Bath City Football Club is a semi-professional
football club
A football team is a group of players selected to play together in the various team sports known as football. Such teams could be selected to play in a match against an opposing team, to represent a football club, group, state or nation, an all- ...
based in
Bath, Somerset
Bath () is a city in the Bath and North East Somerset unitary area in the county of Somerset, England, known for and named after its Roman-built baths. At the 2021 Census, the population was 101,557. Bath is in the valley of the River Avon, ...
, England. The club is affiliated to the
Somerset FA and currently competes in the
National League South
The National League South, formerly Conference South, is one of the second divisions of the National League in England, immediately below the top division National League. Along with National League North, it is in the second level of the N ...
, the
sixth tier of
English football
Association football is the most popular sport in England, where the first modern set of rules for the code were established in 1863, which were a major influence on the development of the modern Laws of the Game. With over 40,000 association f ...
. The club have played their home matches at
Twerton Park
Twerton Park is a football stadium in the Twerton suburb of Bath, England. The stadium is named after the surrounding area, Twerton. The stadium has a physical capacity of 8,884, 1,066 of which are seats. It has been the home of Bath City F.C ...
since 1932.
Founded in 1889, the club spent the first three years of its history as Bath AFC. Bath won the Southern League Western Section
in 1930, and again
in 1933, which was viewed as the second best competition in England at the time.
The club was heavily discussed for entry into the
Football League Third Division
The Football League Third Division was the third tier of the English football league system in 1920–21 and again from 1958 until 1992. When the FA Premier League was formed, the division become the fourth tier level. In 2004, following the f ...
during the 1930s,
though Bath has missed out on election to the
Football League
The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...
on multiple occasions, including 1935, 1978 and in 1985. Upon the outbreak of the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, the club won the
Football League North
The Football League North and Football League South divisions of the Football League were created temporarily for the League to continue through the Second World War while limiting the amount of movement that was required by teams. The leagues star ...
– the club's only
English Football League
The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engl ...
trophy. Bath have reached the third round of the
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...
six times, beating league sides such as;
Crystal Palace
Crystal Palace may refer to:
Places Canada
* Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick
* Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario
* Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition building
* ...
(
in 1931),
Millwall
Millwall is a district on the western and southern side of the Isle of Dogs, in east London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies to the immediate south of Canary Wharf and Limehouse, north of Greenwich and Deptford, east ...
(
in 1959), and
Cardiff City
Cardiff City Football Club ( cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Dinas Caerdydd) is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. It competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1899 as R ...
(
in 1992). The club were crowned Southern League champions
in 1960 and
1978
Events January
* January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213.
* January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd go ...
; the top tier of non-League football at the time. After a period of relative decline in the 1990s, Bath were demoted to the seventh tier in 2004, the lowest tier the club has ever been in. Albeit, they were promoted
in 2007, and again
in 2010, and played tier five football for the first time since 1997, though the club were relegated in 2012 and have played in the
National League South
The National League South, formerly Conference South, is one of the second divisions of the National League in England, immediately below the top division National League. Along with National League North, it is in the second level of the N ...
since.
Bath are nicknamed the "Romans"; stemming from Bath's ancient
Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...
history. The first recorded attire the club wore was blue shorts and white shirts in 1900, though the club changed to black and white stripes in the early 20th Century and the colours have remained since. The club's crest depicts the
Borough walls, which guarded the city during Roman times. Twerton Park; once held up to 20,000 fans but tragedies such as the
Hillsborough disaster
The Hillsborough disaster was a fatal human crush during a football match at Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, on 15 April 1989. It occurred during an FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest in the ...
in the late 1980s and the subsequent
modernisation of football stadiums has more than halved that figure.
History
Formation and early years (1889–1925)
![Bath City squad in 1913](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/78/Bath_City_squad_in_1913.png)
In 1889 Bath City were formed as Bath AFC (Bath Association Football Club) and commenced play at the
North Parade Ground in
Bathwick
Bathwick is an electoral ward in the City of Bath, England, on the opposite bank of the River Avon to the historic city centre.
Bathwick was part of the hundred of Bath Forum.
The district became part of the Bath urban area with the 18th cent ...
. The club competed in their first ever recorded match on 10 October 1889, in which they lost 9–4 to
Trowbridge Town at The North Parade Ground. One of the first games that Bath AFC played away was against
Eastville Rovers in
Clifton, Bristol
Clifton is both a suburb of Bristol, England, and the name of one of the city's thirty-five council wards. The Clifton ward also includes the areas of Cliftonwood and Hotwells. The eastern part of the suburb lies within the ward of Clifton Do ...
in front of a crowd of 5,000 on 30 October 1889. Fixtures in the club's primordial season included ties against the likes of,
Weston-super-Mare
Weston-super-Mare, also known simply as Weston, is a seaside town in North Somerset, England. It lies by the Bristol Channel south-west of Bristol between Worlebury Hill and Bleadon Hill. It includes the suburbs of Mead Vale, Milton, Oldmixon ...
,
Swindon
Swindon () is a town and unitary authority with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Wiltshire, England. As of the 2021 Census, the population of Swindon was 201,669, making it the largest town in the county. The Swindon un ...
and
Gloucester
Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east ...
. The following season, Bath played regular friendlies with local Somerset sides, including the likes of
Yeovil Casuals and Taunton United. By 1891, the club was struggling heavily financially. As a consequence, it was put forward that the club amalgamate with
Bath Football Club.
For nine years the club seized play. Until, on 13 September 1900, Bath AFC was re-formed by members of the
Bath Association Cricket Club, led by eventual player,
William Hyman
William Hyman (7 March 1875 – 11 February 1959), known as "Bill" or "Billy", played first-class cricket for Somerset from 1900 to 1914. He was born at Radstock, Somerset and died at Mount Charles, St Austell, Cornwall.
Cricket career
Hyman ...
, and thus Bath City FC, by name was officially born.
Hyman went on to score 131 goals for Bath, making him the club's second all-time top goal scorer, he also frequently acted as the club's honorary secretary in board meetings.
During the meeting at Railway Hotel in which the club was formed, members suggested that the team's attire ought to be blue shorts and white shirts, though, these colours only lasted for a short while. In 1900, the club bought The Belvoir Castle Ground in East
Twerton
Twerton is a suburb of the city of Bath, Somerset, Bath, Somerset, England, situated to the west of the city, and home to the city's association football, football club, Bath City F.C., Bath City.
Twerton is served by bus route 5, operated by Fi ...
, next to the railway line. Concurrently, the club entered competitive football, and commenced play in The
Wiltshire Football League
The Wiltshire Football League is a football league in England, formed by amalgamation in 1976. All clubs are affiliated to a County Football Association. The area covered by the competition is the county of Wiltshire and 15 miles beyond the co ...
, finishing seventh in their first season. They changed names from Bath City to Bath Railway in 1902. That year, an annual competition known as the "Bath District League" was formed, in which the club competed against fellow Bath clubs, such as Bath Rovers, Weston All Saints and Twerton Street Michaels. On 26 July 1905, they reverted names back to Bath City FC.
The following year, the club joined The Bristol and District League Division One, in which they remained for two years. In 1908, they joined the
Western League Division Two. After moving to a higher division, the club decided to field their reserve team for the Bath District League, instead of the first. In 1909, Charles Pinker was appointed manager, and that year, the club moved up to The Western League Division One. Bath finished third at this level in the
1910–11 season. and then went on to rank second in The Western League Division One during the
1913–14 season.
