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Dulwich Hamlet Football Club is a semi-professional
football club A football team is a group of players selected to play together in the various team sports known as football. Such teams could be selected to play in a match against an opposing team, to represent a football club, group, state or nation, an all- ...
based in East Dulwich in south-east London, England. They are currently members of and play at Champion Hill.


History

The club was formed in 1893, by Lorraine 'Pa' Wilson. They were founder members of the Dulwich League in 1899, and were its inaugural champions.Official Handbook
Dulwich Football League, p3
The club went on to retain the title the following season. In 1907 they joined both the Isthmian League and the Spartan League, leaving the latter at the end of the 1907–08 season. In 1919–20 the club won its first Isthmian League title, winning the league on goal average against Nunhead. They also won the
FA Amateur Cup The FA Amateur Cup was an English football competition for amateur clubs. It commenced in 1893 and ended in 1974 when the Football Association abolished official amateur status. History Following the legalisation of professionalism within footba ...
, beating Tufnell Park 1–0 in the final at the Den. The club won the league again in 1925–26, and the FA Amateur Cup for a second time in 1931–32 win a 7–1 win against
Marine Marine is an adjective meaning of or pertaining to the sea or ocean. Marine or marines may refer to: Ocean * Maritime (disambiguation) * Marine art * Marine biology * Marine debris * Marine habitats * Marine life * Marine pollution Military * ...
in the final. The following season the club won their third league title. In 1933–34 they won their third FA Amateur Cup, beating Leyton 2–1 in the final. The two clubs met in the final again in 1936–37, with Dulwich winning 2–0. In 1948–49 Dulwich won the Isthmian League for a fourth time. The 1976–77 season saw the club finish bottom of Division One, resulting in relegation to Division Two, which was renamed Division One the following season, with Division One becoming the Premier Division. The club went on to win the Division One title in 1977–78 and were promoted back to the Premier Division. They finished bottom of the Premier Division in 1989–90, and were relegated to Division One. The club were promoted back to the Premier Division at the end of the 1991–92 season after finishing third in Division One. In 1998–99 they reached the first round of the FA Cup for the first time since 1948, losing 1–0 to Southport. After finishing bottom of the Premier Division in 2000–01, the club were relegated back to Division One. After finishing seventh in 2003–04, the club played off against Wealdstone for a place in the Premier Division after league restructuring but lost 5–4 on penalties after a 2–2 draw. In
2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...
Dulwich finished fifth and entered the promotion play-offs, beating Bognor Regis Town 3–1 in the semi-finals before losing 4–3 to Leatherhead in the final. The following season the club finished third, again qualifying for the promotion play-offs. After beating Folkestone Invicta 2–1 in the semi-finals, they lost the final 1–0 to Bognor Regis. They returned to the Premier Division after winning the Division One South title on the last day of the 2012–13 season with a 1–1 draw against Burgess Hill Town. In 2014–15 Dulwich finished fourth in the Premier Division, qualifying for the play-offs. However, they lost 2–1 at Margate in the semi-finals. The following season the club finished fifth, and reached the play-off final after winning 1–0 at Bognor Regis Town in the semi-final, before going on to lose 3–1 at
East Thurrock United East Thurrock United Football Club is a football club based in Corringham, Essex, England. They are currently members of and play at Rookery Hill. History The club was founded on 27 April 1969 by a group of fans who felt that the area around ...
. In 2016–17 Dulwich finished third in the Premier Division, qualifying for the play-offs for the third season in a row. After beating
Enfield Town Enfield is a large town in north London, England, north of Charing Cross. It had a population of 156,858 in 2018. It includes the areas of Botany Bay, Brimsdown, Bulls Cross, Bullsmoor, Bush Hill Park, Clay Hill, Crews Hill, Enfield Highway ...
4–2 in the semi-finals, they lost 2–1 at Bognor Regis Town in the final. The following season saw the club finish as runners-up in the Premier Division. In the subsequent play-offs, they beat Leiston 1–0 in the semi-final, before defeating
Hendon Hendon is an urban area in the Borough of Barnet, North-West London northwest of Charing Cross. Hendon was an ancient manor and parish in the county of Middlesex and a former borough, the Municipal Borough of Hendon; it has been part of Great ...
4–3 on penalties following a 1–1 draw in the final to earn promotion to the
National League South The National League South, formerly Conference South, is one of the second divisions of the National League in England, immediately below the top division National League. Along with National League North, it is in the second level of the N ...
. The 2019–20 season saw Dulwich reach the first round of the FA Cup, with the club losing 4–1 at home to
Carlisle United Carlisle United Football Club ( , ) is a professional association football club based in Carlisle, Cumbria, England. The team compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. They have played their home games at Brunton Par ...
.


