Hastings United (old)
By Leon Pettit
Hastings Untied was founded in the summer 1948 and played in the Southern Football League. Only three years after WWII, the word war was used to describe the tension between Hastings & St. Leonards FC* supporters and people who favoured the new professional club as both clubs wanted use of the lower pitch at the Pilot Field, Hastings' leading football venue. United offered £600 rent for winter use and costs for maintenance, Hastings & St. Leonards offered £300, the same amount as paid in the 1947-48 season. Hastings United were soon granted use of the lower pitch at a rental of £750 a year.
The first manager of The U's was Frank Oak, who had been appointed on August 6th, 1948, who had been a well known player, referee and administrator in local football. Two weeks away from their first fixture and United were still without a team, however 14 applicants from professional had been received and United won their first game away at Tonbridge, 2-1.
United were fairly famous for their FA Cup runs, first of which came in 1953, under the management of Jack Tresadern. United beat Shoreham, Horsham, Eastbourne, Ashford and Hounslow en route to the FA Cup 1st Round proper. In the first round they met Guildford City and won 2-1 at the Pilot Field. The second round saw United meet Swindon Town from Division Three south, the U's won 4-1 in front of a crowd of 9,917. Norwich City, the leaders of Division Three south were to be United's next opponents, and the Pilot Field saw a record 12,727 supporters cram through he turn styles to watch a match which ended 3-3. Unfortunately the replay result was a 3-0 United loss, but Hastings were to go on many more cup runs.
Inland Revenue and Hastings Borough council debts were totalling up to £95,000 by 1985. £5,000 had been raised to pay off the council and the Squash complex was sold for £75,000, but that among other fund raisers still left United with a £8,000 debt. The directors agreed to surrender the Pilot Field lease at a town hall meeting on June 6th, 1985 and Hastings United was no more. Hastings & St. Leonards, then known as Hastings Town were back playing on the Pilot Field and in 2002 changed their name to Hastings United, and in their first season as United, made it to the First round of the FA Cup.
Leon Pettit - 14.10.06 |
|
Hastings United FC 1975
Photo by Bob Lillman - Copyright Nomad Online
St Leonards FC
By Leon Pettit
St. Leonards FC was founded in 1971 as the STAMCO works team, who started out playing friendlies. For the 1971/72 season they started playing competitive football in the Eastbourne & Hastings Football League, 1995/96 season saw St. Leonards changed their name to St Leonards Stamcroft, to reflect the clubs location and the two main sponsors (STAMCO and Croft Glass) saw their names merge to become St Leonards Stamcroft, on the pitch St. Leonards gained promotion to the Southern League. The 1996/1997 season St. Leonards enter the Southern League Premier Division and win the Sussex Senior Cup. However St. Leonards found the Premier Division too challenging and two losses against rivals Hastings Town helped contribute St. Leonards relegation to the Southern League South Division. St. Leonards played the 2003/04 season in the Sussex County League but the club folded midway through the season due to financial problems.
Leon Pettit - 14.10.06 |
