Wimbledon F.C. Trivia Quiz

Answer: 1889

Wimbledon F.C was founded in 1889 as Wimbledon Old Centrals, a combination of where the club was founded and the name of a school where many of the players had been pupils at one time (Old Central School in Wimbledon). The team was known as Wimbledon Old Centrals until 1905, when a decision was taken to drop the Old Centrals and the team was simply known as Wimbledon F.C.

The club did fold for a few months in 1910 due to excessive debts, but was restarted as Wimbledon Borough, although Borough was dropped soon afterwards.

Answer: Plough Lane

Plough Lane was the home of Wimbledone F.C from 1912 to 1991, with the first match held on 7th September 1912. The ground had minimum improvements made to begin with, but over the next 40 years, as crowds were often between 5-8000, more stands and terraces were added, along with floodlights and complete refurbishment of the main stand in 1957. Financial difficulties going into the 1970s meant ground improvements could not continue to be made, even with Wimbledon's election to the Football League in 1977-78.

Following the Taylor Report that followed the Hillsbrough Disaster in 1989, the decision was taken that redevelopment was not economically viable for the club, and the decision was taken to play at Selhurst Park (home ground of Crystal Palace). The last game played by Wimbledone F.C at Plough Lane was on 4th May 1991. Plough Lane was sold to Safeway in 1994, but later sold on the building company and the ground was finally demolished in 2002.

Answer: Athenian League

After spending pre-WWI in various local leagues, Wimbledon chose to join the all-amateur Athenian League in 1919-20. Success came quickly with Wimbledon finishing as runners-up in 1920-21, and the club quickly chose to join the Isthmian League for the 1921-22 season.

Answer: 8

Wimbledon F.C were one of the most successful clubs in Isthmian League history, who along with Wycombe Wanderers and Enfield, have won 8 titles. (Leytonstone hold the record at 9 titles. Leytonstone eventually went on to different mergers and are now known as Dagenham and Redbridge.)
Wimbledon won their first league in 1930-31, and added seven more in 1931-32, 1934-35, 1935-36, 1958-59, 1961-62, 1962-63, and finally 1963-64.

Answer: 1964-65

After so much success in the Isthmian League, Wimbledon moved to the Southern League after turning professional in 1964-65. The club was immediately successful in the Southern League Division One, finishing as runners-up after scoring 108 goals in 42 games, behind Hereford United. From 1965-66 to 1976-77, Wimbledon played in the Southern League Premier Division, winning the title three times.

They joined the Football League in 1977.

Answer: 1976

The Anglo-Italian Cup was a competition played between English and Italian clubs at various times between 1970 and 1996. The competition was originally devised for professional clubs unable to play in Europe due to UEFA rules at the time. In 1976, the rules were slightly changed for the Anglo-Italian Cup with only semi-professional clubs being permitted, and Wimbledon was one of six British teams to participate.

The Dons met Italian side Monza in the final and lost 1-0.

Answer: Burnley and Leeds United

Wimbledon entered the 1974-75 F.A Cup in the First Qualifying Round and en route to round four:

1st Qualifying Round - Won 3-1 v Bracknell Town
2nd Qualifying Round - Won 4-0 v Maidenhead United
3rd Qualifying Round - Won 2-0 v Wokingham Town
4th Qualifying Round - Won 3-0 v Guildford & Dorking United
First Round - Won 1-0 v Bath City
Second Round - Won 2-0 v Kettering Town
Third Round - Won 1-0 v Burnley
Fourth Round - Drew 0-0 v Leeds United
Fourth Round - Lost 0-1 v Leeds United (replay)

Answer: Lawrie Sanchez

Sanchez's 37th minute goal, a header from a Dennis Wise free-kick, while a magnificent penalty save from Dave Beasant was the first in an F.A Cup Final. It helped Wimbledon cause one of the biggest shocks in football as the soon-to-be-dubbed 'Crazy Gang', captured the public's imagination with their win over the many times English and European Champions.

Answer: 6th

Wimbledon finished sixth twice during their stay in the top tier of English football. The first time was in 1986-87, in their first season in the top flight, this after actually being top of the table in September. The club stabilised over the next few years, generally finished upper-mid-table, with another sixth place coming in the second season of the newly formed FA Premier League in 1993-94.

Answer: Derby County

After relegation from the Premier League in 2000, the club's board and directors started looking for alternatives places to play football as the club could not continue to play at Selhurst Park. In 2001, the decision was taken to move the club from London to Milton Keynes, more than 50 miles away. The move was rubber-stamped by the F.A, but supporters were incensed by the decision and most left to start up their own club, A.F.C Wimbledon.

With most fans supporting the new club, the 2002-03 season saw Wimbledon play their last season at Selhurst Park in a generally empty stadium. Other clubs chose to boycott the club and gave it the nickname of 'Franchise F.C'. With the finances draining away, Wimbledon had to enter administration and the first game played in Milton Keynes was in September 2003.

Wimbledon's final League game was against Derby County in May 2004, and they lost 1-0. After this game, Wimbledon F.C effectively ceased to exist. The club was brought out of administration and the club was renamed Milton Keynes Dons. The crest, club motto and colours were all dramatically changed, severing any real link with Wimbledon F.C.

A.F.C Wimbledon have since taken on all the records of Wimbledon F.C as they have been chosen by authorities and supporters alike as the direct descendants of Wimbledon F.C, while all trophies, including the 1988 F.A Cup, were given to the Borough of Merton by Milton Keynes Dons and have since been given back to A.F.C Wimbledon.