Five years later, Bath City departed both The Belvoir Castle and
Twerton
Twerton is a suburb of the city of Bath, Somerset, Bath, Somerset, England, situated to the west of the city, and home to the city's association football, football club, Bath City F.C., Bath City.
Twerton is served by bus route 5, operated by Fi ...
, for the Lambridge Show Ground in
Larkhall
Larkhall ( sco, Larkhauch, gd, Taigh na h-Uiseig) is a town in South Lanarkshire, Scotland, around southeast of Glasgow. It is twinned with Seclin in northern France.
Larkhall sits on high ground between the River Clyde to the East and the ...
next to the
River Avon. Bath remained in the Western League until 1921, in which they joined the English Section of the
Southern League, one of the strongest leagues outside the Football League. In 1921, manager Charles Pinker left the club after a successful twelve-year period. He was replaced by former
Swindon Town
Swindon Town Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The team currently competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club has played home matches at ...
player, Billy Tout, who led the club into the top division of non-League football for the first time. Tout retained this role until 1925.
The glory years and missing out on Football League (1925–1958)
![Bath City FC League Performance](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/19/Bath_City_FC_League_Performance.svg)
In 1925, Pinker was re-appointed at Bath City, though he failed to capture the same success in the Southern League as he had done in The Western League, finishing fourteenth and then eleventh. In August 1926, the club were on the brink of extinction, partly, due to the fans being "disheartened by the ill-fortune of recent seasons" and the lack of "sufficient backing". However, on 21 August in 1926, there was a large meeting, consisting mostly of the clubs supporters and officials. Due to the appointment of a new committee, and the increase in the number of supporters' club shareholders, the required £500 sum was met, and the club was "saved". A year later,
Ted Davis was appointed at Bath City. In 1929, Davis won the club their first competitive trophy, The
Somerset Cup. The following season, the team finished first in the Southern League Western Section - the clubs highest-ever league placing. Though Bath lost 3–2 in the play offs to Eastern Section Champions
Aldershot Town
Aldershot Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Aldershot
Aldershot () is a town in Hampshire, England. It lies on heathland in the extreme northeast corner of the county, southwest of London. The area i ...
, hence, they were less applicable for election to the
Third Division. The season was labelled "the best in the club's history by the
Bath Chronicle
The ''Bath Chronicle'' is a weekly newspaper, first published under various titles before 1760 in Bath, England. Prior to September 2007, it was published daily. The ''Bath Chronicle'' serves Bath, northern Somerset and west Wiltshire.
History ...
." In 1932, the club returned to Twerton, and started playing home games at the newly built
Twerton Park
Twerton Park is a football stadium in the Twerton suburb of Bath, England. The stadium is named after the surrounding area, Twerton. The stadium has a physical capacity of 8,884, 1,066 of which are seats. It has been the home of Bath City F.C ...
, with the community laying out flags and bunting the length of the High Street to "celebrate the return of football to the area." In 1933, the club won the Southern League Western Section for a second time, but lost in the final to play–off Eastern Section Champions
Norwich City
Norwich City Football Club (also known as The Canaries or The Yellows) is an English professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk. The club competes in the EFL Championship following their relegation from the Premier League in the 20 ...
2–1. During this period, they were heavily being discussed for entry into the
Football League Third Division
The Football League Third Division was the third tier of the English football league system in 1920–21 and again from 1958 until 1992. When the FA Premier League was formed, the division become the fourth tier level. In 2004, following the f ...
.
In 1937, Davis left Bath for
Colchester United
Colchester United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Colchester, Essex, England. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system.
Founded in 1937, the club spent its earl ...
. The team remained in the Southern League until 1939, with f
ormer Liverpool player and Scottish international",
Alex Raisbeck
Alexander Galloway Raisbeck (26 December 1878 – 12 March 1949) was a Scottish professional football player and manager. After playing junior football for Larkhall Thistle, he was signed by Hibernian where he made his professional debut at t ...
as first team coach from 1938 to 1939.
Raisbeck left to be replaced by Ted Davis, his second spell at Bath. Upon the Outbreak of the Second World War, the club were, by chance, accepted to join the temporary
Football League North
The Football League North and Football League South divisions of the Football League were created temporarily for the League to continue through the Second World War while limiting the amount of movement that was required by teams. The leagues star ...
, competing with the likes of
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
,
Manchester United
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...
,
Aston Villa
Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa Park ...
and
Everton, finishing the eventual champions under Davis, thereby becoming the only semi-professional side ever to win a
Football League
The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...
trophy. In 1944, the club were, once again, in talks for entry into the
English Football League
The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engl ...
, with the aim of being admitted into either the Third Division, or the planned Fourth Division, which had not yet been established. Bath were told during a meeting at the
Guildhall
A guildhall, also known as a "guild hall" or "guild house", is a historical building originally used for tax collecting by municipalities or merchants in Great Britain and the Low Countries. These buildings commonly become town halls and in som ...
by one of the leading members of the Football League reconstructing committee, that the opportunity to join the planned fourth division was " Bath's for the asking". At the time,
Twerton Park
Twerton Park is a football stadium in the Twerton suburb of Bath, England. The stadium is named after the surrounding area, Twerton. The stadium has a physical capacity of 8,884, 1,066 of which are seats. It has been the home of Bath City F.C ...
was also in heavy discussion for expansion, to a capacity of 40,000, in aim to become; "a stadium worthy of the city and the west".
However, on 27 July 1945, the Football League's management committee refused to allow any non-league clubs into the Third Division, despite Third League clubs "wanting Bath City to join". Thus, after the War, with the resumption of competitive football, they were forced to resume playing in the Southern League. Ted Davis, then left the club in 1947. In total, Davis spent 17 years as first team coach. He went on to become the most successful and longest serving manager in the club's history, winning seven trophies. Following his departure, the 1950s saw a large array of different coaches manage the club.
Vic Woodley
Victor Robert Woodley (26 February 1910 – 23 October 1978) was an English football goalkeeper who played for Chelsea was an FA Cup Winner with Derby County and the England national team between the wars.
Woodley was spotted by a Chelsea sco ...
was the first to succeed Davis, appointed on 6 June 1947. Though he left in 1950 after four mid-lower placed finishes, and was replaced by
Eddie Hapgood
Edris Albert "Eddie" Hapgood (24 September 1908 – 20 April 1973) was an English footballer, who captained both Arsenal and England during the 1930s.
Playing career
Hapgood was born in Bristol and started his footballing career in the mid-1920 ...
. Attendances on average during the 1940s and 1950s were some of the highest recorded in the club's history. Notable large home attendances during this period included; 17,000 in 1944 vs
Aston Villa
Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa Park ...
14,000 vs
Southend United
Southend United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, England. As of the 2022–23 season, the team competes in the National League, the fifth tier of English football. Southend are known as ...
in the 1952–53 season and 11,700 at Twerton Park against rivals
Yeovil Town Yeovil Town may refer to:
* Yeovil Town F.C., an English football team based in Yeovil, Somerset
* Yeovil Town L.F.C.
Bridgwater United Women's Football Club are an English women's association football club based in Bridgwater, Somerset who wer ...
in 1957.
In 1956, Hapgood left the club after winning two
Somerset Cups in 1952 and 1953. He was replaced by
Paddy Sloan
Joshua Walter Sloan (30 April 1920 – January 1993), commonly known as Paddy Sloan, was an Irish footballer and manager. Sloan played with English clubs such as Manchester United, Millwall, Fulham and Arsenal. He also featured for Italian si ...
