Delph Tavern
Tontine
Orrell
Wigan
WN5 8UJ
For the upcoming 2024 season, Merrymen have relocated to the Deph Tavern.
Moving from the Robin Hood to The Running Horses for 2022, the Merrymen joined Division Three in the League expansion year of 1988 and came out of the blocks, running, gaining instant promotion and winning their first divisional title the following season, then following a two season consolidation period in Division One they practically dominated competition throughout the 1990s.
Without any doubt whatsoever this is the most successful team in the history of the League to date having won eleven League, six Knockout Competition and two Superbowl Competition awards. The team continues to share a home base and a healthy in-house rivalry with the Robin Hood.
The teams personnel has changed somewhat since the early days and quite a few of the current players double up as the Colly Wobblers in the Ormskirk Quiz League. The longest serving members Ray Holland and Mike Preston have over a period of time been joined by Steve Feller who also acts as the team representative at League meetings, Mike and Barbara Flaherty, Sophie Quinlan, and the late Norman Green, who incidentally was the Secretary of the Ormskirk Quiz League.
To gain an insight into the long standing and ongoing in-house rivalry between the two Robin teams isn't always possible but to quote Steve Feller on the importance of having an adequate number of people to draw on, "We have tried to expand our squad, so the Robin Hood may have to seek planning permission for an extension for the local derby match"; if you read between the lines this gives a pretty good indication of the local importance of the competition between the two.
The close of the 2002 season once again brought the team rewards, when they won the League Knockout Cup. In doing so they beat their greatest rivals and "stable mates" the Robin Hood, in the closest final this or any other competition has ever witnessed, the tie having been drawn after the normal eight rounds, it took no less than three extra tie-break rounds before a result was attained ! Even more success was forthcoming late in October when Steve partnered Dave Boyd of the Bulls Head to triumph in the League Knockout Pairs competition, held as always at the Sandbrook Arms.
The end of the 2003 season saw the team in their worst league position for years when they narrowly avoided relegation, finishing one place above the "drop-zone", however they rallied to such an extent that they ended the season by comfortably holding on to the Knockout Cup title they had won the previous season. The 2004 season was a distinct improvement on the last, League form improved significantly with the team winning eleven of their eighteen games and ending the season in fourth place only three points behind the second placed team. Once again the Merrymen showed their true colours in the Knockout Cup competition by making their way to a third successive final but they were denied a hat-trick of wins by a very good side from the Old Dog, Upholland. This, coincidentally, was the first time in eleven appearances that the team had lost any Knockout Competition Final.
2007 saw the team complete their worst ever season when they found themselves relegated to Division Two. In 2008, for only the second time since 1989, they won the Graham Darbyshire Cup as Division Two Champions and with it promotion back to the division where they had competed throughout the previous seventeen seasons!
2010 brought the Merrymen their first competition success for two seasons when they won the League Knockout Plate, beating Delph Tavern in the final.