Part 7 of 10 – Teams that have not re-joined the league for the forthcoming season

A ladies team was formed from midwifes at the hospital in 1993 and played on Tuesday evenings at the Cornwall Hotel. They played at the Cornwall Hotel until 2000 in Ladies Section B and briefly Section C under a host of names, Sisters of Mercy, Cornwall Babes, Nightingales, Cut ‘n’ Push and The Deliverers. At the start of the 00-01 season The Deliverers moved into their new home on alley two at the Colliton Club on Tuesday evenings. The team name was changed to Coli Wobbles in 2004 and since then have been called the following, Colli-Flowers, Meloncollis, Colli-Frolics, 50 Shades of Colli, Colli Rogers, Colli Wobbles (again), Al-Colli-Frolics, Super Colli-Ders and then finally back to Al-Colli Frolics for the null and void season. In 2013 the Ladies Section B was disbanded and there was just one Ladies League.

Part 6 of 10 – Teams that have not re-joined the league for the forthcoming season

Eldridge Pope Brewery closed in 2003 after over a 100 years of being at the centre of the town’s economy and one of the Dorchester’s most well know buildings. With many locals working at the brewery throughout its history it’s no wonder that since the D&DSL started in the early 50’s there had been a side in the league with a connection to the Brewery.

The league’s early history is a little sketchy but in 1953 there was a team in Section 2 called The Brewery who played their home matches at the T.A. Club. In 54-55 The Brewery were still in Section B but played at the Swan on a Thursday evening. By the 56-57 the team were known as Dorchester Brewery and were playing at the Victoria Hotel on a Friday evening in Section A. The team stayed in top league until relegation in the 60-61 season. Dorchester Brewery remained in Section B until relegation in 71-72, by this time they were playing at the Goldies on a Friday evening after changing alleys in 1965. The team suffered back to back relegations going straight down from Section C in 72-73. The 73-74 season saw another change of alley as the team moved to the Conservative Club on a Thursday evening. In 1976 the team changed its name to Huntsmen and then the following year to Huntsmen Brewery. In 1978 they were still playing at the Conservative Club but changed their playing night to a Friday, a season that ended up in relegation to Section E. The team moved back to the Victoria Hotel in 1985 on a Friday evening and their stay in Section E lasted until 1994 when after 15 seasons and many a low finish they were relegated to Section F. Huntsmen spent just two seasons in Section F because even though they had finished bottom of the section in 95-96 the alteration of the league meant they would be starting the 96-97 season back in Section E. For the 99-00 season Brewery was dropped from the name so the team would just be known as Huntsmen.  In 2003 Section E came to an end so Huntsmen found themselves in Section D for the start of the 03-04 season and had been a permanent fixture in Section D ever since. In 2012 with uncertainty over the future of the Victoria Hotel the Huntsmen moved to Tom Browns on Friday evenings.

Part 5 of 10 – Teams that have not re-joined the league for the forthcoming season

The Coach & Heffers joined the league in 2016 but did not appear in the fixture book as they were a late entry taking the place on one of two byes that were in Section D. The team played at the Coach and Horses, Winterborne Abbas on a Thursday evening. Their debut season saw just one win and one draw as they finished bottom of Section D. With the Coach and Horses closing the team moved into Dorchester and played on alley one at the Trinity Club on a Thursday evening for 17-18 season, but it was another bottom place finish for the Heffers and they finished on -4 points due to cancelled matches and no wins. A third season and a third different alley as the team moved to the Bulls Head on a Thursday evening for the 18-19 season and changed their name to the Bull & Heifers. The Heifers managed three wins and moved off of the bottom of Section D to finish 12th out of 13. For the first time the Heifers started a season at the same alley when the 19-20 season kicked off , and although they were again at the foot of the table when the season was null and voided they had found a home alley to settle in. Unfortunately with the Bull Heads not reopened the team have withdrawn for the forthcoming season.                   

Part 4 of 10 – Teams that have not re-joined the league for the forthcoming season

By the mid 90’s the D&DSL was at its peak of teams with seven men’s sections and three ladies. In 1994 Adrian ‘Sid’ Coward formed the Junction skittle team to play at the Junction Hotel on a Friday evening. The team won Section G in 94-95, their debut season. Jokers was added to their name for the following season and the team finished 5th in Section F and were promoted as the sections were restructured. Jokers had a third straight promotion in 96-97 as they finished runners-up in Section E. With the closure of the Junction alley Jokers moved to the Victoria Hotel to play on Thursday evenings, and changed their name to Vic Jokers for the 97-98 season which ended in yet another promotion as the team finished on top of Section D. In the 02-03 season Vic Jokers finished in fourth place in Section C but with teams dropping out from the higher sections they were promoted to Section B. After six seasons in Section B the Jokers were heading to Section A after finishing runners-up to Hammers in 08-09. Vic Jokers first season (09-10) in Section A saw them stay up finishing third from bottom, but by the start of the following season they had moved alley. The team moved to the Goldies to play on a Friday evening and changed their name to Goldies Jokers. In the 10-11 season Jokers finished 11th out of 15 to achieve their highest Section A finish and were also runners-up in the Plate losing to The Imps in the final. Goldies Jokers survived relegation in 11-12 finishing third from bottom but in 12-13 their stay in the top section came to an end as they finished rock bottom. The team moved alleys for the 13-14 season as alley one at the Trinity Club became their new home on a Thursday evening and they dropped Goldies from their name, but the team faced back to back relegation as they won just three games and finished bottom. Jokers were back at the Victoria Hotel on a Thursday evening for the 14-15 season but after finishing third from bottom of Section C the team had the misfortune of getting relegated. Jokers spent just one season back in Section D winning the section comfortably by 9 points in 15-16. Since then the Jokers had stayed in Section C challenging for promotion, and for the fateful 19-20 season that was null and voided they had changed their night of play to Friday.

