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Hampshire League

Hampshire League
Founded1896-2004
CountryEngland
Feeder toWessex League
Relegation toSouthampton League
Portsmouth League
Bournemouth League
Isle of Wight League
North Hants League
Aldershot League
Domestic cup(s)FA Cup
FA Vase
Hampshire Senior Cup
Hampshire Intermediate Cup
Local Divisional FA Senior Cups

The Hampshire League was a long running amateur football league in Hampshire, England.

The competition ran for 108 years, from 1896 until 2004, when it was absorbed the expanding Wessex League. It has since been succeeded by the Hampshire Premier League with a recognised place on the FA Pyramid system.

History

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The Hampshire Football League was formed in 1896 to provide an organised fixture schedule for clubs within the county.[1]

The inaugural campaign saw eight teams taking part with the first ever fixture being played on Saturday 5th September 1896 between Eastleigh Athletic and Freemantle, who won a thrilling match 5-4 with a player called Inglefield scoring the first ever goal! The first-ever league champions were Cowes.[2]

Originally administered by the Hampshire Football Association, the fledgling competition was initially split into regional sections with an end of season play off to decide the champions, but numbers grew and eventually the league formed three larger divisions with straight forward promotion/relegation.[3]

The post-war era saw the Hampshire League at it's prime,[4] consisting consisting of many strong clubs destined to later progress further up the pyramid whilst the Reserve and ‘A’ sides of Southampton,[5] Portsmouth,[6] Bournemouth,[7] Reading[8] and Aldershot also took part for many years. The strength of the league was well indicated by the performances of it's clubs in national cup competitions.[9]

By 1986, most of the top clubs had become semi-professional and left to join the newly formed Wessex League.[10] Along with their Dorset and Wiltshire counterparts, the Hampshire League became a feeder in a revised pyramid system.

To keep pace with the modern ground grading criteria, in 1999 the top-flight was renamed as the Premier Division, for which only clubs with the required facilities were allowed entry.[11] However, this was only delaying the inevitable, as in 2004 it was agreed to dissolve the competition and become part of the expanding Wessex League.[12] Vosper Thornycroft were the last champions.

The Hampshire League 2004[13] was subsequently formed by those opposed to the merger. Then, in 2007 clubs unable to meet the Wessex League criteria formed the Hampshire Premier League,[14] which with slightly stricter ground requirements, was granted "Step 7" status on the modern FA pyramid system. The two leagues remained separate until finally amalgamating in 2013 to form the present day two tier competition.

League champions

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League Cup winners

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Clubs

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Achievements by clubs in national cup competitions

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During its 108-year existence, the Hampshire League was done proud when represented by its member clubs in the national cup competitions, especially in its heyday as listed below, when clubs frequently progressed past the early qualifying rounds:

FA Cup

  • 1919/20 Thornycrofts (Woolston) reached 1st Round, v Burnley (home, drew 0-0, lost replay away 0–5) [15]
  • 1932/33 Ryde Sports reached 1st Round, v Margate (away, lost 0–5)
  • 1936/37 Ryde Sports reached 1st Round, v Gillingham (home, lost 1–5) [16]
  • 1945/46 Newport reached 2nd Round, v Aldershot (lost 0–12 on aggregate)
  • 1952/53 Newport reached 1st Round, v Swindon Town (away, lost 1–5)
  • 1953/54 Newport reached 1st Round, v Swindon Town (away, lost 1–2)
  • 1954/55 Newport reached 1st Round, v Hinckley Athletic (away, lost 3–4)
  • 1956/57 Newport reached 1st Round, v Watford (home, lost 0–6)
  • 1957/58 Newport reached 1st Round, v Hereford United (away, lost 0–3)
  • 1958/59 Newport reached 1st Round, v Shrewsbury Town (away, lost 3–4)
  • 1968/69 Waterlooville reached 1st Round, v Kettering Town (home, lost 1–2)
  • 1972/73 Alton Town reached 1st Round, v Newport County (away, lost 1–5)

FA Trophy

  • 1969/70 Thornycroft Athletic reached 1st Round, v Weymouth (away, lost 0-5)

FA Vase

  • 1976/77 Gosport Borough reached Quarter Finals, v Barton Rovers (home, 1-1 away, lost replay 1-3)
  • 1981/82 Sholing Sports reached 4th Round, v Shortwood United (away, lost 0-2)
  • 1985/86 Havant Town reached Quarter Finals, v Wisbech Town (home, lost 1-5)
  • 2002/03 Winchester City reached Quarter Finals, v Oadby Town (away, lost 0-1)

FA Amateur Cup [17]

  • 1910/11 RMLI Gosport won the competition, 2-1 v South Bank in Final
  • 1929/30 Bournemouth Gasworks Athletic reached the Final, lost 1-5 v Ilford
  • 1932/33 Bournemouth Gasworks Athletic reached the Semi-Finals, lost 1-2 v Stockton

Historical position within English football league system

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The following table shows the position of the various Hampshire leagues within the English football league system:

Print

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  • A History of the Hampshire Football League 1896-1996 - by Norman Gannaway
  • Hampshire League Tabulated History - by Stephen Farmery
  • Hampshire Football Association Centenary History 1887-1987 by Norman Gannaway
  • Association Football in Hampshire until 1914 by Norman Gannaway

References

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  1. ^ Association Football in Hampshire until 1914 by Norman Gannaway
  2. ^ Hampshire Football Association Centenary History 1887-1987 by Norman Gannaway
  3. ^ A History of the Hampshire League 1896-1996 by Norman Gannaway
  4. ^ A Tabulated History of the Hampshire League by Stephen Farmery
  5. ^ Southampton - The Complete History of the Club by Peter East
  6. ^ 'Pompey - The History of Portsmouth Football Club by Mike Neasom, Mick Cooper & Doug Robertson
  7. ^ Cherries First Hundred Years - This History of AFC Bournemouth 1889-1999 by Kevin Nash
  8. ^ Reading FC Versus the Rest 1920-2007 - The History of The Royals by Dave Twydell
  9. ^ The FA Cup Club by Club Record Since 1945 by Tony Williams
  10. ^ https://www.wessexleague.co.uk/history
  11. ^ https://www.fchd.info/lghist/hants2000.htm
  12. ^ https://www.dailyecho.co.uk/news/5592690.hants-league-accept-wessex-expansion-plans-as-inevitable/
  13. ^ https://www.dailyecho.co.uk/news/5567954.all-systems-go-as-new-hampshire-league-earns-a-reprieve/
  14. ^ https://www.hpfl.co.uk/history
  15. ^ https://www.dailyecho.co.uk/news/17986978.thornycrofts-took-mighty-burnley-fa-cup/
  16. ^ https://www.islandecho.co.uk/ryde-sports-the-biggest-isle-of-wight-football-club-to-have-folded/
  17. ^ https://www.fchd.info/cups/amcupsummary.htm
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