Ramblers F.C. was an English

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

club from

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. The club originally played on

Hackney Downs Hackney Downs is a park and an area of historically common land in the Lower Clapton area of the London Borough of Hackney. The name is sometimes also used to apply to the neighbourhood around the park. Hackney Downs Park The Downs open space ...

and moved to a private ground in

Walthamstow Walthamstow ( or ) is a large town in East London, east London, England, within the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Greater London and the Historic counties of England, ancient county of Essex. Situated northeast of Chari ...

in 1876.

History

The club was founded in 1874 as a spin-off of the Pilgrims side. Of the XI which started the first recorded Ramblers match, against

Leyton F.C. Leyton Football Club was an English association football club based in Leyton, in the London Borough of Waltham Forest. The club withdrew from the Isthmian League Division One North in January 2011 due to severe financial difficulties, and disba ...

in January 1875, 10 had played for Pilgrims in 1873–4, and, like the Pilgrims, the club limited playing membership to 60 members. At a time when a player could be a member or player of more than one club simultaneously, many of the Ramblers players also continued to play for Pilgrims. The club entered the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

for the first time in 1875-86, and were drawn to play

Maidenhead Maidenhead is a market town in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in the county of Berkshire, England, on the southwestern bank of the River Thames. It had an estimated population of 70,374 and forms part of the border with southern Bu ...

away. As Pilgrims had entered the Cup as well, players had to choose which of the two sides to represent; those who had chosen Pilgrims travelled to the tie by train with the Ramblers' select. Most of the first-choice Ramblers players decided to play for Pilgrims, and replacement players were former pupils of the

Forest School Forest School or Forrest School may refer to: Educational philosophy * Forest school (learning style), a learner centred outdoor learning approach. Religious philosophy * Thai Forest Tradition, a Theravada school of Buddhism in Thailand. * Sri La ...

of nearby Walthamstow, as they had not yet formed an old boys' club. In 1876-77, the dilemma of whom to represent became more acute, as Pilgrims and Ramblers were drawn together in the first round of the FA Cup. Again the better players chose to play for Pilgrims, who won 4–1. Normally, each side would nominate an umpire for the match, but the two sides were so closely linked that they agreed to ask Charles Alcock to be the sole umpire. The same tie came out of the hat the following year, this time the Pilgrims winning in a replay at the Ramblers' new Walthamstow ground, near the Cock Tavern, and again Alcock acting as sole umpire. The club entered the FA Cup a final time in 1878-79, losing to

Romford Romford is a large town in east London and the administrative centre of the London Borough of Havering. It is located northeast of Charing Cross and is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan. Historically, Romford ...

in the first round. There is no record of the club after the 1878–79 season, with some players reverting to the Pilgrims.

Colours

The club's colours were dark red shirts, dark blue shorts, and dark blue stockings. For its final season, the club replaced the dark red with maroon.

References

Defunct football clubs in England Defunct football clubs in London Association football clubs disestablished in 1879 Association football clubs established in 1874 {{England-footyclub-defunct-stub