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Chirk A.A.A. F.C. are one of the oldest clubs in Welsh soccer
history having being founded in 1876. Chirk are founder members of the F.A. of
Wales and to this day remain full members. Between 1886 and 1894, Chirk were
winners of the Welsh Senior Cup on no fewer than 5 occasions. In 1893, Chirk
again reached the final only to lose to Wrexham in a game played at Oswestry,
1894 was the last time that Chirk reached the final of this competition. Chirk
also featured in the English Cup. In 1887 and 1888 they were only 4 games away
from the final losing to Darwin and Derby respectively. The man behind the
villages success was T.E. Thomas, headmaster at Chirk School and a man reputed
to have introduced 49 future Welsh internationals to the game.
In 1894, Chirk, with the legendary BILLY MEREDITH in
their team, reached the semi-finals of both the Welsh Cup and English Amateur
Cup. Unfortunately the dates of both games clashed and the Welsh F.A. ordered
Chirk to play the Welsh Cup tie.
The early Chirk teams were mainly composed of miners from the two now closed
village coal mines. The Chirk sides soon gained the ‘Colliers’ nickname which
has lasted to the present day and is a fitting and proud link to our successful
past. The first half of the century saw Chirk win several domestic honors but
they failed to gain any success in the National competitions. However, in 1953,
Chirk won the Welsh Youth Cup beating Aberystwyth 2 – 1 in the second replay.
Many members of this side were playing when Chirk won the Welsh Amateur Cup for
the first time in 1959. They went on win this trophy on a further 2 occasions in
1960 and 1963.
During the last 2 decades, Chirk were League and Cup winners in Division 2 in
1978/79 also winning the Horace Wynn Cup. Manager John Green returned to the
club in 1983/84 to help Chirk win their first Division 1 Championship. Chirk
went 5 seasons until they lifted the Premier Division Cup under Graham Jones.
Club stalwart Roger Pearce was at the helm when Chirk again won the Premier
Division Cup in 1990/91. In 1995, the club almost folded. An extraordinary
meeting was convened and closure avoided, with a new committee being formed. The
1995/96 season saw the club consolidate its position in the Premier Division and
finish in a creditable 3rd position. The season’s main aim was to achieve
promotion to the Cymru Alliance League. Chirk achieved their aim by finishing
runners-up to champions Wrexham Colts. An added bonus to the season was the
capture of the inaugural Carlsberg Pub Cup Cymru. This magnificent trophy was
won in a thrilling 2 -l victory over Swansea side Bath Hotel to make Chirk
National Champions yet again. Chirk only stayed one season in the Cymru
Alliance, being relegated after finishing 3rd from bottom with 34 points – which
normally would ensure survival, but that season the Welsh F.A. were reducing the
number of teams in the Cymru Alliance and Chirk found themselves relegated.
On their return to the W. N. L, Chirk finished 4th in the whilst capturing the
league cup on the way. The 2001/02 season saw Chirk finish in a healthy 8th
position. A Reserve team under the guidance Paul Roberts, was introduced to the
Third Division where they finished runners up, gaining promotion to Division
Two, as well as being losing finalists in the Third Division Cup. The 2002/03
was a disappointment, we were knocked out of every cup competition in the first
round and finished in a poor 12th place, as well as having three first team
managers! The 03/04 campaign saw finish in 6th place, but the real highlight was
when we won the Premier Cup, the fourth time that we’ve lifted the trophy in 15
years!! Our Reserve side also gained promotion to Division One after finishing
in an impressive 3rd place. The 04/05 season saw Chirk finish ninth in the
Premier Division. Our reserve side exceeded all expectations by finishing 7th in
their first season in Division One and being losing finalists in the Division
One Cup.
In the 05/06 season we achieved our best league finish in nine campaigns to secure third place, we were also losing semi-finalists in both the Premier Cup and NEWFA Cup. Our reserve side was mainly made up of youth, so we decided to drop down two divisions to start life in Division Three. They did us proud by finishing fifth. Last season the first team finished 6th in the premier Division with the reserves going one better to finish 5th in Division Three. For the coming 07/08 campaign we are looking to build on our success as well as continuing to promote local youth. Under managers Dudley Hall, Mike Hughes and Leyton Collings we will hopefully be challenging for honours come next May.
