Corsham Print
Wiltshire Senior League
Former Clubs
Sanford
Ground
British Rail/GWR Ground off Shrivenham Road.

Sanford played at the old British Rail/GWR Ground off Shrivenham Road, in their distinctive colours of black and red stripes. The pavilion at the ground had been opened in 1935 was a grand affair catering for a number of different sports including bowls, tennis and cricket as well as football. Sanford played at the ground for a number of years and those visiting players who played there will remember the large shared plunge bath in the dressing rooms.
Seasons in League (Number and period)
20 Seasons (1976-77 to 1995-96)

Status
Club Folded

League & Cup Honours (when in Wiltshire Senior League)
Division 1 Runners-up 1979-80
Division 1 Runners-up 1980-81
Ghia Senior Cup Runners-up 1981-82
Ghia Senior Cup Runners-up 1983-84
Division 1 Runners-up 1988-89
Ghia Senior Cup Runners-up 1988-89
Addkey Senior Cup Runners-up 1990-91
Division 1 Runners-up 1991-92

Club Notes
Perhaps one of Swindon’s greatest football sides that are no longer with us are Sanford. Having started in the Swindon & District League it was at the end of the 1960’s and early 1970’s that Sanford were to become the top side in the county with the prolific Tony Pike being their star player. Pike was later to become Club Secretary at Sanford whilst in our league.

Prior to the establishment of what is now the Wiltshire Senior League, Sanford had been in the Wiltshire Combination. They had been the very first champions of the newly formed Wiltshire Combination in Season 1968-69, winning the league from Melksham Town by achieving a better goal average after the two sides had finished level on 53 points. The title triumph was then to be repeated in the following two seasons as Sanford dominated the county game. Indeed, between 1968-69 and 1974-75 they would not finish outside the top four and whilst they were not to repeat their title winning performances in 1968-69 and 1969-70 they did finish runner-up for three consecutive seasons between 1972-73 and 1974-75. For a couple of seasons, they slipped down the table, but were never below 7th place. In cup competitions it is somewhat surprising that they never won the Wiltshire Senior Cup in this period, the closest they came was in 1971-72 when they lost in the final to Devizes Town

The formation of what is now the Wiltshire Senior League in 1976 saw Sanford continue to be one of the top sides in the county. Whilst they would not repeat their Combination title successes in the new Wiltshire County League they remained in the top division of the league throughout their 20-year residency. Their story in both the league and its cup competitions was to be one of just failing at the final hurdle, finishing league runners-up on four separate occasions, and losing four times in league knockout cup finals.
Season 1978-79 saw them finish second behind Amesbury. Sanford led going into the closing stages of the season. However, Amesbury, with games in hand, were always a threat to Sanford and by winning their games in hand and by winning their last six games with an average of four goals a game they finished three points ahead of Sanford.
Sanford were again in the title race the following season but again had to settle for second place, finishing five points behind champions Park. The following season, Season 1981-82, saw them slip to seventh place in the table but they did have their most successful cup run since that appearance in the Wiltshire Senior Cup final ten years earlier, making the final of the league’s Ghia Senior Cup. Once again though they had to settle for runners-up, losing 2-0 in the final to league champions Park.

By their own high standards, the following six league seasons were less successful, with a seventh-place finish in Season 1987-88 being their highest finish in that period. They did however make the Ghia Cup Final again in Season 1983-84 but lost 4-0 in the final to Wootton Bassett Town.

They were back challenging for league honours in 1988-89 but once again fell just short, finishing three points adrift of champions Ferndale Athletic. The same season saw them again make the final of the Ghia Senior Cup but once again they were to suffer defeat losing 2-1 in the final to Amesbury making it three defeats in three finals of the league’s Senior cup competition.

The next opportunity for honours came in Season 1989-90 as they once again made the final of the league’s Senior cup competition, now renamed the Addkey Senior Cup. Once again they came up against their nemesis Amesbury and unfortunately for Sanford it was another defeat in a cup final, as Amesbury won 3-1.

Their final honours as members of the league was when they were once again league runners-up in Season 1991-92, this time finishing an agonising one point behind champions Amesbury, who denied them league honours for a second time.

The highlight of their final four seasons in the league was a fifth-place finish in Season 1993-94 but the club was to fold both its sides at the end of the 1995-96 season.

Sanford as well as being successful in a playing sense also went about things properly as a Club reflected in the First Team winning the EC Mills Sportsmanship trophy in 1986-87 and club stalwart Tony Pike winning the Club Secretary of the Year award in Season 1995-96.

In 1997 British Rail sold the sports complex where Sanford had played, with the ground being purchased and earmarked for development . Unfortunately, the original plans, which had included a sports facility, were turned down and the land was eventually sold and developed by David Wilson Homes. David Wilson Homes donated the iconic gates that marked the entrance to the ground to Swindon’s STEAM Museum, for them to add to their existing collection of GWR memorabilia, ensuring that the memory of this much-loved and well-used space is not forgotten.

The name Sanford was given a brief revival when FC Sanford joined the Wiltshire Senior League but this was not the same club.

Team Record
For more information about the history of Sanford's iconic ground click HERE to go to the excellent Swindonweb website which has a more detailed history regarding the ground and other works grounds in Swindon.
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