CLUB HISTORY
1946 - Start Of The Club
Plymstock United Football Club was formed in 1946 by Sam Kerswill, a local builder, who was also elected as the first club chairman. The first ground was Foresters Field, the pitch adjoining Dean Cross, which is still used by the Club’s junior section.
During the Second World War Foresters was used as a small base by the U.S. Army who laid out the foundations of some temporary housing which was never completed, consequently thousands of house bricks had to be moved before the ground was ready to stage a game of football.
At this time Plymstock was little more than a village, but gained election
to the old Plymouth Combination League and played in the now long defunct Division One (East), a division made up of mostly village sides from around the area. The colours chosen for the new club was Red & White, and the new team took the pitch for the first time in an ‘Arsenal’ design of jersey.
1950's
At the start of the 1950’s Dean Cross was home to Plymstock Lions Cycle Speedway team, who rode in the bottom right hand corner of the ground, which at that time sloped sharply away from roughly where the half way line is today. Infill from housing being built in a now rapidly expanding area was used to level the ground, and with the pavilion being completed in 1963, Dean Cross became the permanent home of the U’s. The side for the first game at the Club’s new home included the present Chairman Trevor Skilton.
The club was by now firmly established in the Premier division of the P & D league, and captured their first title in 1967 in a division that included the likes of Dartmouth, Bideford, Holsworthy and Brixham United. During this period the club began fielding a second team, which played in the Combination League, and a youth side was entered in the Devon Junior and Minor League which was made up of two divisions- Under 18 and Under 21! 1974 brought the second P & D Championship under the guidance of Johnny Higgins , who, amongst other achievements in a long and illustrious career led Buckfastleigh to the first Devon League title in 1993.
2000
There was a ten year wait before a third title P & D title was cemented and this time the side contained two names which have become part of United folklore in Chris Lewis and Tim Halford who led the team to their famous and never to be forgotten Devon Premier Cup win in 2003. In 1993 the club became founder members of the newly formed Westward Developments Devon League, and a sixth place finish was obtained, as well as an appearance in the semi final of the then Bass Cup where they lost out to Willand Rovers 4-3.
These achievements, although minor, were the best that the club were to enjoy as a series of managers came and went and the team became something of a Cinderella side, constantly struggling at the wrong end of the table. The 2000/01 season saw the club reach in nadir when they finished rock bottom of the league and were only saved from certain relegation by the onset of the foot and mouth epidemic when the F.A. decreed that with so many clubs throughout the country being unable to complete their fixtures relegations would be suspended. The club embarked on it’s now famous youth policy, and with the appointment of Messrs. Lewis and Halford fortunes were revived and after a period of consolidation things began to take off in the right direction.
2003 - We win the Devon Premier Cup
In March 2003, and despite being written off by almost everyone, the club enjoyed probably the greatest moment in it’s history by capturing the Devon Premier Cup for the first time when, with a side, which, in the main, had graduated from the Under 17’s, Upton Athletic were defeated 2-0 at Torquay United’s Plainmoor ground. 2004-05 brought more honours with the club finishing runners up to Teignmouth in a hard fought battle for the Championship which went to the last fortnight of the season before they were forced to give second best.