Carnarvon Athletic F.C.
| Full name | Carnarvon Athletic Football Club | |
|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | C.A.C., Old Carnarvon[1] | |
| Founded | 1876 | |
| Dissolved | 1893 | |
| Ground | Coedhelen Ferry Field | |
| President | Sir Llewellyn Turner[2] | |
| Secretary | C. P. Boucher | |
|
| ||
Carnarvon Athletic F.C.[3] was an association football club from Caernarfon in north Wales.
History[edit]
The club was formed in 1876, as a football side from an athletic club founded in 1866,[4] and played 5 matches in its first season, winning one.[5] It played in the first Welsh Cup in 1877–78, losing at home to Bangor in the first round.[6]
After playing in the first two competitions, the club stepped back from the national competition, playing instead in the Northern Welsh Association Cup, which was first played in 1879–80; the club reached the semi-final stage, which consisted of 3 clubs, but did not draw the bye, and lost to Llanrwst.[7] The club went one stage further in 1881–82, but lost to Mountain Rangers of Bangor in the final.[8] It also apparently reached the final in 1883–84, but a protest from Bangor that the C.A.C.'s winning goal came from a foul was upheld,[9] and Carnarvon refused to re-play the tie, instead launching a counter-protest (on the basis that the chairman could not hear the protest, as his club had not paid a subscription fee), which was dismissed.[10]
Athletic re-entered the national competition from 1884–85, and reached the semi-final on its return, albeit after only winning one tie; in the last four, the club lost to Druids at the Racecourse Ground.[11]
The club took over Carnarvon Wanderers at the end of the 1886–87 season, the Wanderers players (including star forward Harry Owen and secretary Humphreys)[12] joining the club afterwards.[13] The Athletic reserve team used the Wanderers name on at least one occasion afterwards.[14]
Despite this boost to membership, the club only entered the Welsh Cup once more, in 1890–91, losing in the first round at home to Rhyl.[15] The last reference to the club is a 4–1 defeat at Bangor in a charity match on 22 April 1893.[16]
Colours[edit]
The club played in scarlet and black.[17]
Ground[edit]
The athletic club's ground was at a field close to Caernarfon Castle, on the opposite side of the Seiont, and belonved to one Rice W. Thomas.[18] By 1877 the club was playing on a ground at Bethesda Road,[19] 5 minutes from Carnarvon station.[20] although the club was back at Mr Thomas' field - now called Coedhelen Ferry Field - by 1881.[21] The club moved to The Oval in 1888.[22]
Notable players[edit]
- Richard Parry Williams, capped for Wales in 1886 when a Carnarvon Athletic player[23]
References[edit]
- ^ "On Dit". Caernarvon & Denbigh Herald: 3. 12 January 1884.
- ^ "Carnarvon Athletic Club Sports". Caernarvon & Denbigh Herald: 1. 24 August 1878.
- ^ The club name uses the English spelling for Caernarfon, even in Welsh-language media: see e.g. Y Bel Droed, Herald Cymraeg, p. 5, 28 February 1884.
- ^ "Carnarvon Athletic Sports". North Wales Chronicle: 8. 10 August 1867.
- ^ Alcock, Charles (1877). Football Annual. London: Ward, Lock. p. 149.
- ^ "Bangor v Carnarvon". Wrexham Guardian and Denbighshire and Flintshire Advertiser: 7. 10 November 1877.
- ^ Alcock, Charles (1880). Football Annual. London: Ward, Lock. p. 137.
- ^ Alcock, Charles (1882). Football Annual. London: Ward, Lock. p. 180.
- ^ "Football". North Wales Chronicle: 8. 29 March 1884.
- ^ "Northern Welsh Football Association". Rhyl Record and Advertiser: 2. 12 April 1884.
- ^ "Druids v Carnarvon". Wrexham Advertiser: 8. 7 February 1885.
- ^ "Football Notes". North Wales Chronicle: 5. 1 February 1890.
- ^ "Annual Football Competition at Carnarvon". North Wales Express: 7. 30 December 1887.
- ^ "Football Tournament at Carnarvon". Liverpool Mercury: 7. 4 April 1888.
- ^ "Welsh Challenge Cup". Rhyl Record and Advertiser: 6. 15 November 1890.
- ^ Old Footballer (22 April 1893). "Football notes and gossip". North Wales Chronicle: 8.
- ^ Alcock, Charles (1877). Football Annual. London: Ward, Lock. p. 149.
- ^ "Carnarvon Athletic Sports". North Wales Chronicle: 8. 10 August 1867.
- ^ "Carnarvon Athletic Club Sports". Caernarvon & Denbigh Herald: 1. 24 August 1878.
- ^ Alcock, Charles (1877). Football Annual. London: Ward, Lock. p. 149.
- ^ "Carnarvon Athletic Sports". Caernarvon & Denbigh Herald: 4. 10 September 1881.
- ^ "Football". North Wales Chronicle: 3. 15 February 1890.
- ^ "Richard Parry Williams". EU Football. Retrieved 21 November 2023.