Xerez CD

Early years

Due to the link that Jerez established with the United Kingdom via the export of its Sherry wine to England, football began to be practiced informally in the city very early on. The first written record of football in Jerez dates from 1 November 1870 and appeared in the newspaper "El Progreso"; it reads: "We know that today a game of Cricket will be played, in the immediate site of the hippodrome, whose spectacle will begin at twelve o'clock sharp in the morning. In the afternoon, the fans of bumps will enjoy a while of foot-ball". Other early notes appearing in Jerez publications about football date from 1876 and 1884. The first one reads "new sport of strange rules and complicated foreign words", in the second note it reads "amusements of employees of English export firms based in Jerez fond of the goal".

In subsequent years there is talk of a football society in Jerez, but due to the little importance the new sport had, not many references are made to it. The clearest allusion is from 1887, when a news item appears reporting that "the Jerez society" will pay for the travel of some English sailors from the Port of Cadiz to Jerez to play a friendly match.

Xerez Fútbol Club

A few years later, the great introducer of football in Jerez appeared, Sir Thomas Spencer, an employee of the Bodega William & Humbert. He was the creator, president, player, and captain of the "Sociedad Jerez Foot-Ball Club". This was the first society of which there are clear references in Jerez and dates from 1907. It started with a simple white kit, but soon changed to blue and white colors. Other early Jerez teams were "Fortuna Foot-Ball Club" (yellow and black stripes) in 1908, which was later absorbed by Sociedad Jerez; "Jerez Balompié" (blue and claret stripes) in 1912, and "España-Mundo Nuevo F.C." (red and white stripes) in 1913. Other teams referenced in newspapers of the time are "Jerez Bote Club", "Racing Jerezano", "Club Deportivo Hércules de Jerez" and "Jerez Sporting Club", but due to their short lives, there are not many references to them, except isolated mentions.

Despite this proliferation of teams, Sociedad Jerez Foot-Ball Club was the most important team in the city and, due to the diverse ways of referring to its nomenclature in the newspapers of the time, it is named as Jerez, Xerez, Xerez F.C., Jerez F.C. or Xerez Club. The merger with "Fortuna F.C." soon arrived and its activity was intermittent. It is doubted if it was created even before the year 1907 and the Jerez society alluded to in 1887 in a match with "English sailors" was this same society.

One of the most important re-foundations the team had was in December 1933, with José Manuel Domecq Rivero as president. The Villa Mercedes football field was designated as the home ground, the construction of the Estadio Domecq was announced, and this time the official name was Xerez Fútbol Club. The most important milestones of this team were playing in the promotion phase to La Liga twice and reaching the quarter-finals of the Copa del Rey (1943), where they were eliminated by Real Madrid.

Foundation of Xerez Club Deportivo and early years

On 4 June 1942, Club Deportivo Jerez was constituted as a reserve team of Xerez Fútbol Club. Both clubs shared facilities and stadium. Highlights of that era include consecutive Pichichi trophies in the second division in 1943/44 and 1944/45 by Pato Araujo, with the team close to being promoted to the first division.

Due to a combination of poor sporting and economic results, the disappearance of Xerez Fútbol Club was announced on 26 August 1946, and the board reorganized leading the reserve team Club Deportivo Jerez which remained as an independent team. On 24 September 1947, the club was refounded with the name "Jerez Club Deportivo". On 21 August 1963, the name was changed to "Xerez Club Deportivo" in honor of the original Xerez Fútbol Club, which in turn refers to the name of the city after the Christian reconquest.

The current club took, scrupulously and contrary to most football clubs that ignore new re-foundations, the date of September 1947 as its founding date. In reality, it could have taken any of the previous important dates as the founding date, since the history of football in Jerez since its arrival has been a gradual transfer through different people taking over. If the sports society had made the same decision as most football clubs, it could have taken 1876 as the founding date (because the "Football Society" of Jerez already existed then), 1907 or 1911 with the foundation of "Sociedad Jerez Foot-Ball Club", 1914 for the merger with "Fortuna Foot-Ball Club", 1922 for the first reappearance of Jerez FC, 1933 for its second reappearance, or 1946 when CD Jerez was intervened.

1950s

This is one of the golden decades of Xerecismo. After the impossibility of promotion to Segunda División in the 40s due to the "high national interest" of the dictatorial regime, which decided to promote España de Tánger, the club was promoted and allowed to play for the first time in Segunda División (1953–1954), where it managed to remain for five consecutive years. Notable signings included Rafa Verdú (later a prominent figure in the club's management). The first official Jerez derby was played between Jerez CD and Jerez Industrial (1958).

Also noteworthy is the creation of the Trofeo de la Vendimia, in whose first edition (1952) FC Barcelona defeated Jerez C.D. 6–3.

Two Segunda División B championships were achieved.

1960s

It was difficult for Jerez to regain the second division status despite dominating the third division in this decade, winning two championships and four runner-up spots; only in 1967 did it have a fleeting stint in the silver category of Spanish football, remaining for a single season.

The name was changed from Jerez C.D. to Xerez C.D.

1970s

Another Third Division championship was achieved, leading the team back to the second division, but the joy lasted only one season. In the 1973–1974 season, they were close to the relegation places, which would have been a major setback. The division system was remodeled and Xerez moved to Segunda B.

1980s

Two Segunda División B championships were won, both rewarded with promotion to Segunda División. The first was again an ephemeral passage, but the second, achieved with a goal by Antonio Poyatos, was the beginning of a golden era of 5 years where at times they fought with teams at the top of the table.

Xerez signed a black player for the first time in its history, "El Pantera" Benítez.

In 1988, the mythical Estadio Domecq was left behind to move to play at Estadio Municipal de Chapín, which was inaugurated in a match against Real Madrid.