Page 1182 - Reading Mercury

ground to developers because of spiralling debts, and now face three years playing
their matches at nearby Windsor & Eton. Over the years, the town ground has seen
many great matches, some of which are highlighted in this special edition.

THE HISTORY OF WOKINGHAM TOWN FOOTBALL CLUB
Wokingham Town Football Club was founded in 1875, which makes it the fourth
oldest club in Berkshire, with only Reading, Abingdon and Maidenhead having been
formed only a few years earlier. The club’s original ground was in Oxford Road, but
after a few years a pitch was laid out on the cricket ground in Wellington Road. In
1896 a further switch was made to Langborough Road and some ten years later the
club moved to its present ground in Finchampstead Road.
Town entered the Ascot & District League and quickly consolidated its position in
local football, so much so, that in the 1909-10 season tickets were selling well at 2s.
6d. Each. In 1910-11 Wokingham Athletics second eleven joined forces with Town
and there is little doubt that this paved the way to the club’s first championship the
following season.
By 1911-12 Wokingham was the unchallenged leaders of local football and the
following year it enjoyed its most successful season when it won the Ascot League
and the Camberley Hospital Cup.
After the First World War a dispute broke out between Wokingham and the league,
which led to the Club’s withdrawal and in 1921 it entered two teams in the Reading
Temperance League.
In this first season Wokingham reached the semi-finals of the Reading Town Cup
and the Berks & Bucks Junior Cup, both for the first time.
The year 1928 was another important milestone in Town’s history, for not only was
the league championship won for the second time, but also the purchase of the
Finchampstead Road ground was completed. The new grandstand and pavilion were
built at a cost of £630, and they were officially opened in April with a special match
against Chelsea F.C. Who won 5—2 before a crowd of 900.
In 1949 the supporters’ club was founded and its remarkable talent for raising funds
was largely responsible for Town’s mercurial rise from junior to senior football in the
years that followed. In 1953 the final of the Berks & Bucks Intermediate Cup was
reached for the first time, and the stage was set for entry into senior amateur football.
The club joined the Metropolitan League and subsequently transferred to the
Delphian League.
The 1957-58 season brought a memorable Amateur Cup run, which saw the club
reach the quarter finals, before losing 3—2 at Crook Town in front of a crowd of
nearly 10,000. In 1959 Wokingham were admitted to the Corinthian League, in 1962
the switch was made to the Athenian League, and then to the Isthmian League in
1973.
The year of 1969 saw the club’s first success in the Berks & Bucks Senior Cup,
when a strong Slough side was defeated in the Final at Loakes Park, High Wycombe.
The club’s first floodlights were installed in 1966 and the season was marked by a
testimonial game with Fulham. These lights were eventually replaced at the start of
season 1980-81. The 1981-92 season saw Wokingham win the Isthmian League
Division One title by a clear cut 13 point margin, thereby gaining promotion to the
Premier Division.
In its first season in the top flight in 1982-83, Town finished in 17th position, but
marked another milestone in their history by reaching the first round proper of the
F.A. Cup.

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