Luton’s second-oldest football club to celebrate milestone anniversary
One of Luton’s oldest football clubs will mark 65 years in the game with a special celebration in June.
The 61FC started in 1961 as part of a youth club set up by the church on the corner of Upper George Street and Inkerman Street.
The vicar at the time, Ivor Clemitson, created the team in September 1961, and the club entered the fourth division of the Luton league, playing at Stockwood Park.
Chairman and former player and captain Richard Everett began playing with the club as a teenager.
The 82-year-old said: “We started at the bottom and worked our way up through that league and did quite well.
“In 1971, we built our own building at Kingsway Park, where we are now.”
The team joined the Hellenic League Division Two in 1972 and switched to the South Midlands League Division a year later.
Richard explained: “On the pitch, we’ve had some success like being the Beds Senior Cup winners, Beds Senior Trophy winners. We’ve won leagues, but like all in football, whether you’re Liverpool or 61FC, you have your good years and bad years.”
The club currently has three teams playing on Saturdays and Sundays, and is currently in the second division of the Spartan South Midlands League.
The club will hold a barbecue with a DJ at the ground on June 7, with players and supporters from over the years invited to celebrate 65 years of football.
Richard said: “It’s special [to reach this milestone], and it’s unique within the town.
“There are not many voluntary organisations that survive that long. We’re proud of ourselves in a funny sort of way.”