Buckley Town

Buckley is an established football centre in North Wales and during the history of football in the town a number clubs have been the town's pre–eminent team – two of which prior to 1977 when the current team was founded, were known as Buckley Town.

Subsequent to the game first being introduced in the area around 1860 a club named Belmont Swifts was established and this formed the basis of what would later become Football Club. This team had their own pitch at Mill Lane and in the early to mid 1890s fielded teams in the Denbigh and Flintshire League and the Cheshire and District Junior League (from which they withdrew mid 1894–95 season).

In 1887 the first iteration of Buckley Town football club was formed and in 1895 they were competing alongside Buckley Victoria in the Denbigh & Flintshire League, playing on the Buckley cricket ground. In 1896 the 'Town' joined both the Liverpool & Wirral League (and subsequently the Wirral & District League) and also the higher ranked West Cheshire League. From being the West Cheshire's bottom placed team in 1896–97, the following season Buckley Town were 1897–98 West Cheshire League champions and thereby awarded the Pyke Cup. For the first time that season the league also included Buckley Victoria . The 'Town' began the 1898–99 season playing in the Cheshire League but financial pressures saw the club cease to play (and have their record expunged) – they also failed to fulfill their fixtures in the Wirral & District League.

Buckley Victoria existed alongside the 'Town' club and were similarly from 1897 members of both the West Cheshire League and also the Wirral and District league. The 'Vics' won the North West Coast Junior Cup in 1897. They continued as members of the West Cheshire League until 1900 and then for the 1900–01 season joined The Combination – when they joined the league it mostly comprised clubs from the Liverpool and North Wales. After one season the Buckley Victoria club withdrew from this league.

The 'Vics' were superseded as the town's leading club by Buckley Engineers. The Engineers used a pitch located at the western end of Tabernacle street and competed in the Flintshire League until 1909. They won the Flintshire League Championship in both 1906 and 1908 and the Flintshire Challenge Cup in 1907 and 1910. Between 1909 and 1912 the Engineers were members of Division 1 of the Liverpool County Combination, winning the Cup competition (the George Mahon Challenge Cup) in 1911. But their foremost success was in winning the Welsh Amateur Cup on three occasions: in 1906 beating Portmadog 4–1 in a replay; in 1907 beating Aberyswyth 2–1 also in a replay; and in 1911 the Engineers were again victors over Aberyswyth, by a 2–1 scoreline. The Engineers commenced the 1912–13 season playing in the North Wales Alliance but withdrew from the league before completion of their fixtures.

The next club to come to prominence were Buckley United who initially played on a field at Bistre Avenue. In 1914 they were competing in the wartime organised Section A of the Chester and Runcorn League By 1915 they were playing at a ground off Brunswick Road (where the Precinct stands). During the Great War the club were part of the Flintshire league and later after hostilities ceased in 1919–20 they were members of the Liverpool Combination grouping. United then joined the West Cheshire League for the 1920–21 season and finished in third position in the final table. In October 1920 the United, an amateur club with a team comprising ten colliers and a plumber, beat Wrexham in an English FA Cup third round qualifying tie The club finished as runners–up in the 1920–21 season West Cheshire League, but the next season they resigned from the league under pressure exerted by the Welsh Football Association. Their home country association, looking to bolster leagues in Wales, refused permission for the club (along with others) to be members of certain minor English based leagues. United then played in the local Flintshire League (where another town based club Buckley Athletic played). In 1925 United who played in black and white striped shirts and white shorts joined the Welsh National League (North) Division 1. They competed in this league for four seasons until 1929–30 – although during the previous season there was a subsequently withdrawn announcement that owing to financial difficulties the club was to quit the league.

There followed several seasons of no Buckley named representative team in any league outside of the towns immediate area. The Mold, Deeside and Buckley League in 1929 included both Buckley Alexandra and Buckley Amateurs; other local amateur leagues had Buckley Square United and Buckley Villa and other local based teams (Nant Mawr, Burntwood and Castle Bricks) as members; and a Buckley Victoria made a brief appearance in the Mold & District League in 1934.

