A look into the history of Boston United

Although it was 1933 before the name Boston United first appeared, football had been played in the town since the late 1800s and, indeed, always on the same site as the present York Street stadium. The first time that a team from Boston entered the FA Cup was in 1887. In the first round they were drawn against Gainsborough Trinity and were soundly thrashed 7-0. Those early years saw some spectacular defeats in the FA Cup, including a 9-0 defeat at Lincoln City in 1890 and in the following season Grimsby Town went one better to notch up a 10-0 win.

By the start of the First World War there were two clubs in Boston, Boston Town, whose headquarters were "The Coach and Horses" and Boston Swifts, who used "The Indian Queen" as their HQ. In fact, as both the public houses were situated on "Main Ridge" and the pitch was virtually just opposite, it wasn't surprising that for the first 40 years or so that was what the ground was called. A small stand was erected in the early 1900s but other than that there were no other facilities, and the teams changed at the back of the appropriate pub! Both teams were members of the Lincoln and District League.

After the First World War only one club, called simply Boston, emerged. After winning the Lincoln and District League in successive seasons, in 1921 the club joined the Midland League as a semi-professional side.

Fast forwarding 100 years to 2021, Boston United moved into their new 5,000 capacity stadium 'The Boston Community Stadium'.