The weekend celebration of our unique history was a big hit with supporters - and they even got to see a Wimbledon player making his acting debut!
Our young midfielder Morgan Williams showed his talents off the pitch with a cameo performance on stage for the rewritten play by Matthew Couper (pictured second from left above with Director Mark Stevenson) all about our reformation - A Fans Club, Birth of a Phoenix.
The play was sold out on all three days, featuring as part of the very first Wimbledon in Sporting History (WiSH) weekend.
Dons heroes from the past including Dickie Guy attended the weekend, along with club staff, supporters, and volunteers.
Our Head of Operations Craig Cope said: “The play was amazing. I’m fairly new to the Club, but I’ve heard a lot about different parts of the story. To watch it re-enacted with an audience that understood what happened at the time, and brilliant actors, was great. Morgan was excellent in his little cameo – he’s a man of many talents!”
Morgan added: “I was asked to play a role in the play and step out on the stage, which was good fun. I thought I did all right, and it was amazing to see the actors show in just an hour how far the Club has progressed and how it all started again. It makes the Club’s amazing journey sink in and shows how far we’ve come.”
John Lynch, Managing Director for Wimbledon in Sporting History, said: "The play produced an unexpected response - there were actual tears at the end of every performance, revisiting the extreme emotions we all went through 20-plus years ago. The feedback on social media speaks for itself - 'Five stars just doesn't do it justice'.
"The cameo appearance by Morgan Williams, one of our younger players, as Sean Fox (former Treasurer for WISA), was applauded by all. It was a manic four days, but it once again revealed the DNA of our club, it's amazing what fan volunteers can achieve when we all come together."
The whole weekend was well received and included the unveiling of fantastic new artwork - 'The Greatest Team' - and the launch of the 'Womble Till I Die' book by Niall Couper - chronicling our history from 1889.
Saturday afternoon also featured a guest speaker talk by Alan Blower on the history of sports on Wimbledon Common and Mick Taylor on the history of sports along the River Wandle.
Anita Gibbons, Dons Season Ticket holder, said: “It’s great to be back at Plough Lane and to be celebrating with a new book that chronicles the story all the way back here. I started going to Wimbledon games when we were at Selhurst Park and my son was mad on football, so I got a Season Ticket to come along with him. We’ve been a part of the journey ever since and some of our favourite memories are contained in this book.”
Click on the link below to watch a video from the WiSH weekend.