The second Buckley Town club evolved from the previous Buckley United team. In 1936 the 'Town' became members of the West Cheshire League. At the end of the 1937–38 season the club provisionally resigned from the West Cheshire League but a couple of months later in July 1938 they successfully re–applied for membership and in addition made application to the Welsh FA to change their club colours to those of Arsenal (red and whte). The 'Town' team were twice runners–up in the Pyke Challenge Trophy (now the winners trophy for the West Cheshire League knock–out tournament): in 1937 (their first season in the league) they lost in a replay 2–1 to Helsby BI after a 2–2 draw in an eventful first match, at Prenton Park Tranmere, that included pitch invasions (when Buckley scored), a Helsby player being grabbed and struck in the face whilst taking a throw–in and a crowd melee on the pitch which required police intervention; they were losing finalists again in 1939, beaten 5–3 by Heswall. Additionally the club were winners of the North Coast Amateur Cup in both 1937 and 1939, beating Blaenau Festiniog on both occasions. On the stoppage of football owing to the Second World War the Buckley Town team disbanded.

Following the post war resumption of competitive football and during the 1950s and beyond to the late 1970s two Buckley based clubs, Buckley Wanderers and Buckley Rovers, competed in senior regional/county league football. Both clubs played their home matches at the Hawkesbury ground, Mill lane.

The Wanderers, who played in yellow shirts and black shorts, competed in the Flintshire League in 1947–48 and that season were losing finalists to Connahs Quay Juniors in the Flintshire League Cup final. The club moved up to the Welsh National League (Wrexham Area) Division 1 for the 1949–1950 season – the commencement of a 27-year spell in this third tier league. In the 1955–56 season the Wanderers clinched the league title, scoring 112 goals in the 30 match campaign. They were runners–up for the title on four occasions in 1950, 1954, 1961 and 1966. In the early 1950s they were also successful in knock–out cup football: they were winners of the Welsh National League (Wrexham area) League Cup in 1950; and also victorious in the North Wales Coast Amateur Cup final of 1954. Buckley Wanderers reached the final of the Welsh Amateur Cup in April 1960, but couldn't emulate their forerunners Buckley Engineers from 49 years previously in winning the prestigious trophy and were vanquished 4–2 by Caersws Amateurs.

The Buckley Rovers club (who were founded under the auspices of the Buckley Young People's Cultural Association) initially became members of a different northern Wales competition, the Welsh League North. In 1953–54 they played in Division 3 (Halkyn region) and progressed to Division 2 Eastern for the following four seasons. After playing the 1958–59 season back in Welsh League North Division 3 the Rovers switched leagues and in 1959–60 entered the Welsh National League (Wrexham Area) and were champions of Division 2 in their first season. The Rovers were duly promoted to Division 1 for the 1960–61 season finishing 9th of 15 teams – this being the same league in which Buckley Wanderers were runners–up that season.

Both Buckley Wanderers and Buckley Rovers continued side by side in the Welsh National League (WNL) (Wrexham Area) Division 1 until the 1963–64 season when the Rovers team finished in penultimate position in the table and were relegated. Rovers topped the Division 2 table the next season and as champions were duly promoted back into Division 1 for 1965–1966. In this campaign they finished in fifth position – the Wanderers finished three places higher as league runners–up and additionally won the North Wales Coast Amateur Cup. Neither club could maintain this level of performance, particularly the Rovers who for the second consecutive season in 1970 finished in next to bottom place in the league table and were relegated back to Division 2 again. The team took four seasons until 1973–74 to gain promotion back to Division 1 as champions – scoring 100 league goals over 23 matches played. There was additional success for the Rovers team that season who were victorious in the North East Wales Junior Cup. During the period that Rovers competed in Division 2, their town rivals the Wanderers team maintained their position in Division 1 and but for an unplayed match in the 1973–74 season may have finished as runners–up instead of their recorded 4th ranked place. For two seasons after Rovers return to the top division they became the better of the two sides: in the first of these, 1974–75, they were both WNL (Wrexham Area) Division 1 runners–up and winners of the North East Wales Challenge Cup; the following season they achieved a third–place finish in the league (with the Wanderers in contrast ranked third from bottom in the table).

The 1976–77 season saw both teams finish towards the foot of Division 1 WNL (Wrexham Area) standings: Wanderers were 12th and Rovers 15th from 16 teams. This heralded the end for both clubs as in 1977 an agreement was made for the Buckley Wanderers and Buckley Rovers clubs to amalgamate under the name of Buckley Town Football Club.