, who only remained for the
1956–57 season.
Further glory and the yoyo years (1958–1997)
Sloan was replaced by
Bob Hewison
Robert Hewison (25 March 1889 – 1964) was an English footballer who filled various roles on the left of the pitch before going on to make his name as a manager.
Playing career
Born in Backworth, Northumberland, Hewison began his playing caree ...
in 1957. The succeeding year, a reform similar to that of 1920 took place; a new
Fourth Division
Fourth or the fourth may refer to:
* the ordinal form of the number 4
* ''Fourth'' (album), by Soft Machine, 1971
* Fourth (angle), an ancient astronomical subdivision
* Fourth (music), a musical interval
* ''The Fourth'' (1972 film), a Sovie ...
was formed. Thereupon, The
Southern league descended the pyramid. By 1959, Bath were once again being heavily discussed for election to The Football League. However the chairman at the time, Arthur Mortimer, believed that "the league suited the club" he stated that: "We are providing better football here than most spectators get in the lower divisions of the
Football League
The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...
." Hewison built a strong side, signing players such as,
Charlie Fleming
Charles Fleming (12 July 1927 – 14 August 1997) was a Scottish footballer who played for Blairhall Colliery, East Fife, Sunderland and the Scotland national team. Fleming was nicknamed 'Cannonball Charlie' for his shooting ability, and is Ba ...
,
Alan Skirton
Alan Frederick Graham Skirton (23 January 1939 – 12 May 2019) was an English footballer.
Playing career
Skirton started out as a player with West Twerton Youth Club in his home city of Bath before joining Bristol City as an amateur. However, ...
and
Ian MacFarlane, captained by
Tony Book
Anthony Keith Book (born 4 September 1934) is an English retired footballer and manager. Book spent a large part of his career in Non-League football with his home town club Bath City, before entering league football with Plymouth Argyle. At the ...
. The team went on to win the league in the 1959–60 season, finishing on 67 points (in 42 matches), with the division still being viewed as; “The foremost non-League competition.” In the same season, the club had one of the best cup runs in their history, beating
Millwall
Millwall is a district on the western and southern side of the Isle of Dogs, in east London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies to the immediate south of Canary Wharf and Limehouse, north of Greenwich and Deptford, east ...
in the
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...
first round. and then
Notts County
Notts County Football Club is a professional association football club based in Nottingham, England. The team participate in the National League (division), National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. Founded on the 2 ...
in the second round. In the third round, Bath went on to play
Brighton & Hove Albion
Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club (), commonly referred to simply as Brighton, is an English professional football club based in the city of Brighton and Hove. They compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league ...
at Twerton Park, in front of a record crowd of 18,020, but lost 1–0. Hewison rose as the second most successful manager in the club's history, a title in which he held until 1978. In 1962, Bath were Southern League runners up.
![Bath City Line Up 1964](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/25/Bath_City_Line_Up_1964.jpg)
Two years after Hewison's departure in the spring of 1961, Former
Manchester City
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The tw ...
player
Malcolm Allison
Malcolm Alexander Allison (5 September 1927 – 14 October 2010) was an English football player and manager. Nicknamed "Big Mal", he was one of English football's most flamboyant and intriguing characters because of his panache, fedora and ...
was appointed manager after Arthur Cole's dismissal in 1963. Though Allison won no silverware with the club, in the
1963–64 season, with Tony Book as club captain, Bath finished in third place, and reached the third round of the FA Cup. He left the club in 1964 and then went on to manage league sides, including,
Plymouth Argyle
Plymouth Argyle Football Club is a professional football club based in the city of Plymouth, Devon, England. As of the 2021–22 season, the team are competing in League One, the third tier of English football. They have played at Home Park, ...
and
Manchester City
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The tw ...
. In 1965, under Welsh manager
Ivor Powell
Ivor Verdun Powell, MBE (5 July 1916 – 6 November 2012) was a Welsh football player and manager. He won eight caps for Wales.
A wing half, he began his professional career with Queens Park Rangers in September 1937. His career was interr ...
, the club were relegated for the first time in their history. They were then promoted back to the Southern League Premier Division that year, though were poor in the
1966–67 season and finished 19th, being relegated from the
Southern League Premier for a second time in three years. Powell was replaced by
Arnold Rodgers
Arnold William Rodgers (5 December 1923 – 1993) was an English professional footballer who made over 230 Football League appearances in the years after the Second World War in a career for Huddersfield Town, Bristol City and Shrewsbury Town
...
on 25 February 1967. In the
1968–69 season they won promotion back to the Premier Division, finishing second. From 1964 to 1974 Bath City became a
yo-yo club
A yo-yo club is a sporting side that is regularly promoted and relegated. The phrase is most typically used in association football in the United Kingdom, especially in reference to promotion to and relegation from the Premier League.
The name ...
, being relegated from, and promoted back to the Premier Division on six occasions.
On 10 August 1976,
Brian Godfrey
Brian Cameron Godfrey (1 May 1940 – 11 February 2010) was a Welsh professional footballer.
Brian was an inside forward who started his league career at Everton where he only made one appearance before joining Scunthorpe United in June 1960. ...
was appointed as manager. Two years into his reign, in the 1977–78 season, the team won the Southern League title for a second time. The Southern League in the 1970s was still labelled: “the best non-league division in England.”
Under Godfrey, the club made it to two
Anglo-Italian Cup
The Anglo-Italian Cup ( it, Coppa Anglo-Italiana, also known as the Anglo-Italian Inter-League Clubs Competition and from 1976 to 1986 as the Alitalia Challenge Cup, Talbot Challenge Cup or Gigi Peronace Memorial) is a defunct European football c ...
finals In 1977 and 1978; In 1977, they lost to
Udinese Calcio
Udinese Calcio, commonly referred to as Udinese, is a professional Football in Italy, Italian association football, football club based in Udine, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, that currently plays in Serie A. It was founded on 30 November 1896 as a ...
and then in 1978 to affiliated club
Calcio Lecco
Calcio Lecco 1912, better known as Lecco , is a football club in Lecco, Lombardy, Italy. The club currently plays in Serie C, the third division of the Italian Football
Founded in 1912, it has played in three Serie A tournaments (the last ...
. Godfrey averaged a league position of third, and won Bath City's last "major" non-League trophy, making him the clubs second most successful manager. Though finishing first, they fell short of election to the Football League by three votes in 1978, with
Wigan Athletic
Wigan Athletic Football Club () is an English professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system.
Founded in 1932, ...
gaining 26 and Bath 23. As a result, the club became founding members of the Alliance Premier League, now the
National League
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...
. They finished runners-up in 1985 but champions
Wealdstone
Wealdstone () is a district located in the centre of the London Borough of Harrow, England. It is located just north of Harrow town centre and is south of Harrow Weald, west of Belmont and Kenton, and east of Headstone.
The area accommodates ...
did not meet
Football League
The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...
stadium capacity requirements, so Bath City were allowed to apply for election to the
Football League Fourth Division
The Football League Fourth Division was the fourth-highest division in the English football league system from the 1958–59 season until the creation of the Premier League prior to the 1992–93 season. Whilst the division disappeared in name ...
. However, they missed out on election to the Football League for a third time. On this occasion, gaining only 8 votes.
In 1986,
Bristol Rovers
Bristol Rovers Football Club are a professional football club in Bristol, England. They compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system.
