Grays Athletic Football Club is a football club based in Grays,

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and Grea ...

, England. They are currently members of the and play at Parkside in nearby

Aveley Aveley is a town and former civil parish in the unitary authority of Thurrock in Essex, England, and forms one of the traditional Church of England parishes. Aveley is 16 miles (26.2 km) east of Charing Cross. In the 2021 United Kingdom c ...

History

The club was established as Grays Juniors in 1890, before merging with former Southern League club Grays United to form Grays Athletic.George H. Watts (2006) ''The Place I Love Best'', p14 The newly formed club joined the Grays & District League, later joining Division Two B of the

South Essex League The South Essex League was a football league that was held in Essex and East London. History The league was formed for the 1892–93 season. Only four clubs in the league managed to fulfill all their fixtures, with Barking Excelsior winning th ...

in 1908. They were runners-up in their first season in the division and won it in their second season, earning promotion to Division One for the 1909–10 season. The club were founder members of the

Athenian League The Athenian League was an English amateur football league for clubs in and around London. The league was originally to be called the Corinthian League,Athenian Football League minutes 1912-1921 (National Football Museum, Preston). but this nam ...

in 1912, but the league closed down in 1914 due to

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and Grays transferred to the Premier Division (Amateur) of the London League.London League 1910–1928
Non-League Matters They won the division in their first season, with the reserves also winning Division One. The league was suspended at the end of the 1914–15 season, with Grays rejoining in the Premier Division when it restarted in 1919–20. Grays were Premier Division runners-up in 1920–21, before winning the division in 1921–22. In 1924 the club joined the Kent League but after two seasons in mid-table, they returned to the London League in 1926. The return was a success as the club were Premier Division champions in 1926–27 and runners-up in the next two seasons, before winning the title again in 1929–30.London League 1928–1950
Non-League Matters After finishing as runners-up in 1930–31, the club spent most of the 1930s in mid-table, although they won the league's Challenge Cup in 1936–37.
Grays Athletic F.C. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

Grays were founder members of the

Corinthian League The League of Corinth, also referred to as the Hellenic League (from Greek Ἑλληνικός ''Hellenikos'', "pertaining to Greece and Greeks"), was a confederation of Greek states created by Philip II in 338–337 BC. The League was created ...

, and were its inaugural champions and League Cup winners in 1945–46.History
Grays Athletic F.C. They were league runners-up in 1951–52, and the following season saw them qualify for the first round of 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, losing 5–0 at home to

Llanelli Llanelli (" St Elli's Parish"; ) is a market town and the largest community in Carmarthenshire and the preserved county of Dyfed, Wales. It is located on the Loughor estuary north-west of Swansea and south-east of the county town, Carmarth ...

. They were league runners-up again in 1954–55 and 1956–57, before rejoining the Athenian League in 1958. When the league gained two more divisions in 1963, the club were placed in the Premier Division, where they remained until being relegated to Division One at the end of the 1971–72 season, in which they had finished bottom of the table. In 1977 the league was reorganised into a single division, and the club were runners-up in 1982–83. In 1983 Grays transferred to Division Two of the Isthmian League. League reorganisation saw them placed in Division Two South in 1984 and they went on to win the division at the first attempt, earning promotion to Division One. In 1987–88 they were Division One runners-up, resulting in promotion to the Premier Division. In 1988–89 the club reached the first round of the FA Cup for a second time, losing 2–0 at

Bath City Bath City Football Club is a semi-professional football club based in Bath, Somerset, England. The club is affiliated to the Somerset FA and currently competes in the National League South, the sixth tier of English football. The club have ...

. They remained in the Premier Division until being relegated back to Division One at the end of the 1996–97 season. In 1999–2000 the club were Division One runners-up, earning promotion back to the Premier Division. In 2000–01 another appearance in the FA Cup first round saw them play Football League opposition for the first time, losing 4–0 at

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of letters, symbols, etc., especially by sight or touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process involving such areas as word recognition, orthography (spelling ...

. A sixth-place finish in 2003–04 resulted in Grays being placed in the new Conference South for the 2004–05 season. They went on to win the new division in its first season, earning promotion to the Conference National. The season also saw them reach the final of the FA Trophy, in which they beat

Hucknall Town Hucknall Town Football Club are a football club based in the town of Hucknall, Nottinghamshire, England. The club are members of the and play at Watnall Road. History Hucknall Town were renamed from Hucknall Colliery Welfare in 1987 and for ...

6–5 on penalties after a 1–1 draw at

Villa Park Villa Park is a football stadium in Aston, Birmingham, England, with a seating capacity of 42,682. It has been the home of Premier League side Aston Villa since 1897. The ground is less than a mile from both Witton and Aston railway station ...

. In their first season in the Conference National the club finished third, qualifying for the promotion play-offs. However, they lost 5–4 on aggregate to

Halifax Town FC Halifax Town is a professional association football club based in Halifax, West Yorkshire, England. They currently compete in and play at the Shay. They replaced Halifax Town A.F.C., which went into administration in the 2007–08 season. ...

