View source for Aberdare Athletic F.C.

{{short description|Former association football club in Wales}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2020}}
{{Infobox football club
| clubname = Aberdare Athletic
| image =
| fullname = Aberdare Athletic Football Club
| nickname = 
| founded = 1893
| dissolved = {{Start date and age|df=yes|1928}}
| ground = [[Ynys (Aberdare)|Athletic Ground]], [[Aberdare]]
| capacity = 
| chairman = 
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|pattern_la2=|pattern_b2=|pattern_ra2=|leftarm2=|body2=|rightarm2=|shorts2=|socks2=

}}

'''Aberdare Athletic Football Club''' were a [[Wales|Welsh]] [[association football|football]] club founded in 1893 and based at the [[Ynys (Aberdare)|Athletic Ground]] in [[Aberdare]]. They joined the [[Football League]] in 1921 but were replaced by [[Torquay United F.C.|Torquay United]] after failing to be re-elected in 1927.

==History==
[[File:AberdareAthletic.jpg|thumb|right|The Aberdare team of 1908–09.]]
===Foundation===
Founded in 1893, Aberdare were [[Welsh Cup]] runners-up in 1903–04, 1904–05 and 1922–23. In 1920–21, they joined the Welsh Section of the [[Southern Football League|Southern League]] and finished runners-up in their first season. That gained them entry to the [[Football League Third Division South]] for the next season along with [[Charlton Athletic]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.fchd.info/ABERDARA.HTM|title=Football Club History Database - Aberdare Athletic|website=www.fchd.info|access-date=4 February 2019}}</ref>

===League football===
{{See also|1921–22 Aberdare Athletic F.C. season}}
Despite a promising start in league football, finishing 8th in the [[1921–22 Aberdare Athletic F.C. season|1921–22]] season, Aberdare suffered financial instablility throughout the 1920s. The club merged with [[Aberaman Athletic F.C.|Aberaman Athletic]] in 1926 with the first team competing in the Football League under the name Aberdare Athletic, while the reserve team played in the [[Welsh Football League|Welsh League]] under the name Aberdare & Aberaman Athletic.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Johnes |first1=Martin |title=Soccer and Society: South Wales, 1900-1939 |date=2002 |publisher=University of Wales Press |isbn=9780708317419 |page=156}}</ref> However the merged clubs still had to operate on a tight player budget meant it was unable to secure new players. In the [[1926-27 in English football|1926–27]] season, Aberdare Athletic finished bottom of the Third Division South and failed to gain [[re-election (Football League)|re-election]] to the League, with Torquay United taking their place.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Johnes |first1=Martin |title=Soccer and Society: South Wales, 1900-1939 |date=2002 |publisher=University of Wales Press |isbn=9780708317419 |page=156}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thepyramid.info/stats/updownyear.htm|title=The Pyramid.info: Promotion to/Relegation from the Football League by year|website=www.thepyramid.info|access-date=4 February 2019}}</ref> 

Aberdare's loss of their Football League place was controversial. In the first ballot, Aberdare and Southern League side Torquay, the latter having previously applied to join the League in 1923, tied with 21 each. That round of voting was marred by controversy as the potentially tie-breaking ballot was reported to be "spoilt" and Aberdare's secretary claimed that one of the scrutineers was "an interested party". Aberdare lost the second ballot with 19 votes to Torquay's 26; fellow League side Watford, who had finished second-bottom, were comfortably re-elected with 44 votes.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.nonleaguematters.co.uk/forum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=3506; |title=nonleaguematters – A history of admission to the Football League<!-- Bot generated title --> |access-date=12 January 2019 |archive-date=26 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180926224326/http://www.nonleaguematters.co.uk/forum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=3506; |url-status=dead }}</ref> The club now fully adopted the name "Aberdare & Aberaman Athletic", and rejoined the Southern League.

