History of Swindon Town F.C.

The history of Swindon Town F.C. stretches back to 1881 and earlier; the club has won League, National and International competitions in its history and played in the FA Premier League. Swindon Town Football Club was founded by Reverend William Pitt between 1879 and 1881, with the club officially using the former date. Confusion over the original date arose in the mid-1990s and continues to arouse controversy, with the club accepting the earlier date and then reverting to the original during the late 21st century. Former club statistician Paul Plowman researched the early history of the club during the period 1990–95 and discovered newspaper reports of a game in 1879 between Swindon Association Football Club and Rovers F.C.. The report and team photos show William Pitt playing for the team. Reverend Pitt, who was 23 at the time, was the curate of Christchurch, Swindon's central church. He was appointed Rector of Liddington church in 1881 and severed his ties to the club. Plowman was given the role of Swindon Town Retail Manager in 1995 and the kit for the 1995–96 season carried an "Est. 1879" tag, since removed. Further discoveries include an after-dinner speech at the Southern League championship celebrations in 1911 made by Reverend Pitt in which is recalled: "It was in the autumn of 1879 that some young fellows belonging to the Swindon factory met with him in the King William Street Schools to organise a club. They decided to call it the Swindon Town Football Club, but they found the name rather a mouthful to shout out, so they changed the name to the Spartan Club. They played the first game in a field not far away." "the rev. gentleman mentioned that his removal from Swindon caused his severance with the club." In 1883 the Spartan Club renamed itself Swindon Town Football Club. Swindon Town were an amateur club until 1894, playing friendly games against local teams before entering the FA Cup for the first time in 1886. The team also played in the inaugural Wiltshire Cup in 1886 and went on to win it in 6 consecutive years from 1886 to 1892.