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
1946-1947 a
1949-1950 a
1951-1952 a
1953-1958 a
1958-1959 a
1959-circa 1960 a
1960s a
1967-1968 d
1971-1974 a
1979-1980 f
1981-1982 b
1982-1983 a
1984-1985 a
1986-1987 a
1987-1988 c
1988-1990 a c
1990-1991 c
1991-1992 c
1992-1993 h
1993-1996
1996-1998 g
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
2007-2008 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 foreunner 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.
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
Boston United Mad includes an informative history.