The Salutation Tavern, 17, Newgate Street, was the venue for a meeting of the London Football Association, in the wake of increasing football "professionalism" towards the end of the 1880s. The LFA was still very much amateur and on March 13th 1890, there was a proposal to form a new league named the Southern League. England international, Charlie Bambridge, was promoting this initiative. His aim was to compete with the established Football League, founded in 1888 and containing clubs from the North and Midlands. The clubs most likely to fill the Southern League were mainly old boys' clubs, such as the Old Carthusians, but they were not going to join in, as amateurism was very much their code despite professionalism being sanctioned by the FA in 1885.
The main opponent to this move was N.L.'Pa' Jackson, a respected administrator of amateur football, who went on to "found" the Corinthians' club. The vote of those clubs involved was 47 to 46 supporting the motion; "it was not desirable to form a league". By 1892-3 the Football League gained a Second Division and by 1920-1, a Third Division was added.
On January 12th 1894, following two unsuccessful meetings in the City, the Southern League finally got under way, with representatives from: Chatham, Clapton, Ilford, Luton, Millwall, Reading and the 2nd Scots' Guards.
A week later, invitation letters to join in wth the league were sent to Casuals, Crouch End, Crusaders, London Caledonians, Old Carthusians, Old Westminsters, Royal Ordnance Factories, Swindon and Woolwich Arsenal (the first southern club to turn pro in 1891). The latter were already in the Second Division playing amongst mainly northern clubs. The "Public School" teams and the Scots' Guards refused to go along with this venture.
So in 1894, the Southern League began with nine clubs: Chatham, Clapton, Ilford, Luton Town, Millwall Athletic, Reading, Royal Ordnance Factories, Southampton St Mary's, Swindon Town.
Millwall Athletic won the first two seasons and ironically, Millwall has never had any form of such success since!
There was also a Second Division with: Bromley, Chesham, Maidenhead, New Brompton, Old St Stephens, Sheppey United, Uxbridge. Woolwich Arsenal offered a reserve team but the league refused them. The Southern League contained clubs playing a high standard, many thought of an equal standard to the Football League Second Division. In 1920, the two top division contained 22 clubs and the best Southern League clubs were hived off to form the Football League Third Division of 22 clubs. The following season there were two Third Divisions (North with 20 clubs and South with 22).
Southampton reached the FA Cup Final twice in 1900 and 1902 and Tottenham won it in 1901, reflecting the growing strength of the new Southern League. In 1908 the winners of the Football League and Southern League played each other in the FA Charity Shield, a start of season celebration which involved, in its first year, Manchester United, Football League champions and QPR, as Southern League winners. It was drawn 1-1 and then United won the replay 4-0, at Stamford Bridge, the only time this match has gone to a replay. 1908 signified a rift between the Football Association and the "amateur" clubs, over professionalism. The "Charity Shield" as it is best known, was traditionally a match played between a Professional ("picked" XI) and a selected Amateur XI from the best of the bunch!
Northampton Town, Southern League Winners 1908-9, played in the Charity Shield match on April 28th. A crowd of 7,000 at Stamford Bridge raised £226 for Charity shared between the two clubs and various charities The Cobblers lost the Shield to Newcastle United (Football League winners) 2-0. PS The manager of Northampton Town? HERBERT CHAPMAN see previous blogs!
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