South Western League
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South Western League |
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The South Western League was a league that existed for over 50 years for clubs in Devon and Cornwall. It consisted of a single division for it's entire existence, and merged in 2007 with the Devon County League to form the South West Peninsula League.
The 12 founder members of the league were 7 from Cornwall, 5 from Devon but as the league developed, the Cornish membership began to dominate. After the first two seasons, every League Champion came from West of the Tamar
All three of Devon's Football League sides used the South Western League for reserve/"A" teams, as did Barnstaple Town, Bideford, Ilfracombe Town and St Luke's College (all from the Western League), for short periods. The last reserve side left in 1988, and for the next 18 years of its existence the league consisted solely of first teams. Plymouth Argyle added an "A" team into the league for the final season, 2006-07.
Plymouth Command, a team from the Royal Navy, had to resign from the league partway through the 1981-82 season as the bulk of their team had been called on to active service defending the Falkland Islands. They were re-admitted the following season.
Sixteen different South Western League teams entered the F.A. Cup, but only one made it past the Qualifying Competition to the First Round Proper. Falmouth Town managed the feat on three occasions, 1962-63, 1967-68 and 1969-70. On each occasion, Falmouth came up against Football League opposition and were beaten at the First Round stage. They remain the only Cornish club to make the comeptition proper.
A few of the stronger South Western League sides played in the early years of the F.A. Trophy, with Falmouth Town in 1973-74 and St Blazey in 1970-71 both making it through the Qualifying Rounds to the First Round Proper. Since the formation of the F.A. Vase, South Western League clubs were switched to that competition. Several clubs made frequent deep runs, with the best performances coming from Falmouth Town in 1986-87 and Porthleven in 1997-98, both teams making the Quarter Finals.
| Season | Champions |
|---|---|
| 1951-52 | Torquay United reserves |
| 1952-53 | Torquay United reseves |
| 1953-54 | Saltash United |
| 1954-55 | St Blazey |
| 1955-56 | Penzance |
| 1956-57 | Penzance |
| 1957-58 | St Blazey |
| 1958-59 | Newquay |
| 1959-60 | Newquay |
| 1960-61 | Truro City |
| 1961-62 | Falmouth Town |
| 1962-63 | St Blazey |
| 1963-64 | St Blazey |
| 1964-65 | Torpoint Athletic |
| 1965-66 | Falmouth Town |
| 1966-67 | Torpoint Athletic |
| 1967-68 | Falmouth Town |
| 1968-69 | St Austell |
| 1969-70 | Truro City |
| 1970-71 | Falmouth Town |
| 1971-72 | Falmouth Town |
| 1972-73 | Falmouth Town |
| 1973-74 | Falmouth Town |
| 1974-75 | Penzance |
| 1975-76 | Saltash United |
| 1976-77 | Liskeard Athletic |
| 1977-78 | Newquay |
| 1978-79 | Liskeard Athletic |
| 1979-80 | Newquay |
| 1980-81 | St Blazey |
| 1981-82 | Newquay |
| 1982-83 | St Blazey |
| 1983-84 | Newquay |
| 1984-85 | Bugle |
| 1985-86 | Falmouth Town |
| 1986-87 | Falmouth Town |
| 1987-88 | Newquay |
| 1988-89 | Falmouth Town |
| 1989-90 | Falmouth Town |
| 1990-91 | Bodmin Town |
| 1991-92 | Falmouth Town |
| 1992-93 | Truro City |
| 1993-94 | Bodmin Town |
| 1994-95 | Launceston |
| 1995-96 | Truro City |
| 1996-97 | Falmouth Town |
| 1997-98 | Truro City |
| 1998-99 | St Blazey |
| 1999-00 | Falmouth Town |
| 2000-01 | St Blazey |
| 2001-02 | St Blazey |
| 2002-03 | St Blazey |
| 2003-04 | St Blazey |
| 2004-05 | St Blazey |
| 2005-06 | Bodmin Town |
| 2006-07 | St Blazey |
The F.C.H.D. has the complete set of final tables for this league. Tables from 1985-86 to 2006-07 were collated at the time from contemporary sources, while earlier ones were originally derived from back copies of the Cornish Guardian newspaper, later checked against the Newquay F.C. Centenary book. They were most recently published as a complete set in xxx. One table, that for 1975-76, still is 20 goals out of balance
Please acknowledge the F.C.H.D. when using this information elsewhere