Aberdare Athletic Football Club were a Welsh football team founded in 1892 and based in Aberdare. They joined the Football League in 1921 but were replaced by Torquay United after failing to be re-elected in 1927.

[edit] History

The Aberdare team photographed in 1900

Founded in 1892, Aberdare were twice Welsh Cup runners-up, in 1903-04 and 1904-05. In 1920-21 they joined the Welsh Section of the Southern League and duly finished runners-up in their first season. That gained them entry to the Football League Third Division South in time for 1921-22.^[1]

Aberdare spent six seasons in the League, with their best season being 1921-22, when they finished 9th. That same year, 1926, Aberdare merged with nearby Aberaman Athletic; the first team continued to compete in the Football League under the name Aberdare Athletic, while the reserve team played in the Welsh League under the name Aberdare & Aberaman Athletic.

However, in the next season, 1926-27 Aberdare Athletic finished bottom of the Third Division South and failed to gain re-election to the league; Torquay United took their place.^[2] The merged club fully renamed themselves as Aberdare & Aberaman Athletic, and rejoined the Southern League.

However, the merged club only survived for another year, and in 1928 the Aberaman faction split away from the club to re-form Aberaman Athletic, while the Aberdare half folded. After World War II, in 1945 a reformed Aberdare & Aberaman Athletic was formed, but this side also split into two, in 1947; the Aberaman Athletic club continue to this day, are currently known as ENTO Aberaman Athletic, and play in the Welsh football league system however with ENTO recently pulling out of sponsoring the club, the club is deciding on a name change incoportating Aberdare - Aberdare United and Aberdare Town have been mooted recently, and it will be interesting to see what new identity the club takes on.

The club had several different team colours during their existence.^[3] Their membership of the Football League coincided with that of a team from another Welsh town Merthyr Town.

[edit] Notable players

• Billy Henderson
• Arthur Ivor Brown

Billy Wedlock

[edit] Managers

The following were managers around the time the team was Football League side:

• William Lot, June 1920 - March 1922
• Frank Bradshaw, May 1923 - April 1924
• Sydney Beaumont, 1924 - 1927
• Harry Hadley, November 1927 - April 1928

[edit] References

1. ^ Football Club History Database - Aberdare Athletic
2. ^ The Pyramid.info: Promotion to/Relegation from the Football League by year
3. ^ Aberdare Athletic - Historical Football Kits

• Twydell, Dave (1988). Rejected F.C.: Comprehensive histories of the ex-Football League clubs, Volume 1. D. Twydell. ISBN 0951332104. 

[edit] External links

• Aberdare Athletic at the Football Club History Database

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