| Full name | Old St Paul's Football Club | |
|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | the Saints, the Old Saints [1] | |
| Founded | 1885 | |
| Dissolved | 1890 | |
| Ground | Victoria Park/Chobham Farm | |
| Secretary | Charles 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.
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]
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. [6] 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 [7] - 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). [8]
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. [9]
The club's final competitive football came in the 1889–90 Middlesex Senior Cup, with a semi-final replay defeat to the London Caledonians. [10] At the start of the 1890–91 season, the club amalgamated with the City Ramblers club, taking the Ramblers' name. [11]
The club wore light blue and black shirts. [12] After the merger with City Ramblers, the club took on the St Paul's school colours of white shirts. [13]
The club originally played at Victoria Park, an area with several pitches from which to choose and on which several clubs played. [14] By 1887 it was playing at Chobham Farm in Leyton, [15] [16] using the Eagle pub for facilities, [17] in addition to still using available pitches at Victoria Park. [18]
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