They play home matches at the Memorial Stadium in Horfield, they have been c ...
were forced out of
Eastville, officials of both clubs reached an agreement to share Twerton Park. This instigated developments to the ground as it, at one point, hosted second-tier football. Rovers ultimately moved back to Bristol after a ten-year period. In 1988, Bath were relegated from the Alliance Premier League to the Southern Football League, which was now formally the sixth tier. Nevertheless, the club were promoted back the next season. In 1991
Tony Ricketts
Tony Ricketts (born c. 1958) is a former semi-professional footballer.
As a player, at 24 years old, he was offered a two-year contract with Bristol City, which he refused. In 1989, he joined Bath City, where he became first a coach and then mana ...
was appointed manager, replacing George Rooney. They reached the third round of the
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...
during the
1993–94 season, on 5 December 1993, the second round tie against
Hereford United
Hereford United Football Club was an association football club based in Hereford, England. They played at Edgar Street for their entire history. They were nicknamed 'The Whites' or 'The Lilywhites', after their predominantly white kit, or 'The ...
was broadcast live on
Sky Sports
Sky Sports is a group of British subscription sports channels operated by the satellite pay television company Sky Group (a division of Comcast), and is the dominant subscription television sports brand in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It ...
. The club won 2–1, progressing to the next round. However, they lost 4–1 to
Stoke City
Stoke City Football Club is a professional football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England, which competes in the . Founded as Stoke Ramblers in 1863, it changed its name to Stoke in 1878 and then to Stoke City in 1925 after Stoke ...
at home in the third. That season, the club won the Somerset Cup, and won it again in 1995. They remained in the fifth tier from 1991 to 1997, though only managed several mid-placed finishes.
Decline and subsequent relegation (1997–2017)
In the wake of Ricketts's departure in 1996,
Paul Bodin
Paul John Bodin (born 13 September 1964) is a Welsh former professional footballer and coach who is now the coach of the Wales under-21 team. His son, Billy Bodin, is also a professional footballer.
A former Chelsea youth team graduate, he mo ...
was appointed manager. Following decades of playing in the top division of non-League football, the club were relegated from the
1996–97 Football Conference
The Football Conference season of 1996–97 was the eighteenth season of the Football Conference, also known as the ''Vauxhall Conference'' for sponsorship reasons.
Overview
Macclesfield Town F.C., Macclesfield Town won their second Conference t ...
. As a result, Bath returned to the
Southern Football League
The Southern League is a men's football competition featuring semi-professional clubs from the South and Midlands of England. Together with the Isthmian League and the Northern Premier League it forms levels seven and eight of the English fo ...
; albeit it no longer acted as step one of the
non league pyramid. In 2001, Bodin was replaced by Alan Pridham. However Pridham only lasted until 2003, after being sacked in November due to a poor run of results. In 2004, the club lost in the FA Cup second round to
Peterborough United
Peterborough United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, England. The team compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Peterborough have a long-standing ...
and in the third round of the
FA Trophy
The Football Association Challenge Trophy, commonly known as the FA Trophy, is a men's football knockout cup competition run by and named after the English Football Association and competed for primarily by semi-professional teams. The compet ...
to
Canvey Island
Canvey Island is a town, civil parishes in England, civil parish and reclaimed island in the Thames estuary, near Southend-on-Sea, in the Castle Point district, in the county of Essex, England. It has an area of and a population of 38,170.Office ...
. With the formation of the
Conference South
The National League South, formerly Conference South, is one of the second divisions of the National League in England, immediately below the top division National League. Along with National League North, it is in the second level of the N ...
in 2004, the Southern league lowered in rank once again; to the seventh division. As a result, Bath were demoted, albeit, without being relegated. Subsequently, they ended up playing the lowest tier football in the club's history from 2004 to 2007, having never previously played below the sixth tier.
John Relish was appointed manager on 22 June 2005. The club narrowly missed out on promotion to the Conference South in the season 2005–06 season finishing second in the Southern League. Though, the subsequent year, they were promoted back to the sixth tier by winning the Southern League in 2006–07, finishing on 91 points.
Bath then finished eighth in the Conference South during the 2007–08 season. In October 2008, manager John Relish moved aside from managerial duties to concentrate on developing the Youth academy. He was replaced by his former assistant Adie Britton. In 2009, the club beat
League Two
The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football Lea ...
side
Grimsby Town
Grimsby Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, England, that in the 2022–23 season will compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system, following the victory in ...
in the FA Cup first round, only to lose to
Forest Green Rovers
Forest Green Rovers Football Club are a professional football club based in Nailsworth, Gloucestershire, England. The team compete in , the third tier of the English football league system, and have played their home games at The New Lawn since ...
in the second round. On 9 May 2010, Bath reached the
National League South
The National League South, formerly Conference South, is one of the second divisions of the National League in England, immediately below the top division National League. Along with National League North, it is in the second level of the N ...
play-off final, in which they played
Woking
Woking ( ) is a town and borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in northwest Surrey, England, around from central London. It appears in Domesday Book as ''Wochinges'' and its name probably derives from that of a Anglo-Saxon settlement o ...
. The club won 1–0 and returned to the fifth tier for the first time since 1997. Bath finished tenth in the
2010–11 Football Conference
The 2010–11 Football Conference season was the seventh season with the Conference consisting of three divisions and the thirty-second season overall. The Conference covers the top two levels of Non-League football in England. The Conference Pre ...
, their highest finish since achieving seventh in the
1992–93 Football Conference.
However, they had a poor season in 2011–12 and were
relegated
In sports leagues, promotion and relegation is a process where teams are transferred between multiple divisions based on their performance for the completed season. Leagues that use promotion and relegation systems are often called open leagues. ...
from the
Conference
A conference is a meeting of two or more experts to discuss and exchange opinions or new information about a particular topic.
Conferences can be used as a form of group decision-making, although discussion, not always decisions, are the main p ...
. Following the demotion, Bath's chairman at the time, Manda Rigby, held talks with manager Adie Britton on the future of the club, stating the team would; "return stronger with the experience." Yet the chairman's promise to get back into the National League failed to materialize, with the club finishing in twelfth place in the 2012–13 season. Britton, subsequently stepped down from being the first team coach, and acquired the role of football director, stating that he "aims to get Bath City back to where they belong."
Britton was replaced by Australian manager,
Lee Howells. The following season was an improvement, with the club finishing seventh on 66 points in 2013–14. However, for the following two years, they were poor again, finishing fourteenth on 53 points in both the
2014–15 and
2015–16 season. During this period, the club's home attendances also declined greatly, averaging as low as 500 during the 2014–15 season. From 2011 to 2016 home attendances were some of the lowest recorded in the club's entire history. What little success the club had during this period was in the 2014–15 season, reaching the semi-final of the
FA Trophy
The Football Association Challenge Trophy, commonly known as the FA Trophy, is a men's football knockout cup competition run by and named after the English Football Association and competed for primarily by semi-professional teams. The compet ...
, beating Bristol Rovers, on route to losing on penalties to eventual winners,
North Ferriby United
North Ferriby United Association Football Club was a semi-professional football club in North Ferriby, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. At the time of their demise they were members of the Northern Premier League and played at Grange Lane.
F ...
. Howells was eventually sacked after a 4–1 defeat to Dartford, due to a run of low placed finishes.
