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History of Basingstoke Football Club

There is little doubt that football was being played in the Basingstoke area in the early 1890's, but it wasn't until 1896 that a Basingstoke Town club was formed from Aldworth United and Basingstoke Albion. In 1901 the club entered the Hampshire League, and in 1909 the local Hants Ironworks team merged with the 'Town' club. This merger produced dividends, with title success in 1911/12 and 1919/20. After playing at a couple of grounds in the area, the club moved to its present site in 1946. The ground is named after its benefactor, the late Lord Camrose.

The sixties were the beginning of a more successful period for the Camrose club, finishing as runners-up in 1965/66 and again the following season. It was third time lucky in 1967/68 when the Hampshire League was won. After being runners-up again in 1968/69, they won back to back titles in 1969/70 and 1970/71. The latter came without a league defeat, and the Hampshire Senior Cup was won for the first time.

The club joined the Southern League in 1971/72 and finished eighth in their first season. The highlight was reaching the FA Cup 1st Round for the first time. A then record attendance of 3,400 saw Northampton Town win 5 - 1 at the Camrose.

In 1984/85 the club won the Southern League Southern Division, without losing a home game. A couple of years later, in the Premier Division, the club had the chance to move across to the Isthmian League. It was a disastrous first season as the club was relegated, but the following year promotion was achieved with a last day victory at Southwick, and for the first time the club reached the FA Trophy 1st Round, losing at Kettering after a replay.

The following year saw more cup success as the club reached the 2nd round of the FA Cup for the first time. A crowd of over 4,000 saw Torquay Utd win 3 - 2.

The next few seasons were a struggle and in 1993/94 the club suffered relegation. After two years in Division One, the club had only another Senior Cup to show for its efforts. In 1996/97 promotion was achieved as runners-up and another appearance in the Senior Cup saw a second successive 2 - 0 win over Waterlooville.

The 1997/98 season became the club's most memorable to date, with FA Cup success over Wycombe Wanderers. After a 2 - 2 draw at Adams Park, the team won the replay on penalties after another thrilling 2 - 2 draw at the Camrose. A new record attendance of 5,085 saw this remarkable result as in both games Basingstoke had trailed at every occasion.