Whitwick Imperial F.C.
| Full name | Whitwick Imperial Football Club | |
|---|---|---|
| Nicknames | the Imps, the Colliers[1] | |
| Founded | 1909 | |
| Dissolved | 1929 | |
| Ground | Duke of Newcastle Field | |
|
| ||
Whitwick Imperial F.C. was an association football club from Whitwick, Leicestershire, active before the Second World War.
History
The club was formed after Whitwick White Cross resigned from the Midland League,[2] and joined the Coalville and District League in 1908.[3] After one season it joined the Leicestershire Senior League. The club's first success came in the Coalville and District Charity Cup in 1911–12.[4]
The Imps won the Senior League for the first time in 1914–15, albeit the First World War saw the competition reduced to six clubs; however its second title, five years later, was in a ten-team competition. It was a regular entrant to the FA Cup (eschewing the FA Amateur Cup) from 1912–13 to 1928–29, three times reaching the second qualifying round.[5]
The club's most successful league seasons came in the early 1920s; from 1921–22 to 1924–25 the club won three Leicestershire titles and was runner-up once. It was also twice runner-up in the Leicestershire and Rutland Senior Cup,[6] both times to Loughborough Corinthians - losing the final 3–1 and 1–0 in 1921–22[7] and 1922–23 respectively.
However the club's finances were poor throughout - its deficit rising from £25 to £41 in 1923–24[8] - and in 1925–26 the Imps, who had remained staunchly amateur,[9] plummeted to finishing the league season just one above last place, and both League and Imps declined in importance. By 1929, when the club was wound up due to lack of support,[10] the championship was down to 6 clubs. The Imps' final match was a 5–1 defeat to Peggs Green Victoria in the final of the Coalville Charity Cup on 2 April 1929, the trophy being presented by Birmingham player Joe Bradford to his brother Tom, captain of the victorious side.[11]
Colours
The club wore black and white,[12][13] by 1924 in the form of black shirts with a white V.[14][15]
Ground
The club played at the Duke of Newcastle Ground,[16] behind the hotel of the same name.[17] It was later used for crown green bowling.[18]
Notable players
- Notable players ( 8 )
External links
References
- ^ "Whitwick Imperial v Loughborough Corinthians". Leicester Evening Mail: 2. 8 December 1911.
- ^ "Reutama" (11 April 1911). "My postcard". Leicester Evening Mail: 2.
- ^ "Coalville and District League". Football Post: 5. 12 September 1908.
- ^ "Coalville and District Football Association". Leicester Mercury: 7. 2 October 1912.
- ^ "Club Whitwick Imperial". wildstat. Retrieved 3 July 2025.
- ^ Stone, Eric (23 April 1934). "Sportsman's log". Leicester Evening Mail: 11.
- ^ "Leicestershire Cup. -Final". Football Post (Nottingham): 8. 8 April 1922.
- ^ "Whitwick Imps". Leicester Mercury: 8. 4 July 1924.
- ^ "Echoes from Coalville". Leicester Chronicle: 17. 25 September 1926.
- ^ "Admitted to senior league". Leicester Mercury: 16. 1 August 1929.
- ^ "Cup for Bradford's old team". Birmingham Gazette: 10. 3 April 1929.
- ^ "Practice match to-day". Leicester Evening Mail: 1. 19 August 1911.
- ^ "Football notes". Hinckley Times: 7. 13 April 1912.
- ^ "Whitwick Imperial bow the knee in Charity Cup Final". Illustrated Leicester Chronicle: 22. 18 April 1925.
- ^ "Cup rivals". Leicester Chronicle: 20. 16 March 1929.
- ^ "Whitwick Imperial". Leicester Evening Mail: 5. 19 August 1920.
- ^ "Football sensation at Whitwick". Leicester Chronicle: 5. 13 August 1910.
- ^ "New bowls club". Leicester Evening Mail: 7. 5 July 1944.