===Decline===
The club only survived for another season, and in 1928, the Aberaman faction split away to re-form Aberaman Athletic, while the Aberdare half folded. Aberdare & Aberaman Athletic was again re-formed in 1945, but that side also split in 1947. [[Aberdare Town F.C.]] continue to play in the [[Welsh Football League]] today.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.historicalkits.co.uk/Aberdare_Athletic/Aberdare_Athletic.htm|title=Aberdare Athletic - Historical Football Kits|website=www.historicalkits.co.uk|access-date=4 February 2019}}</ref>

==Managers==
The following were managers around the time the team was Football League side:
*[[William Lot]], June 1920&nbsp;– March 1922
*[[Frank Bradshaw]], May 1923&nbsp;– April 1924
*[[Sydney Beaumont]], 1924–1927
*[[Harry Hadley]], November 1927&nbsp;– April 1928

==History==
[[Welsh Football League]]
*Winners (4): 1904–05, 1908–09, 1911–12, 1920–21

==League and Cup history==
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"
|-
!scope=col rowspan=2|Season
!scope=col colspan=9|League record
!scope=col rowspan=2|[[FA Cup]]
!scope=col rowspan=2 class=unsortable|Notes
|-
!scope=col|Division
!scope=col|{{Abbr|P|Played}}
!scope=col|{{Abbr|W|Won}}
!scope=col|{{Abbr|D|Drawn}}
!scope=col|{{Abbr|L|Lost}}
!scope=col|{{Abbr|F|Goals for}}
!scope=col|{{Abbr|A|Goals against}}
!scope=col|{{Abbr|Pts|Points}}
!scope=col|{{Abbr|Pos|Position}}
|-
!scope=row|[[1921–22 Football League#Third Division South|1921–22]]
|Div 3 South
|42
|17
|10
|15
|57
|51
|44
|8th
|align=left|[[1921–22 FA Cup qualifying rounds|Extra preliminary round]]
|
|-
!scope=row|[[1922–23 Football League#Third Division South|1922–23]]
|Div 3 South
|42
|9
|11
|22
|42
|70
|29
|21st
|align=left|[[1922–23 FA Cup|First round]]
|[[Re-election (Football League)|Re-elected]]
|-
!scope=row|[[1923–24 Football League#Third Division South|1923–24]]
|Div 3 South
|42
|12
|14
|16
|45
|58
|38
|12th
|align=left|[[1923–24 FA Cup|First round]]
|
|-
!scope=row|[[1924–25 Football League#Third Division South|1924–25]]
|Div 3 South
|42
|14
|9
|19
|54
|67
|37
|18th
|align=left data-sort-value=FA|[[1924–25 FA Cup|Fourth qualifying round]]
|
|-
!scope=row|[[1925–26 Football League#Third Division South|1925–26]]
|Div 3 South
|42
|17
|8
|17
|74
|66
|42
|9th
|align=left|[[1925–26 FA Cup|Third round]]
|align=left|
|-
!scope=row|[[1926–27 Football League#Third Division South|1926–27]]
|Div 3 South
|42
|9
|7
|26
|62
|101
|25
|22nd
|align=left|[[1926–27 FA Cup|First round]]
|align=left bgcolor=#fdd|Failed [[Re-election (Football League)|re-election]]
|-class=sortbottom style="font-weight:bold"
!scope=row colspan=2|All-time league results:
|252
|78
|59
|115
|334
|413
|215
|
|
|}

==References==
<references/>
*{{cite book| author=Twydell, Dave| title=Rejected F.C.: Comprehensive histories of the ex-Football League clubs, Volume 1 | publisher=D. Twydell | year=1988 |isbn=0-9513321-0-4 }}

==External links==
*{{fchd|id=ABERDARA|name=Aberdare Athletic}}

{{Aberdare Athletic F.C.}}
{{Former Football League members}}
{{Football League clubs of Wales}}

[[Category:Aberdare Athletic F.C.| ]]
[[Category:English Football League clubs]]
[[Category:Defunct football clubs in Wales]]
[[Category:Southern Football League clubs]]
[[Category:Association football clubs established in 1893]]
[[Category:Association football clubs disestablished in 1928]]
[[Category:1893 establishments in Wales]]
[[Category:1928 disestablishments in Wales]]
[[Category:Sport in Aberdare]]
[[Category:South Wales League clubs]]
[[Category:Defunct Welsh football clubs in English leagues]]