Torpoint Athletic

Story

Torpoint Athletic F.C. are a football club based in Torpoint, Cornwall, England, in the UK. They play in the.HistoryPlayers within the club wanted to compete at a higher level and Torpoint applied to join the South Western League. The club has been a member of this league ever since. Season 1962/63 saw Torpoints’ first campaign in the league. The club was fortunate to have many local players within the team John Bolton, Lou Dearden, Ben Lines, Malcolm Prout, Gary Selley and Barry Stephens. In addition there was also Brain Mallett and Mike Waterfield who moved to Torpoint to live.Torpoint returned to the winning ways of the pre war years winning the South Western League Championship on two occasions 1964/65 and 1966/67. The club won the Charity Cup on three occasions 1966, 1967 and 1968. Torpoint Athletic lost in the final of the South Western League Cup in 1965/66 and the Cornwall Senior Cup in 1967/68. The club competed in the FA Amateur Cup reaching the second round on several occasions. In this competition the club played teams from the London Athenian League and the Isthmian League. Some of the teams they played were Corinthian Casuals, Cray Wanderers, Harwich and Parkstone, Leyton (twice) and Walton and Hersham (three times).Altogether eleven enjoyable years were spent at Defiance Field. The ground had an end to end slope with good playing surface that encouraged good football. The support was good with crowds often of over a thousand watching matches, especially during the Amateur Cup runs. However, it was always a wish of the club to return to what many considered to be the traditional home of local football in Torpoint "The Mill". In 1970 the option to buy "The Mill" was offered to the club.The committee led by Chairman Mr Reg. Devonshire and Secretary Keith Lillyman formed the "Two Hundred Club". This weekly and monthly draw helped the club raise the finance required. In 1971 Torpoint Athletic purchased "The Mill". The grand opening of the pitch took place on Wednesday August 11, 1971. Torpoint Athletic played a County Eleven losing the match by three goals to two.The move back to its traditional home did not bring a host of trophies. In 1972/73 they lost one nil to Wadebridge Town in the Cornwall Charity Cup. Torpoint finished third in 1977/78 and fourth in 1978/79. George Preece won the clubs’ award for most goals in both seasons.