1) FA Cup First Round Debut
The club’s first appearance in the FA Cup First Round came in 1925. They drew the initial match and the first replay 1-1 against Reading, before finally succuMBing to a 2-0 defeat in the second replay.
2) First League Title
The club’s first league title after formation was the Torquay and District League in 1912. However, winning the western division of the Southern League was their first major title, which they clinched in 1927.
3) Football League Third Division
Upon winning election to the Football League’s Third Division, Torquay United changed their colours from light and dark blue to black and white stripes.
4) FA Cup Fourth Round
In 1954, Torquay beat Cambridge and Blyth Spartans to set up a Third Round clash with Leeds United. After a 2-2 draw at Elland Road, the Gulls won the replay 4-0 to progress to the Fourth Round Proper against Huddersfield Town. They were knocked out 1-0.
5) Highest Attendance
The FA Cup Fourth Round clash with Huddersfield Town saw Torquay set a home attendance record of 21,908.
6) Match Of The Day
Torquay’s 3-0 defeat over then-promotion rivals Bury gave them their first-ever coverage on BBC’s Match of the Day.
7) Escape in Injury Time
The 1986/87 season brought with it the introduction of automatic relegation, and on the last day of the season, Torquay needed a result to stay up. A bizarre incident involving a police dog attacking Torquay centre-half Jim McNichol led to four minutes of injury time, in which Paul Dobson scored to equalise the game against Crewe at 2-2 and keep the club from relegation.
8) Justin Fashanu
In the 1991/92 season, Torquay United signed Justin Fashanu, the first openly gay professional footballer. He was also the first black footballer to command a transfer fee of over £1 million.
9) Relegation
On April 14th 2007, Torquay United’s 80-year Football League status was lost, as a 1-1 draw against Peterborough United condemned them to relegation to the Conference Premier.
10) Top Goalscorer
Sammy Collins is the club’s top goalscorer with 219 goals in 379 appearances for the club between 1948 and 1958.
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