Torquay Town Football Club was an English football club based in

Torquay Torquay ( ) is a seaside town in Devon, England, part of the unitary authority area of Torbay. It lies south of the county town of Exeter and east-north-east of Plymouth, on the north of Tor Bay, adjoining the neighbouring town of Paig ...

, Devon. The club existed from 1910 until 1921 before merging with Babbacombe to form

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 ...

History

By 1910, the Devon town of Torquay had three established amateur football teams in Babbacombe (competing in the Plymouth & District League), Ellacombe ( in the Devon League) and Torquay United in the Torquay & District League. With Devon's two leading football clubs, Plymouth Argyle and

Exeter City Exeter City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Exeter, Devon, England. The team play in , the third tier of the English football league system. Known as "the Grecians", the origin of their nickname is subject to ...

having already turned professional, there were calls for Torquay's three main teams to amalgamate in order to create a single professional football club. Although Babbacombe preferred to maintain their independence, Ellacombe and United merged to become Torquay Town. With United having led a somewhat nomadic existence since their foundation in 1899, the newly formed Torquay Town chose Ellacombe's

Plainmoor Plainmoor is an association football stadium located in the Plainmoor suburb of Torquay, Devon, England. Since 1921, the stadium has been the home of Torquay United Football Club, who currently compete in the National League, the fifth tier of E ...

ground as their home where, ironically, they would soon be joined in a ground share with Babbacombe.Edwards, Leigh; Gibbes, Jon; Lovis, John (1999). ''Torquay United, The Official Centenary History, 1899–1999''. Yore Publications. Both Torquay Town and Babbacombe joined the Plymouth & District League for the 1910–11 season and Town enjoyed a respectable first season finishing 5th out of 13 teams. They also enjoyed a good run 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 ...

, reaching the Fifth Qualifying Round before being knocked out by

Accrington Stanley Accrington Stanley Football Club is a professional association football club based in Accrington, Lancashire, England. The club competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. They have spent their complete his ...

. Torquay Town's second season was even better, becoming champions of the Plymouth & District League. However, the following two seasons saw a decline in Town's fortunes finishing in 6th and then 10th place before the outbreak of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

resulted in the closure of the club in August 1914. When competitive football resumed in 1919, Torquay Town were unable to recreate the achievements of their earlier seasons and, with Babbacombe now conceding to the inevitability of a merger between the two rival sides, both teams ceased to exist at the end of the 1920–21 season and subsequently joined together to form a new professional club. Installing Torquay Town's star striker Crad Evans as player-manager, the new team revived the name of Torquay United and were eventually elected into the Football League in

1927 Events January * January 1 – The British Broadcasting ''Company'' becomes the British Broadcasting ''Corporation'', when its Royal Charter of incorporation takes effect. John Reith becomes the first Director-General. * January 7 ...

.Holgate, Mike (1999). ''Torquay United Football Club 1899–1999''. Tempus Publishing.

Honours

*Plymouth & District League **Champions: 1911–12 *Devon Senior Cup **Winners: 1910–11

Seasons

References

External links

* * * *{{cite web, url=http://www.historicalkits.co.uk/Torquay_United/Torquay_United.htm, title=Historical Football Kits Torquay United F.C. Defunct football clubs in Devon Defunct football clubs in England Association football clubs established in 1910 Association football clubs disestablished in 1921 1910 establishments in England 1921 disestablishments in England