1894–95 New Brompton F.C. season

English football club season February 2015 February 2015 New Brompton 1894–95 Horace Croneen Southern League Division Two 1st FA Cup Third qualifying round Arthur Rule (18) Arthur Rule (22) 8,000 vs Chatham (3 November 1894) 300 vs Old St Stephen's (1 December 1894) _black_stripes _blackstripes _black_stripes ffffff ffffff ffffff 000000 000000 Black and white striped shirt, black shorts, black socks 1893–94 1895–96 During the 1894–95 English football season, New Brompton F.C. (since 1912 called Gillingham F.C.) competed in the Southern Football League Division Two. It was the first season in which the team took part in a league competition. The club had been formed a year earlier but in its inaugural season played only friendly matches and games in the qualifying rounds of the FA Cup and FA Amateur Cup. In 1894, New Brompton turned professional and joined the newly-formed Southern League. The team dominated Division Two of the new league, winning all but one of their matches, and gained promotion to Division One by winning an end-of-season "test match" against Swindon Town, who had finished bottom of the higher division. New Brompton also entered the FA Cup, reaching the third qualifying round. The team played 15 competitive matches, winning 13, drawing none, and losing two. Arthur Rule was the team's top goalscorer; he scored 18 goals in the regular league season and 4 in the test match. Harry Buckland and Alf Meager made the most appearances, playing in every match. The highest attendance recorded at the club's home, the Athletic Ground, was approximately 8,000 for the visit of near-neighbours Chatham in the FA Cup. Background and pre-season thumb|right|upright=1.5|alt=View of New Brompton F.C. football ground in 1906|A view of the club's home ground in 1906. In 1894, only the spectator accommodation on the left in this photograph had been built.Bradley Triggs 1994 329 The New Brompton club was formed in May 1893 by local businessmen keen to organise an association football club which could compete in national, rather than simply local, competitions.Elligate 2009 90 During the 1893–94 season, New Brompton entered the FA Cup and FA Amateur Cup, being eliminated in the qualifying rounds of both competitions, and played many friendly matches.Brown 2003 12 The Southern League was formed in 1894 by many leading clubs in the south of England, at a time when the ostensibly national Football League included only one club outside of the midlands and north.Soar Tyler 1983 177 Keen to secure a regular schedule of high-quality matches, the New Brompton committee, led by chairman H.G. Croneen,Bradley Triggs 1994 392 applied to join the new league. The club was invited to join and allocated a place in Division Two, the lower of the league's two divisions, because near-neighbours Chatham had already been placed in Division One.Conway 1980 13Elligate 2009 85 Days earlier, New Brompton had switched from amateur to professional status, with the players to be paid 12 shillings per match (equivalent to £73 in 2021). https://www.newspapers.com/clip/120931316 Dover Express 15 March 2023 Newspapers.com subscription Gossip on Sport 18 May 1894 Elligate 2009 88 Many players from the previous season agreed to professional terms and remained. The club also signed Joe Dickenson, a player born in Chatham,Joyce 2004 74 who had last played for Bolton Wanderers of the Football League First Division and been in the Bolton team which lost to Notts County in the 1894 FA Cup final.Conway 1980 13Joyce 2004 74Barnes 2011 147 The concept of a manager did not yet exist; significant team decisions were made by the committee or by David Hutcheson, the team captain, and the club employed a trainer called Murray.Conway 1980 13Triggs 1999 13 The players wore black and white striped shirts and black shorts.Triggs 1999 13 Ahead of the new season, New Brompton played a friendly against Barking Swifts and won 17–0; more than a century later this remained the highest score ever achieved in any match by the club.Elligate 2009 135 New Brompton were seen as strong contenders