The Athletic Grounds (sometimes called the Athletic Ground) was a

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

ground and the home of Millwall Athletic Football Club from 1890–1901, the team who went on to become

Millwall Millwall is a district on the western and southern side of the Isle of Dogs, in east London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies to the immediate south of Canary Wharf and Limehouse, north of Greenwich and Deptford, eas ...

. It was situated on the

Isle of Dogs The Isle of Dogs is a large peninsula bounded on three sides by a large meander in the River Thames in East London, England, which includes the Cubitt Town, Millwall and Canary Wharf districts. The area was historically part of the Manor, Ham ...

East London East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the f ...

. It was the third stadium Millwall had occupied since their formation as a football club in 1885. Millwall were formidable at the Athletics Grounds, winning 73% of their games. In total they played 147 games here in all competitions, winning 108, losing 24 and drawing 15.

History

On 10 May 1890

Millwall Rovers Millwall is a district on the western and southern side of the Isle of Dogs, in east London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies to the immediate south of Canary Wharf and Limehouse, north of Greenwich and Deptford, east o ...

played their last game at their second ground, the Lord Nelson Ground, a piece of land situated behind the Lord Nelson pub, against Royal Arsenal to help raise funds for a new ground. The game raised £113 9 s. The money helped Millwall move into the Athletic Grounds. This was their first purpose-built ground, with a grandstand that seated 600 people and an overall capacity of between 10,000 and 15,000. The club dropped Rovers from their name, adopting Athletic to go with their new ground. The new ground was situated on East Ferry Road, opposite the Millwall Docks station. The club obtained a 14-year lease from the Millwall Dock Company and it covered some 27 acres. The club was forced to move on 11 years into the lease, as the dock company wanted to use it as a timber yard. The last game at the Athletic Grounds was a 4–0 win over

Bristol City Bristol City Football Club is a professional football club based in Bristol, England, which compete in the , the second tier of English football. They have played their home games at Ashton Gate since moving from St John's Lane in 1904. The ...

on 27 April 1901 in the Western League. They relocated for the start of the 1901–1902 season to a location near their second home, which became known as North Greenwich. They remained an

east London East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the f ...

club for a further nine years, with the last game played on the Isle of Dogs on 8 October 1910 against

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

, which Millwall won 3–1. Due to lack of expansion space in the

area of East London, Millwall moved to

South London South London is the southern part of London, England, south of the River Thames. The region consists of the Districts of England, boroughs, in whole or in part, of London Borough of Bexley, Bexley, London Borough of Bromley, Bromley, London Borou ...

in 1910 and into their ground,

The Den The Den (previously The New Den) is a football stadium in New Cross, south-east London, and the home of Millwall Football Club. The Den is adjacent to the South London railway originating at , and a quarter of a mile from the Old Den, which i ...

Attendances

The record attendance at The Athletic Grounds of 20,000 was achieved twice in 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 ...

, in a 4–2 win against Woolwich Arsenal on 16 January 1897 in the Fifth qualifying round and a 1–1 draw with

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa Park ...

on 3 February 1900 in the Third round.

References

Bibliography

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Athletic Grounds Millwall F.C. Defunct football venues in England Sports venues completed in 1890