St Austell Aug 31_Layout 1 23/08/2013 10:55 Page 4
Today’s
visitors
AFC St. Austell
The teams from Looe and Torpoint
were dominant in the 1920s, with Looe
reaching the final five times and
Torpoint three.
On Friday,
September 12, 1890
the following notice
appeared in the St Austell Star
newspaper:
The eleven seasons between 1928/29
and 1938/39 saw the Club achieve
great success. The Senior Cup Final was
contested by St Austell six times,
winning it twice.
“All lovers of football are requested to
attend a meeting at the Queens Head
Hotel on Wednesday evening next at
8pm for the purpose of electing
officers for the rugby club and if
possible to form an Association club, it
is hoped that a large number will
attend”
The Cornwall Charity Cup was won in
1932 and in 1939 the team won the
Cornwall Senior Cup.
Following the Second World War the
Club’s success continued. During these
times the crowds flocked to Poltair
Park, with 15,000 present to see the
team victorious over Penzance in the
1949 Senior Cup final.
At that meeting St Austell AFC was
formed.
It was further announced in the paper
on October 3, that a field had been
obtained for the season at Hillhead
opposite Rocky Park.
The decision to join the newly formed
South Western League in the 1951/52
season was perhaps the most
important move ever made by the
Club.
This location was the Club’s home for
the first few years before moving to the
present ground at the turn of the 20th
century.
The formation of this new ‘professional
league’ tempted six Cornish clubs away
from the amateur county
competitions.
The first trophy to be won by St
Austell was the Cornwall Charity cup
in 1908. This was followed by
successful seasons prior to the First
World War with the club winning the
Senior Cup for three consecutive years
as well as the Charity Cup, for the
second time in 1914.
Unlike the County competitions the
new league did not include the radius
rule which meant that players living
more than 10 miles from Poltair Park
could now play for the Lilywhites.
After the war the team got