Editing Luton Town F.C. (section)

===Back to the first tier and late century success (1965–1992)===
In [[yo-yo club]] fashion, Luton were to return. A team including [[Bruce Rioch]], [[John Moore (footballer, born December 1943)|John Moore]] and [[Graham French]] won the Fourth Division championship in [[1967–68 in English football|1967–68]] under the leadership of former player [[Allan Brown (footballer, born 1926)|Allan Brown]];<ref name=FCHD/> two years later [[Malcolm Macdonald]]'s goals helped them to another promotion,<ref name=TLTS108>{{cite book |first=Timothy |last=Collings |title=The Luton Town Story 1885–1985 |year=1985 |publisher=Luton Town F.C. |location=Luton |isbn=978-0-9510679-0-1 |pages=108–111}}</ref> while comedian [[Eric Morecambe]] became a director of the club.<ref name=TLTS108/> Luton Town won promotion back to the First Division in [[1973–74 Football League|1973–74]], but were relegated [[1974–75 Luton Town F.C. season|the following season]] by a solitary point.<ref name=FCHD/><ref>{{cite web |title=Luton Town 1974–1975 |url=http://www.statto.com/football/teams/luton-town/1974-1975 |publisher=Statto Organisation |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090901070948/http://www.statto.com/football/teams/luton-town/1974-1975 |archive-date=1 September 2009 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Former Luton player [[David Pleat]] was made manager in 1978, and by [[1982–83 in English football|1982–83]] the team was back in the top flight.<ref name=FCHD/> The team which Pleat assembled at Kenilworth Road was notable at the time for the number of [[black people|black]] players it included; during an era when many English squads were almost entirely white, Luton often fielded a mostly black team. Talented players such as [[Ricky Hill]], [[Brian Stein]] and [[Emeka Nwajiobi]] made key contributions to the club's success during this period,<ref>{{cite journal |title=Volume 114 |year=1985 |journal=The Listener |publisher=BBC Magazines |location=London |page=9 |quote=...&nbsp;Luton has an attractive team led by some of the finest black players in the country, such as Brian Stein, Ricky Hill and the exciting Nigerian Nwajobi. Sometimes half the Luton team has been black.}}</ref> causing it to accrue "a richer history of black stars than any in the country", in the words of journalist Gavin Willacy.<ref>{{cite journal |first=Gavin |last=Willacy |title=Opportunity knocked |url=http://www.wsc.co.uk/wsc-daily/942-October-2008/1130-opportunity-knocked |journal=When Saturday Comes |location=London |date=23 October 2008 |access-date=15 December 2016 |quote=It is perhaps most alarming that Ramsey's bitterest experience of what he considered racism came at Luton Town, a club who have had probably more black players and a richer history of black stars than any in the country, but who maintain an almost exclusively white fan base. |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220123118/http://www.wsc.co.uk/wsc-daily/942-October-2008/1130-opportunity-knocked |archive-date=20 December 2016 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all}}</ref>

On the last day of the 1982–83 season, the club's first back in the top tier, it narrowly escaped relegation: playing [[Manchester City F.C.|Manchester City]] at [[Maine Road]], Luton needed to win to stay up, while City could escape with a draw.<ref name="Classic matches at Maine Road">{{cite news |first=Chris |last=Bevan |title=Classic matches at Maine Road |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/m/man_city/3011383.stm |work=BBC Sport |date=3 May 2003 |access-date=24 May 2009 |archive-date=1 July 2004 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040701001201/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/m/man_city/3011383.stm |url-status=live }}</ref> A late winner by [[Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia|Yugoslavian]] substitute [[Radomir Antić|Raddy Antić]] saved the team and prompted Pleat to dance across the pitch performing a "jig of joy",<ref name="Classic matches at Maine Road"/> an image that has become [[icon]]ic.<ref>{{cite web |title=1974–1985 |url=http://www.lutontown.co.uk/club/history/ |publisher=Luton Town F.C. |date=2 August 2016 |access-date=15 December 2016 |quote=Visions of David Pleat skipping across the&nbsp;... turf&nbsp;... remain some of television's enduring images. |archive-date=15 January 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140115053832/http://www.lutontown.co.uk/club/history/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The club achieved its highest ever league position, seventh, under [[John Moore (footballer, born December 1943)|John Moore]] in [[1986–87 Luton Town F.C. season|1986–87]],<ref>{{cite web |title=Luton Town 1986–1987 |url=http://www.statto.com/football/teams/luton-town/1986-1987 |publisher=Statto Organisation |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090327122705/http://www.statto.com/football/teams/luton-town/1986-1987 |archive-date=27 March 2009 |url-status=dead}}</ref> and, managed by [[Ray Harford]], won the [[Football League Cup]] a year later with a [[1988 Football League Cup Final|3–2 win]] over [[Arsenal F.C.|Arsenal]]. With ten minutes left on the clock and Arsenal 2–1 ahead, a penalty save from stand-in goalkeeper [[Andy Dibble]] sparked a late Luton rally: [[Danny Wilson (footballer, born 1960)|Danny Wilson]] equalised, before [[Brian Stein]] scored the winner with the last kick of the match.<ref name=FCHD/><ref>{{cite web |title=1985–1988 |url=http://www.lutontown.co.uk/club/history/ |publisher=Luton Town F.C. |date=2 August 2016 |access-date=15 December 2016 |quote=A last-minute strike from Brian Stein saw [Luton] Town finally overcome Arsenal 3–2 at Wembley in a see-saw thriller in which Arsenal, leading 2–1, were awarded a penalty, which was brilliantly saved by Andy Dibble, before [Luton] Town came storming back, leading to skipper Steve Foster lifting the Littlewoods Cup. |archive-date=15 January 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140115053832/http://www.lutontown.co.uk/club/history/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |first=Tom |last=Lamont |title=Frozen in time |url=https://www.theguardian.com/football/2008/apr/06/newsstory.sport |newspaper=The Guardian |location=London |date=6 April 2008 |access-date=24 June 2009 |quote=Arsenal led 2–1 with 10 minutes left when Andy Dibble, Luton's reserve keeper, saved a Nigel Winterburn penalty&nbsp;... This equaliser was scrambled in [when] Brian [Stein] hit the ball across the face of the box. Danny Wilson nodded it in. In the final minute, Brian Stein's close-range volley snatched victory. |archive-date=27 February 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150227025245/http://www.theguardian.com/football/2008/apr/06/newsstory.sport |url-status=live }}</ref> The club reached the [[1989 Football League Cup Final|League Cup Final]] once more in [[1988–89 Luton Town F.C. season|1988–89]], but lost 3–1 to Nottingham Forest.<ref name=FCHD/>

[[File:Luton Town lift Conference championship trophy 2014.jpg|thumb|left|Luton Town players and staff celebrate winning the [[2013–14 Football Conference|Conference Premier]] title in 2014|alt=A crowd of men, some wearing grey suits and some wearing white shirts, navy shorts and white socks, celebrate raucously on a podium. An open bottle of champagne is visible in front of them, spiralling through the air as if somebody has thrown it]]