Portals Athletic F.C.

Portals Athletic
Full namePortals Athletic Football Club
Founded1927
Dissolved1987
GroundBatts Meadow, Laverstoke Park, Nr Whitchurch, Hampshire.

Portals Athletic were an amateur football team based between the north Hampshire towns of Overton and Whitchurch. The club ran for 60 years until the loss of the sudden loss of their financial backing in 1987.

History

Portals Athletic FC were founded in 1927 as the works side of the Laverstoke Paper Mill, taking their name from the owners Portals Limited, and initially played in the local Basingstoke League[1] where they enjoyed plenty of success - most notably in 1936–37 when they won the Hampshire Junior 'A' Cup.[2]

In 1967 Portals were elected to Hampshire League Division 3 where they finished in a respectable mid-table final position.[3] A year later the league was expanded and they were consequently placed in Division 3 West, where they finished 3rd before clinching promotion as runners-up in 1969–70. Portals quickly adapted well to life in what was then a highly competitive Division 2 and clinched a final position of 3rd which was enough to secure a second successive promotion.[4]

Life in the top flight was tough for Portals and they were relegated straight back again to Division 2 where they remained until the 1983–84 season when they bounced back as champions. Portals enjoyed numerous cup successes during this period and quickly consolidated themselves in Division 1 for two seasons until in 1986 they (along with the league's top clubs with the required facilities) broke away to form the new Wessex League.[5]

In the league's inaugural season Portals finished in a steady 12th position[6] but in June 1987 the parent company suddenly withdrew their support, forcing the club to sadly leave the competition and disband just after celebrating their 60th anniversary.[7]

Honours

  • Hampshire League
    • Division 2 Champions 1983/84 [5]
    • Division 3 West Runners-up 1969/70
  • Hampshire FA [8]
    • Intermediate Cup Winners 1939/40 and 1980/81
    • Junior 'A' Cup Winners 1936/37
  • North Hants FA
    • Senior Cup Winners 1979/80, 1980/81 and 1982/83
    • May Cup Winners 1947/48

League career

Ground

Portals Athletic played at Laverstoke Park, located alongside the B3400 between Whitchurch and Overton.[9] After their untimely demise, the venue remained in use, and during the 1999–2000 season it was leased to the short-lived Hampshire League side AFC Basingstoke. [10]

Notable players

In the early fifties, locally born Brian Clifton[11] played for Portals before enjoying a long professional career with Southampton and Grimsby Town. The sixties saw the former Crystal Palace winger Bernard Harrison[12] and Sam Stevens[13] both play for the club. Latterly, the former Leicester City and Southampton defender Ian White[14] played from 1968 to 1972 and for a spell was also their manager.[15]

Local rivalries

There are a number of clubs within the north Hants area, and neighbours Whitchurch United, Overton United and Malshanger (now defunct) were regarded as Portals' main rivals.

References

  1. ^ Basingstoke Football League Centenary by Norman Gannaway
  2. ^ Hampshire Football Association Centenary History 1887-1987 by Norman Gannaway
  3. ^ A History of the Hampshire League 1896-1996 by Norman Gannaway
  4. ^ A Tabulated History of the Hampshire League by Stephen Farmery
  5. ^ a b "Football Club History Database - Portals Athletic". www.fchd.info. Retrieved 15 July 2025.
  6. ^ https://www.fchd.info/lghist/wessex1987.htm
  7. ^ "History". www.wessexleague.co.uk. Retrieved 15 July 2025.
  8. ^ Hampshire Football Association Yearbook 2005/06
  9. ^ The Cemetery End by Vince Taylor (Groundtastic Productions)
  10. ^ Hampshire Football Association Yearbook 1999/00
  11. ^ stats tab https://www.saintsplayers.co.uk/player/brian-clifton/
  12. ^ stats tab https://www.saintsplayers.co.uk/player/bernard-harrison/
  13. ^ stats tab https://www.saintsplayers.co.uk/player/sam-stevens/
  14. ^ stats tab https://www.saintsplayers.co.uk/player/ian-white/
  15. ^ https://www.lcfc.com/pages/en/media-article/Former-Player-Remembers:-Ian-White
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