The Hampshire League was a long running amateur football league in Hampshire, England.
The competition ran for 108 years, until it was absorbed the expanding Wessex League in 2004. It has since been succeeded by the Hampshire Premier League with a recognised place on the FA Pyramid system.
History
The Hampshire Football League was formed in 1896 to provide an organised fixture schedule for clubs within the county.Association Football in Hampshire until 1914 by Norman Gannaway
The inaugural campaign saw eight teams taking part with the first ever fixture being played on Saturday 5th September 1896 between Eastleigh Athletic and Freemantle, who won a thrilling match 5–4 with a player called Inglefield scoring the first ever goal! The first-ever league champions were Cowes.Hampshire Football Association Centenary History 1887-1987 by Norman Gannaway
Originally administered by the Hampshire Football Association, the fledgling competition was initially split into regional sections with an end of season play off to decide the champions, but numbers grew and eventually the league formed three larger divisions with straight forward promotion/relegation.A History of the Hampshire League 1896-1996 by Norman Gannaway
The post-war era saw the Hampshire League at its prime,A Tabulated History of the Hampshire League by Stephen Farmery consisting of many strong clubs destined to later progress further up the pyramid whilst the Reserve and ‘A’ sides of Southampton,Southampton - The Complete History of the Club by Peter East Portsmouth,'Pompey - The History of Portsmouth Football Club by Mike Neasom, Mick Cooper & Doug Robertson Bournemouth,Cherries First Hundred Years - This History of AFC Bournemouth 1889-1999 by Kevin Nash ReadingReading FC Versus the Rest 1920-2007 - The History of The Royals by Dave Twydell and Aldershot also took part for many years. The strength of the league was well indicated by the performances of its clubs in national cup competitions.The FA Cup Club by Club Record Since 1945 by Tony Williams
By 1986, most of the top clubs had become semi-professional and left to join the newly formed Wessex League. Along with their Dorset and Wiltshire counterparts, the Hampshire League became a feeder in a revised pyramid system.
To keep pace with the modern ground grading criteria, in 1999 the top-flight was renamed as the Premier Division, for which only clubs with the required facilities were allowed entry. In 2004 it was agreed to dissolve the competition and become part of the expanding Wessex League. Vosper Thornycroft were the last champions.
Successor competitions
See Hampshire League 2004 See Hampshire Premier League
League champions SeasonChampions1896/97Cowes1897/98Eastleigh Athletic1898/99Southampton Reserves1899/1900Ryde Sports1900/01Royal Naval Barracks1901/02Southampton Reserves1902/03Portsmouth Reserves1903/04Portsmouth Reserves1904/05Royal Naval Barracks1905/06Portsmouth Reserves1906/07Salisbury City Reserves1907/08Portsmouth Reserves1908/09Title was shared 1909/10Regional Sections1910/11Southampton Reserves1911/12Portsmouth Reserves1912/13Woolston1913/14Bournemouth1914-15 1919/20Boscombe1920/21Bournemouth1921/22Portsmouth Reserves1922/23Bournemouth Gasworks Athletic1923/24Gosport Athletic1924/25Andover1925/26Ryde Sports1926/27Cowes 1927/28Cowes 1928/29Regional Sections1929/30Newport1930/31Cowes1931/32Bournemouth Gasworks Athletic 1932/33Newport1933/34Andover1934/35Bournemouth Gasworks Athletic 1935/36Bournemouth Gasworks Athletic1936/37Cowes 1937/38Bournemouth Gasworks Athletic 1938/39Newport 1939-45 1945/46Gosport Borough1946/47RAOC Hilsea1947/48Newport 1948/49Andover1949/50Newport1950/51Andover1951/52Portsmouth 'A'1952/53[Newport1953/54Newport 1954/55Salisbury City Reserves1955/56Cowes1956/57Newport 1957/58Alton Town1958/59Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic 'A'1959/60Fareham Town1960/61Salisbury City Reserves1961/62Andover1962/63Fareham Town1963/64Fareham Town1964/65Fareham Town1965/66Fareham Town1966/67Fareham Town 1967/68Basingstoke Town1968/69Thornycroft Athletic1969/70Basingstoke Town1970/71Basingstoke Town1971/72Pirelli General1972/73Fareham Town1973/74Sholing Sports1974/75Fareham Town 1975/76Brockenhurst1976/77Gosport Borough1977/78Gosport Borough1978/79Newport1979/80Newport1980/81Newport1981/82AFC Totton1982/83Sholing Sports 1983/84Sholing Sports 1984/85A.F.C. Totton1985/86East Cowes Victoria1986/87East Cowes Victoria1987/88B.A.T. Sports1988/89B.A.T. Sports1989/90Ryde Sports1990/91Locks Heath1991/92Colden Common1992/93Pirelli General 1993/94Cowes Sports1994/95Ecchinswell1995/96Colden Common 1996/97Moneyfields1997/98Blackfield & Langley1998/99Alton1999/2000Amesbury Town2000/01Vosper Thornycroft2001/02Alton2002/03Winchester City 2003/04Vosper Thornycroft
League Cup winners SeasonWinners1991/92Bishop's Waltham Town1992/93Cowes Sports1993/94Winchester City1994/95Ecchinswell1995/96Otterbourne1996/97AFC Newbury1997/98Poole Town1998/99Poole Town 1999/2000Hayling United2000/01Cancelled due to bad weather2001/02Liss Athletic2002/03Winchester City2003/04East Cowes Victoria
Clubs
See Hampshire League clubs.
