Old St Paul's F.C.

Old St Paul's
Full nameOld St Paul's Football Club
Nickname(s)the Saints, the Old Saints[1]
Founded1885
Dissolved1890
GroundVictoria Park/Chobham Farm
SecretaryCharles Squires

Old St Paul's F.C. was an amateur association football club, made up of former pupils of St Paul's School in Hammersmith.

History

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Tottenham Hotspur 1–1 Old St Paul's, East London Observer, 6 November 1886

The earliest record for the club is from the 1885–86 season.[2]

Its 1886–87 season was particularly successful, with only 1 defeat (to the Old Harrovians) in 19 matches;[3] one of its draws was with Tottenham Hotspur.[4] It also entered a cup competition for the first time, the East End Senior Cup, but it was eliminated from the competition for fielding a player (one C. Taylor), who, despite being a club member, was not eligible for the competition, in its win over the London Caledonians. There was controversy as the Caledonians had said they would not protest so long as they could also field a guest player, who did not turn up.[5]

Before the 1887–88 season, the club seems to have taken over Cannon F.C., which played at a ground by the Park Hotel in Tottenham;[6] W. R. T. Wilson, the secretary of Cannon,[7] was a regular for Old St Paul's, and Cannon's 1886–87 players, such as Leese, Keeves, and Huntingdon,[8] are soon found playing for Old St Paul's.[9][10]

The club's best run in the London Senior Cup was to the semi-final in 1888–89, where it lost 3–1 to the Royal Arsenal at Plumstead.[11] The following season, it entered the FA Cup qualifying rounds for the only time. The club nearly reached the competition proper, winning through three rounds (including wins over Reading and Luton Town[12] - the tie at Reading being particularly thrilling, the Old Saints going from 2–0 ahead to 3–2 behind in the 88th minute before equalizing in the 90th, and W. Ingram completing his hat-trick in the mutually-agreed extra-time to win the tie).[13]

At the final qualifying stage, a weakened Saints side lost to its neighbour Clapton. Regular goalkeeper Horace Keeves was unavailable, but was present as a spectator. Two days later he died of congestion of the lungs.[14]

The club's final competitive football came in the 1889–90 Middlesex Senior Cup, with a semi-final replay defeat to the London Caledonians.[15] At the start of the 1890–91 season, the club amalgamated with the City Ramblers club, taking the Ramblers' name.[16]

Colours

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The club wore light blue and black shirts.[17] After the merger with City Ramblers, the club took on the St Paul's school colours of white shirts.[18]

Ground

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The club originally played at Victoria Park, an area with several pitches from which to choose and on which several clubs played.[19] By 1887 it was playing at Chobham Farm in Leyton,[20][21] using the Eagle pub for facilities,[22] in addition to still using available pitches at Victoria Park.[23]

References

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  1. ^ "Old St. Paul's Football Club Annual Smoker". Sporting Life: 1. 5 November 1889.
  2. ^ "Football matches for this Saturday". Sporting Life: 4. 26 November 1885.
  3. ^ "Old St Paul's Football Club". Sporting Life: 4. 26 April 1887.
  4. ^ "Old St Paul's v Tottenham Hotspur". East London Observer: 6. 6 November 1886.
  5. ^ Squires, Charles (26 February 1887). "East End Football Association". Sporting Life: 3.
  6. ^ "Football challenges". Sporting Life: 4. 17 February 1887.
  7. ^ "East End Football Association". The Sportsman: 4. 8 November 1886.
  8. ^ "Cannon v Millwall Rovers". Sporting Life: 4. 17 March 1887.
  9. ^ "Cambridgeshire v East London". Field: 998. 31 December 1887.
  10. ^ "Royal Arsenal v Old St Paul's". Sporting Life: 1. 2 October 1888.
  11. ^ "Editorial". Kentish Independent: 4. 15 November 1888.
  12. ^ "Luton Town v Old St Paul's". Herts Advertiser: 2. 23 November 1889.
  13. ^ "Reading v Old St Paul's". Berkshire Chronicle: 2. 2 November 1889.
  14. ^ "Football notes". East London Observer: 3. 21 December 1889.
  15. ^ "London Caledonians v Old St Paul's". Holloway Press: 6. 21 March 1890.
  16. ^ "The City Ramblers Football Club". Sporting Life: 2. 9 August 1890.
  17. ^ "Old St Paul's (Second Team) v Redcap". East London Observer: 6. 6 November 1886.
  18. ^ "City Ramblers v Wolverton". Sporting Life: 2. 16 September 1893.
  19. ^ Squires, Charles (24 August 1886). "Football in Victoria Park". Sporting Life: 3.
  20. ^ "Old St Paul's (Third) v Eagle (Second)/Old St Paul's (Second) v St Martin's Athletic (Second)". Sporting Life: 3. 26 November 1887.
  21. ^ "To-day's matches". East London Observer: 7. 16 February 1889.
  22. ^ "Old St Paul's v Clapton". Sporting Life: 3. 29 October 1887.
  23. ^ The fixture list in the 10 December 1887 Sporting Life lists two Old St Paul's teams playing at Chobham Farm and one at Victoria Park.
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