Torquay United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Torquay, Devon, England. The team currently compete in the National League South, the sixth level of the English football league system. They have played their home matches at Plainmoor since 1921 and are nicknamed "The Gulls". The club's primary colours are yellow and blue.
Founded in 1899, the club first entered the East Devon League. They went on to win the Torquay & District League in 1908–09, the Plymouth & West Devon League 1911–12, and were admitted into the Football League in 1927 after claiming the Southern League title and second-place in the Western League in 1926–27. They remained in the Third Division South for the next 31 years and were promoted out of the Fourth Division at the end of the 1959–60 season, though were relegated after two seasons in the Third Division. Torquay were again promoted in 1965–66, only to suffer another relegation six years later. They survived re-election votes after last place finishes in the Fourth Division in 1985 and 1986.
Torquay gained promotion after winning the Fourth Division play-offs in 1991, having been losing finalists in 1988. Relegated in 1992, they lost another play-off final in 1998, before securing automatic promotion in 2003–04. They lasted just one season in League One and were relegated out of the Football League after finishing bottom of League Two in 2007. Torquay lost the 2008 FA Trophy final, but won the 2009 Conference play-off final. They spent five seasons in League Two, missing out in the play-offs in 2011 and 2012, before losing their Football League status for a second time with a last place finish in 2014. Torquay were relegated from the National League in 2018, but secured immediate promotion after winning the National League South in 2018–19. At the end of the 2022–23 season, Torquay were relegated back to the National League South and less than a year later, in April 2024, went into administration.
History
Formation and early years (1899–1912)
The original Torquay United was formed in 1899 by a group of school-leavers under the guidance of Sergeant-Major Edward Tomney.[2][3] The newly founded club played its inaugural match against an Upton Cricket Club XI on one of local farmer, John Wright's fields, situated at the top of Penny's Hill, on Teignmouth Road. After a season of friendlies the club joined the East Devon League and moved into the Recreation Ground, their home for the next four years. Plainmoor at the time was occupied by Torquay Athletic Rugby Club in what is a reversal of the modern day situation. In 1904 Athletic secured the lease on the Recreation Ground from United, with League rivals Ellacombe taking over the lease of Plainmoor, leaving United homeless for the first time in their existence – facilitating a return to the farmer's fields on Teignmouth Road.
However the club was on the move once more when the fields were sold to be developed into what would later be known as Parkhurst Road. United soon found another home, sharing with Torquay Cricket Club in nearby Cricketfield Road (a site still used for football in the modern day by South Devon League side Upton Athletic F.C.) for four years. It was during this time that they won their first honour; the 1909 Torquay and District League title.
Crest and colours
Crest
Torquay's initial crest was based heavily on the town's coat of arms, featuring a three-masted ship, to represent the region's longstanding association with shipping, it also displayed a castled gateway and the golden wings were to represent wings of the local seagulls. The crest remained in use until the mid eighties, with one change in the 1970s to incorporate the 'gulls wings' emblem which is familiar today. That meant, however, that the three-masted ship was removed from the design.
During an unsuccessful spell on the pitch during the 1980s, during which time the club finished bottom of the Football League system twice, the emblem was switched to a circular design incorporating two palm trees. In 1986, the club chose to go back to the gull emblem, encircled by the club name.[46] In the years that followed multiple versions of this crest were produced, so in 2017 the badge was refreshed to 'unify' these multiple versions and produce a cleaner, more modern design.[47]
Colours
Torquay United went through various team colours before settling on the familiar yellow and blue of today. In the club's formative days they played in a light and dark blue kit, before switching to a black and white striped kit reminiscent of a modern-day
Stadium
Early years and Plainmoor
United played their first game, a friendly, against an Upton Cricket Club XI on one of farmer John Wright's fields, which was situated at the top of Penny's Hill, on Teignmouth Road. After a season of friendlies the club joined the East Devon League and moved to the Recreation Ground, which was to be their home for the following four years. In 1904 Torquay Athletic Rugby Football Club secured the lease of the Recreation Ground (it remains their home today) and United moved back to the Teignmouth Road site, but again was forced to move when the field was sold to developers to build Parkhurst Road. At the time Torquay Cricket Club were located nearby in Cricketfield Road, and so this site was United's next home.
The club remained in Cricketfield Road for four years. In 1910 United merged with Ellacombe to become Torquay Town. Ellacombe's Plainmoor ground became the home of the new club, and the shared home of local rivals Babbacombe. Torquay Town and Babbacome finally merged and became Torquay United (again) in 1921. The club has remained at Plainmoor ever since. On 17 May 1985, a fire swept through the then fifty-year-old main stand 'The Grandstand', just six days after a fire at Valley Parade Stadium in Bradford, in which over fifty people lost their lives.[49] This incident occurred in the early hours of the morning, and nobody was injured. After initially suspecting that this could have been a copycat arson of the Bradford City stadium fire, eventual cause was attributed to an electrical fault, the ground's capacity fell to below 5,000.
Players
Current squad
Out on Loan
Notable former players
Management
Coaching
Managerial history
Records and statistics
Notable purchases
Notable sales
- Highest ever league position: 2nd in Third Division South (level 3, what is now League 1), 1956–57
- Best FA Cup performance: Fourth round, 1948–49, 1954–55, 1970–71, 1982–83, 1989–90, 2008–09, 2010–11[54]
- Best League Cup performance: Third round, 1967–68, 1971–72, 1975–76, 1976–77[55]
- Best League Trophy performance: Finalists, 1988–89
- Best FA Trophy performance: Runners-up, 2007–08[54]
Honours
Source:[57]
League
Cup
- Fourth Division / Third Division (level 4, what is now League 2)
- Promoted: 1959–60, 1965–66, 2003–04
- Play-off winners: 1990–91
- Conference (National League) (level 5)
- Play-off winners: 2008–09
- National League South (level 6)
- Champions: 2018–19
- Southern League (Western Division)
- Champions: 1926–27
External links
- Torquay United – official club website
- Torquay United Fans – unofficial forum
References
- History of Torquay United BBC Devon, 13 November 2014, retrieved 2 August 2016^
- Torbay Council. 31 December 2012. Retrieved 19 December 2012. Torquay United retrieved 19 December 2012^
- Search for Edward Tomney Painting