| THE 1880's |
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In a replay of the previous year's final, the Town beat Swindon Temperance again to retain the Wiltshire Cup for a third season. The FA introduce qualifying rounds to the FA Cup, and the Town fail to qualify - losing 5-2 at home to Marlow in the Second Qualifying Round. Meanwhile, twelve teams make up the first Football League, which is won by Preston North End. - | |||
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The Wiltshire Cup is retained after a victory over Swindon Temperance - but the Town fall at the first hurdle in the FA Cup - losing to Old Brightonians. - | |||
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The Town win their first trophy - the inaugural Wiltshire Cup, beating Trowbridge Town in the final. The club also enter the FA Cup for the first time, beating Watford Rovers in the first round, before being humiliated 7-1 by Swifts in the second. - | |||
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Another change in venue - this time to The Croft, where the club remain for eleven years. The teams changed in the nearby Fountain Inn, and tickets were purchased from a pigeon-hole in the Royal Oak Inn. - | |||
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After a young spectator falls down the quarry, the club make the short move to the Globe Field, situated under what is now Lansdown Road. - | |||
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The first evidence of "Swindon Town Football Club" came in 1883, with the club using Spartans' pitch - J.E.G. Bradford's Field in Old Town. The pitch was next to a quarry, in which many balls were lost. - | |||
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The Spartans' match with St. Mark's Young Mens' Friendly Society in November 1881 ended in a 2-2 draw - and after the match, both sides agreed to merge under the name of "The Swindon Football Club". - | |||
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At some point, probably late in 1880 or early in 1881, Swindon AFC amalgamated with the Spartans Cricket Club - and Spartans was the name that the club continued with. - | |||
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Swindon Association Football Club was founded in 1879, by Reverend William Pitt. - | |||