Sports
Shrewsbury is home to a variety of established amateur, semi-professional and professional sports clubs, including Shrewsbury Town, a Football League team currently playing in Football League One. Shrewsbury Town's achievements include winning the Welsh Cup six times, a record for an English club (as English-based clubs were allowed to compete in the competition until the early 1990s), a 10-year run in the old Second Division now known as The Championship from 1979 until 1989, a Third Division Championship (now League One) in 1979, a Division 3 Championship (now League Two) and victory in the Conference National Playoff Final 2004. The club relocated to the New Meadow in 2007, to a purposely built site located near Meole Brace. Prior to this, the club played at the Gay Meadow stadium, situated just outside of the town centre, for a 97 year period from 1910 to 2007. They first gained Football League membership in 1950 and stayed there for 53 years, when they were relegated, only to gain promotion after just one season. Four months before their relegation in 2003, they famously eliminated Premier League club Everton from the FA Cup in an Everton team which included then a 17 year old Wayne Rooney - ironically they were being managed by former Everton captain Kevin Ratcliffe at the time. In recent years the club as progressed to the League 2 play-off final twice at Wembley Stadium only to lose out on the show piece occasions. The 2007 League 2 play-off final defeat against Bristol Rovers produced the highest ever attendance for a 4th tier fixture, 61,589 of which over 23,000 were from Shropshire.
Currently, international footballers for three nations were born in the town. They are former Shrewsbury Town players Joe Hart and Dave Edwards for England and Wales respectively, and Scotland forward Steven Fletcher who was born in the town when his father, a soldier was stationed in Shrewsbury.
There is also a local rugby club, Shrewsbury Rugby Club. The River Severn in the town is used for rowing by both Pengwern Boat Club and the Shrewsbury School Boat Club. Shrewsbury Sports Village, a new sports centre, was recently opened in the Sundorne district of the town, with the aim of providing a wider and improved range of sports facilities for townspeople. There are also a number of motorsports and golf facilities (including Meole Brace Municipal Golf Course) in the area. The local motorsports heritage includes the Loton Park Hillclimb and Hawkstone Park Motocross Circuit situated near Shrewsbury. Shrewsbury Motocross Club has staged motocross events in the area for over 30 years.
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Famous quotes containing the word sports:
“In the past, it seemed to make sense for a sportswriter on sabbatical from the playpen to attend the quadrennial hawgkilling when Presidential candidates are chosen, to observe and report upon politicians at play. After all, national conventions are games of a sort, and sports offers few spectacles richer in low comedy.”
—Walter Wellesley (Red)
“Guys do not have a genetic blueprint that allows them to understand or love sports.”
—Lesley Visser, U.S. sports reporter and announcer. As quoted in Sports Illustrated, p. 82 (June 17, 1991)
“It was so hard to pry this door open, and if I mess up I know the people behind me are going to have it that much harder. Because then there’s living proof. They can sit around and say, “See? It doesn’t work.” I don’t want to be their living proof.”
—Gayle Gardner, U.S. sports reporter. As quoted in Sports Illustrated, p. 87 (June 17, 1991)