2017–present
On 5 October 2017, former player,
Jerry Gill, was appointed first team manager. The first season under Gill saw the club finish in ninth, the same as the previous 2016–17 season. However, it was not until later that there was a noticeable improvement in the team's performances. In the 2018–19
National League South
The National League South, formerly Conference South, is one of the second divisions of the National League in England, immediately below the top division National League. Along with National League North, it is in the second level of the N ...
season the club finished fifth, on 71 points, a feat that had not been accomplished since the 2009–10 promotion season. Subsequently, they entered play offs to compete for a place in the
National League
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...
, but lost 3–1 to Wealdstone on the first May 2019. The club climbed once spot higher up the table again in 2019–20, finishing fourth.
However, the team were beaten 2–1 by
Dorking Wanderers in the play-off eliminator at Twerton Park. Attendances also rose greatly, from the club averaging 612 in the 2016–17 season to 1,142 in the 2018–19 season. They also witnessed the highest league attendance in 40 years vs
Torquay United
Torquay United Football Club is a professional football club based in Torquay, Devon, England. The team currently compete in the , the fifth tier of English football. They have played their home matches at Plainmoor since 1921 and are nicknamed ...
, on 19 January 2019, with a crowd of 3,492. Bath won the game 3–2.
Crest and colours
The club are sometimes given the nickname; "The Stripes" simply in remembrance to their striped kit, as Bath have worn black and white throughout the majority of their history. They are also one of the few English clubs from the
sixth tier and above to wear a black and white striped kit at home matches, the only other club's being,
Grimsby Town
Grimsby Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, England, that in the 2022–23 season will compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system, following the victory in ...
,
Notts County
Notts County Football Club is a professional association football club based in Nottingham, England. The team participate in the National League (division), National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. Founded on the 2 ...
,
Chorley
Chorley is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Chorley in Lancashire, England, north of Wigan, south west of Blackburn, north west of Bolton, south of Preston and north west of Manchester. The town's wealth came pr ...
and
Newcastle United
Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Newcastle upon Tyne, that plays in the Premier League – the top flight of English football. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End ...
. Bath's initial crest was heavily based on the official coat of arms for the city of Bath. The shield depicts the Borough Wall, the mineral springs and the
River Avon, and the sword is that of St Paul, one of the Patron Saints of the Abbey, which is also the cities' parish church. The crest remained until the late 1980s, in which it was simplified heavily, the features within the city of bath shield were removed entirely, all that remained were 4 horizontal black stripes against a white background surrounding the silhouette of a
Roman soldier
This is a list of Roman army units and bureaucrats.
*'' Accensus'' – Light infantry men in the armies of the early Roman Republic, made up of the poorest men of the army.
*''Actuarius'' – A military who served food.
*''Adiutor'' – A camp or ...
. It was then changed again in 2000, as the club crest that the club uses today. The Roman soldier was removed, but the borough wall was re-added and the 4 stripes enlarged.
Kit suppliers and shirt sponsors
Stadiums
Early grounds
Bath played their most early matches at the
North Parade Ground in
Bathwick
Bathwick is an electoral ward in the City of Bath, England, on the opposite bank of the River Avon to the historic city centre.
Bathwick was part of the hundred of Bath Forum.
The district became part of the Bath urban area with the 18th cent ...
across from the
City Centre
A city centre is the commercial, cultural and often the historical, political, and geographic heart of a city. The term "city centre" is primarily used in British English, and closely equivalent terms exist in other languages, such as "" in Fren ...
. The ground was shared with the cricket club, most likely due to the fact that members of
Bath Cricket Club
Bath Cricket Club is an English amateur cricket club based in the city of Bath, Somerset. The club was founded in 1859 and the Men's 1st XI compete in the West of England Premier League, which is an accredited ECB Premier League, the highest l ...
were involved in the formation of the club in 1889. The ground mainly hosted friendlies with Bath and other local teams. However, their time at Bathwick was short spent, as they moved to Lambridge in 1890.
1900–1919: Belvoir Castle
![Bath City at the Belvoir Ground in Twerton 1913](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7b/Bath_City_at_the_Belvoir_Ground_in_Twerton_1913.png)
In 1900, the club settled in
Twerton
Twerton is a suburb of the city of Bath, Somerset, Bath, Somerset, England, situated to the west of the city, and home to the city's association football, football club, Bath City F.C., Bath City.
Twerton is served by bus route 5, operated by Fi ...
at the Belvoir Castle Ground. From 1900 to 1908 the club played friendlies with other local clubs. In 1908, there was a talk of
Bath Rugby
Bath Rugby is a professional rugby union club in Bath, Somerset, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby.
Founded in 1865 as Bath Football Club, since 1894 the club has played at the Recreation Ground in the c ...
sharing the ground, though the talks never materialised. Notable achievements at the Ground included; finishing third in the Western League in 1911, and then second in 1914.
In 1910 the ground was purchased by the
Midland Railway Company
The Midland Railway (MR) was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1844. The Midland was one of the largest railway companies in Britain in the early 20th century, and the largest employer in Derby, where it had its headquarters. It am ...
by Mr Stothert and Pitt, it was later stated that the ground would be "absolutely unsuitable for football" in a few years time, with the Railway Company planning to build a train track on the very land that the stadium occupied. In 1919, a large meeting was arranged at the
Bath Guildhall to find a suitable replacement, the
Recreation Ground
A park is an area of natural, semi-natural or planted space set aside for human enjoyment and recreation or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. Urban parks are green spaces set aside for recreation inside towns and cities. N ...
was considered an option.
1919–1932: Lambridge
After almost a decade of uncertainty of what the club's next ground was going to be, following the purchase by the Midland Railway Company in 1910, Mr Hopkins, the club's secretary at the time, found a viable replacement for Belvoir. Thus, in 1919, the club moved away from Twerton back to the east side of the city in Lambridge. In 1921 Bath were accepted into the Southern League Western Section, the top tier of
non-League football
Non-League football describes football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is specifically used to de ...
. Here, under manager,
Ted Davis, they had one of the most successful periods in the club's history, as the southern league West at the time acted as the fourth tier, being only one division below the
Football League Third Division
The Football League Third Division was the third tier of the English football league system in 1920–21 and again from 1958 until 1992. When the FA Premier League was formed, the division become the fourth tier level. In 2004, following the f ...
. Not only did the club play some of the highest division football in their history during this period, the club won the title in the
1929–30 season and also won the
Somerset Premier Cup
The Somerset Premier Cup is an association football knock-out cup competition run by the Somerset County Football Association (SFA).
According to the current rules of the competition, to enter clubs first affiliation must be with the Somerset Co ...
twice, in the
1928–29 and the
1931–32 season. In the last season at Lambridge the club came third in the league and also reached the
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...
third round, but were knocked out by
Crystal Palace
Crystal Palace may refer to:
Places Canada
* Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick
* Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario
* Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition building
* ...
.
1932–present: Twerton Park
![Twerton Park](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/eb/Twerton_Park.jpg)
Twerton Park became the club's home ground in 1932. The club continued the success of the latter years at Lambridge by winning the Southern League Western title in their first season at Twerton in the
1932–33 season. In 1935, roofing was added to the Popular Side. In 1946, Twerton Park was described as "rivalling any stadium in the west of England." A record attendance of 18,020 was recorded in 1960 versus
Brighton & Hove Albion
Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club (), commonly referred to simply as Brighton, is an English professional football club based in the city of Brighton and Hove. They compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league ...
in the third round of the
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...
