by As a follow up to recent posting on Burton's Football League clubs,
here's a brief history culled from "Rejected FC Volume 1", a
history of ex-League clubs by Dave Twydell.
Burton Swifts
Founded 187? as Outward Star, became Burton Swifts 1883
Ground to 1891 Shobnall Street (Cricket Ground) and Kidgers Field,
from 1891 Peel Croft
Burton Wanderers
Founded 1871
Ground Derby Turn
Burton United (amalgamation of Swifts and Wanderers)
Founded 1901, disbanded 1910
Ground Peel Croft
Initially Derby Turn was the premier ground in the town and this
gave Wanderers the edge over Swifts. Wanderers joined the newly
formed Midland league in 1889 and on 7th September had the
distinction of staging one of the first "non-league" games ever,
beating Rotherham Town 4-3 despite starting the game with only 10
men and being 3-1 down at half-time. Meanwhile Swifts had been
attracting substantial financial help which enabled the purchase
of Peel Croft from Burton Rugby Club (who reoccupied the site on
United's demise in 1910) in 1890. With sound financial backing
Swifts rose rapidly to League status in 1892 via The Combination
and Football Alliance (the unofficial second division) and became
Burton's premier club. Swifts finished a creditable sixth in their
first season and assembled an expensive squad for season 1893-4
including Welsh international goalkeeper Sam Jones. Highlights of a
the season included a 4-1 win at Ardwick (Man City), a 6-2
demolition of Woolwich Arsenal (they dropped the Woolwich in 1914)
and an incredible 8-5 victory over Walsall Town Swifts to finish
6th again. Meantime Wanderers were winning the Midland League with a
record 17 wins, 3 draws and no defeats and reached the last 16 of
the FA Cup, losing 2-1 at home to Notts County in front of 6000
fans, the largest crowd ever in Burton. This success brought them
election to the Football League, giving the town with a population
of a mere 40000 two league clubs. They played their first league
game on 1st September 1894, winning 3-1 at Rotherham. On Boxing
Day they trounced Manchester City 8-0, City's worst ever defeat.
Another record defeat was inflicted on Newcastle United,
humiliated by 9-0 on April 15th, but Wanderers could only finish
7th, Swifts were 11th. The following season Wanderers finished in
4th place, missing the promotion play-offs on goal average (yes,
play-offs are not so new!), having been in second in January
before a winter slump. Swifts were again 11th. Crowds at both
teams were pretty dismal, prompting speculation of a merger, and
players had to be sold to make ends meet. In 1896-7 Wanderers
finished second bottom with Swifts one place ahead and both had to
apply for re-election. Swifts were given another chance but
Wanderers found themselves out in the cold. Both teams struggled
for the next three years with little success, home gates for
Wanderers in the Midland League often brought in less than #3. In
1900-01 Swifts ended bottom of Division Two and an agreement with
Wanderers to merge probably saved Burton from losing it's
remaining league representation. The merged club, Burton United,
spent #500 on 6 new players, a large sum in those days, but 10th
place was all they could manage in the league. Worse, average
crowds remained at only 1500 or so. Season 1902-3 saw United drop
to 14th spot and then 17th the following season. Only league
expansion to 20 clubs saved them from having to seek re-election.
Twelve months later United again finished second bottom but
survived re-election with 32 votes. The next season 1906-7 proved
to be their last as a league club. A fire on 29th of March had
destroyed the grandstand (started by rubbish ignited under the
stand, as at Bradford in 1985) and on April 27th United played
their last ever league game beating West Brom 2-0. United finished
bottom, 5 points adrift of Lincoln City and on May 31st, despite
promised support from other Midland clubs and Chelsea (!?) they
were voted out of the league, polling just 7 votes. Just to rub it
in, under Football League rules, they weren't allowed to collect
fees for player leaving the club, costing them around #2000 on
recent signings. The club moved onto the Birmingham League where
crowds not surprisingly declined further. They found no success in
that league and lost their place in 1910 after finishing bottom.
Their finances were by now in a pitiful state, the previous
season's ground rental of #70 was unpaid and they relied on the
good nature of other clubs to cover their travelling costs
to away games. Optimistically they applied for membership of the
Southern League Division Two and were surprisingly accepted.
However, United failed to play their first fixture versus Stoke
(now Stoke City) on September 5th and announced the following day
that they could not meet their fixtures for season 1910-11 and
disbanded with the intention of reforming the following season.
Neither Burton United nor any successor ever appeared. Minor team
Burton Town assumed the mantle of Burton's premier club until they
disbanded in 1939. A new club, Burton Albion, were founded in 1950,
this club now plays in the Beazer Southern League Premier Division,
just two promotions away from Football League status.