A Happier Hunting ground? The History of Luton Town in Devon

This weekend sees Luton Town head to Devon for their fixture at Plymouth Argyle, which for those of us Hatters based in the West Country its the closest to a "home" game we'll get this year.

For those travelling from Luton they face a journey only just shorter than to the one earlier this year to Sunderland (in fact depending on route it may be longer) but when they get there they might find some comfort in Luton's recent record in Devon with Luton unbeaten in their last 8 visits to the county, this is by some distance Luton's best ever run of form in the West Country especially when you add in winning the 2009 South West Challenge Cup pre-season tournament.

At first glance though Luton's record at Home Park isn't very good with 29 defeats and 10 wins from 49 visits, but when you consider that 17 of those defeats (and just 1 win) came before World War 2, while in since 2000 the Hatters have won 4 times at Plymouth. 

Indeed when looked at in four different eras, Luton's record at Argyle is somewhat more promising;


As a Devon based Hatter for this rather golden era I thought I'd look back at Luton's record in the county and how this current run compares.

The History of Devon vs Luton Town

The Southern League

Luton's first forays into Devon came in the Southern League at the beginning of the 20th century when they were joined in the Southern League, by Plymouth Argyle in 1903 and Exeter City in 1908. the first away match at Plymouth saw a 0-0 draw on 3rd Oct 1903. 

These early years were not overly successful for Luton with just two wins in Devon (both at Exeter in March 1910 and Feb 1915) and 11 defeats in 17 Southern League away days in the county. 

Luton's Southern League record in Devon reads as follows:

At Plymouth: 0 wins, 4 draws and 7 defeats

At Exeter: 2 wins and 4 defeats

All time Record in Devon up to this point P 16 W 2 (12.5%)

Into the Football League

In 1920 with the expansion of the football league and the creation of Division Three (South), Luton, Exeter and Plymouth all joined the new league which was largely the old Southern League. 

The Hatter's made their first football league visits to Devon in the spring of 1921 with 1-0 defeats at Plymouth (12th March) and Exeter (2nd April) in Division Three (South). Later in 1921 Luton scored their first goal and recorded their first win in Devon at Exeter after another defeat at Plymouth. 

The 1920s and 1930s in Division Three (South) saw Luton making plenty of trips to Devon as although Plymouth's promotion to Division Two in 1930 meant no trip to Home Park for 7 years, Torquay United joined the league in 1927/28.
Luton's record on their trips to Devon in this period is marked by a dire record a Plymouth with one solitary draw and 9 defeats in their first 10 visits. In contrast St James Park, Exeter proved a happier hunting ground with just 3 defeats against 7 wins and 7 draws in 17 visits before World War 2. Torquay's Plainmoor was also a productive ground for the Hatters with 3 wins and 4 draws in 10 visits before World War 2.

Finally on 27th Nov 1937 Luton finally broke their duck at Home Park with a 4-2 win on their 22nd visit, with just their 3rd win over the Pilgrims in 21 attempts home or away in the football league (Argyle had won 3 and lost just once in 11 visits to Kenilworth Road.
Argyle were able to record another home victory over Luton before the outbreak of the Second World War to leave Luton's football league record in Devon as follows:

At Plymouth: 1 win, 1 draw 7 defeats 
At Exeter: 7 wins, 7 draws, 3 defeats
At Torquay: 3 wins, 4 draws, 3 defeats

Overall: 11 wins from 39 games (28.2%)

After World War Two (1946-1959)

Luton and Plymouth were both in Division Two in the immediate aftermath of the second world war, Argyle restoring a natural order with a 2-1 home win in September 1946 while Luton wouldn't meet Torquay and Exeter again until town slid down the league in the 1960s.

In the 1940s and 1950s the Hatters made 8 visits to Plymouth until Luton's spell in the top-flight in the late 50s, and enjoyed a better record, even winning twice in quick succession in early 1948 (the first game being an FA Cup tie). This record was as follows:

At Plymouth: 2 wins, 3 draws, 3 defeats (25% win rate)

The 1960s and 1970s (The Fall and Rise of LTFC)

 After relegation from the First Division in 1960 (one bright spot in the 59/60 season was an FA cup win at Exeter in January), Luton fell through leagues spending 3 seasons in Division Four from 1965/6 before rising through the leagues again to reach Division One in 1974. A spell in Division Two followed before David Pleat's side again reached the top flight in 1982.
During the 60s and 70s Luton played all three Devon clubs as the moved through the leagues, as you might expect from team moving through the divisions in both directions the form was mixed. During this period (starting with the 1960 FA cup tie at Exeter) Luton's record in Devon was as follows:

At Plymouth: 2 wins, 1 draw, 4 defeats
At Exeter: 2 wins 1 draw 2 defeats
At Torquay 0 wins, 2 draws, 1 defeat

Overall Luton record in Devon in 1960s and 1970s; Played 15, won 4 (26.7%).

The Modern Era

After a ten year spell in the top flight Luton's relegation did eventually bring them into contact again with the Devon sides although in the 90s the trips to Devon only numbered 4 (including 2 cup ties) with a league cup defeat at Home Park in 1992, a league draw in 1996 and a win in 1998, while Torquay humbled Luton at Kenilworth Road in the FA Cup in 1997 (avenging a defeat at Plainmoor the previous year).
After the Hatter's descent through the leagues (reaching the fourth tier in 2001) they met all three Devon sides in 2001/02 as they tussled with Plymouth for the title and even developed a rivalry thanks to some typically forthright views from then Luton manager Joe Kinnear about Paul Sturrock's double promotion winning Argyle side. Argyle and Town continued to play each regularly until Luton's relegation from the championship in 2006.
Since Luton's return to the football league in 2014 they've met Exeter and Plymouth regularly and enjoyed an excellent run of form in Devon, and overall Luton's record since their relegation in 1992 is comfortably their best era ever in the County with a record as follows:

At Plymouth: 5 wins, 1 draw, 5 defeats
At Exeter: 4 wins, 3 draws, 0 defeats
At Torquay: 3 wins

Overall Luton record in Devon since 1992: Played 21, won 12 (57.1%)

The Current Run

The current run is an unprecedented 8 matches without defeat, with the previous best being 4 games which was achieved twice; firstly from Jan 1948 until August 1952 (2 wins then 2 draws all against Argyle) and again from 1996 until 2001 (2 wins, 2 draws and featuring all three sides) and surely can't continue forever.
Just as much of an anomaly is the lack of draws in fixtures between Luton and Plymouth at Home Park with the last in Nov 1996 9 games ago and this is the only draw since 1960 (17 games), prior to that Luton had managed 4 draws at Plymouth in 6 visits.

Omens

If we're looking for a happy omen at the end of the season for Luton, the last 3 times Luton won promotion in the football league it has included a win in Devon, (at Torquay in 2001/2002 and 2004/2005 and at Exeter Last season). On the other hand the last time Luton got promoted from a league that Plymouth were in (2001/2002) they lost at Home Park!

Sources:
Most of the results I've taken from 11v11's excellent database for the Head to Head records against Plymouth, Exeter, and Torquay. Although for the Southern League record's I've consulted the Roger Wash/Simon Pitts "Luton Town the Full Record"