Excelsior F.C. - more generally known as Newtown Excelsior - was an

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

club from

Newtown, Powys Newtown () is a town in Powys, Wales. It lies on the River Severn in the community of Newtown and Llanllwchaiarn, within the Historic counties of Wales, historic boundaries of Montgomeryshire. It was designated a New towns movement, new town in ...

, active in the 1879–80 season, and a progenitor club of the current Newtown club.

History

The club was formed in September 1879, as a merger between the Newtown and

White Stars ''The Dancers at the End of Time'' is a series of science fiction novels and short stories written by Michael Moorcock, the setting of which is the End of Time, an era "where entropy is king and the universe has begun collapsing upon itself". T ...

clubs, and "other clubs who would join them". Edward Morgan of Newtown was chosen as captain and Edward Gittins of White Stars as "sub-captain". Its first match was a 1–0 defeat at

Welshpool Welshpool ( ) is a market town and Community (Wales), community in Powys, Wales, historically in the Historic counties of Wales, county of Montgomeryshire. The town is from the Wales–England border and low-lying on the River Severn. The c ...

on 20 September. The merger however did not work as expected. Six of the players who played in the home win over

Oswestry Oswestry ( ; ) is a market town, civil parish and historic railway town in Shropshire, England, close to the England–Wales border, Welsh border. It is at the junction of the A5 road (Great Britain), A5, A483 road, A483 and A495 road, A495 ro ...

in October were former Newtown men; only two were White Stars regulars. Although Newtown F.C. lost its identity entirely, White Stars - who were, after all, Welsh Cup holders - still existed as a separate entity, and some of its players never joined the Excelsior, while other players (including Morgan) played for both. Excelsior entered the 1879–80 Welsh Cup, starting with a 6–0 win over

All Saints All Saints' Day is a Christian holiday. All Saints, All Saints Day or Feast of All Saints may also refer to: Art and entertainment * ''All Saints'' (film), a 2017 Christian drama film * ''All Saints'' (TV series), an Australian hospital drama * ...

Shrewsbury Shrewsbury ( , ) is a market town and civil parish in Shropshire (district), Shropshire, England. It is sited on the River Severn, northwest of Wolverhampton, west of Telford, southeast of Wrexham and north of Hereford. At the 2021 United ...

, but lost to

Ruthin Ruthin ( ; ) is a market town and community in Denbighshire, Wales, in the south of the Vale of Clwyd. The town, castle and St Peter's Square lie on a hill, skirted by villages such as Pwllglas and Rhewl. The name comes from the Welsh ''rhud ...

in the third round, at the Recreation Ground in

Rhosddu Rhosddu (; ) is a suburb and community in Wrexham County Borough, Wales, covering the north-western parts of the city of Wrexham and comprises the wards of Grosvenor, Garden Village and Stansty. At the 2011 Census, the population of the comm ...

. Excelsior opened the scoring with the first attack, but went down 4–2 after conceding two late goals. The week after the Cup defeat, Excelsior played White Stars, and lost by four goals, and one disputed, to nil. That seems to have been the end of the club, as at the start of the 1880–81 season, goalkeeper Hibbott, full-back D. Owen, and forwards W. Owens, Morgan, and Gittins were all playing for the White Stars. Those players, along with fellow Excelsior players J. Andrew (half-back), W. Andrew (right-wing) and George Woosnam (left-wing), were part of the White Star side which lost the

1881 Welsh Cup final The 1881 Welsh Cup Final, was the List of Welsh Cup finals, fourth in the association football, football Welsh Cup, competition. It was contested by Elements Cefn Druids A.F.C., Druids and Newtown A.F.C., Newtown White Star at the Racecourse Groun ...

Colours

The club wore black jerseys with a cardinal hoop, white knickers, and black stockings.

Ground

The club's ground was on Welshpool Road, half-a-mile from Newtown railway station, with the White Stars ground lying between the Excelsior ground and the station.

Notable players

Harry Hibbott Henry "Harry" Hibbott (July 1859 – 4 March 1933) was a Welsh international football goalkeeper who also played as a centre-forward. Club career Henry "Harry" Hibbott was born in July 1859 and he began his career with the Newtown Amateurs be ...

, goalkeeper: capped twice for Wales while an Excelsior player.

References

{{reflist Defunct football clubs in Wales Association football clubs established in 1879 1879 establishments in Wales 1880 disestablishments in the United Kingdom Association football clubs disestablished in 1880 Sport in Powys Newtown, Powys