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Holt United Football Club has a long and proud history going back 113 years. They were founder members of the North Norfolk and Norwich League, the first league to be formed in Norfolk in 1895. They then joined the Norwich & District League in 1927, and won the league title there on five occasions.
In the final of the Norfolk Senior Cup in 1931, in only their second season in senior football, set a county record of winning 32 of 34 games to take the league title and all five-charity cup competitions they entered.
The success story continued when Holt joined the Norfolk & Suffolk League in 1935.They did not suffer a league defeat until December that year, when they lost to Norwich City A at Carrow Road. Holt was the first amateur team to play at the newly built Carrow Road ground.
The 1937/38 season saw a home record crowd of 2,500 people turn out for their second round FA Amateur Cup tie against Athenian League side Barnet. Holt United fortunes were never higher than in the years leading up to the Second World War. In 1937/38 they were runners up to Easton Coach Works in the Norfolk & Suffolk League. The following season they took the Championship with 10 points to spare over runners up Bungay Town. Their total of 53 points was the biggest in the history of the league at that time, and was not beaten until 1952.
After the War, Holt struggled in the Norfolk & Suffolk League. During the fifties they once again assembled a strong side. In 1957 they had another great run in the Amateur Cup, where they were eventually knocked out by London club Hayes. They also reached the final of the Norfolk Senior Cup, where they were beaten at Carrow Road by Gothic. After suffering relegation into Junior football, Holt went on to win the Norfolk Junior cup in 1961 and 1964, beating Sprowston W and Gorleston Rangers in the final.
In 1964 they joined the newly formed Anglian Combination where they were placed in Division Two. They gained back-to-back promotions, to enter the Premier League. They spent the next ten seasons in the top Division. Their highest finishing place was 4th in 1971. That season saw them appoint their first ever Team Manager in Eric Edwards. They were relegated back into Division One in 1977.
In 1985 Holt United left their ground at Jubilee Road, which was sold to finance the new Sports Centre Complex at Kelling Road. For one season Holt played their matches at Gresham School.
At the start of the 86/87 season they moved to their new ground at the Sport Centre. Four years later they dropped into Junior football, which was a major blow to the Club. During the 80s many Managers had run the Team, including Mike Brown, Jimmy Moran, Ozzie Owen, Barry MacMahon, Alan Pickard and Ian Booth. Under the leadership of Booth they reached the second round of the FA Vase, before going down to the previous years finalists Stanford from Lincolnshire. In 1993 the Club celebrated their Centenary year with a match against a Norwich City side.
In charge of the team then was David Chipperfield. The Club then invested in making the facilities at the Sports Centre as good as any in the Anglian Combination, by installing floodlights, stand, and permanent fence around the pitch. Unfortunately they suffered relegation again, to drop into Division Three. They then appointed ex- Norwich City Defender Phil Hoadley as Manager, and in his first season he gained them promotion back into Division Two. But with Hoadley stay a short one, they were relegated again.
In 1999 they were under the leadership of Willie Howard. In his first season in charge they took the Division Three Championship. On 25th March 2002 he lead them to their third appearance in the Norfolk Junior Cup final, were in an excellent match at Carrow Road they beat Thorpe Rovers. The following season they were runners up in Division Two to regain their place in Senior Football. The same season they won the Anglian Combination Knockout Cup for the first time, beating Gayton in the final at Wroxham. During that period they also won the Cromer Lifeboat Cup 3 years running. The past three seasons they have remained in Division One. At present Holt United run two sides, one in the Anglian Combination Division One and the Reserves playing in Division 6.
During the clubs 113 years many people have worked tirelessly of the field of play including Norman Broughton, Harry Sergeant, Brian Thacker, and Roley High who have all been involved with the club for over 50 years.
On and off the field the Club has made great progress in recent years, one that they have to sustain in the future, with the support of the Committee, Players, Supporters and Sponsors.
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