19/11/55: Colchester Utd (H) FAC R1

Lovell's Athletic was formed in 1918 by George Lovell, owner of a sweet business in Newport, South Wales. They played in a variety of leagues - including the Western, Southern and Welsh - until they were disbanded in 1969 following the sale of the business. Their ground was known as "Rexville" and the club won the Welsh Cup in 1948. In 1945/46 - when the FA Cup was played over two legs - Lovell's played Wolves and lost 2-4 and 1-8 (after beating Bournemouth in an earlier round).

Lovells would have been opposition for Torquay United in the Western League in the 1920s and - for our reserves - in the Southern League just after WW2.

On that day in 1955, Lovell's lost 7-1 at Leyton Orient, Dorchester 4-0 at Norwich and Yeovil lost to Aldershot after a second replay. Non league Peterborough beat Ipswich in front of nearly 21,000 at London Road and - as it's Ipswich - here's the programme cover:

No problem, Timbo. On the topic of FA Cup 1st round programmes I was going to put up the Chorley v Wolves games I saw at Bolton in 1986 but, after careful and considered reflection, I wouldn't want to stir up bad memories for one of the forum's newest members.

This was some league, wasn't it?

North Second Championship (December 25, 1944 to May 26, 1945)

1. Derby County FC 26 19 3 4 78 : 28 41
2. Everton FC 27 17 3 7 79 : 43 37
3. Liverpool FC 24 16 3 5 67 : 26 35
4. Burnley FC 26 15 3 8 56 : 36 33
5. Newcastle United FC 23 15 1 7 71 : 38 31
6. Aston Villa FC 25 14 2 9 70 : 45 30
7. Chesterfield Town FC 24 10 9 5 40 : 24 29
8. Wolverhampton Wanderers FC 24 11 7 6 45 : 31 29
9. Manchester United FC 22 13 3 6 47 : 33 29
10. Darlington FC 24 13 3 8 61 : 45 29
11. Bristol City FC 22 13 2 7 55 : 33 28
12. Blackburn Rovers FC 24 13 2 9 62 : 51 28
13. Huddersfield Town AFC 27 12 4 11 52 : 49 28
14. Wrexham AFC 22 10 7 5 55 : 36 27
15. Bolton Wanderers FC 23 11 5 7 52 : 35 27
16. Blackpool FC 24 12 3 9 58 : 42 27
17. Stoke City FC 23 12 2 9 67 : 42 26
18. Lovell's Athletic FC 19 12 2 5 44 : 27 26
19. Cardiff City AFC 20 12 2 6 41 : 27 26
20. Grimsby Town FC 21 10 6 5 51 : 37 26
21. Birmingham FC 24 9 7 8 38 : 34 25
22. Crewe Alexandra FC 23 11 3 9 50 : 50 25
23. Doncaster Rovers FC 20 11 2 7 44 : 26 24
24. Bradford Park Avenue AFC 22 10 4 8 49 : 39 24
25. Accrington Stanley FC 24 9 6 9 39 : 41 24
26. Barnsley FC 24 11 2 11 39 : 42 24
27. Rotherham United FC 20 10 3 7 41 : 37 23
28. Gateshead AFC 21 9 5 7 46 : 42 23
29. Preston North End FC 25 9 4 12 41 : 56 22
30. Sheffield United FC 24 9 3 12 56 : 48 21
31. Sunderland AFC 25 9 3 13 53 : 54 21
32. Leeds United AFC 22 9 3 10 53 : 55 21
33. Sheffield Wednesday FC 25 8 5 12 53 : 56 21
34. Leicester City FC 21 7 6 8 40 : 38 20
35. Bath City FC 20 10 0 10 50 : 48 20
36. Bury FC 20 8 4 8 38 : 43 20
37. York City FC 22 8 4 10 48 : 56 20
38. Chester FC 22 9 2 11 49 : 61 20
39. Bradford City AFC 20 8 3 9 43 : 46 19
40. West Bromwich Albion FC 22 6 7 9 39 : 44 19
41. Hartlepool FC 21 8 3 10 34 : 54 19
42. Coventry City FC 21 6 6 9 36 : 53 18
43. Nottingham Forest FC 17 5 7 5 23 : 25 17
44. Tranmere Rovers AFC 23 8 1 14 40 : 56 17
45. Halifax Town AFC 18 6 5 7 22 : 35 17
46. Lincoln City FC 17 6 4 7 42 : 51 16
47. Manchester City FC 19 7 2 10 32 : 43 16
48. Northampton Town FC 14 6 3 5 23 : 30 15
49. Oldham Athletic AFC 21 7 1 13 39 : 56 15
50. Stockport County FC 19 7 0 12 31 : 50 14
51. Middlesbrough FC 24 6 2 16 40 : 73 14
52. Walsall FC 18 5 3 10 24 : 33 13
53. Swansea Town FC 20 6 1 13 42 : 63 13
54. Port Vale FC 21 5 2 14 27 : 60 12
55. Mansfield Town FC 12 5 1 6 22 : 38 11
56. Hull City AFC 18 5 1 12 30 : 54 11
57. Rochdale FC 20 4 3 13 17 : 49 11
58. Southport FC 22 3 3 16 33 : 82 9
59. Notts County FC 21 4 0 17 29 : 62 8
60. Aberaman FC 17 2 2 13 36 : 69 6

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