1884
- Wycombe Wanderers Football Club was founded by a group of young furniture
makers.
1989-90 - The team, who played on the Rye, were offered
free use of a room for changing at The Nag's Head pub - now The Pride
- opposite the Rye and this became their headquarters.
1895 - The club moved to Loakes Park, a site near Wycombe
Hospital which sported a pitch with an infamous 11ft slope (pictured right).
1896 - The team enters the Southern League Division
Two
1902 - Wycombe win their first trophy - the Berks &
Bucks Senior Cup
1908 - The club switched to the Great Western Suburban
League
1919-20 - The team win the Spartan League two years
in a row
1921 - The club joins the Isthmian League
1930-31
- Wycombe beat Hayes 1-0 at Highbury to win the FA Amateur Cup in front
of 32,000 people. Ten thousand people lined the streets of Wycombe to
welcome back the team (pictured) at the train station. They are (from
left): Back row - Trainer G Harris, S Crump, J E Kipping, R S Cox and
R J Gardner (hon gen secretary). Middle - C Simmons, W Brown, D S Vernon,
F C Braisher and A T Britnell (who scored). Front - (inset) A Greenwell,
G Tapping, L R Badrick, J Timberlake (captain) and (inset) F Rance.
1947 - Team captain Frank Adams bought Loakes Park and
donated the ground to the club to secure the future of football in High
Wycombe.
1955-57 - Wycombe become champions of the Isthmian League
two years in a row.
1957
- Wycombe play at Wembley in front of 90,000 in the FA Amateur Cup Final.
It was a memorable day for the town. The Blues lost 1-3 to Bishop Auckland.
The 1956/57 squad pictured are: Back row (from left) - Cann (manager)
G Truett, Lawson, Wicks, Syrett, J Truett, Moring, Westley (capt), Hayter
(hon gen sec). Front - Worley, Trott, Bates, Tomlin, Smith, Atkins.
1960 - Wycombe acheive a record 10-0 defeat
of Ilford in the Isthmian League at Loakes Park.
1968
- 76 - Wycombe begin a strong run in the Isthmian League under
the direction of successful new manager Brian Lee. They finished as runners
up 1969-70, winners in 70-71 and 71-72, fourth in 72-73, winners again
in 73-74 and 74-75 and runners up in 75-76 and 76-77. Pictured left is
the team from 1976. Notable faces include the club's all-time top scorer
Tony Horseman (back row, third from right) and newly-appointed manager
Ted Powell (back row, left)
1982-83 - Wycombe win the Isthmian League again.
1984 - Wycombe celebrate their centenary year.
1985-86
- Wycombe win promotion to the top non-league GM Vauxhall Conference League
but only survive one season. But they do win the Hitachi League Cup.
1986 - It was announced in January that Loakes Park
would be sold for redevelopment and a new ground would be built somewhere
in the town. The old ground was not suitable for promotion to the Football
League.
1986-87 - Wycombe are again promoted to the GM Vauxhall
Conference League after winning the Isthmian League convincingly, with
103 goals and 32 victories under the management of Alan Gane (pictured).
He resigned shortly before the start of the next season partly due to
a changing situation at work and partly due to a dispute with the chairman
over some proposed signings.
1989 - Work begins on levelling the site of the new
football ground - Adams Park.
1990 - After an uneventful spell in the GM Vauxhall
Conference, Martin O'Neill became the new manager and kick-started the
club most successful period He won his first trophy, the Bucks and Berks
Senior Cup, after just two months.
1991 - The club moves to the new ground - Adams Park
in Sands, with a capacity of 6,000. It now holds 9,649.
1991-92 - A great season for Wycombe. The club enjoys
one of the greatest days in its history on May 11, when The Blues beat
Kidderminster 2-1 at Wembley to win the FA Trophy Final in front of 34,000
supporters.
The team also won the league cup, the Bob Lord Tropy. But
they were pipped at the post in the league by old rivals Colchester, on
goal difference.
1992-93 - Another great season saw Wycombe win the FA
Trophy at Wembley again - 4-1 against Runcorn. Some 28,000 people from
Wycombe travelled to see the match. But the greatest achievement was winning
the league title by a record 15 points and so earning promotion to the
Football League. Wycombe Wanderers became the first team from Buckinghamshire
to do so.
1993-94
- O'Neill dramatically turned down the offer of the manager's job at Nottingham
Forest, having already said no to other clubs. He said he wanted to take
Wycombe to the Premier League. One by one, the part-time players become
full-time. They won promotion to the second division via the play-offs
when Wycombe beat Preston North End 4-2.
1994-95 - Wycombe enjoyed record attendances this season
with the average league gate at 5,856. A record crowd of 9,007 at Adams
Park saw Wycombe lose 0-2 to West Ham in the 3rd round of the F A Cup.
The team finished sixth in Division two - the highest position in its
history.
1995 - Wycombe's most effective manager Martin O'Neill
decides to accept an offer to coach Norwich City, to the great disappointment
of the Blue Army. He is replaced by ex-Crystal Palace boss Alan Smith.
1995-96
- Attendances dropped as Alan Smith's style of football was not welcomed
by many fans. In September 1996, a new £2m 5,000 seater stand is officially
opened featuring a family stand and 20 executive boxes.
1996-97 - After a dreadful run of games, Alan Smith
is asked to resign by chairman Ivor Beeks and is replaced by Aston Villa's
assistant manager John Gregory. He steered the team away from relegation
having been at the bottom end of the table all season. Attendance figures
started to rise as the Blues began to play attractive football again.
1998 - In February, John Gregory was offered the manager's
job at Aston Villa and couldn't refuse such an opportunity. Youth team
manager Neil Smillie took over as caretaker manager until the end of the
season and managed to take 20 points from a possible 36.
1998-99 - Neil Smillie is appointed full-time manager
but only managed to gain three points from the first 12 games. He struggled
on until January 1999 before being sacked.
1999-2000 - Former Wimbledon player Lawrie Sanchez was
appointed manager and turned the team's fortunes around. He helped steer
them away from relegation and made many changes to the squad. The side
finished 12th at the end of the season.
2003-2004 - Lawrie Sanchez is replaced by former England and Arsenal
captain Tony Adams in October 2003 - taking his first job in football
management. A run of luck fizzled out and the season ended with the Blues'
only demotion in their Football League history with relegation to Division
Three.
2004- Tony Adams wields the axe, shedding Captain Michael Simpson,
Dannie Bulman, Chris Vinnicombe, Steve Brown, Scott Marshall and Darren
Currie from the team. Wycombe Wanderers begin the 2004-2005 season in
Division Three.
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