for the championship of the division: a writer for the Middlesex and Buckinghamshire Advertiser stated that "according to some who profess to speak with authority, the Bromptonians are likely to be at the head of the Leagueists." https://www.newspapers.com/clip/120761442 Middlesex and Buckinghamshire Advertiser 13 March 2023 Newspapers.com subscription Football Notes 22 September 1894 Southern League thumb|right|upright=1.4|The New Brompton team pictured before the first match of the season.Back row, left to right: Ashdown, Carr (referee), Jenner, Pellatt, James, Meager, Auld, Murray (trainer). Front row: Manning, Buckland, Hutcheson, Rule, Dickenson New Brompton's first Southern League game was away to Sheppey United on 15 September 1894. In front of approximately 3,000 spectators, New Brompton were forced to begin with only ten players as goalkeeper A. Russell failed to arrive. The team played with no goalkeeper for around ten minutes until the forward Alf Jenner assumed the position and a reserve player took to the field.Brown 2003 12 https://www.newspapers.com/clip/120762424 East Kent Gazette 13 March 2023 Newspapers.com subscription Football Jottings 22 September 1894 New Brompton emerged victorious by a score of 6–0, Hutcheson scoring a hat-trick.Elligate 2009 145 The first game at New Brompton's home, the Athletic Ground, took place a week later and resulted in a 4–0 victory over Uxbridge,Brown 2003 12 https://www.newspapers.com/clip/120762992 The Standard 13 March 2023 Newspapers.com subscription Football 24 September 1894 who played the whole game with only ten men. League play did not resume until 1 December, when New Brompton played Old St Stephen's; Fred Manning and Arthur Rule each scored twice in a 5–2 win described by the Chesham Examiner as "easy". https://www.newspapers.com/clip/120832835 The Chesham Examiner 14 March 2023 Newspapers.com subscription Football Notes 5 December 1894 In the team's final game of the calendar year, they won 7–2 away to Chesham. A. Webb made his only competitive appearance for the team and scored a hat-trick.Brown 2003 12, 128 On 19 January, half-back L. Watson made his debut in the game at home to Maidenhead, having been signed by the club after he impressed them with his performance in an inter-county match between teams representing Kent and Sussex. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/120763975 East Kent Gazette 13 March 2023 Newspapers.com subscription Football Jottings 19 January 1895 W. Thomas also made his debut and scored one of the goals.Brown 2003 12 A week later, New Brompton defeated Sheppey 3–1 at home to maintain their record of having won every league game.Brown 2003 12 The Athletic News reported that Sheppey had their goalkeeper to thank for keeping the margin of the defeat down. The writer noted that Russell, New Brompton's goalkeeper, was "almost a spectator". https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000986/18950128/050/0006 Athletic News 15 March 2023 British Newspaper Archive subscription Southern Notes Grasshopper 28 January 1895 New Brompton's run of victories continued with wins away to Maidenhead and Uxbridge, both without conceding a goal.Brown 2003 12 The team scored two goals in the latter game, the fewest they had yet achieved in a Southern League match, and an Uxbridge newspaper reporter wrote that he had heard that the New Brompton players "admitted that it was the toughest fight they have had in the League tournament". https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0002285/18950309/083/0006 Middlesex and Buckinghamshire Advertiser 15 March 2023 British Newspaper Archive subscription Local Football Gossip 9 March 1895 New Brompton's only league defeat of the season came on 9 March when they lost 3–1 at home to Bromley. Athletic News columnist "Grasshopper" attributed the defeat to "the deplorable state of the ground". https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000986/18950311/084/0006 Athletic News 14 March 2023 British Newspaper Archive subscription Southern Notes Grasshopper 11 March 1895 Dickenson was absent from the team