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Lovell's Athletic F.C.

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Lovell's Athletic
Full nameLovell's Athletic Football Club
Nickname(s)the Toffeemen[1]
Founded1918
Dissolved1969
GroundRexville, Alderney Street, Newport

Lovell's Athletic F.C. was the works team for Lovell's sweet factory in Newport, Monmouthshire, Wales, which played professional football from 1918 until 1969.

History

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Lovell's joined the Western Football League in 1923 and won the title in their inaugural season.[2] In 1928, they moved to the Southern League, but left in 1930, with the first team taking the reserves' place in the Welsh Football League. They entered a second side in The Football Combination for the 1930–31 season only, finishing bottom of the inaugural Second Division with 15 points from their 26 games. Teams in that league included Bournemouth, Bristol City, Norwich City, Peterborough United and Swindon Town.[3]

Lovell's rejoined the Western League in 1931. They won their second title in 1938–39, and the following year joined the Southern League's wartime competition.[2] During World War II, Newport County did not field a team, so Lovell's were the premier team in Newport for that period. In the 1945–46 FA Cup, they reached the third round, losing 12–3 on aggregate in a two-legged match against Wolverhampton Wanderers, having defeated AFC Bournemouth of the Football League Third Division South in the first round 6–4 on aggregate.[4]

Lovell's returned to the Southern League in 1947. The 1947–48 season saw the club's finest achievement, beating Shrewsbury Town in the Welsh Cup final at the Racecourse Ground, thanks to three unanswered goals in extra-time.[5] The club duly applied for election to the Football League, along with nine other non-league teams, at the close of the season.[6] However the two Third Division South teams seeking re-election, Norwich City and Brighton and Hove Albion, were both re-elected, almost unanimously, Lovell's not receiving a single vote.[7]

Lovell's left the Southern League in 1959 after finishing in the relegation zone of the North West Division,[2] due to the expense of running a side at a semi-professional level with regular crowds down to 200.[8] It continued to play in the Welsh League until disbandment in 1969.

In their 51-year existence they were Welsh League champions six times, Southern League champions and Welsh Cup winners. The old Rexville ground is now a housing estate named "The Turnstiles".

Colours

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The club's usual colours were red shirts and white shorts,[9] although the club experimented with those colours in a V design in the 1920s.[10] In the late 1930s, and occasionally up until 1950, the club wore red, white, and blue hoops.[11][12]

Honours

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Western League

  • Champions: 1924, 1939
  • Runners-up: 1936

Southern League Midland Division

  • Joint Champions: 1940

Welsh Football League

  • Winners: 1931–32, 1937–38, 1938–39, 1945–46, 1946–47, 1947–48, 1965–66

Welsh Cup

  • Winners: 1948
  • Runners-up: 1959

Welsh Amateur Cup

  • Winners: 1925–26, 1926–27, 1927–28, 1953–54
  • Runners-up: 1922–23, 1923–24, 1938–39

South Wales FA Senior Cup

  • Winners: 1930–31, 1936–37, 1948–49, 1954–55

Monmouthshire/Gwent Senior Cup

  • Winners (10): 1929–30, 1930–31, 1936–37, 1937–38, 1938–39, 1946–47, 1948–49, 1949–50, 1951–52, 1954–55

Monmouthshire/Gwent Amateur Cup

  • Winners (2): 1925–26, 1928–29

History

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References

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  1. ^ "County sign half-back". Western Mail: 10. 31 May 1958.
  2. ^ a b c Lovell's Athletic at the Football Club History Database
  3. ^ Perkins, Bob (2011). The league tables of the Football Combination (1915–2010)
  4. ^ Collett, Mike (2003). The Complete Record of the FA Cup. Sports Books. p. 387. ISBN 1-899807-19-5.
  5. ^ "Lovell's victory in extra-time". Western Mail: 4. 23 April 1948.
  6. ^ "Clubs' re-election proposal". Western Mail: 4. 1 June 1948.
  7. ^ "No change of clubs". Staffordshire Sentinel: 4. 8 June 1948.
  8. ^ "Lovell's will "axe" playing staff". Western Mail: 10. 19 December 1958.
  9. ^ "Works' team beat the City by the only goal". Essex Newsman: 4. 9 December 1947.
  10. ^ Rutherford, Andy (31 May 2020). "Lovell's Athletic: Lost Newport football club in team photos". South Wales Argus. Retrieved 9 December 2023.
  11. ^ "Torquay United v Lovell's Athletic". Tottenham Hotspur Match Programme: 3. 27 August 1947.
  12. ^ "Tottenham Hotspur v Lovell's Athletic". Tottenham Hotspur Match Programme: 1. 18 September 1950.
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