GCFC - Club History

The Club was originally founded in 1972 under the name Bristol Buffs, and subsequently as West Hartford United and Mersey AFC before settling on the current name Glastonbury Celtic Football Club in 1992. As the name changes suggest, the club had a variety of homes - Bristol and West Hartford - before settling permanently at the Irish American Home Society in Glastonbury, Connecticut.

During its first 20 years the club experienced mixed success winning the Division 2 title three times and the CSSA cup twice. In 1992, the Club added an Over 30s team that saw immediate success as it won the SASL Division 2 title. In subsequent years the Over 30s went on to be Division 1 runners-up in 1998 and 1999 before winning the Division 1 title in 2000.

In 2002 the club added an Over 38s team (Masters) team that finished second in the league in 2002, 2003 and 2004. However, the team added another piece of silverware to the Celtic trophy cabinet by winning the 2003 Masters Cup competition.

Perhaps the greatest defining moment of the club took place in 2003 when the club finally added the Connecticut Soccer League Open Men's Division 1 league title to its honors list after competing in the Division on and off for over 30 years.

The following is a timeline of Celtic from its inception in 1972 through present day. Notable changes and achievements are described beside each year.

	1972		Team is founded as the Bristol Buffs.
	1973		Team begins play in the Connecticut Soccer League (CSL).
	1974		Name changed to West Hartford United.
	1978/79		The first “Double:” > Champion, CSL "A" Division North (Division II). > Champion, Connecticut State Soccer Association (CSSA) Intermediate Cup.
	1982/83		Champion, CSL "A" Division.
	1986		Irish-American Home Society, Glastonbury becomes permanent home.
	1988		Name changed to Mersey AFC. The second “Double:” > Champion, CSL Division II North. > Champion, CSSA Intermediate Cup.
	1991		The Club’s select team, Old Peculier, wins the National Soccer Hall of Fame Over-30 Tournament in Oneonta, NY.
	1992		Name changed to Glastonbury Celtic FC. Third Place finish, best to date, in CSL Division I. Celtic Old Boys FC is formed (Over 30s team): > Champion, Division II, Shoreline Adult Soccer League (SASL) > Runners-Up, CSSA Over-30 Cup.
	1993		“Old Boys” moniker is dropped, and Glastonbury Celtic FC finish fourth in its first season of O-30 Division I.
	1994		Celtic O-30 reaches CSSA Over-30 Cup Final, but loses 3-1 to Waterbury PSC ‘A’.
	1998		Celtic O-30 is Runners-Up, Division I.
	1999		Celtic O-30 is again Runners-Up, Division I.
	2000		Champion, O-30 league.
	2001		Runners-Up, CSSA Over-30 Cup, losing AET to Waterford.
	2002		Celtic CSL finishes third in Division I and Playoff Runners-up, losing on PKs in the final to the Bridgeport Italians. Celtic O-30 finishes third in Division I. Celtic Masters (O-38) team is formed and finishes second in the SASL Masters East Division.
	2003
	2004
	2005
	2006		Celtic O-30 reaches the State Cup final and loses 3-2 to Danbury United. Celtic O-40 moves into the SNEASL league and finishes first.
	2007		2 new teams entered into the Hartford Insurance & Industrial Soccer League: FrontLine Recruiters ("A" Division) and Vaughan's Perfect Pints ("B" Division). FrontLine reaches the championship but loses 0-1 to Dunkin' Donuts. O-30s decide to switch into SNEASL for next season. O-40s win 2nd consecutive league title on a 14-1-3 record (9 shutouts).
	2008		O-30 team moves into the SNEASL league. O-40s split into 2 teams, the North & South. South (8-0-2) finishes first and North (7-2-1) second in league standings. FrontLine Recruiters finishes the league in 1st (12-1-1) but leaves the playoffs on an early round loss. Vaughan's Perfect Pints finishes tied for 3rd (8-4-2), also leaving after the first playoff match with a 4-2 loss.