Banbury United F.C.
Banbury United Football Club is a football club based in Banbury, Oxfordshire, England. They are currently members of the Southern League Premier Division Central and play at the Spencer Stadium.
The club was established in 1931 as Spencer Sports Club, a works team of the Spencer Corsets factory.[2] They initially played friendly matches, with their first match against St John’s of the Oxfordshire Junior League played on 29 August 1931 and resulting in an 8–2 win for St John’s.[3] In 1933 they joined the Banbury division of the Oxfordshire Junior League, at which point they were renamed Spencer Villa.[2] Later in the season they were renamed Banbury Spencer,[2] and went on to win the league title in their first season. They then joined the Oxfordshire Senior League for the 1934–35 season. After winning the league at the first attempt,[4] they were elected to the Birmingham Combination,[5] also entering a team into the Central Amateur League for the 1935–36 season.[6]
After World War II the club turned professional. The 1947–48 season saw them finish as runners-up in the Combination and reach the first round of the FA Cup for the first time, where they lost 2–1 at Colchester United.[5] In 1954 the Combination folded, with its remaining clubs joining the Birmingham & District League; Banbury were placed in the Southern Division, and after finishing fourth in 1954–55, won a place in Division One for the 1955–56 season.[5] The league was reduced to a single division in 1960, and became the West Midlands (Regional) League in 1962. The 1961–62 season had seen the club reach the FA Cup first round again, this time losing 7–1 at Shrewsbury Town.[5]
In 1965 the club was renamed Banbury United after a change in ownership,[4] and at the end of the 1965–66 season they transferred to Division One of the Southern League.[7] When Division One was split into two divisions in 1971, the club was placed in Division One North.[7] In 1972–73 they reached the first round of the FA Cup for a third time, this time losing 2–0 at home to Barnet. The following season saw them repeat the feat, this time losing 3–2 at Northampton Town in a replay after a 0–0 draw at home.[7]