Part 3 of 10 – Teams that have not re-joined the league for the forthcoming season

The name Supertramps first appeared in the league in 1977 but the team came from Led Zeplin who had played in the D&DSL from 1969 to 1976 winning Section D in 1975. Like Zed Zeplin Supertramps played at the Greyhound, Sydling on a Thursday evening and entered the league in 77-78 playing in Section E, and finished runners-up to Woodchoppers. The Tramps then had nine seasons in Section D before getting relegated in 86-87, their best finish in Section D was 4th in 81-82. The 87-88 campaign saw the team move to the Fox & Hounds, Cattistock where they played for four seasons in Section E. The team moved back to the Greyhound, Sydling for the 91-92 season and Tramps found themselves in Division 6 (Section F) after the league was restructured from 16 teams to 14 in each section. It was a move back to the Fox & Hounds, Cattistock for Supertramps for the 94-95 season as the alley at the Greyhound closed. The mid 90’s saw another league restructure as Section G was ended and although the Tramps had only finished in 8th in Section F in 95-96 the following season they were playing in Section E. Supertramps moved to the Chalk & Cheese at Maiden Newton for the 97-98 season and finished 8th in Section E. The Tramps achieved back to back promotions over the next couple of seasons after two third place finishes so were a Section C side by the turn of the 20th century. The team avoided relegation in 02-03 even though they finished bottom of the Section C and promotion was won in 05-06 when they finished runners-up to Yokels. For the first time Supertramps would be playing in the second tier of the D&DSL, and they achieved 5th place finish in their debut season. The 08-09 season saw the Chalk and Cheese close and the Tramps moved into Dorchester and into their new home alley at the Conservative Club on a Wednesday evening. Supertramps were on the move again for 11-12 season as the Conservative Club closed, so the team made the short trip down South Walks Road to Fordington to play at the Bulls Head. In the 13-14 season Super was dropped from the name and the team were known as Tramps. The team stayed at the Bulls Head until again closure meant a move of alley, and it was alley one at the Colliton Club where Tramps found their next home, still on a Wednesday evening. After 12 seasons in Section B Tramps were relegated in 17-18 with that 5th place in their debut season being their highest place finish. For the 18-19 season Super was put back in the name as they became Colliton Supertramps and they moved to a Thursday evening.         

Part 2 of 10 – Teams that have not re-joined the league for the forthcoming season

 Goldies Chimps joined the league in 1973 and played in the newly formed Section E and finished runners up playing at the Bourough Arms (Goldies) on a Wednesday evening. Promotion was gained again in the 74-75 season as Chimps again finished runners-up in Section D. Two seasons were spent in Section C with Chimps winning it in 1977. For the 79-80 season Chimps moved to a Thursday evening at the Goldies and finished runners-up to clinch a place in Section A. In their debut season Chimps finished 5th in Section A and stayed in the top section throughout the 80’s but 5th place would be their best finish in top league until they were relegated in 88-89. In the 91-92 season Chimps moved to a Friday at the Goldies and in 1994 won Section B. After four seasons in the top section Chimps found themselves heading back to Section B after unluckily getting relegated even though they had finished third from bottom in 97-98. The 2000’s saw more promotions and relegations, runners-up in B in 99-00 and then relegated from A in 00-01 again after finishing third from bottom. After a couple of low finishes in Section B it was another promotion in 03-04 with a second place finish. Chimps played two seasons back in Section A finishing bottom in 05-06 returning to Section B and stayed in the section for the next 13 years. Chimps moved to the Bulls Head in 2009 playing Friday evenings and reached the Plate final losing to Barmy Army. Goldies was dropped from their name for the 10-11 season. Chimps were on the move again for the 15-16 season as they became Colliton Chimps playing on alley two at the Colliton Club on a Friday evening.

Part 1 of 10 – Teams that have not re-joined the league for the forthcoming season

Alcotops joined the league in 2000 and played on a Wednesday evening on alley two at the Trinity Club with Mike House their secretary. In their first season they just missed out on promotion from Section E but the following season won the section to gain promotion to Section D. A 4th place finish in Section D in the 02-03 season was good enough to see the Tops promoted to the C section. After a few years in Section C Alcotops finished top in the 07-08 season. In 2008 Tops left the Trinity Club and moved to the Bulls Head to play on a Thursday evening but their stay at the pub was for just one season as they had to move again before the start of the new season as the pub closed down. The Gurkha Inn on a Friday evening was Alcotops new home for 09-10 season and it was a successful one as they reached Section A after finishing runners-up. In their debut season in the top section Alcotops finish 10th out of 16 but were relegated the following season after finishing bottom. Back in Section B for the 12-13 season Alcotops had a new home when they moved to the Three Compasses, Charminster on a Friday evening after the Gurkha closed down. Alcotops won the Plate in 2014 and in 2017 went back up to Section A after finishing runners-up. With just one win in season 17-18 Tops were heading back towards the B section after only one season back in the top section. For the third time in their history the Tops finished runners-up in Section B as they headed straight back up in the 18-19 season playing at their new home at DTFC on a Friday evening. Before the 19-20 season was null and voided Alcotops were again facing relegation as they sat bottom of Section A.