Olympic F.C. was an English

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, originally from Blackheath in

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 1870 as the works side of Hitchcock, Williams & Co, textile manufacturers near

St Paul's Cathedral St Paul's Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of St Paul the Apostle, is an Anglican cathedral in London, England, the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London in the Church of Engl ...

. The earliest record of any match played by the club is in October 1873. Although the club played a large number of matches throughout the late 1870s (for instance in 1877-78 the club had a record of 10 wins, 3 draws, and 5 defeats), the club did not enter 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 ...

until 1881-82, losing to the Old Harrovians in the first round. Despite the lack of interest in the national competition, the club was a founder member of the

London Football Association The London Football Association (LFA) is the regional Football Association for inner areas of London. The London FA was established in 1882 and is affiliated to The Football Association. The London FA administers all levels of men's, women's and ...

in 1882. The club's only other entry to the main rounds of the Cup was the following year, when it lost to the

United Hospitals United Hospitals is the historical collective name of the medical schools of London. They are all part of the University of London (UL) with the exception of Imperial College School of Medicine which left in 2007. The original United Hospitals re ...

club in the first round. When qualifying rounds were introduced in 1888–89, the club did not put in an entry. It did however enter the qualifying rounds on later occasions, and in 1900–01 was knocked out by

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Stratford, London, Stratford, East London, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English f ...

in the third qualifying round, having had to cede home advantage as its ground was not in a fit state, but only going down 1–0. As the Olympic remained a works side, it could not compete at the top level of the game in the professional era, and it is unclear when the club disbanded. The club is listed as a London Football Association founder member in 1892 and played 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 ...

until 1905–06. The club's biggest successes came in the City of London Shield, reserved for works sides in the City of London, which the club won every season from 1897–98 to 1903–04.

Grounds

The club originally played in Blackheath, using the Hare & Billett for its facilities. By 1881 it had moved its facilities to the Freemasons' Tavern in Romford Road,

Forest Gate Forest Gate is a district of West Ham in the London Borough of Newham, East London, England. It is located northeast of Charing Cross. The area's name relates to its position adjacent to Wanstead Flats, the southernmost part of Epping Forest. ...

, suggesting its regular pitch was in

West Ham Park West Ham Park is a privately owned public space, privately owned public park in West Ham in the London Borough of Newham. Spanning , it is the largest park in the borough. The park has been managed by the City of London Corporation since 1874. ...

. Its last known ground was at Chapel Farm in

Eltham Eltham ( ) is a district of South London, southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich. It is east-southeast of Charing Cross, and is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. The three ...

Colours

Its final known colours were black and white stripes.

References

{{Reflist Defunct football clubs in England Defunct football clubs in London Association football clubs established in 1870 Works association football teams in England