Stourbridge F.C.

Football club infobox
clubname = Stourbridge


fullname = Stourbridge Football Club
nickname = The Glassboys
founded = 1876 (as Stourbridge Standard)
ground = War Memorial Athletic Ground,
Amblecote
capacity = 1,250
chairman = Stephen Hyde
manager = Gary Hackett
league = Southern League
Premier Division
season = 2007–08
position = Southern League
Division One Midlands, 3rd (promoted)
pattern_la1=_red_stripes|pattern_b1=_red_stripes_red_sholders|pattern_ra1=_red_stripes
leftarm1=FFFFFF|body1=FFffff|rightarm1=FFFFFF|shorts1=FF0000|socks1=FF0000
pattern_la2=|pattern_b2=|pattern_ra2=
leftarm2=009900|body2=FFFF00|rightarm2=009900|shorts2=009900|socks2=FFFF00

Stourbridge Football Club (nicknamed "The Glassboys" due to the town's traditional association with the cut glass industry) is an English association football club based in the town of Stourbridge. The club currently plays in the Southern League Premier Division.

History

Early years

The club was founded in 1876 and was originally known as Stourbridge Standard. By the late 1880s it is known that that they had changed its name to simply Stourbridge and competed in the Birmingham and District League, where reasonable success was achieved without actually gaining the league title, although the Worcestershire Senior Cup was won on three occasions.

The 1923/24 season was one of the best in the club's history, as they clinched the Birmingham League championship and also won the Worcestershire Senior Cup yet again.

After World War II, The Glassboys enjoyed their greatest period of success in non-league football, as they carried off the Birmingham Combination Championship in 1952 and also won the Birmingham, Worcestershire and Herefordshire Senior Cups. The club returned to the Birmingham League in 1954 on the disbanding of the Birmingham Combination and were runners-up in 1955-56. The Birmingham Senior Cup was won for a second time in 1958-59 and the 1967/68 season saw the club achieve their own "double" in lifting both the Worcestershire and Birmingham Senior Cups.

Into the Southern League

In 1971 the club was elected to the expanding Southern League and met almost instant success under manager Alan Grundy in the 1973/74 season, with the Division 1 (North) title and the Merit Cup (for the league's highest goalscorers) coming to Amblecote. Twin strikers Ray Haywood and Chic Bates each notched 50 goals that season and were transferred to Shrewsbury Town, where Bates served 13 years as both player and manager. Another highlight in 1973/74 was a tremendous run in the Welsh Cup, in which the team disposed of both Swansea City and Wrexham on their own grounds and then faced Cardiff City in a two leg final. A record crowd of 5,726 saw the Glassboys lose the home leg 1-0 and they also lost 1-0 at Ninian Park.

Stourbridge spent ten seasons in the Premier Division of the Southern League between 1974 and 1984, two centre-forwards were also sold in the 70s, Steve Cooper to Torquay United and Tony Cunningham to Lincoln City. Finishing reularly in the top six and under the management of Tony Freely, they won the Worcestershire Senior Cup for the 9th but last time with a victory over close rivals Kidderminster Harriers in 1981 with the Stourbridge born Brendan Drummond getting the winning goal in the second leg away to the Harriers to win 2-1 on aggregate. Stourbridge were one of the first English semi-professional clubs to tour the South East of the USA in the early Eighties.

Subsequent Midland Division form was mediocre too, despite three good FA Cup runs, and a disastrous run of results in 1987-88 led to a relegation spot, however fortune was on the club's side and they were re-elected to the League in the close season. Stourbridge then went on from strength to strength, culminating in winning the Midland Division championship in 1991, although Southern League officials refused promotion due to the shared use of the ground by the local cricket club.

October 1997 saw a new Chairman at the club and his early enthusiasm in refurbishing the social club continued with many signings for the 1998/99 season under the guidance of new manager, Steve Daniels. The Glassboys spent much of the early part of the season in the top 3 whilst also reaching the FA Cup 4th qualifying round for the first time in 15 years, but the success was short lived as budget cutbacks saw many of the more experienced players moving on. In 2000 a new owner came to the club, and swiftly appointed Mark Serrell as chairman, along with FA Qualified coach and ex-Birmingham City player Mark Harrison as manager. Despite an influx of new players, continued poor results meant Stourbridge's 29-year spell at Southern League level ended with defeat in the last game of the season at Hinckley United in May 2000.

