Rangers F.C. (London)

Rangers F.C. was an association football club who originally played on public grounds in London, and in 1884 moved to the cricket ground in Balham.[2]

Not to be confused with Rangers F.C..

Rangers
Full nameRangers Football Club
Founded1876
Dissolved1886?
GroundClapham Common[1]

History

The club was founded in 1876[3] as St Mark's Guild FC, by members of a teacher training college, the club's first reported game taking place in November that year.[4] In 1877, the club changed its name to Auckland Rangers,[5] and some time before the 1879-80 season dropped the Auckland part of the name. The club's secretary was Frederick Wall, future president of the Football Association, and early players included two of his brothers.

The club entered the FA Cup for the first time in 1880-81. It had the unusual distinction of being drawn against both of the initial FA Cup finalists. In the first round, the club was paired with the Wanderers, who withdrew, being unable to field a team, as its members had chosen to play for old boys' clubs instead. In the second round, the club obtained a bye, and in the third, played the Royal Engineers. The match was played at the Kennington Oval, and the Sappers won 6–0. Rangers' high point was having a goal disallowed for offside, and the club was "overwighted as well as overmatched", while the forwards "made no attempt to dribble,and showed little judgment in passing." [6]

The club entered the FA Cup the following year but scratched after being drawn to play Romford. Although the club was a founding member of the London Football Association,[7] it did not enter the FA Cup again.

Colours

The club's colours were dark blue and white.

Grounds

The club originally played at Battersea Park in 1876-77,[8] moving to Clapham Common at the end of the season,[9] and finally to Balham Cricket Ground in 1884.

References
  1. Alcock, Charles (1881). Football Annual. p. 179.
  2. Alcock, Charles (1885). Football Annual. p. 243.
  3. Alcock, Charles (1880). Football Annual. p. 149.
  4. "Forest Rovers 0-0 St Mark's Guild". South London Press: 5. 2 December 1876.
  5. Wall, Frederick (1935). Fifty Years of Football. Cassell.
  6. "Royal Engineers 6-0 Rangers". Bell's Life: 11. 12 February 1881.
  7. "History of the London FA". London FA. Retrieved 19 May 2022.
  8. "Forest Rovers 0-0 St Mark's Guild". South London Press: 6. 8 March 1877.
  9. "Auckland Rangers 0-1 St Martin's". The Sportsman: 1. 12 October 1877.
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