Boston United
Formed 1933
Promoted to the Football League 2002. Relegated to the Blue Square Conference North 2007.
Kit History
September 1933 a
1933-1937 a
1937-1939 a
1945-1946 l
1946-1947 a
1949-1950 a
1951-1952 a
1953-1958 a
1958-1960 a m
circa 1960 a
1961-1967 a m
1967-1968 d
1971-1974 a
1977-1978 i
1979-1980 f
1981-1982 b
1982-1983 a i
1983-1985 a h
1986-1987 a
1987-1988 c
1988-1990 a c
1990-1991 c
1992-1993 h
1993-1995 k
1995-1996 c j k
1996-1997 g
1997-1998 l
1998-1999 a
1999-2000 a h
2000-2001 a
2001-2002 a c
2002-2003 a
2003-2004 a
2004-2006 a
2006-2007 a
2007-2009 e
2009-2010 e
2010-2012 e
2012-2013 e
Background
Boston United were formed when the older Boston FC
went into liquidation at the end of the 1932-33 season. A group of supporters
formed a new club that took over Boston's place in the Midlands League
the 1933-34 season. For a short while, the team turned out in the blue
jerseys inherited from the older club but these were quickly replaced
with a striking black shirt with white V.
In 1956, the club came to national attention after beating Derby County 6-1 at the Baseball Ground in the FA Cup Second Round. That same year they finished as runners up to Peterborough United in the Midland League, their highest position to date. Two years later, United joined the Southern League but the venture proved too ambitious and they resigned in 1961. By 1964 the club was on the verge of extinction and the name was only kept alive by running an amateur team in the local Boston & District League.
After sorting out their finances, Boston began the long climb back to
senior non-league football and in 1968 they became founder members of
the Northern Premier League. The Seventies brought four NPL titles, two
League Cups and further adventures against League opposition in the FA
Cup. They were now strong candidates for election to the Football League
but in 1978, inspectors found that their ground was not up to League standards
and Wigan Athletic were nominated instead. The following year the club
became founder members of the Alliance Premier League (the forerunner of
the Conference) and set about rebuilding their ground.
In 1999 Boston regained their place in the Conference that they had lost six years earlier. Two years later the club turned fully professional and clinched the Conference title to achieve automatic promotion to the Football League. The gloss was taken off this achievement when an FA investigation uncovered irregularities that led to the resignation of the manager and deduction of four points before the league campaign started. Boston overcame this obstacle and retained their place in the League.
In 2006-07 the club faced serious financial difficulties. On 5 May, Boston
were losing at Wrexham, a result that would confirm that they would
be relegated back to the Conference. Before the match ended, the club
entered into a Company Voluntary Agreement, an arrangement to protect
the club from its creditors. As a consequence the ten-point penalty incurred
when clubs enter financial administration was applied in the current season,
when it would no longer make any difference. However, at the Conference annual general meeting held in June 2007, the decision was taken to demote Boston directly into Conference North, the sixth tier of English football.
At the close of the 2007-08 season the club remained in administration and, under Conference rules, were relegated to the next lowest tier, the Unibond League Premier Division. The long climb back began when Boston won promotion back into the Conference North via the play-offs in May 2010.
Sources
- (a) Boston United FC Ken Fox's excellent site is no longer being updated but includes comprehensive historical and statistical information up to 2007
- (b) Scarborough FC - Images of Sport (Paul Eade 2002)
- (c) Alliance to Conference (John Harman 2005)
- (d) Pete's Picture Palace
- (e) Boston United Official Site
- (f) Alick Milne
- (g) Andy Birkett
- (h) Mark Holland
- (i) Ralph Pomeroy
- (j) Ken Fox
- (k) Mark Alton
- (l) Keith Ellis
- (m) Simon Monks
Boston United Mad includes an informative history. Modern crests are the property of Boston United FC.