Burton United
Formed 1871. Wound up in 1910
Founder member of Division Two 1892. Failed re-election 1907
Kit History
Burton Swifts
Formed 1871
1871-1880
c1880 j
1880-1886
1886-1887 m
1888-1890 h n
1890-1894 a d o q
1894-1897 a d p
1897-1901 a d
Burton United
Formed by merger of Burton Swifts and Burton Wanderers 1901
1901-1902 d
1902-1903 a d
1903-1904 a i
1904-1905 d e
1905-1906 g l
1906-1907 d f
Background
Formed originally as Outward Star, the club adopted the name Burton
Swifts in 1873. There are no records of their early colours but around 1880 they wore red and blue and in 1888-89 the extract of club accounts gave their colours as chocolate and blue.
"The Swallows" joined the Combination in 1890 and the following year they joined the Football Alliance. The Alliance clubs were incorporated into the Football League in 1892 as Division Two. After a promising start, Swifts generally finished on the lower half of the table and in 1897 they were forced to apply for re-election along with their neighbours, Burton Wanderers. Wanderers lost their place while the Swifts lived to fight another day but in 1901 they finished bottom and had to apply once again for re-election. Prior to the crucial meeting, it was agreed that the Swifts and Wanderers should merge and it was as Burton United that the club was re-elected.
Results did not improve, however, and United faced re-election in 1905, 1906 and 1907, when the patience of the League clubs ran out and United lost their place. United then entered teams in the Birmingham & District League as well as the Southern League but their fortunes did not improve. In 1910, after finishing last in the Birmingham & District League and next to last in the Southern League, United folded.
Despite their relatively short career, the Burton clubs sported a motley array of strips, including (in 1904-05) green and "Indian Red" (ie chestnut) shirts followed by brown/light blue shirts in their final two seasons.
There is no connection with the modern Burton Albion club.
Sources
- (a) Association of Football Statisticians - provided by Pete Wyatt
- (b) Club Colours (Bob Bickerton 1998)
- (d) Rejected FC (Dave Twydell 1989) - information provided by Pete Wyatt.
- (e) British Film Institute Archive (Youtube)
- (f) Simon Monks
- (g) Richard Essen
- (h) greyhoundderby.com
- (i) Athletic News (18 January 1904) submitted by Kingsley (Wrexham AFC)
- (j) Lost Teams of the Midlands (Mike Bradbury 2013)
- (k) Athletic News (23 May 1892) submitted by Alick Milne
- (l) Athletic News (4 December 1905) submitted by Alick Milne
- (m) Burton Chronicle (28 April 1887) submitted by Alick Milne
- (n) Burton Chronicle (4 September 1890) submitted by Alick Milne
- (o) Sheffield Evening Telegraph (3 November 1890) Athletic News (23 May 1892) submitted by Alick Milne
- (p) Burton Chronicle (various reports November 1892-1897) submitted by Alick Milne
- (q) Athletic News (13 February 1893) submitted by Dave Wherry
- (r) Athletic News (23 October 1893) submitted by Dave Wherry
Newspaper cuttings retrieved from the British Newspaper Archives