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"Our greatest glory lies not in never having fallen but in rising when we fall."(HUFC Cub Motto) Hereford United Football Club was formed in June 1924 following the amalgamation of two local clubs, St Martins and RAOC. They started off in the Birmingham Combination League and after four seasons moved up to the Birmingham League and gradually established themselves as one of the leading sides, reaching the first round of the FA Cup for the first time in 1932. In 1939 the club become a limited company with the official title of Hereford United Football Club (1939) Limited. The same year saw the club enter the Southern League although United only managed to play four matches before the outbreak of war. When the league resumed in 1945 Hereford finished as runners-up. The late forties and early fifties saw some huge crowds at Edgar Street for FA Cup games. For details of these and all United's Cup exploits click here. In 1958-59 United won the Southern League Cup for the third time and were unbeaten in league matches for the first time. They repeated this feat two seasons later in 1960/61 and sadly no Hereford side has matched this record since. Relegation, for the one and only time in Hereford's non-league career, occurred in 1963-64 but United bounced straight back, winning the first division title with a record number of points and a record number of goals At the end of the 1964-65 season, Hereford United received two votes in their bid for election to the Football League, the first votes ever received. 1966-67 was a notable season for Hereford United with the signing of the legendary "Gentle Giant", John Charles (who was to become manager in 1967) and his popularity was underlined when the largest opening-day crowd for many years turned out for his debut. The same game was also notable because it saw Roger Griffiths make history by becoming Hereford's first-ever substitute, coming on for Peter McCall. Despite the presence of John Charles, United could only finish in tenth place that season. Another record was set during the season that will probably never be equalled. United's keeper Jock Wallace left to become player-manager of Berwick Rangers and played for them in their historic Scottish Cup victory over the mighty Glasgow Rangers. His Scottish Cup appearance was added to those already made for Hereford in the English and Welsh FA Cups and thus he became the only man to play in all three competitions in one season. In 1971 Colin Addison took over from John Charles and quickly added to his already fearsome squad. After many years of being regarded as one of the country's best supported and most successful non-league clubs, the 1971-72 season went down as one of the great years in the club's history. After drawing 2-2 with first division Newcastle United at St. James Park in the FA Cup 3rd round, the teams met at Edgar Street in a much postponed replay. After taking a late lead through Malcolm McDonald, Newcastle looked destined to go into the fourth round, but minutes later Ronnie Radford scored his famous 30 yard goal to gain extra time. During extra time, substitute Ricky George scored Hereford's second to give them a 2-1 victory. This victory meant United became the first non-league club to register a victory over a 1st division side since 1949. The fourth round again saw United draw first division opposition. This time West Ham United were the opponents. After drawing 0 - 0 in front of a capacity Edgar Street crowd, United finally bowed out of the cup losing 3-1 to the Hammers. with World Cup hero, Geoff Hurst, scoring a hat-trick for the Hammers. A glut of fixtures cost United the championship and they eventually finished as runners-up. Nevertheless, the season ended on a high note. On June 2nd 1972 Hereford United were finally elected to the Football League. In their first Football League season, United finished as runners-up and gained promotion to the Third Division, with record crowds flocking to Edgar Street in their thousands. 1973-74 and 1974-75 saw a period of consolidation but with the impetus and thrust of new manager John Sillett, United took the Third Division by storm and romped away with the championship. Much of the success was due to Sillett's inspirational signing of another Edgar Street all-time favourite, Dixie McNeil, who for the second successive season ended as the Football League's leading marksman. Sadly, the squad was not strong enough and relegation swiftly followed. With the Club in decline, a second relegation followed the season after and in 1978 United found themselves back where they started - in the old Fourth Division. To add insult to injury, the Club had to apply for re-election on three separate occasions, in 1979-80 1980-81 and in 1982-83 when they suffered the ignominy of finishing bottom. The struggle continued not just on the field but off it as well. A succession of managers came and went through troubled financial times until Graham Turner took over at the start of the 1995-96 season. Graham's first season met with considerable success and following a brave FA Cup replay exit at mighty Tottenham Hotspur, United had a fantastic run in to rise from 19th position at the end of February to a play-off place by the end of April. Sadly, promotion dreams were shattered with a two-legged defeat against Darlington. Despite the setback fans remained optimistic for the following season. The 1996-97 season was one to remember for all the wrong reasons. Financial problems had forced Graham Turner to part with some of his best players and no money was available to strengthen the squad. United had struggled throughout the season but a mid-season slump of 13 games without a win saw them sink to 91st place in the Football League. Bottom club Brighton and Hove Albion, who seemed to be doomed just a few weeks ago, had undergone a tremendous revival and were threatening to overhaul United. In the final few weeks Hereford stared relegation in the face and in their penultimate league fixture of the season, United travelled to Leyton Orient knowing that should they win their destiny would be in their own hands. A disputed off-side goal sent Orient on their way to a 2-1 victory and with Brighton winning over Doncaster Rovers the relegation issue would be decided at Edgar Street the following week, when United met Brighton in the last game of the season. A win would guarantee United safety but a draw would mean that they would go down, as although United had a superior goal difference, Brighton had scored just a couple more goals. Kerry Mayo scored a 20th minute own goal to give United a deserved lead, but Robbie Reinelt equalised against the run of play and with the game ending 1-1, United were cruelly condemned to relegation. Thus, United's 25 year residence in the Football League came to a sad end. Fans' dreams of a rapid return were shattered in United's first season in the Conference and although they finished in a creditable 6th position, it was not enough. Financial uncertainty has continued to plague the Club ever since and has forced Turner to sell many of his better players. Despite this adversity, the team have performed consistently enough during their last three seasons in the Conference, without ever mounting a serious challenge for promotion. The financial problems of Hereford United over the past few years have been well documented. Relegation from the football league was a terrible blow to the club. To the players, to the fans, to the whole community. Since being relegated the club has been in the unenviable financial position of having to survive with a massive debt on their shoulders and on having to sell their best players, resulting in performances on the playing field that have led to a dwindling of support, which in turn has led to the financial crisis deepening. (Parts of this article was written by Ron Parrott.) |
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