Ealing Association F.C. was an

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

club from

Ealing Ealing () is a district in west London (sub-region), west London, England, west of Charing Cross in the London Borough of Ealing. It is the administrative centre of the borough and is identified as a major metropolitan centre in the London Pl ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

History

The club was founded in 1891 by the headmaster of the Ealing Preparatory School for Boys, Mr Wynne Hall. The club's official name was Ealing Association, to distinguish from a

rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby union: 15 players per side *** American flag rugby *** Beach rugby *** Mini rugby *** Rugby sevens, 7 players per side *** Rugby tens, 10 players per side *** Snow rugby *** Tou ...

side simply called Ealing. Before the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the club was one of the most successful amateur sides in

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, former county in South East England, now mainly within Greater London. Its boundaries largely followed three rivers: the River Thames, Thames in the south, the River Lea, Le ...

. After playing in the first two

Isthmian League The Isthmian League () is a regional Association football, football league covering Greater London, East of England, East and South East England, featuring mostly semi-professional clubs. Founded in 1905 by amateur clubs in the London area, th ...

seasons in 1905–06 and 1906–07, the club finishing 5th out of 6 both times, the club joined the

Southern Amateur Football League The Southern Amateur League (SAL) is an association football league in England affiliated to the Amateur Football Alliance (AFA). It is based in and around Greater London and caters for 11–a–side men's adult teams. A feature of the league ...

from the competition's foundation in 1907, and was twice champion. It was also a multiple winner of competitions on a local level. Ealing's greatest honour on the national stage was reaching the final of the

FA Amateur Cup The FA Amateur Cup was an English football competition for amateur clubs. It commenced in 1893 and ended in 1974 when the Football Association abolished official amateur status. History Following the legalisation of professionalism within footb ...

in 1903–04, but lost 3–1 to

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, situated south of Leeds and east of Manchester. The city is the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and some of its so ...

Valley Parade Valley Parade, currently known as University of Bradford Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is an all-seater association football, football stadium in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. The stadium was built in 1886 as the home of Manningham F.C. ...

. The following season, the club reached three finals in consecutive Saturdays; it won the Middlesex Senior and Charity Cups, but lost in the

London Senior Cup The London Senior Cup is the County Senior Cup of the London FA. The London Senior Cup was first won by Upton Park in 1882. Although the leading professional sides in London no longer compete, the Cup has been won in the past by the likes of ...

final to

Ilford Ilford is a large List of areas of London, town in East London, England, northeast of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Redbridge, Ilford is within the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Greater London. It had a po ...

Tufnell Park Tufnell Park is an area in north London, England, in the London boroughs of London Borough of Islington, Islington and London Borough of Camden, Camden. The neighbourhood is served by Tufnell Park tube station on the Northern Line. History ...

in front of over 5,000 spectators - it was Ealing's only appearance in the London final. In 1907, it was one of the clubs which split from the Football Association to join the

Amateur Football Alliance The Amateur FA (Football Alliance) is a county football association in England. It is unusual among county FAs in not serving a particular geographical area. It was founded in 1906 as the Amateur Football Defence Council, was briefly known as t ...

, and it was a three-time winner of the Amateur Football Alliance Senior Cup. The club frequently undertook foreign tours, mostly to

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

and

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. In 1915 the club visited

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

, only the second English club to play in the country (after

New Crusaders The New Crusaders is a fictional superhero team and their eponymous title published by Archie Comics' imprint Red Circle Comics. A revamp of the previously published '' Mighty Crusaders'' title, ''New Crusaders'' follows the sons and daughters of ...

). The club played 5 matches, including a win over and a loss to Benfica. In 1928, the club's president (and sole England amateur international player), Dick Sloley, formed a new amateur club,

Argonauts The Argonauts ( ; ) were a band of heroes in Greek mythology, who in the years before the Trojan War (around 1300 BC) accompanied Jason to Colchis in his quest to find the Golden Fleece. Their name comes from their ship, ''Argo'', named after it ...

, to be an English version of the Scottish Queen's Park. The Argonauts had an arrangement to play at

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium, currently branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE Limited, EE for sponsorship reasons, is an association football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Sta ...

, which was otherwise only being used for internationals and the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

final, but, after the Argonauts' application to join the

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...

was refused, Sloley arranged for Ealing to move to Wembley, as an encouragement for amateur football as a whole. It was not a success, Ealing only attracting crowds of 50 and losing 6 of its 8 matches at Wembley. The club's fortunes declined after the Second World War, due to the loss of its private ground and needing to rent local authority property. In 1971, after repeated last place finishes in the Southern Amateur League, it failed re-election, so was forced to join the lower-key Nemean Amateur League. The final record of the club is its resignation from Division 2 West of the Amateur Football Combination in 2012–13. It had finished bottom the previous season with only 2 points from 18 games.

Colours

The club's colours were originally green and white, but changed to dark green and red from 1893. They were generally worn in halves until 1969, with "dark" shorts, when the design changed to green shirts with red trimmings. In 1970 the club adopted green shirts with red sleeves.

Ground

The club is known to have played at the following grounds: * 1891–94:

Ealing Common Ealing Common is a large open space (approx ) in Ealing, West London. Boundaries The Ealing Common Area is bounded by Ealing, Ealing Town Centre to the west, North Ealing and Hanger Hill to the north, Acton, London, Acton to the east and So ...

* 1894–98: West Middlesex Cricket Ground, Gunnersbury Lane * 1898–1921 Gunnersbury Avenue * 1921–28, 1929–33: Corfton Road * 1928–29: Wembley Stadium * 1933–34: Mill Hill Park Cricket Club, Hanger Lane * 1934–40: Queen's Drive * 1946 onwards: Ealing Central Sports Ground, Western Avenue

Honours

* FA Amateur Cup: ** Runner-up 1903–04 * Southern Amateur League: ** Champion 1926–27, 1946–47 * A.F.A. Senior Cup: ** Winner 1913–14, 1920–21, 1926–27 * London Senior Cup: ** Runner-up 1904–05 * Middlesex Cup: ** Winner: 1896–97, 1904–05 *Middlesex Charity Cup: ** Winner: 1903–04, 1904–05, 1907-08, 1908–09, 1909–10

References

{{Reflist

External links

Football Club Historic Database
Defunct football clubs in England Football clubs in London Association football clubs established in 1891 2013 disestablishments in England Association football clubs disestablished in 2013 1891 establishments in England Sport in the London Borough of Ealing Isthmian League clubs