. Up until the late 1980s, the ground had a capacity of 20,000. Between 1986 and 1996, Bath City shared
Twerton Park
Twerton Park is a football stadium in the Twerton suburb of Bath, England. The stadium is named after the surrounding area, Twerton. The stadium has a physical capacity of 8,884, 1,066 of which are seats. It has been the home of Bath City F.C ...
with
Bristol Rovers
Bristol Rovers Football Club are a professional football club in Bristol, England. They compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system.
They play home matches at the Memorial Stadium in Horfield, they have been c ...
. In 1990 the Grandstand was heavily damaged by
Bristol City
Bristol City Football Club is a professional football club based in Bristol, England, which compete in the , the second tier of English football. They have played their home games at Ashton Gate since moving from St John's Lane in 1904. The ...
Hooligans
Hooliganism is disruptive or unlawful behavior such as rioting, bullying and vandalism, usually in connection with crowds at sporting events.
Etymology
There are several theories regarding the origin of the word ''hooliganism,'' which is a d ...
, who were later convicted of arson. Rovers notably played Liverpool in the FA cup on 5 February 1992. It has also hosted
Team Bath
TeamBath is the University of Bath's sporting organisation. In addition to entering teams in BUCS intervarsity competitions, TeamBath has also entered teams in national leagues and competitions. Team Bath F.C. reached the first round proper of t ...
, who were a full-time professional team playing in the Conference South until their resignation at the end of the 2008–09 season. In 2021, the stadium was ranked the 75th best in
Britain
Britain most often refers to:
* The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands
* Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...
by
FourFourTwo
''FourFourTwo'' is a football magazine published by Future. Issued monthly, it published its 300th edition in May 2019. It takes its name from the football formation of the same name, 4-4-2.
In 2008, it was announced that ''FourFourTwo'' had e ...
, ahead of the likes of,
Charlton Athletic's The Valley, the
Swansea.com stadium
The Swansea.com Stadium ( cy, Stadiwm Swansea.com; formerly Liberty Stadium) is an all-seated sports stadium and conferencing venue located in the Landore area of Swansea, Wales. The stadium opened in 2005 and was named the Liberty Stadium. It ...
and
Bristol City's Ashton Gate. The ground currently has a reduced ground capacity of 3,528 from 8,800 due to safety regulations with a seating capacity of 1,006.
On 21 August 2008, Bath City's chairman Geoff Todd stated that "the club held talks with Bath Rugby over a possible ground share at the Rec" meaning in the future, Bath City could move to the
Recreation Ground
A park is an area of natural, semi-natural or planted space set aside for human enjoyment and recreation or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. Urban parks are green spaces set aside for recreation inside towns and cities. N ...
, though fans were opposed to the move. At the end of the 2011–12 season the club offered the naming rights to Twerton Park for just £50. The offer drew 167 entries from as far afield as the US, Australia, Norway and Singapore which raised £3,850 for the club. Businesses made up 58 of the entries with only a handful of the remaining personalised entries being deemed unsuitable. The winning entry drawn at random was The Mayday Trust, a charitable organisation that helps to rehome vulnerable people.
The club released plans to redevelop the ground and local area, containing a new grandstand,
3G pitch and housing in a bid to secure the immediate financial future of the club. In March 2020, the plans were rejected. In August 2020, it was announced that
Bristol City Women would play the majority of home games at Twerton Park during the
2020–21 FA Women's Super League season.
Support
Historically, Bath were one of the best supported clubs in
non-league football
Non-League football describes football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is specifically used to de ...
, particularly in the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s. With attendances reaching the mid to late ten thousands in some
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...
ties.
However, attendances declined immensely in the 80s and 90s, although the same can be said for the entirety of
English football
Association football is the most popular sport in England, where the first modern set of rules for the code were established in 1863, which were a major influence on the development of the modern Laws of the Game. With over 40,000 association f ...
during this period as they were some of the foremost decades of
Football hooliganism
Football hooliganism, also known as soccer hooliganism, football rioting or soccer rioting, constitutes violence and other destructive behaviours perpetrated by spectators at association football events. Football hooliganism normally involves ...
. Due to the club's poor performances on the field in the late 1990s to 2010s, with subsequent relegations, attendances declined further. Being as low as 500 on average in the
2014–15 season, the lowest recorded average attendance in the club's entire history. As a result, in 2015, a fan development group dedicated to raising average home attendances to 1000 called "''1000BC"'' was put in place. The development was undoubtedly successful with attendances having averaged over 1000 for the past three seasons.
For the current
2022–23
The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen b ...
season Twerton Park was ranked number one by non league fans for atmosphere in the national league south. The South Terrace, historically known as the "Popular Side" opposite the Grand Stand is home to the club's most vocal support. Supporters are known for singing "Drink Up Thy Cider" by
The Wurzels
The Wurzels are an English Scrumpy and Western band from Somerset, England, best known for their number one hit " The Combine Harvester" and number three hit "I Am a Cider Drinker" in 1976. They are known for using British West Country phrases ...
, a tribute to the
Somerset's famous cider brewing industry. The song is often played at Twerton Park after the team wins, particularly a big game.
In the 1960s and 1970s, the club's mascot was simply known as "mascot man", who dressed in black and white top hat and tails whilst twirling a large black and white umbrella and ringing a handbell. In more recent years, (since the 2010–11 season), the club mascot has been
Bladud
Bladud or Blaiddyd is a legendary king of the Britons, although there is no historical evidence for his existence. He is first mentioned in Geoffrey of Monmouth's ''Historia Regum Britanniae'' ( 1136), which describes him as the son of King Rud ...
the Pig, named after the legendary king of the Britons who is said to have founded the city of
Bath
Bath may refer to:
* Bathing, immersion in a fluid
** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body
** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe
* Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities
Plac ...
and kept a herd of pigs. At the club's home games, he can frequently be seen waving to the crowd, performing press-ups and entertaining younger supporters. In 2019, Bladud the Pig won the Mascot South West Grand National.
Though close in proximity,
EFL League One
The English Football League One (often referred to as League One for short or Sky Bet League One for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League One from 2004 until 2016) is the second-highest division of the English Football Leag ...
side
Bristol Rovers
Bristol Rovers Football Club are a professional football club in Bristol, England. They compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system.
They play home matches at the Memorial Stadium in Horfield, they have been c ...
are not considered rivals, having never competed against Bath in the league, and have formed friendly relations with the Romans, largely due to Rovers playing at Twerton from 1986 to 1996.
In addition to Bristol Rovers, Bath have formed a strong tie with Italian side
Calcio Lecco
Calcio Lecco 1912, better known as Lecco , is a football club in Lecco, Lombardy, Italy. The club currently plays in Serie C, the third division of the Italian Football
Founded in 1912, it has played in three Serie A tournaments (the last ...
. The clubs played against each other in the 1977
Anglo-Italian Cup
The Anglo-Italian Cup ( it, Coppa Anglo-Italiana, also known as the Anglo-Italian Inter-League Clubs Competition and from 1976 to 1986 as the Alitalia Challenge Cup, Talbot Challenge Cup or Gigi Peronace Memorial) is a defunct European football c ...
Final, with the Italian side triumphing. This did not sour relations, with fans of both sides celebrating the 40th anniversary of the game in 2017 with a supporters match held in Lecco's
Stadio Rigamonti-Ceppi
Stadio Rigamonti-Ceppi is a multi-use stadium in Lecco, Italy. It is currently used mostly for football matches and is the home ground of Calcio Lecco 1912. The stadium holds 4,997 people.
History
The stadium was named after Mario Rigamonti wh ...
ground.
