Briggs Sports F.C.

Last updated
Briggs Sports
Full nameBriggs Sports Football Club
Founded1934
Dissolved1959
GroundRush Green, Romford

Briggs Sports Football Club was an English amateur association football club based in Dagenham, Essex (now part of Greater London).

Contents

History

Founded in 1934 at Briggs Motor Bodies Limited as Briggs Motor Bodies F.C., [1] the club participated in the London League and the Spartan League, and reached the semi-final of the FA Amateur Cup in 1954. [2]

The club took over Victoria Road (now home to Dagenham & Redbridge) [1] after Sterling Athletic vacated the ground. They came into prominence when they joined the London League in 1935, winning Division 1 in 1936–7 and 1938–9. [1] They won the Essex Senior Cup in 1939/40 beating Leyton 2–0 at their Hare & Hounds Ground. [3] After the War they entered the Spartan League with their reserves playing in Division 1 of the London League. They recovered from a bad start and won the Spartan League in 1949–50, and then set up an enviable record winning the title in 1951–2, 1955–6, 1956–7, 1957–8 and 1958–9. In addition, they won the London Senior Cup in 1955–6 and 1956–7, together with the Essex Senior Cup in 1950, 1951 and 1952. [3] Their efforts culminated with the club reaching the semi-final of the FA Amateur Cup played at St James' Park, Newcastle on 13 March 1954 in which they were defeated by Bishop Auckland. The match was watched by an attendance of 54,000. In the fourth round, they beat the renowned Oxford & Cambridge side Pegasus 3–0 at Victoria Road before an Attendance of 6,500.

Briggs played at Victoria Road until 1955. Their final home match was played on 30 April 1955.

Rush Green

The new ground at Rush Green was opened on 14 May 1955 when a Combined Area XI played West Ham United in front of an estimated crowd of 10,000. In June 1959, the fortunes of Ford Sports F.C. were fading and as Briggs Motor Bodies had been absorbed by the Ford Motor Company, a decision was made to amalgamate the two clubs with a new name of Ford United and so from season 1959–60 the name of Briggs Sports disappeared from the map. Ford United continued playing at Rush Green but with little success. Ford ultimately withdrew their sponsorship and refused to grant a five-year lease, which the Isthmian League required, and so the 2000–2001 season was their last at the ground. They moved to Barkingside and subsequently changed their name to Redbridge.

Romford played six seasons at the ground but in 2008 the site was sold to West Ham United for use as a training ground.

Grays Athletic played one season at the ground in 2012–13 when they finished Champions of The Isthmian League Division 1 North, but were refused permission to continue their stay as West Ham United had completed their alterations to the complex and it was required by the academy.

Honours

League

Premier Division: 1950 [4]
East Division 1: 1947 [1]

Cup

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dagenham & Redbridge F.C.</span> Association football club in London, England

Dagenham & Redbridge Football Club is a professional association football club based in Dagenham, Greater London, England. They play in the National League. Often known simply as Dagenham and abbreviated when written to Dag & Red, they are nicknamed the Daggers. They play their home games at Victoria Road.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canvey Island F.C.</span> Association football club in England

Canvey Island Football Club is a football club based in Canvey Island, Essex, England. They are currently members of the Isthmian League Premier Division and play at Park Lane.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clapton F.C.</span> Association football club in England

Clapton Football Club is a football club based in Plaistow, East London. The club are currently members of the Southern Counties East League Division One and play at the Terence McMillan Stadium in Plaistow following their 2019 eviction from their long-term home, the Old Spotted Dog Ground in Forest Gate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Essex Senior Football League</span> Association football league in England

The Essex Senior Football League is an English men's football league. It contains clubs from the Essex FA, Hertfordshire FA, London FA, Middlesex FA and the Amateur Football Alliance. It is a feeder league to Division One North of the Isthmian League and has a single division which sits at Step 5 of the National League System.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Redbridge F.C.</span> Association football club in England

Redbridge Football Club is an English association football club based in Barkingside in the London Borough of Redbridge. Prior to July 2004 the club was known as Ford United F.C. The change of name was chosen to help associate the club within the local area and attract a larger support.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grays Athletic F.C.</span> Association football club in England