Achievements by clubs in national cup competitions
During its 108-year existence, the Hampshire League was done proud when represented by its member clubs in the national cup competitions, especially in its heyday as listed below, when clubs frequently progressed past the early qualifying rounds:
FA Cup
1919/20 Thornycrofts (Woolston) reached 1st Round, v Burnley (home, drew 0-0, lost replay away 0–5) 1932/33 Ryde Sports reached 1st Round, v Margate (away, lost 0–5) 1936/37 Ryde Sports reached 1st Round, v Gillingham (home, lost 1–5) 1945/46 Newport reached 2nd Round, v Aldershot (lost 0–12 on aggregate) 1952/53 Newport reached 1st Round, v Swindon Town (away, lost 1–5) 1953/54 Newport reached 1st Round, v Swindon Town (away, lost 1–2) 1954/55 Newport reached 1st Round, v Hinckley Athletic (away, lost 3–4) 1956/57 Newport reached 1st Round, v Watford (home, lost 0–6) 1957/58 Newport reached 1st Round, v Hereford United (away, lost 0–3) 1958/59 Newport reached 1st Round, v Shrewsbury Town (away, lost 3–4) 1968/69 Waterlooville reached 1st Round, v Kettering Town (home, lost 1–2) 1972/73 Alton Town reached 1st Round, v Newport County (away, lost 1–5)
FA Trophy
1969/70 Thornycroft Athletic reached 1st Round, v Weymouth (away, lost 0–5)
FA Vase
1976/77 Gosport Borough reached Quarter Finals, v Barton Rovers (home, 1–1 away, lost replay 1–3) 1981/82 Sholing Sports reached 4th Round, v Shortwood United (away, lost 0–2) 1985/86 Havant Town reached Quarter Finals, v Wisbech Town (home, lost 1–5) 2002/03 Winchester City reached Quarter Finals, v Oadby Town (away, lost 0–1)
FA Amateur Cup
1910/11 RMLI Gosport won the competition, 2-1 v South Bank in Final 1929/30 Bournemouth Gasworks Athletic reached the Final, lost 1-5 v Ilford 1932/33 Bournemouth Gasworks Athletic reached the Semi-Finals, lost 1-2 v Stockton The Complete F.A. Amateur Cup Results - by Richard Samuel
Historical position within English football league system The following table shows the position of the various Hampshire leagues within the English football league system: SeasonLevel 4Level 5Level 6Level 7Level 8Level 9Level 10Level 11 1958–79Football League Division 4Southern League PremierSouthern League SouthHampshire League1979–86Football League Division 4Alliance Premier LeagueSouthern League PremierSouthern League SouthHampshire League1986–2004Football League Division 4Football ConferenceSouthern League Premier DivSouthern League South DivWessex LeagueHampshire League2004-EFL - League TwoNational League National League SouthSouthern League PremierSouthern League South & WestWessex League Premier DivWessex League Division 1Hampshire Premier League
Print A History of the Hampshire Football League 1896-1996 - by Norman Gannaway Hampshire League Tabulated History - by Stephen Farmery
References
External links Hampshire Premier League website Hampshire League archives Hampshire League at the Football Club History Database Hampshire Soccer Archive