Longfleet St Mary's F.C.

Longfleet St Mary's were formed in 1887 as the football team side of St Mary's Church.

They spent their early days playing friendly fixtures before becoming founder members of the Bournemouth & District League, winning the title in 1903 and performing well in the Dorset Cup competitions. This then saw them progress on the Hampshire League, which at the time was organised on a regional basis. 'The Saints' were placed in the West Division and were champions on four occasions.^[1]

During this time, Longfleet also began entering national competitions, and in the FA Cup they twice played future Football League clubs. In 1904 they lost 0–8 against Swindon Town^[2] and then four years later when they met Exeter City. They surprisingly held 'the Grecians' to a 1–1 home draw^[3] before losing the replay 1–10.^[4]

In 1908, the club celebrated their 21st anniversary and produced an impressive souvenir brochure to mark the occasion, listing all their achievements.^[5]

After World War I, Longfleet then had spells playing in the Bournemouth League^[6] and Dorset League before war broke out again in 1939.

Once the conflict had finally finished, Longfleet reformed and in 1946 they won the Dorset Senior Cup after defeating Portland Dockyard with the final played on Dorchester Town's ground. They then spent a solitary season in the Hampshire League^[7] before returning to the Dorset scene where they continued challenging for silverware. There was another memorable FA Cup run during the 1948–49 campaign,^[8] progressing through three preliminary rounds before going down 0–4 to a strong Weymouth side in front of a large crowd.^[9]

In 1957, Longfleet became founder members of the Dorset Combination (now known today as the Dorset Premier League).^[10] They were twice runners-up in the mid sixties and were beaten finalists in the 1972 League Cup - each time coming second best to the all conquering Parley Sports side.^[11]

By the early eighties, Longfleet were struggling to retain their long held status and in 1981 they were relegated after finishing bottom of the table.^[12] A return to the Dorset League saw further struggles which eventually forced them to disband.

A few years later, Longfleet reformed as a Sunday side and played in the Bournemouth League. Here they won a number of trophies and were regular entrants in the national FA Sunday Cup^[13] before eventually calling it a day in 2004.

• Dorset Football Association
  • Senior Cup Winners 1945/46
• Dorset Combination
  • Runners-up 1963–64 and 1964–65
  • League Cup Finalists 1971–72
• Dorset League
  • Division 1 Runners-up
  • Division 2 Runners-up
• Hampshire League
  • West Division Champions 1903–04, 1905–06, 1907–08 and 1908–09. Runners-up 1904–05
• Bournemouth & District League
  • Division 1 Champions 1902–03

Longfleet St Mary's played at Whitecliff Recreation Ground, Poole, BH14 8DU. The venue is owned by BCP Council and is still in use today.^[14]

It is believed that their high profile home FA Cup matches were staged at better equipped grounds of neighbours Poole Town and Hamworthy United.

Longfleet St Mary's had many fine players over the years. Most notably left-half Alf Weeks who provided "yeoman service" to the team and George Brown, who was born in the area and played for the club before and after signing for Southampton.^[15]

A collection of the club's artefacts and publications still exist and are on display at Poole Museum.^[16]

Longfleet St Mary's had a number of local rivals, most notably Poole Town, Hamworthy United and Bournemouth Gasworks Athletic.^[17]