Rivalries
Historically, Bath's mains rivals were fellow
Somerset
( en, All The People of Somerset)
, locator_map =
, coordinates =
, region = South West England
, established_date = Ancient
, established_by =
, preceded_by =
, origin =
, lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset
, lord_ ...
club
Yeovil Town Yeovil Town may refer to:
* Yeovil Town F.C., an English football team based in Yeovil, Somerset
* Yeovil Town L.F.C.
Bridgwater United Women's Football Club are an English women's association football club based in Bridgwater, Somerset who wer ...
. Bath also shared a lesser rivalry with
Weymouth. The rivalry with Yeovil stemmed from location and league position, with Yeovil and Bath having played in the top tier of
non-League football
Non-League football describes football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is specifically used to de ...
for the majority of their history. Tensions between Bath and Yeovil were said to be strongest in the 1960s and 1990s, with the two clubs playing each other over 250 times.
From the 1910s to the late 1990s Bath and Yeovil consistently occupied the same league. However, since the turn of the century, Yeovil and Bath moved in opposite directions across the English football pyramid, with the two clubs being as many as five divisions apart from one another during the 2013–14 season. Yeovil were promoted to the
EFL Championship
The English Football League Championship (often referred to as the Championship for short or the Sky Bet Championship for sponsorship purposes) is the highest division of the English Football League (EFL) and second-highest overall in the E ...
in 2013, and played second-tier football for the first time in their history during the
2013–14 season, at the same time, Bath were struggling in the sixth tier. Whilst Yeovil were having one of the best periods in their history, Bath were having one their worst, thus, local animosity between Bath and Yeovil dissipated.
The relegation of Weymouth from the
National League
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...
in 2019 means that both Weymouth and Bath now participate in the
National League South
The National League South, formerly Conference South, is one of the second divisions of the National League in England, immediately below the top division National League. Along with National League North, it is in the second level of the N ...
as of the 2022–23 season, the last time being the 2009–10 season. Yeovil Town's decline since 2014 means that as of the 2022–23 season Bath currently sit just one tier below.
In more recent years, Bath have shared a less fierce derby with
Chippenham Town both based on location and league position rather than historical feud, with both clubs competing in the
National League South
The National League South, formerly Conference South, is one of the second divisions of the National League in England, immediately below the top division National League. Along with National League North, it is in the second level of the N ...
as of the 2022–23 season.
Records and statistics
The record appearance maker is Dave Mogg, who made 515 appearances in all competitions.
Charlie Fleming
Charles Fleming (12 July 1927 – 14 August 1997) was a Scottish footballer who played for Blairhall Colliery, East Fife, Sunderland and the Scotland national team. Fleming was nicknamed 'Cannonball Charlie' for his shooting ability, and is Ba ...
is the club's top goal scorer with 216 goals.
William Hyman
William Hyman (7 March 1875 – 11 February 1959), known as "Bill" or "Billy", played first-class cricket for Somerset from 1900 to 1914. He was born at Radstock, Somerset and died at Mount Charles, St Austell, Cornwall.
Cricket career
Hyman ...
,
Martin Paul
Martin Paul (born 2 February 1975) is an English former professional footballer.
Career
Paul began his career as a trainee with Bristol Rovers. He played 29 first-team games before being released in 1996. He joined Doncaster Rovers, but in N ...
,
Paul Randall
Paul Randall (born 16 February 1958) is an English footballer who played in the English Football League for Bristol Rovers and Stoke City.
Career
Early career
Randall was born in Sefton, Liverpool. His mother, June was born in Dar es Salaa ...
have all scored over 100 goals for the club. The highest goals scored by a single player in a season was Paul Randall in the 1989-90 season.
The highest
transfer
Transfer may refer to:
Arts and media
* ''Transfer'' (2010 film), a German science-fiction movie directed by Damir Lukacevic and starring Zana Marjanović
* ''Transfer'' (1966 film), a short film
* ''Transfer'' (journal), in management studies
...
fee received by the club is £80,000 for
Jason Dodd
Jason Robert Dodd (born 2 November 1970) is an English football coach and former professional footballer.
As a player, he was a full-back who notably spent sixteen-years playing for Southampton where the majority of those came in the Premier L ...
, paid by
Southampton
Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...
in 1989, and the highest fee paid by Bath is £16,000 for Micky Tanner signed from
Bristol City
Bristol City Football Club is a professional football club based in Bristol, England, which compete in the , the second tier of English football. They have played their home games at Ashton Gate since moving from St John's Lane in 1904. The ...
in 1988.
The club's record attendance is 18,020 against
Brighton & Hove Albion
Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club (), commonly referred to simply as Brighton, is an English professional football club based in the city of Brighton and Hove. They compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league ...
in the third round of the
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...
.
Current ownership
Community ownership
In the summer of 2015, "Big Bath City Bid" was launched by filmmaker and Bath fan
Ken Loach
Kenneth Charles Loach (born 17 June 1936) is a British film director and screenwriter. His socially critical directing style and socialist ideals are evident in his film treatment of social issues such as poverty (''Poor Cow'', 1967), homelessne ...
, in aim to convert Bath City into a community-owned, ‘one member one vote’ club, and to clear the club of its debts.
That year, the Bid fell short of the £750,000 target set by the majority shareholders. Albeit, in September 2016, the appeal achieved the £300,000 target, and thus began its reformation to a community-owned asset. The scheme received backing from around the world, including support from ex-Manchester Utd footballer, Eric Cantona. On 5 May 2017, the club completed its transition to community ownership. The major shareholder is the “Bath City Supporters Society Ltd” with 54.6%. However, the figures, for May 2018, showed the club operating at a loss of approximately £137,000.
Since 2017, the club has also begun altering the way it operates and has tried tapping into new revenue streams. However, the club continues to face financial difficulties; with debts totalling almost £1 million in 2018, all of which need to be repaid by 2022 at the latest.
Nick Blofeld, stated; "Despite the community buy-out the Club still has substantial debts to clear and is running at an on-going loss, so we must create sustainable income streams if we are to remain at
Twerton Park
Twerton Park is a football stadium in the Twerton suburb of Bath, England. The stadium is named after the surrounding area, Twerton. The stadium has a physical capacity of 8,884, 1,066 of which are seats. It has been the home of Bath City F.C ...
for long-term. We have generated some more revenue from non-football activities, but this is limited by our current facilities, which are very dated and are no longer fit-for-purpose. We are all committed to making sure the club remains part of the
Twerton
Twerton is a suburb of the city of Bath, Somerset, Bath, Somerset, England, situated to the west of the city, and home to the city's association football, football club, Bath City F.C., Bath City.
Twerton is served by bus route 5, operated by Fi ...
community, which is why we have teamed up with Greenacre Capital to pursue plans for a partial redevelopment. "But if these proposals do not happen we would not be able to improve the club's business model sufficiently to clear its debts. In this scenario we might have to sell the entire site and look for a new ground elsewhere, probably outside of the city."
On 16 March 2020, the National League Board announced the suspension of all
National League
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...
football until at least 3 April, due to the rapidly developing
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
. On 31 March, the suspension was extended indefinitely and, on 22 April, all remaining league matches were cancelled.
Supporters donated £53,025 to help stopple the extra costs of participating in the playoffs.