Ground

The club played at Woodwarde Road until 1895, when they moved to College Farm. The following year they moved to Sunray Avenue, where they remained until 1902. Between 1902 and 1912 they played at Freeman's Ground on Champion Hill,Mike Williams & Tony Williams (2012) ''Non-League Club Directory 2013'', p604 before moving to an adjacent plot of land, where they played until the opening of the Champion Hill stadium in 1931. The stadium was used for amateur international matches, including the
1948 Summer Olympics The 1948 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XIV Olympiad and also known as London 1948) were an international multi-sport event held from 29 July to 14 August 1948 in London, England, United Kingdom. Following a twelve-year hiatus ca ...
. In 1991 the stadium was demolished, as it was too run-down and dangerous to bring up to modern safety standards, as a result of new regulations brought in as a result of the
Hillsborough disaster The Hillsborough disaster was a fatal human crush during a football match at Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, on 15 April 1989. It occurred during an FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest in the ...
. During the 1991–92 season the club played at
Tooting & Mitcham United Tooting & Mitcham United Football Club is an association football club based in the London Borough of Merton. They are currently members of the and play at Imperial Fields in Morden. Their nickname is "the Terrors" or "the Stripes". History ...
's Sandy Lane ground, whilst a new, smaller stadium was built on the same site, opening for the start of the 1992–93 season. The new stadium was funded by the sale to Sainsbury's of land that had once been the club's training pitch, situated immediately behind the large covered terrace on the north side of the 'old' Champion Hill, by the landlords
King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, King's ...
. The new ground remained in King's ownership, with the club having given up the lease on the old ground in return for the new ground being built. In September 2013 it became the first football ground in Greater London to be listed as an Asset of community value, but this was withdrawn by Southwark Council not long after, due to a legal technicality. In February 2014, Champion Hill was bought for £5.7m by Meadow Residential. In March 2018 the company forced the club out of the ground, resulting in a temporary groundshare with rivals Tooting & Mitcham, at their Imperial Fields stadium, which lasted until Dulwich returned to Champion Hill in December 2018.


Players


Current squad

''As of 26 December 2022''


Out on loan


Notable former players

During the 1920s the club had two players capped by the full England team.
Bert Coleman Ernest Herbert "Bert" Coleman (19 October 1889 – 15 June 1958) was an English footballer, notable for making an appearance in 1921 with the English national side despite playing for non-league Dulwich Hamlet Dulwich Hamlet Football Clu ...
was capped whilst playing for Dulwich in 1921, whilst Edgar Kail won three caps against France, Belgium and Spain in 1929. Kail was the last amateur player to play for England whilst solely with an amateur club, and shunned many approaches from professional clubs to stay with Dulwich Hamlet, his local side, for whom he scored over 400 goals, and is still the subject of terrace songs by fans of the club.Football's local hero
''BBC Sport'', 17 February 2003


Backroom staff

''As of November 2022''


Managerial history

''From 1966 onwards'':


Supporters

Dulwich Hamlet had the highest attendance in the Isthmian League in 2015–16, with an average attendance was 1,343, more than double the next highest at Hampton & Richmond Borough. The club has gained a reputation for the activist element of their support, with the fans behind the goal going by the nickname of "The Rabble". In recent seasons, the Football Club Committee, Supporters Trust and fans have backed anti-discrimination and anti-homophobia initiatives, amongst many other initiatives within the community. The efforts made by the club and all of its volunteers to ensure that the club connects with all parts of its local community were recognised in 2016, when they were awarded the Football Foundation Community Club Of The Year at the National Game Awards in London.