for the only time during the season.Brown 2003 12 Two weeks later the teams met again at Bromley's ground and New Brompton won 3–2 in what the East Kent Gazette described as a "keen struggle". https://www.newspapers.com/clip/120836534 East Kent Gazette 14 March 2023 Newspapers.com subscription Football Jottings 30 March 1895 The team's final two games of the regular league season took place on consecutive days. On 12 April, they beat Old St Stephen's 6–0 away from home; Rule scored three of the goals, the team's third Southern League hat-trick of the season.Brown 2003 12 The following day New Brompton played Chesham at home and won 9–0; Lloyd's Weekly Newspaper reported that the team "simply made rings round their opposition". https://www.newspapers.com/clip/120929962 Lloyd's Weekly Newspaper 15 March 2023 Newspapers.com subscription Football 21 April 1895 Rule scored five goals to take his total for the league season to 18.Brown 2003 12 https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000893/18950417/023/0002 The Sporting Life 15 March 2023 British Newspaper Archive subscription Football Notes 17 April 1895 New Brompton finished the season with 11 wins in 12 games; their total of 57 goals was more than twice that achieved by any other team in the division. Rule alone scored more goals than the entire team of fourth-placed Uxbridge. League match details Key In result column, New Brompton's score shown first H = Home match A = Away match o.g. = Own goal +ResultsBrown 2003 12DateOpponentsResultGoalscorersAttendance15 September 1894Sheppey United (A)6–0Hutcheson (3), Manning, Rule, Button (o.g.)3000 3,00022 September 1894Uxbridge (H)4–0Hutcheson, Rule, Manning, Buckland0 not recorded1 December 1894Old St Stephen's (H)5–2Manning (2), Rule (2), Jenner300 30029 December 1894Chesham (A)7–2Webb (3), Hutcheson, Manning, Dickenson, Spratley (o.g.)300 30019 January 1895Maidenhead (H)6–0Rule (2), Thomas, Buckland, Hutcheson, Dickenson2000 2,00026 January 1895Sheppey United (H)3–1Rule (2), Hutcheson3000 3,00023 February 1895Maidenhead (A)5–0Hutcheson (2), Buckland, Rule, Dickenson0 not recorded2 March 1895Uxbridge (A)2–0Jenner (2)400 4009 March 1895Bromley (H)1–3Hutcheson0 not recorded23 March 1895Bromley (A)3–2Buckland (2), Rule2000 2,00012 April 1895Old St Stephen's (A)6–0Rule (3), Hutcheson (2), Pellatt2500 2,50013 April 1895Chesham (H)9–0Rule (5), Dickenson (2), Hutcheson, Gladwell0 not recorded Partial league table 1894–95 Southern Football League main WDL left auto Southern League Division Two final table, top positions yes 2 GIL New Brompton SHE Sheppey United OLD Old St Stephen's UXB Uxbridge 11 0 1 57 10 6 1 5 25 23 6 0 6 26 26 4 3 5 14 20 Qualified for "test matches" for possible promotion T T T complete https://www.rsssf.org/tablese/engsouthernleaghist.html England – Southern League Final Tables Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation 15 March 2023 https://www.newspapers.com/clip/120901150 The Daily News 15 March 2023 Newspapers.com subscription Football Notes 27 April 1895 Test match Although New Brompton finished top of Division Two, this did not guarantee promotion to Division One. Instead, the team were required to play a "test match" against Swindon Town, who had finished bottom of Division One, the winners of which would play in the higher division in the subsequent season. The match was played at a neutral venue in Caversham, near Reading, two weeks after the regular season's final game.Elligate 2009 72 Rule scored four times as New Brompton won 5–1 to gain promotion. https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000986/18950429/024/0003 Athletic News 15 March 2023 British Newspaper Archive subscription Southern Notes Grasshopper 29 April 1895 The Southern League ultimately expanded Division One from nine teams to ten for the subsequent season, so Swindon retained their place despite losing the match. Test match details Key In result column, New Brompton's score shown first N = Match played at neutral venue +ResultsBrown 2003 12DateOpponentsResultGoalscorersAttendance27 April 1895Swindon Town (N)5–1Rule (4), Buckland1,000 