Burton's teams (was Football League Div Two Centenary) *LONG*
Date: Tue, 8 Sep 1992 09:41:50 +0000







As a follow up to recent posting on Burton's Football League clubs,
here's a brief history culled from "Rejected FC Volume 1",  a
history of ex-League clubs by Dave Twydell.

Burton Swifts
Founded 187? as Outward Star, became Burton Swifts 1883
Ground to 1891 Shobnall Street (Cricket Ground) and Kidgers Field,
       from 1891 Peel Croft

Burton Wanderers
Founded 1871
Ground Derby Turn

Burton United (amalgamation of Swifts and Wanderers)
Founded 1901, disbanded 1910
Ground Peel Croft

Initially  Derby Turn was the premier ground in the town and  this
gave  Wanderers the edge over Swifts.  Wanderers joined the  newly
formed  Midland  league  in  1889 and on  7th  September  had  the
distinction  of staging one of the first "non-league" games  ever,
beating Rotherham Town 4-3 despite starting the game with only  10
men  and being 3-1 down at half-time.  Meanwhile Swifts  had  been
attracting  substantial financial help which enabled the  purchase
of  Peel Croft from Burton Rugby Club (who reoccupied the site  on
United's  demise in 1910) in 1890.  With sound  financial  backing
Swifts  rose rapidly to League status in 1892 via The  Combination
and Football Alliance (the unofficial second division) and  became
Burton's premier club. Swifts finished a creditable sixth in their
first  season and assembled an expensive squad for  season 1893-4
including Welsh international goalkeeper Sam Jones.  Highlights of a 
the  season included a 4-1 win at Ardwick  (Man  City),  a  6-2
demolition of Woolwich Arsenal (they dropped the Woolwich in 1914)
and  an incredible 8-5 victory over Walsall Town Swifts to  finish
6th again. Meantime Wanderers were winning the Midland League with a
record 17 wins,  3 draws and no defeats and reached the last  16 of
the FA Cup, losing 2-1 at home to Notts County in front of 6000
fans,  the largest crowd ever in Burton. This success brought them 
election to the Football League, giving the town with a population
of a mere 40000 two league clubs.  They played their first  league
game on 1st September 1894,  winning 3-1 at Rotherham.  On  Boxing
Day they trounced Manchester City 8-0,  City's worst ever  defeat.
Another   record  defeat  was  inflicted  on   Newcastle   United,
humiliated by 9-0 on April 15th,  but Wanderers could only  finish
7th,  Swifts were 11th. The following season Wanderers finished in
4th place,  missing the promotion play-offs on goal average  (yes,
play-offs  are  not so new!),  having been in  second  in  January
before  a winter slump.  Swifts were again 11th.  Crowds  at  both
teams were pretty dismal,  prompting speculation of a merger,  and
players  had  to be sold to make ends meet.  In  1896-7  Wanderers
finished second bottom with Swifts one place ahead and both had to
apply  for  re-election.  Swifts  were given  another  chance  but
Wanderers found themselves out in the cold.  Both teams  struggled
for  the  next three years with little  success,  home  gates  for
Wanderers in the Midland League often brought in less than #3.  In
1900-01 Swifts ended bottom of Division Two and an agreement  with
Wanderers  to  merge  probably  saved  Burton  from  losing   it's
remaining league representation.  The merged club,  Burton United,
spent #500 on 6 new players,  a large sum in those days,  but 10th
place  was all they could manage in  the  league.  Worse,  average
crowds remained at only 1500 or so.  Season 1902-3 saw United drop
to  14th  spot and then 17th the  following  season.  Only  league
expansion to 20 clubs saved them from having to seek  re-election.
Twelve  months  later  United again  finished  second  bottom  but
survived re-election with 32 votes.  The next season 1906-7 proved
to  be their last as a league club.  A fire on 29th of  March  had
destroyed  the  grandstand (started by rubbish ignited  under  the
stand,  as  at Bradford in 1985) and on April 27th  United  played
their last ever league game beating West Brom 2-0. United finished
bottom,  5 points adrift of Lincoln City and on May 31st,  despite
promised  support from other Midland clubs and Chelsea  (!?)  they
were voted out of the league, polling just 7 votes. Just to rub it
in,  under Football League rules,  they weren't allowed to collect
fees  for player leaving the club,  costing them around  #2000  on
recent signings.  The club moved onto the Birmingham League  where
crowds  not surprisingly declined further.  They found no success in
that league and lost their place in 1910 after finishing bottom. 
Their finances  were  by now in a pitiful  state,  the  previous 
season's ground  rental  of #70 was unpaid and they relied on the
good  nature  of other  clubs  to  cover  their  travelling  costs 
to  away  games. Optimistically they applied for membership of the
Southern  League Division  Two  and were  surprisingly  accepted. 
However,  United failed  to play their first fixture versus Stoke
(now Stoke  City) on  September 5th and announced the following day
that they  could not meet their fixtures for season 1910-11 and
disbanded with  the intention of reforming the following season.
Neither Burton United nor any successor ever appeared. Minor team
Burton Town assumed the mantle of Burton's premier club until they
disbanded in 1939. A new club, Burton Albion, were founded in 1950,
this club now plays in the Beazer Southern League Premier Division,
just two promotions away from Football League status.

Newsgroups: rec.sport.soccer