Telford United Football Club was an English
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
club based in
Telford
Telford () is a town in the borough of Telford and Wrekin and ceremonial county of Shropshire, England, about east of Shrewsbury, south west of Stafford, north west of Wolverhampton and from Birmingham in the same direction. With an est ...
, Shropshire.
The club existed under various names for a total of 132 years from its formation in 1872. The club was a founder member of the Alliance Premier League (later renamed the
Football Conference
The National League (named Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons) is an association football league in England consisting of three divisions, the National League, National League North, and National League South. It was called the ...
) in 1979 and played at this level for 25 years. The club was known for memorable exploits in the FA Cup during the early 1980s and in the 2003–04 FA Cup as well as the 1970–71, 1982–83 and 1988–89 FA Trophies.
After Telford United was wound up in 2004, supporters established a new club named
AFC Telford United
AFC Telford United is a football club based in Telford, Shropshire, England. The club was formed in 2004 after the original Telford United, founded in 1872, folded due to financial problems. Currently members of the National League North, they ...
.
Club history
Parish Church Institute & Wellington Town
The club was formed in late 1872 as Parish Church Institute, and in 1879 was renamed Wellington Town. They won the
Shropshire Senior Cup
The Shropshire Senior Cup is a county cup football competition that is open for professional and non-professional senior football teams in the English county of Shropshire.
The competition is one of the oldest cup competitions in the world, and ...
in 1881, and in 1892 were founder members of the
Shropshire League.
In 1898 they joined the
Birmingham & District League. In 1901 they switched to
The Combination
The Combination was a league during the early days of English football. It had two incarnations; the first ran only for the 1888–89 season for teams across the Northern England and the Midlands, and was wound up before completion. The second ...
and won the
Welsh Cup
The FAW Welsh Cup ( cy, Cwpan Cymdeithas Pêl-droed Cymru), currently known as the JD Welsh Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a knock-out football competition contested annually by teams in the Welsh football league system. It is considered the most ...
, before returning to the Birmingham & District League in 1902. They won the Welsh Cup for a second time in 1906–07.
They left the league again at the end of the 1905–06 season, but returned in 1908. In 1920–21 they won the league for the first time, and in
1925–26 reached the first 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 ...
for the first time, something they repeated for the next two seasons and again in 1929–30. In 1930–31 they reached the second round. The club won back-to-back titles in 1934–35 and 1935–36, before switching to the
Cheshire County League
The Cheshire County League was a football league founded in the north west of England in 1919, drawing its teams largely from Cheshire, surrounding English counties and North Wales.
Initially the league was dominated by the reserve teams of Footba ...
in 1938. However, they returned to the Birmingham & District League after a single season and went on to win the league and the Welsh Cup again in 1939–40.
After
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 opposin ...
they joined the Cheshire County League, winning the title in 1945–46 and 1946–47 and again in 1951–52. In 1958 they moved up to the expanded
Southern League, and were placed in the Premier Division for the
1959–60 season after a
transitional year in the North-West Division.
Telford United
In 1969 the club was renamed Telford United in recognition of the new town which had grown around Wellington. In their first season under the new name they reached the final of the first
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 ...
, but lost 2–0 to
Macclesfield Town
Macclesfield Town Football Club was an English professional association football, football club based in Macclesfield, Cheshire, that was liquidation, wound-up after a High Court of Justice, High Court ruling on 16 September 2020.
Initially kno ...
. They reached the final again the following year and won 3–2 against
Hillingdon Borough. Following a third-place finish in
1978–79 they were founder members of the new
Alliance Premier League
The National League (named Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons) is an association football league in Football in England, England consisting of three divisions, the National League (division), National League, National League Nor ...
. In 1982, when Alliance Premier League champions
Runcorn failed to meet Football League stadium requirements, Telford applied to join 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 ...
, but their application was unsuccessful.
During the 1980s the club had several good runs in the FA Cup, reaching the second round in
1982–83 when they knocked out Third Division
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, ...
before losing to
Tranmere Rovers in a replay. They also reached the final of the FA Trophy again, winning 2–1 against
Northwich Victoria
{{Infobox UK place
, static_image_name = Northwich - Town Bridge.jpg
, static_image_caption = Town Bridge, the River Weaver and the spire of Holy Trinity Church
, official_name = Northwich
, country ...
. The
following season they reached the fourth round, beating
Stockport County,
Northampton Town and
Rochdale
Rochdale ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, at the foothills of the South Pennines in the dale on the River Roch, northwest of Oldham and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough ...
before losing to
Derby County. In
1984–85 they reached the fifth round, knocking out
Lincoln City,
Preston North End
Preston North End Football Club, commonly referred to as Preston, North End or PNE, is a professional football club in Preston, Lancashire, England, who currently play in the EFL Championship, the second tier of the English football league syste ...
,
Bradford City
Bradford City Association Football Club is an English professional football club in Bradford, West Yorkshire. The team competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system and are currently managed by Mark Hughes.
Th ...
and
Darlington
Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. The River Skerne flows through the town; it is a tributary of the River Tees. The Tees itself flows south of the town.
In the 19th century, Darlington underwen ...
before losing to
Everton. They continued to claim League scalps, beating Stockport in
1985–86,
Burnley
Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River Bru ...
in
1986–87 and
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 ...
in
1991–92. They reached the FA Trophy final again in 1987–88, but lost to
Enfield in a replay. The following season they reached the Trophy final for a fifth time, this time defeating Macclesfield 1–0. In
2003–04 FA Cup
The 2003–04 FA Cup was the 123rd staging of England and the world's oldest football competition, the FA Cup. The competition began on 23 August 2003, with the lowest-ranked of the entrants competing in the Extra Preliminary round. In the Third Ro ...
they knocked out both
Brentford
Brentford is a suburban town in West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the Thames, west of Charing Cross.
Its economy has diverse company headquarters buildings whi ...
and
Crewe Alexandra before losing to eventual finalists
Millwall. They also reached the semi-finals of the FA Trophy, but lost on penalties 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 ...
. They folded at the end of the season, due to the
business failure __NOTOC__
Business failure refers to a company ceasing operations following its inability to make a profit or to bring in enough revenue to cover its expenses. A profitable business can fail if it does not generate adequate cash flow to mee ...
of owner Andy Shaw in March,
but the name was resurrected shortly afterwards by the creation of
A.F.C. Telford United
AFC Telford United is a football club based in Telford, Shropshire, England. The club was formed in 2004 after the original Telford United, founded in 1872, folded due to financial problems. Currently members of the National League North, the ...
.
Honours
As Wellington Town:
*Welsh Cup
**Winners 1901–02, 1905–06, 1939–40
*Cheshire County League
**Champions 1945–46, 1946–47, 1951–52
*Birmingham & District League
**Champions 1920–21, 1934–35, 1935–36, 1939–40
As Telford United F.C.:
*FA Trophy
**Winners 1970–71, 1982–83, 1988–89
Club records
*Record attendance: 13,000 vs
Shrewsbury Town, Shropshire Senior Cup Final.
*Record win: 7–1 vs Frickley Athletic, 13 February 1982
*Best FA Cup performance: Fifth round, 1984–85
*Best FA Trophy performance: Winners 1970–71, 1982–83, 1988–89
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
Association football clubs established in 1872
Defunct football clubs in England
Defunct football clubs in Shropshire
Southern Football League clubs
National League (English football) clubs
Association football clubs disestablished in 2004
Sport in Telford
1872 establishments in England
2004 disestablishments in England
Wellington, Shropshire
Cheshire County League clubs