Friendship with Altona 1893 and other European links

Hamlet fans have developed a friendship with supporters of German club Altona 1893, as the two clubs were founded in the same year, which began as a friendship started by the Dulwich Hamlet supporters' team. In recognition of the relationship, the club adopted the Altona 1893 home strip as their away strip for the 2014–15 season. On 12 July 2015, Altona 1893 and a large group of fans made the journey to South East London to play a friendly between the two sides. Altona 1893 won 5–3 on the day. In July 2015, Altona 1893 unveiled their new away strip in pink and blue colours, featuring a friendship logo on the sleeve. Dulwich Hamlet returned to Hamburg in July 2018 for a match against Altona 93 to commemorate the 125th anniversary of the founding of both clubs.


Honours

*
FA Amateur Cup The FA Amateur Cup was an English football competition for amateur clubs. It commenced in 1893 and ended in 1974 when the Football Association abolished official amateur status. History Following the legalisation of professionalism within footba ...
** Winners 1919–20, 1931–32, 1933–34, 1936–37 *
Isthmian League The Isthmian League () is a regional men's football league covering Greater London, East and South East England, featuring mostly semi-professional clubs. Founded in 1905 by amateur clubs in the London area, the league now consists of 82 tea ...
**Champions 1919–20, 1925–26, 1932–33, 1948–49 **Division One Champions 1977–78 **Division One South Champions
2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...
*Dulwich League **Champions 1899–1900, 1900–01 *
London Senior Cup The London Senior Cup is the County Senior Cup of the London FA. The London Senior Cup was first won by Upton Park in 1882. Although the leading professional sides in London no longer compete, the Cup has been won in the past by the likes of Ar ...
**Winners 1924–25, 1938–39, 1949–50, 1983–84, 2003–04 *
Surrey Senior Cup The Surrey Senior Cup is the senior Saturday cup competition of the Surrey FA. It is currently competed for by teams playing in the top nine levels of the English football league system who are affiliated to the Surrey FA. The competition was i ...
**Winners 1904–05, 1905–06, 1908–09, 1909–10, 1919–20, 1922–23, 1924–25, 1927–28, 1933–34, 1936–37, 1946–47, 1949–50, 1957–58, 1958–59, 1973–74, 1974–75 * London Challenge Cup **Winners 1998–99 *London Junior Cup **Winners 1899–1900


Records

*Most appearances: Reg Merritt, 576 (1950–1966) *Most consecutive first team appearances: Chris Lewington, 290 (1977–1982) *Most goals: Edgar Kail, 427 (1919–1933) *Most goals in a season: Edgar Kail, 53 (1925–26) *Biggest league win: 10–1 vs West Norwood, 1920–21, 9–0 vs Worthing, 1990–91 *Biggest cup win: 13–0 vs Walton-on-Thames, Surrey Senior Cup, 1936–37 *Heaviest league defeat: 0–9 vs Walthamstow Avenue, Isthmian League, 1945–46; 1–10 vs Hendon, Isthmian League, 1963–64 *Heaviest cup defeat: 0–9 vs Hornchurch, FA Cup third qualifying round, 2004–05 *Record attendance (old Champion Hill): 20,744, Kingstonian v Stockton,
FA Amateur Cup The FA Amateur Cup was an English football competition for amateur clubs. It commenced in 1893 and ended in 1974 when the Football Association abolished official amateur status. History Following the legalisation of professionalism within footba ...
Final (1932–33)
David Bauckham
*Record attendance (new Champion Hill): 3,336 vs
Carlisle United Carlisle United Football Club ( , ) is a professional association football club based in Carlisle, Cumbria, England. The team compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. They have played their home games at Brunton Par ...
, FA Cup first round, 8 November 2019Dulwich Hamlet 1–4 Carlisle United
BBC Sport, 8 November 2019


See also

* :Dulwich Hamlet F.C. players, Dulwich Hamlet F.C. players * Dulwich Hamlet F.C. managers


References


External links


Official websiteDulwich Hamlet Supporters' Trust
{{Football in London Football clubs in England Football clubs in London Sport in the London Borough of Southwark 1893 establishments in England Association football clubs established in 1893 Dulwich Isthmian League Spartan League National League (English football) clubs Politics and sports