Yeovil Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Yeovil in Somerset, England. The team compete in the National League South, the sixth tier of the English football league system. The club's home ground is Huish Park, built in 1990 on the site of an old army camp. That stadium is named after their former home, Huish, known for its pitch, which had an sideline to sideline slope. The club's nickname "the Glovers" is a reference to the history of glove-making in the town of Yeovil, which became a centre of the industry during the 18th and 19th centuries.
Founded in 1895, the club initially joined the Somerset Senior League and competed in a multitude of leagues up until the outbreak of World War II. During this time they won titles in the Southern League, Western League, Bristol Charity League, Dorset District League and Somerset Senior League. They played in the Southern League after the war ended, winning the championship in 1954–55, 1963–64 and 1970–71, before becoming members of the Alliance Premier League from 1979 to 1985. They spent the next three years in the Isthmian League, and were promoted into the Conference after finishing as champions in 1987–88. Relegated in 1995, they were promoted again two years later after winning another Isthmian League title. Yeovil won the 2002 FA Trophy Final and secured a place in the Football League after winning the Conference in 2002–03 under the stewardship of Gary Johnson. They then won the League Two title in 2004–05, before reaching the Championship with victory in the 2013 Football League One play-off final in Johnson's second spell as manager. However they suffered consecutive relegations, and were relegated once more following the 2018–19 season, ending their 16-season spell in the Football League.
Yeovil are one of the most successful non-league teams in the FA Cup, having defeated major Football League teams, most famously Sunderland in the fourth round in 1949, before going on to play in front of more than 81,000 spectators away at Manchester United in the next round. For some years, as the only Football League side in Somerset, they have had few local rivalries since Weymouth and Bath City declined simultaneously as Yeovil climbed the divisions in the 1990s and 2000s.
History
Non-League football
Yeovil Football Club was founded in 1890, and shared its ground with the local rugby club for many years. Five years later, the current club was founded and named Yeovil Casuals and started playing home games at the Pen Mill Athletic Ground. In 1907 the name Yeovil Town was adopted, which on amalgamation with Petters United became Yeovil and Petters United. The name reverted to Yeovil Town before the 1946–47 season.
The club came to national attention as 'giant-killers' during the 1948–49 FA Cup, in which they defeated Sunderland 2–1 in the fourth round, in front of a record home attendance of 17,000. They were defeated 8–0 in the following round by Manchester United.
Between 1955 and 1973 they were champions of the Southern Football League three times, and runners-up twice. During this period, Yeovil Town applied for election to the Football League on a number of occasions, coming within a few votes of being elected in 1976. In 1979 the Glovers were founder members of the new national non-league division, the Football Conference. In 1985, they were relegated to the Isthmian League. Yeovil won that championship in 1988 and returned to the Conference.
There was success in the Bob Lord Challenge Trophy in 1990 and three years later Yeovil finished fourth in the Conference, their best finish ever. In January 1995, former Weymouth and Spurs player Graham Roberts was appointed manager, but demotion back to the Isthmian League soon followed. Yeovil secured promotion back into the Conference in 1997 after winning the Isthmian League with a record number of points – 101.
Colin Lippiatt became manager for the 1998–99 season and brought Terry Skiverton to the club as a player. Gary Johnson took over as manager in June 2001 and Yeovil won the FA Trophy in his first season in charge with a 2–0 victory over Stevenage Borough in the final at Villa Park – the club's first major trophy. Yeovil Town earned promotion to the Football League in the following season, by winning the Football Conference by a record 17 points margin, accumulating 95 points and scoring 100 goals, remaining unbeaten at Huish Park. Their team included many top players, some of whom went on to play Premier League football. Notable players include Gavin Williams who moved to West Ham United, Lee Johnson, Chris Weale, Darren Way and Adam Lockwood.