Formed in 1908, Bedford Town Football Club has had a mixed history, In the early years, the Eagles played from their home in Queens Park, in the United Counties League and later the Northampton Alliance. At the end of the second world war, Bedford Town moved to The Southern League, and in February of 1951, a muchneeded boost came in the form of former Arsenal, Fulham, Crystal Palace & England forward Ronnie “Rookie” Rooke, as Eagles player/manager. In the 50s and 60s, Bedford Town earned national fame as ‘Giant Killers’, seeing off the likes of Watford, Norwich, Newcastle, Exeter, Brighton & Oxford in numerous FA Cup runs. But possibly the club’s greatest achievement was to draw 2-2 with Arsenal at Highbury in front of 55,000 supporters in the 1955-56 season. The Eagles nearly caused a major shock in the replay, leading 1-0 with four
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minutes left on the clock, before having two goals disallowed for offside and eventually going down 1-2 after extra time.
In 1982, 74 years at the Eyrie came to an end, as the club disbanded when the owners of the football ground in Queens Park exercised their right to terminate the lease, while simultaneously, new stadium plans on Barkers Lane fell through. On 5th May 1989, a group of Eagles supporters began a campaign to re-form Bedford Town Football Club. The opening match of the New Eyrie Stadium was a friendly against Peterborough United, watched by over 3,000 supporters.
