London League
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The London League was a football competition that was held in the London and surrounding areas of south-east England from 1896 until 1964.

In 1896 the president of the London League was Arnold Hills founder of Thames Ironworks F.C. (now known as West Ham United). One of the men who helped draft the rules of the competition was Francis Payne, club secretary of Thames Ironworks F.C. in 1897. The league started with three divisions, the 3rd Grenadier Guards winning the inaugural championship.

The league fluctuated between having a single division and reaching four divisions. Before World War I, most of the senior London Football League clubs fielded a reserve side in the London League.

In 1964, the London League ceased to exist, merging with the Aetolian League to form the Greater London League, which then further merged in 1971 with the Metropolitan League.

Champions

London League Division One

• 1896-1897 - 3rd Grenadier Guards F.C.
• 1897-1898 - Thames Ironworks F.C.

London League Division Two

• 1896-1897 - Bromley F.C.
• 1897-1898 - Barnet F.C.

London League Premier Division

• 1901-1902 - West Ham United
• 1902-1903 - Tottenham Hotspur F.C.
• 1903-1904 - Millwall F.C.

London League Division One A

• 1909-1910 - Barking F.C.

In 1924, Division Two was disbanded

In 1939, the league was suspended due to the outbreak of World War II. On the resumption of football after the War, nineteen clubs played in the London League, split into Western and Eastern Divisions. Eastern Division champions Woolwich Polytechnic beat Eastern Champions Edgware Town 2-1 in a play-off

In 1946, the divisions were re-organised, and a new structure of a Premier Division and a Division One was formed

Within 12 months, enough clubs had joined to form a new Division Two

In 1953, Division Two was disbanded

In 1956, Division One was disbanded, leaving only a single Senior section

In 1963, an increase in the number of clubs led to a reversion to two divisions.

League Positions

Division One 1896-1897

1. 3rd Grenadier Guards F.C.
2. Thames Ironworks F.C.
3. Barking Woodville F.C.
4. Ilford F.C.
5. Crouch End F.C.
6. Vampires F.C.
7. London Welsh F.C.

• 1st Scots Guards F.C. withdrew during the season and the matches were expunged from the records. London Welsh F.C. were suspended close to the end of season, and as a result Thames Ironworks F.C. were awarded two wins for games unplayed against them.

Division One 1897-1898

1. Thames Ironworks F.C.
2. Brentford F.C.
3. Leyton F.C.
4. 3rd Grenadier Guards F.C.
5. Ilford F.C.
6. Stanley F.C.
7. Barking Woodville F.C.
8. Bromley F.C.
9. 2nd Grenadier Guards F.C.

References

• Football Club History Database
• Blows, Kirk & Hogg, Tony (2000). The Essential History of West Ham United. Headline. ISBN 0-7472-7036-8. 

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