Grays Athletic Football Club is a football club based in Grays, Essex, England. They are currently members of the Isthmian League North Division and play at Chadfields in nearby Tilbury.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brentwood Town F.C.</span> Association football club in England

Brentwood Town Football Club is a football club based in Brentwood, Essex, England. They are currently members of the Isthmian League North Division and play at the Brentwood Centre Arena.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ilford F.C.</span> Association football club in England

Ilford Football Club is a football club based in Ilford, East London, England. Affiliated to the Essex County Football Association, they are currently members of the Essex Senior League and play at the Cricklefield Stadium. Nicknamed the Foxes, the club play in blue and white hoops or stripes.

Leytonstone F.C. was an English football club based in Leytonstone, Greater London. Founded in 1886, the club ceased to exist in 1979 when it merged with Ilford to form Leytonstone-Ilford, which later became Redbridge Forest after also absorbing Walthamstow Avenue. Redbridge Forest in turn merged with Dagenham to form the modern Dagenham & Redbridge.

Walthamstow Avenue Football Club was an English football club based in Walthamstow in London. Based at Green Pond Road, they played in dark and light blue hooped shirts, and light blue shorts. The club was established in 1900, and was one of the most successful amateur clubs in the country during the 1950s. The club ceased to exist in 1988 when it merged with Leytonstone/Ilford, who later became Redbridge Forest and merged with Dagenham to form Dagenham and Redbridge. They have since been revived as an amateur football club, currently playing in the Sunday Essex Corinthian League.

Dagenham Football Club was an English football club based in Dagenham. Established in 1949, the club played at Victoria Road from 1955 until its merger with Redbridge Forest in 1992 to form Dagenham & Redbridge.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maldon & Tiptree F.C.</span> Association football club based in Maldon, Essex, United Kingdom

Maldon & Tiptree Football Club is a football club based in Maldon, Essex, England. They are currently members of the Isthmian League North Division and play at the Wallace Binder Ground.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barkingside F.C.</span> Association football club in England

Barkingside Football Club is a football club based in Barkingside, Greater London, England. The club are currently members of the Eastern Counties League Division One South and groundshare with Ilford at the Cricklefield Stadium.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Waltham Abbey F.C.</span> Association football club in England

Waltham Abbey F.C. is an English football club based in Waltham Abbey, Essex. The team currently plays in the Isthmian League North Division.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wembley F.C.</span> Association football club in England

Wembley Football Club is an English semi-professional football club based in Wembley, in the London Borough of Brent, London, England. Founded in 1946, the club currently play in the Combined Counties League Premier Division North.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barking F.C.</span> Association football club in England

Barking Football Club is a football club based in Barking, Greater London, England. They are currently members of the Essex Senior League and play at Mayesbrook Park in Dagenham.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bishop's Stortford F.C.</span> Association football club in England

Bishop's Stortford Football Club is a football club based in Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire, England. They are currently members of the Southern League Premier Division Central and play at Woodside Park.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boreham Wood F.C.</span> Association football club in Borehamwood, England

Boreham Wood Football Club is a professional football club based in Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, England. They are currently members of the National League South, the fifth tier of English football, and play at Meadow Park. Established in 1948, they are known as "the Wood".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beckenham Town F.C.</span> Association football club in England

Beckenham Town Football Club is a football club based in Beckenham, London, England. They are currently members of the Isthmian League South East Division and play at Eden Park Avenue.

Mark Janney is an English former football midfielder. He began his career in the youth system at Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur and is best remembered for his eight-year spell with Dagenham & Redbridge. He made two Football League appearances during a loan spell at Brentford. He won a cap for England C at international level.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Redbridge FC". BBC Sport. 13 February 2008. Retrieved 5 April 2017.
  2. ↑ "HALL OF FAME: LES ALLEN". Tottenham Hotspur. 8 June 2004. Retrieved 27 March 2017.
  3. 1 2 3 "ESSEX COUNTY FA - SENIOR CHALLENGE CUP COMPETITION". Essex FA. Retrieved 6 April 2017.
  4. ↑ "Non League Tables for 1949-1950". nonleaguematters.co.uk. Retrieved 5 April 2017.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.