Re-grouping in the Midland Alliance

The club began its first ever spell in the Midland Football Alliance by finishing in fifth place and claiming the League Cup by defeating Bridgnorth Town following a dramatic penalty shoot-out after the final had finished in a 1-1 draw. The 2001-02 season began well with the lifting of the Joe McGorian Cup after a 2-1 victory at league champions Stourport Swifts, however in November 2001 the club parted company with Mark Harrison, with the former Bilston Town boss Joe Jackson taking over as manager. On the final Saturday of the season, the Glassboys were crowned champions in dramatic fashion as a last gasp stoppage time goal by Brian Gray earned the point needed at Stafford Town to pip Bromsgrove Rovers to the title. Although Serrell left the club the following January, to be succeeded as chairman by Stephen Hyde, Jackson once more led the club to the Midland Football Alliance championship in 2002-03, although promotion was refused due to the ground grading regulations in place at the time.

Jackson declined to try for a hat trick of titles in 2003-04 and was replaced by well known local duo, Jon Ford and Gary Hackett, who had enjoyed two successful seasons in charge at Bromsgrove Rovers. With many players moving on, the new management team had to rebuild the side from scratch, but an encouraging second half of the season saw the Glassboys finish a creditable 9th. The following season saw a memorable run in the FA Vase, culminating in a quarter-final defeat at A.F.C. Sudbury in the quarter-final before finally succumbing to a 4-1 defeat after extra time. In May 2005 Hackett took sole charge of the team after Ford decided to step down due to work and family commitments. With the likely re-organisation of the non-league pyramid at Step 4 level, we looked to mount a strong push for promotion, however a mixed start to the campaign left us lying in mid-table by December. After a poor start, a run of 14 league games unbeaten was enough to clinch a runners-up spot and with it promotion back to the Southern League. Victories over Burton Albion and Moor Green also saw the team reach the Birmingham Senior Cup Final for the first time in 30 years, although they succumbed to a 1-0 defeat to Willenhall Town.

Honours

*Midland Alliance Champions 2001-02, 2002-03 :Runners-up 2005-06
*Midland Alliance Davis League Cup Winners 2000-01
*Midland Alliance Joe McGorian Cup Winners 2001, 2002
*Barclays Comm Services Cup Winners 1992-93
*Southern League Midland Division Champions 1990-91
*Southern League Division One North Champions 1973-74
*Southern League Merit Cup Winners 1973-74
*Welsh Cup Finalists 1973-74
*Birmingham League Champions 1923-24:Runners-up 1901-02, 1937-38, 1955-56
*Birmingham Combination Champions 1951-52
*West Midlands League Runners-up 1962-63
*Birmingham Senior Cup Winners 1949-50, 1958-59, 1967-68:Losing Finalists 1910-11, 1945-46, 1975-76
*Worcestershire Senior Cup Winners 1904-05, 1905-06, 1919-20, 1921-22, 1923-24, 1927-28, 1949-50, 1967-68, 1980-81:Losing Finalists 1903-04, 1909-10, 1910-11, 1913-14, 1920-21,1924-25, 1925-26, 1936-37, 1948-49, 1955-56, 1978-79, 1995-96
*Herefordshire Senior Cup Winners 1954-55
*Campkin Cup Finalists 1969-70
*Campkin President Cup Winners 1970-71
*Albion Shield Winners 1943-44
*Kidderminster Cup Winners 1887-88
*Keyes Cup Winners 1937-38, 1962-63
*Dudley Guest Hospital Cup Winners 1891-92
*Worcester Charity Cup Winners 1887-88
*Worcestershire Combination Runners-up 1927-28
*West Midlands League Div.2 Runners-up 1980-81
*Worcester Junior Cup Finalists 1927-28
*Tillotson Cup Finalists 1939-40
*Brierley Hill League Div.1 Runners-up 1944-45
*Brierley Hill League Cup Finalists 1944-45
*Brierley Hill Youth League Coronation Cup Winners 1956-57
*Midland Floodlit Youth League League Cup Winners 2004-2005:Runners-up 1999-2000
*Midland Floodlit Youth League Ray Mercer Trophy (Supplementary Cup) 1996-97
*Worcestershire FA Youth Cup Runners-up 2002-03

External links

* [http://www.stourbridgefc.com Official Stourbridge FC Website ]
* [http://www.stourbridgefanzine.com Unofficial Fanzine Website ]