Marlow Football Club is a football club based in

Marlow, Buckinghamshire Marlow (; historically Great Marlow or Chipping Marlow) is a town and civil parish within the Unitary Authority of Buckinghamshire, England. It is located on the River Thames, south-southwest of High Wycombe, west-northwest of Maidenhead and ...

, England. They are currently members of the and play at the Alfred Davis Memorial Ground. Marlow are the only football club in England to have applied for entry into the FA Cup every season since its inception in 1871.

History

The club was formed at a meeting at the Compleat Angler Hotel on 22 November 1870.Club History
Marlow F.C. In 1871–72 they competed in the first-ever

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 ...

, losing 2–0 to Maidenhead in the first round; one of their players was Cuthbert Ottoway, who went on to captain

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

in their match against

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

the following year, the first-ever recognised football international. In 1881–82 the club reached the FA Cup semi-finals, losing 5–0 to

Old Etonians Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, ...

. During the 1890s the club was also known as Great Marlow. They joined the Western Section of the

Spartan League The Spartan League was a football league in England covering London and adjacent counties. Established in 1907, it merged with the South Midlands League in 1997 to form the Spartan South Midlands League. History The Spartan League was establish ...

in 1908. However, the club resigned midway through the 1910–11 season. Marlow joined the

Great Western Suburban League The Great Western Suburban League was a football league that was primarily held in the Home counties, founded in 1904. History The Great Western Suburban League was founded in 1904, drawing its membership from the Home counties to the west of Lo ...

for the 1911–12 season. They finished bottom of the league in 1912–13 following a points deduction, and again in 1922–23.Great Western Suburban League 1904–1931
Non-League Matters In 1924 they left the league, dropping into the Reading & District League. After moving to the Alfred Davis Memorial Ground in 1928, the club joined Division Two West of the

.Spartan League 1924–1929
Non League Matters They won the division in 1929–30, earning promotion to Division One. In 1937–38 the club were Division One champions and were promoted to the Premier Division.
Non-League Matters During

World War II 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 opposing ...

the club played in the

Great Western Combination The Great Western Combination was a football league in south-central England. History The league was established in 1939, initially as a wartime competition as many other leagues had been abandoned following the outbreak of World War II. Its or ...

.Great Western Combination 1939–1964
Non-League Matters After the war they were placed in the Western Division of the Spartan League for the 1945–46 season, but did not finish high enough to earn a place in the Premier Division the following season. In 1951 Marlow returned to the Spartan League's Premier Division, where they remained until joining Division Two of the

Athenian League The Athenian League was an English amateur football league for clubs in and around London. The league was originally to be called the Corinthian League,Athenian Football League minutes 1912-1921 (National Football Museum, Preston). but this nam ...

in 1965. The club were promoted to Division One after finishing third in the division in 1970–71. When the Athenian League was disbanded in 1984, they joined Division Two North of the Isthmian League. The club were transferred to Division Two South the following season, and in 1986–87 they finished second and were promoted to Division One. The following season saw them win the Division One title, earning promotion to the Premier Division. In 1991–92 the club reached the first round of the FA Cup for the first time since 1892, but lost 6–0 to

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club () is an English professional football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was formed in 1878 and has pl ...

. The following season saw Marlow reach the third round of the FA Cup after beating

Salisbury Salisbury ( ) is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers Avon, Nadder and Bourne. The city is approximately from Southampton and from Bath. Salisbury is in the southeast of ...

and VS Rugby in the first two rounds. They were drawn at home to Tottenham, but the match was switched to

White Hart Lane White Hart Lane was a football stadium in Tottenham, North London and the home of Tottenham Hotspur Football Club from 1899 to 2017. Its capacity varied over the years; when changed to all-seater it had a capacity of 36,284 before demolition. ...

, where they lost 5–1. Two seasons later they reached the third round again, defeating

Oxford United Oxford United Football Club is a professional football club in the city of Oxford, England. The team plays in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The chairman is Grant Ferguson, the manager is Karl Robinson and t ...

in the first round, before losing 2–0 at

Swindon Town Swindon Town Football Club is a professional 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 the County Ground sin ...

in the third. The club remained in the Isthmian League's Premier Division until being relegated at the end of the 1994–95 season. Two seasons later they were relegated again. In 2004 they were transferred to Division One West of the Southern League, and were later transferred to Division One Central. In 2011–12 the club finished bottom of Division One Central of the Southern League and were relegated to the Premier Division of the Hellenic League. Marlow won the Hellenic League Premier Division at the first attempt, earning promotion back to Division One Central of the Southern League. They were subsequently transferred to Division One South & West for the 2015–16 season, before returning to Division One Central the following year. In 2016–17 the club finished fourth in Division One Central, qualifying for the promotion play-offs, going on to lose 2–0 to Barton Rovers in the semi-finals. At the end of the 2017–18 season the club were transferred to the South Central Division of the Isthmian League.

Ground

The club played at Aldermeadow until 1898, when they moved to Crown Meadow, now known as the Riley Recreational Ground.Marlow
Pyramid Passion They were forced to relocate to Star Meadow in 1919; the ground was unenclosed and the club had to eventually drop into the Reading & District League. In 1928 they moved to the Alfred Davis Memorial Ground, named after their long-serving secretary who had died in 1924. A wooden grandstand was built on one side of the pitch in 1930, with a covered area erected on the Green Verges side in 1950. The Green Verges stand was replaced during the 1990s. Terracing was installed on all four sides in 1985, and another covered stand was built at the Trinity End in 1991.

Honours

*Isthmian League **Division One champions 1987–88 *Spartan League **Division One champions 1937–38 **Division Two West champions 1929–30 *Hellenic League **Premier Division champions 2012–13 *

Berks & Bucks Senior Cup The Berks & Bucks FA County Senior Cup is the Senior County Cup competition of the Berks & Bucks FA, which first took place in 1878–79 – a time when the FA Cup had only been going for seven years, there was no Football League, and most countr ...

**Winners 1990–91, 1993–94

Records

*Best

performance: Semi-finals, 1881–82 *Best FA Amateur Cup performance: Semi-finals, 1896–97, 1899–1900 *Best FA Trophy performance: Fourth round, 2003–04 *Best FA Vase performance: Fifth round, 1974–75, 2000–01 *Record attendance: 3,000 vs

, FA Cup first round, 1994 *Most appearances: Mick McKeown, over 500 *Most goals: Kevin Stone *Record transfer fee received: £8,000 for David Lay from

Slough Town Slough Town Football Club is a semi-professional English football club based in Slough, Berkshire. Nicknamed "The Rebels", the team competes in the National League South, at the sixth tier of English football, following promotion from the Sou ...

*Record transfer fee paid: £5,000 for Richard Evans to

Sutton United Sutton United Football Club is a professional football club in Sutton, South London, England, who play in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. They play home games at Gander Green Lane in Sutton about 11 miles so ...

References

External links