FA Cup Having received a bye in the first qualifying round, New Brompton entered the 1894–95 FA Cup at the second qualifying round stage and were paired with Chatham of the Southern League Division One. The match drew approximately 8,000 fans, the largest recorded attendance to date at the Athletic Ground.Brown 2003 12 https://www.newspapers.com/clip/120932973 Pall Mall Gazette 15 March 2023 Newspapers.com subscription Football 5 November 1894 Dickenson scored a hat-trick in a 3–0 win for the home team; as New Brompton had been eliminated at the earliest stage in the previous season's FA Cup, this was the club's first victory in the competition.Elligate 2009 168 In the third qualifying round, New Brompton faced another Southern League Division One team, Millwall Athletic. Although New Brompton had beaten Millwall in a friendly earlier in the year, they lost the cup game 2–0 and were eliminated from the competition. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/120967568 Wells Journal 16 March 2023 Newspapers.com subscription Football Gossip 29 November 1894 FA Cup match details Key In result column, New Brompton's score shown first H = Home match +ResultsBrown 2003 12DateRoundOpponentsResultGoalscorersAttendance3 November 18942nd qualifyingChatham (H)3–0Dickenson (3)8,00024 November 18943rd qualifyingMillwall Athletic (H)0–24,000 Players thumb|right|upright|alt=Footballer Harry Buckland|Harry Buckland played in all 15 of the team's Southern League and FA Cup matches. During the season, 18 players made at least one competitive appearance for New Brompton. Harry Buckland and Alf Meager made the most, playing in all 15 games. Dickenson, Hutcheson, Dan Pellatt and A. Ashdown each missed one game. Webb and R. Read made the fewest appearances; each played his only match for New Brompton's first team during the season.Brown 2003 128, 129 Rule's 22 goals made him the team's top scorer; Hutcheson had the second highest total, with 13.Brown 2003 12 +Player statisticsBrown 2003 12PlayerPositionSouthern LeagueTest matchFA CupTotalAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsA. Ashdown 1FB1101020140H. Auld 1FB1000020120Harry Buckland 1FW1251120156Joe DickensonFW1151023148A. Gladwell 1FW21000021David Hutcheson 1FW111310201413A. James 1HB40002060Alf Jenner 1GK/FW43000043D. Keefe 1FB20100030Fred Manning 1HB75002095Alf Meager 1HB1201020150Dan Pellatt 1HB1111020141R. Read 1FW10000010Arthur RuleFW91814201222A. Russell 1GK1101020140W. Thomas 1FW61100071L. Watson 1HB70100080A. Webb 1FW13000013 FW = Forward, HB = Half-back, GK = Goalkeeper, FB = Full-back Aftermath Leading goalscorer Rule did not play for New Brompton again after the 1894–95 season; Dickenson also left, although he would briefly return in 1903.Brown 2003 128 In their first season in Division One, the team finished 6th out of 10 clubs. The club, which changed its name to Gillingham in 1912, remained in this division until 1920, when the Southern League Division One was incorporated in its entirety into the Football League to form its new Third Division.Mitchell Reeves Tyler 2013 140 References Works cited Barnes Stuart Nationwide Football Annual 2011–2012 SportsBooks Limited 2011 London 978-1-907524-042 Bradley Andy Roger Triggs Home of the Shouting Men: Complete History of Gillingham Football Club 1893–1993 Gillingham F.C. Gillingham 1994 0-95233-610-3 Brown Tony The Definitive Gillingham F.C.: A Complete Record Soccerdata 2003 Nottingham 1-89946-820-X The 'Gills' Tony Conway 1980 0-905270-26-6 Meresborough Books Gillingham Elligate David Gillingham FC On This Day Pitch Publishing 2009 978-1-9054-1145-0 Durrington Michael Joyce Football League Players' Records 1888–1939 Soccerdata 2004 1-899468-67-6 Nottingham Mitchell Colin Reeves Jon Tyler Daniel The History of English Football Clubs New Holland Publishers 2013 978-1-78009-449-6 London Soar Phil Martin Tyler Encyclopedia of British Football 1983 CollinsWillow 978-0-0021-8049-8 London Roger Triggs Images of England: Gillingham Football Club Tempus Publishing 1999 978-0-75241-567-3 Stroud 1894-95 Category:English football clubs 1894–95 season