Halesowen Town Football Club History
Formed in 1873, Halesowen Town Football Club is one of the oldest in the country and as far as records show, they have always played at their current home The Grove. The first competition of any standing the club appeared in was the Birmingham Combination and they remained members of that league until 199 without winning any major honours.
In 1946 they joined the reformed Birmingham and District League, later to be renamed the West Midlands League. With only 10 teams competing, they won the league championship at the first attempt. However, honours were few and far between though they did win the Worcestershire Senior Cup in 1952 and again in 1962 defeating Hednesford Town and Kidderminster Harriers respectively. In 1955 they reached the First R Round of the F.A.Cup for the first time. A crowd of over 5000 packed The Grove to see The Yeltz lose 4-2 to Hendon, then one of the leading amateur clubs in the country.
Halesowen, nicknamed The Yeltz, saw more success in the 1980’s and between 1982-83 and 1985-86 won four successive West Midland League titles. Added to that string of successes, there were league cup wins in 1983 against Hednesford Town and 1985 against Oldswinford.
It was however the F.A.Vase that finally put Halesowen on the football map, and the first of three Wembley appearances came in 1983 when they lost to a solitary goal to fellow West Midland League rivals V.S.Rugby. Two years later thy returned to the Twin Towers and this time success was theirs when a 3-1 victory over Fleetwood from the North West Counties League saw them lift the Vase. A year later the Yeltz retained the Vase when they comfortably defeated Vauxhall Opal League side Southall 3-0 in front of a crowd of 18,234. Some consolation for the defeat against V.S.Rugby was close at hand, for one week after the final Halesowen won the Thorn EMI 6 a side tournament beating Heybridge Swifts in the final, winning a set of floodlights for The Grove. The eight pylons stood until they were replaced in 2002 with the most up to date lights available consisting of 4 pylons and costing in excess of £65,000.
Success was also forthcoming in the F A Cup and in season 1985-86 the first round proper was reached when they earned a draw at Gola League side Frickley Athletic before losing the replay at The Grove. This was the first of seven successive seasons Halesowen reached this stage of the competition. and in 1986-87 they lost to Fourth Division side Southend United at Roots Hall. The following season they were drawn against local rivals Kidderminster Harriers and after a 2-2 draw at The Grove lost the replay 4-0 at Aggborough. Two more league clubs were visited, in 1988-89 they lost to Brentford 2-0 after being exempt until the Fourth Qualifying Round for the first time and in 1989-90 they travelled to Cardiff City just failing by 1-0. Season 1990-91 saw then draw Football League opposition for the first time at The Grove. Tranmere Rovers were the visitors and Town lost 2- despite taking an early lead. In 1991-92 GM Vauxhall Conference side Farnborough Town visited The Grove and following a 2-2 draw Yeltz went down 4-0 in the replay. Limited success followed in the F A Cup but season 2004-05 saw them reach the First Round gain narrowly losing 2-1 to Ryman League side Yeading.
In local senior Competitions Halesowen had wins in the Birmingham Senior Cup in 1984 when they defeated Dudley Town at Molineux and again in 1998 when they defeated Redditch United. The Staffordshire Senior Cup was won in 1989 when they beat Sutton Coldfield Town by 6-1 on aggregate. The Worcestershire Senior Cup was won in 2003 when they beat Evesham United and again in 2005 when Studley Town were beaten in the final. Last season they reached the final for the third time in four years but lost to Moor Green.
The clubs first season in the Southern League was in 1986-87 and it proved to be fairly successful with the team finishing 5th in the Midland Division. The League Title was won in 1989-90 and promotion to the Southern League Premier Division was achieved. 1995-96 was the most successful season when they finished runners up with 92 points just failing to gain promotion to the Football Conference.
Season 2001-02 saw the club relegated after eleven seasons in the Premier Division but they bounced straight back winning the Western Division Championship the following season. However, just one season later they were relegated again. Season 2003-04 saw Halesowen finish fourth in the Western Division and gain promotion to the newly re-structured Premier Division where they finished in 9th position in season 2004-05. Last season they finished 6th.
Several Halesowen Town players have left The Grove to join Football League clubs in recent years. Dean Spink was transferred to Aston Villa and Stuart Cash moved to Nottingham Forest. In May 1990 Andrew Pearce was transferred to Coventry City and then onto Sheffield Wednesday for £500,000. Goalkeeper Tim Clarke signed for Coventry City in October 1990 and Sean Flynn completed a trio of players going to Coventry when he signed for them in November 1991.Dean Stokes moved to Port Vale in January 1993 and one month later Frankie Bennett became a Southampton player. Evron Wright moved to Walsall in August 1993 before returning and becoming a prolific goal scorer for the Yeltz. Julian Alsop signed for Bristol Rovers in February 1997. A record fee was received for Jim Rodwell when he was sold to Rushden and Diamonds in August 1996 for £40,000.