Nantwich Town Football Club
Nantwich Football Club was formed in 1884, joining the Cheshire Football Association that year and playing its first competitive match in December 1884 - a Cheshire Senior Cup tie at Bollington White Star.
Nicknamed the Dabbers, the club has been in continued existence since then, though was inactive during the two World Wars. The suffix 'Town' was commonly used before being officially added to the club name in 1973.
After foundation, the club played friendly and cup matches before joining the Shropshire & District League in 1891.
A summary of the club's passage through history can be viewed at the excellent Football Club History Database (opens in new tab).
the DABBERSarchive
The goal of this website is to preserve the heritage of the club, and pay tribute to the players who have served it from inception to the present day. The seeds of it were planted back in 1979 when I first produced the club's matchday programme and, with no club records or history to refer to, I started the path of research which has proved a long and winding road to this site! I must honour three Nantwich servants (the 'holy trinity') who inspired me all those years ago but are sadly no longer with us - Jack Lindop, Neville Clarke and Albert Pye. This site is dedicated to their memory.
Since then, there have been very many people who have contributed information which is presented here and I am grateful to you all. A shout out, also, to another Dabber trio in Dave Cooke, Clive Jackson and Ian Garnett for their encouragement over the years. Thanks, too, for the assistance given by many club historians who have embarked upon similar voyages of historical discovery for their own beloved clubs, especially Jeremy Sayle (Ashton United), Geoff Knights (Macclesfield Town), Ryan Lewis (Radcliffe) and Phil Chadwick (Witton Albion).
A particular debt of gratitude is owed to Andy Mills (WrexhamAFCarchive) for all his kind assistance and technical support in setting up this site.
Copyright & Fair Use
This website exists purely for informational purposes and no financial gain is made from it whatsoever. A massive amount of time and effort has been put into it, so should you wish to use any of the content then please acknowledge the DABBERSarchive as your source.
Many thanks also to everyone who has supplied images that are used on this site. A particular mention to the Dabbers' club photographers over the years, notably Phil Johnson, Neil Southern, Simon Newbury and Jonathan White, for all their excellent work and also to the local press, particularly The Chronicle and The Sentinel, for the wonderful coverage they have afforded over the decades which has been a major source in cataloging the club's history. If you are aware of any issues with an image used on the DABBERSarchive which you believe may be protected by copyright, please drop an email to retrodabbers@outlook.com and it will be credited as appropriate, or taken down if necessary. Thanks.
Line-ups & Player Profiles
For statisticians out there, a word about data included. There are some seasons when Nantwich appearance stats are not complete - notably late 1980s and late 1990s. In addition, some 'Lineups' included are provisional. These were published prior to the match in the local press or match programme and while verification is still being sought, they are indicated in a match Lineup by player/s not being allocated a shirt number. However whilst data may not be exhaustive, by including the information that is available, the 'Nantwich Career Summary' provides an insight into the player's career with the Dabbers.
Where a player is known to have made first team appearances for other clubs, this is incorporated into their 'Biography' in brackets after the club name. 65/66 indicates a single season. Multiple seasons are denoted by 1967-70 (ie 67/68, 69/70 & 70/71 seasons). The player may have appeared for the club for more than the known season/s indicated. Where known, appearances in league and cup are noted. Appearances as a substitute are indicated after a + sign, if a breakdown is available. Goals scored are recorded after a comma. If the data is recorded for league matches only, 'lge' is stated.
Example: Witton Albion (2015-17: 79+6,2) shows the player appeared for Witton during the 2015/16, 16/17 & 17/18 seasons, making a total of 79 starts and 6 substitute appearances, scoring 2 goals in league and cup competitions.
and Finally
Data and information included on this site have been obtained from a wide range of sources. In particular, local libraries have been of great assistance, while a family of excellent football history websites constructed by dedicated club enthusiasts has proved invaluable. These include the following - click on link to open in new tab:
Ashton United
Buxton
Chester
FC United of Manchester
Hyde United
Kidsgrove Athletic
Leek Town
Macclesfield Town
Mossley
Southport
Stalybridge Celtic
Warrington Town
Wigan Athletic
Witton Albion
Wrexham
> Apologies for any data included on the DABBERSarchive that is not accurate. Please email retrodabbers@outlook.com to advise any corrections or additional material.
This site is an evolving work in progress with some data subject to validation
LATEST
Post-war data now live for competitive matches.
STILL TO LOAD
Friendly results & scorers
Pre-war results, scorers, line-ups & bios