Eastleigh Athletic F.C.
| Full name | Eastleigh Athletic Football Club | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | Railwaymen | ||
| Founded | 1890s | ||
| Dissolved | 1977 | ||
| Ground | Eastleigh | ||
| |||
Eastleigh Athletic F.C. were a long-running amateur football club, formed by local railway workers, who for many years were Eastleigh's leading football club.
History
Eastleigh Athletic became one of the eight founder members of the Hampshire League in 1896 and were league champions in 1897–98, a season in which they also entered a side in the Western League where they also flourished. The club then spent 1898–99 in the Southern League Division Two (South West section), finishing fifth out of six clubs, but on the scrapping of the South West section they returned to the Hampshire League in 1899.[1] In 1903 the league was divided into regional sections with Eastleigh in the South Division where they frequently struggled although they were the first club to lift the Southampton Senior Cup in its inaugural season 1908–09. Also during this time the club proudly lifted the Hampshire Senior Cup on three occasions, in 1898, 1909 and 1911.
The early Twenties saw Eastleigh yo-yo between the league's two divisions, winning the West Division title in 1922–23 only to withdraw during the following season to join the less demanding Southampton League. Here the club started to find their feet again as they won the Junior 3 and Junior 2 titles in 1927 and 1928.
In 1930 the club returned to the Hampshire League Division 2 under the name of S.R. Eastleigh Athletic (S.R. stood for Southern Railway, the owner of the locomotive works in Eastleigh) and the team soon re-established themselves as they pushed for promotion and after several near misses they won promotion as champions in 1938–39 only to have their progress halted by the outbreak of World War II.
Post-war
In 1947 Eastleigh again returned to the Hampshire League when they were placed in Division 3 East where they became a steady mid-table outfit. Three years later they amended their name again, this time to B.R. Eastleigh Athletic (British Rail) and after several steady years the club's fortunes gradually improved. In 1956-57 they won promotion as Division 3 runners-up and remained a steady Division 2 side for a number of years before relegation in 1961-62. After several years of struggle Eastleigh Athletic finished bottom of Division 3 in 1964-65 and were relegated.
Demise
Eastleigh Athletic then rejoined the Southampton League where they played on for a few years, under the guise of B.R.S.A. (British Rail Staff Association) before leaving the competition in 1977.
Today, the B.R.S.A. Social Club still exists in the Eastleigh town centre and remains a popular social venue. In the 1980s and 1990s, there were youth teams bearing the club's name playing in various Southampton Leagues but since then there have been no football teams representing the club.
Notable former players
Other clubs in the town
Over the years Eastleigh has been represented by a number of different amateur football clubs including Athletic's local rivals Eastleigh Spartans, who also played in Hampshire League from 1945 to 1954, then in the Southampton League until their demise in 1995. Other local sides of note include Eastleigh Imperial Boys Club Old Boys (now Capital), Eastleigh Comrades, Eastleigh Progressive Club and Eastleigh Town, all of whom have existed on and off for a number of years in both local Saturday and Sunday football. Until 1991 Eastleigh even boasted its own football league.
Although Eastleigh also hosted the two successful works sides Pirelli General and AC Delco, it was not until 1980 that the town's name re-appeared in the Hampshire League tables when local side Swaythling Athletic became known as Eastleigh and would go on to enjoy huge success.
References
- ↑ "Eastleigh (1)". Football Club History Database. Retrieved 2 December 2012.