In the
2021–22 season, the club established a
livestreaming
Livestreaming is streaming media simultaneously recorded and broadcast in real-time over the internet. It is often referred to simply as streaming. Non-live media such as video-on-demand, vlogs, and YouTube videos are technically streamed, but no ...
service, enabling supporters to remotely watch games played at Twerton Park. On 22 January 2021, with increasing uncertainty about continued financial support for non-League member clubs, the National League Board announced that the National League South would be halted immediately for a two-week period.
Players
First-team squad
Former players
Player records
Club captains
The following table shows players who have previously been selected to be club
captain
Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...
. The table is in chronological order and begins from 1984 onwards:
Notable former players
Bath City have a long list of notable former players. During The Second World War,
Stan Mortensen
Stanley Harding Mortensen (26 May 1921 – 22 May 1991) was an English professional footballer, most famous for his part in the 1953 FA Cup Final (subsequently known as the "Matthews Final"), in which he became the only player ever to score a h ...
relocated to the south and played for the Romans 45 times, scoring 27 in the process. Notable players in recent times include the likes of;
Bobby Zamora
Robert Lester Zamora (born 16 January 1981) is an English former professional footballer who played as a forward. Zamora began his career at Football League club Bristol Rovers, but was soon signed by Brighton & Hove Albion, where he found first ...
and
Paul Evans. Notable players that have played over 100 times for the club include;
Tony Book
Anthony Keith Book (born 4 September 1934) is an English retired footballer and manager. Book spent a large part of his career in Non-League football with his home town club Bath City, before entering league football with Plymouth Argyle. At the ...
,
Paul Bodin
Paul John Bodin (born 13 September 1964) is a Welsh former professional footballer and coach who is now the coach of the Wales under-21 team. His son, Billy Bodin, is also a professional footballer.
A former Chelsea youth team graduate, he mo ...
,
Alan Skirton
Alan Frederick Graham Skirton (23 January 1939 – 12 May 2019) was an English footballer.
Playing career
Skirton started out as a player with West Twerton Youth Club in his home city of Bath before joining Bristol City as an amateur. However, ...
,
Ian MacFarlane and
Charlie Fleming
Charles Fleming (12 July 1927 – 14 August 1997) was a Scottish footballer who played for Blairhall Colliery, East Fife, Sunderland and the Scotland national team. Fleming was nicknamed 'Cannonball Charlie' for his shooting ability, and is Ba ...
.
Club officials
The current manager is
Jerry Gill, who was appointed in October 2017. Gill previously played for the club between 1990 and 1996, making over 200 appearances.
Coaching and medical staff
Board of directors
Managerial history
''From 1907 onwards, caretaker managers are not included''
Honours
In terms of the significance and prestige of trophies won, Bath are the second most successful club that currently play in the
National League South
The National League South, formerly Conference South, is one of the second divisions of the National League in England, immediately below the top division National League. Along with National League North, it is in the second level of the N ...
, after
Kent
Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...
club,
Dartford
Dartford is the principal town in the Borough of Dartford, Kent, England. It is located south-east of Central London and
is situated adjacent to the London Borough of Bexley to its west. To its north, across the Thames estuary, is Thurrock in ...
. Bath's first competitive trophy was The
Somerset Premier Cup
The Somerset Premier Cup is an association football knock-out cup competition run by the Somerset County Football Association (SFA).
According to the current rules of the competition, to enter clubs first affiliation must be with the Somerset Co ...
in 1929. In 1930, the club won its first League title, The Southern League Western Section, (acting as the fourth division at the time). In terms of the grandeur and number of trophies won, Bath's most successful decade was the 1930s, in which the club won two league titles and three Somerset cups.
In total, Bath have won two
Southern League Western Section titles –
1929–30,
1930–33, two
Southern League titles –
1959–60,
1977–78, one
Southern Football League
The Southern League is a men's football competition featuring semi-professional clubs from the South and Midlands of England. Together with the Isthmian League and the Northern Premier League it forms levels seven and eight of the English fo ...
title –
2006–07, one
Southern League Cup, one non league championship trophy, one
Football League North
The Football League North and Football League South divisions of the Football League were created temporarily for the League to continue through the Second World War while limiting the amount of movement that was required by teams. The leagues star ...
–
1943–44 and twenty two
Somerset Premier Cup
The Somerset Premier Cup is an association football knock-out cup competition run by the Somerset County Football Association (SFA).
According to the current rules of the competition, to enter clubs first affiliation must be with the Somerset Co ...
s. In total Bath have won four ‘major’ non-League trophies, and twenty seven overall.
Domestic
League
*
Southern League (Western Section) (Tier 4)
** Winners (2):
1929–30,
1932–33
*
Southern League(Tier 5)
** Winners (2):
1959–60,
1977–78
*
Conference South
The National League South, formerly Conference South, is one of the second divisions of the National League in England, immediately below the top division National League. Along with National League North, it is in the second level of the N ...
(Tier 6)
**Play-off winners:
2009–10
*
Southern Football League
The Southern League is a men's football competition featuring semi-professional clubs from the South and Midlands of England. Together with the Isthmian League and the Northern Premier League it forms levels seven and eight of the English fo ...
(Tier 7)
** Winners:
2006–07
*
Football League North
The Football League North and Football League South divisions of the Football League were created temporarily for the League to continue through the Second World War while limiting the amount of movement that was required by teams. The leagues star ...
** Winners:
1943–44
Cups
*
Southern League Cup
** Winners:
1978–79
*
Somerset Premier Cup
The Somerset Premier Cup is an association football knock-out cup competition run by the Somerset County Football Association (SFA).
According to the current rules of the competition, to enter clubs first affiliation must be with the Somerset Co ...
** Winners (22):
1928–29,
1931–32,
1933–34,
1935–36,
1951–52,
1952–53,
1957–58,
1959–60,
1965–66,
1967–68,
1969–70,
1977–78,
1980–81,
1981–82,
1983–84,
1984–85,
1985–86,
1988–89,
1989–90,
1993–94,
1994–95,
2007–08
European
*
Anglo-Italian Cup
The Anglo-Italian Cup ( it, Coppa Anglo-Italiana, also known as the Anglo-Italian Inter-League Clubs Competition and from 1976 to 1986 as the Alitalia Challenge Cup, Talbot Challenge Cup or Gigi Peronace Memorial) is a defunct European football c ...
** ''Runners up:''
1976–77,
1977–78
See also
*
List of Bath City F.C. records and statistics
*
List of Bath City F.C. managers
*
List of Bath City F.C. players
*
List of Bath City F.C. seasons
*
List of fan-owned sports teams
This is a partial list of professional or semi-professional sports teams that are owned by fans (via either a collective organisation or where the assumption of majority ownership by a small group is prohibited by the club's constitution or gov ...
Affiliated clubs
*
Calcio Lecco
Calcio Lecco 1912, better known as Lecco , is a football club in Lecco, Lombardy, Italy. The club currently plays in Serie C, the third division of the Italian Football
Founded in 1912, it has played in three Serie A tournaments (the last ...
Notes
References
Sources
*
Player lists
External links
Official websiteBath City Youth FC website
*Bath City F.C. on
BBC Sport
BBC Sport is the sports division of the BBC, providing national sports coverage for BBC television, radio and online. The BBC holds the television and radio UK broadcasting rights to several sports, broadcasting the sport live or alongside flag ...
results and fixturesVanarama National LeagueOfficial website
Supporters' Club
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Football clubs in England
National League (English football) clubs
City F.C.
Association football clubs established in 1889
Southern Football League clubs
1889 establishments in England
Football clubs in Somerset
Fan-owned football clubs in England
Railway association football teams in England