. They also reached the second round of the

, beating

York City York City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of York, North Yorkshire, England. As of the 2022–23 season, the team compete in the National League, at the fifth tier of the English football league sys ...

3–0 at

Bootham Crescent Bootham Crescent in York, England, was the home of York City football club and York City Knights rugby league club. With a capacity of 8,256, it is near the city centre, just over a mile from York railway station. York City leased land at B ...

before losing 3–0 at

Mansfield Town Mansfield Town Football Club is a professional football club based in the town of Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Stags', they play in a blue and ...

, as well as retaining the FA Trophy with a 2–0 win over Woking in the final. The club's league form subsequently faded and after narrowly avoiding relegation in 2006–07 and 2008–09, they finished bottom of the Conference National in 2009–10 and resigned from the Football Conference. Grays were initially rejected by the Isthmian League and were lined up to play in the

Essex Senior League The Essex Senior Football League is an English men's football league. It contains clubs from the Essex FA, Hertfordshire FA, London FA, Middlesex FA and the Amateur Football Alliance. It is a feeder league to Division One North of the Isthm ...

. However, an appeal to

the Football Association The Football Association (also known as The FA) is the governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the oldest football association in the world a ...

saw them placed in Division One North of the Isthmian League. A fifth-place finish in 2011–12 saw them qualify for the play-offs, in which Enfield Town defeated them 3–1 on penalties after a 2–2 draw in the semi-final. However, the club were Division One North champions the following season with a club record 102 points, earning promotion back to the Premier Division. In August 2016 the club became community-owned. They went on to finish bottom of the Premier Division in the 2016–17 and were relegated back to the (renamed) North Division.

Season-by-season

Ground

The club initially played at the Hoppit Ground in

Little Thurrock Little Thurrock () is an area, ward, former civil parish and Church of England parish in the town of Grays, in the unitary authority of Thurrock, Essex. In 1931 the parish had a population of 4428. Location Little Thurrock is on the north bank ...

.Grays Athletic
Pyramid Passion In 1906 they moved to the New Recreation Ground, playing there until 2010. After the ground was sold to developers, the club groundshared with East Thurrock United at their Rookery Hill ground in Corringham.Grays Athletic win Ryman League appeal
BBC Sport, 18 June 2010 During the 2012–13 season the club played at Rush Green Stadium in Rush Green, sharing the ground with West Ham United's reserves who played in the

Professional Development League The Professional Development League is a system of youth football leagues that are managed, organised and controlled by the Premier League or by the Football League. It was introduced by the Football Association via the Elite Player Performanc ...

.Grays Athletic v West Ham United XI
Grays Athletic F.C. The following season, West Ham pulled out of the deal in June and Grays moved to

's Mill Field ground. When Aveley moved to Parkside in 2017, Grays became tenants at the new ground.

Honours

* FA Trophy **Winners 2004–05, 2005–06 *Football Conference **Conference South champions 2004–05 *Isthmian League **Division Two South champions 1984–85 **Division One North champions 2012–13 **League Cup winners: 1991–92 *London League **Premier Division champions 1921–22, 1926–27, 1929–30 **Premier Division (Amateur) champions 1914–15 **Challenge Cup winners 1936–37 *Corinthian League **Champions 1945–46 **League Cup winners 1945–46 *South Essex League **Division Two B champions 1908–09 *

Essex Senior Cup The Essex Senior Cup is a knock-out system football competition that has been running since 1884, and is the most prestigious cup competition in the county of Essex. The competition is run mainly for non-League clubs in the region, although lea ...

**Winners 1914–15, 1920–21, 1922–23, 1944–45, 1956–57, 1987–88, 1993–94, 1994–95 * Essex Thameside Trophy **Winners 1947–48, 1978–79, 1980–81, 1987–88, 1988–89, 1990–91, 2001–02 *

East Anglian Cup The East Anglian Cup was a football competition that embraced East Anglian clubs in Essex, Norfolk and Suffolk, but also included clubs from a much wider geographical area, from Boston and Louth in Lincolnshire down to Oxford City, Chelsea and Gil ...

**Winners 1944–45

Records

*Best

performance: Second round, 2005–06 *Best FA Trophy performance: Winners, 2004–05, 2005–06 *Best FA Vase performance: Fourth round, 1977–78, 1979–80, 1981–82, 1983–84 *Biggest victory: 12–0 vs Tooting Town, London League, 24 February 1923Mike Williams & Tony Williams (2016) ''Non-League Club Directory 2017'', Tony Williams Publications, p326 *Biggest defeat: 0–12 vs

Enfield Enfield may refer to: Places Australia * Enfield, New South Wales * Enfield, South Australia ** Electoral district of Enfield, a state electoral district in South Australia, corresponding to the suburb ** Enfield High School (South Australia) ...

, 20 April 1963 *Attendance: 9,500 v

Chelmsford City Chelmsford City Football Club is a semi-professional football club based in Chelmsford, Essex, England. Currently members of they play at the Melbourne Stadium. History Chelmsford Chelmsford Football Club was established in 1878 by members of ...

fourth qualifying round, 1959 *Most appearances: Phil Sammons, 673 (1982–1997) *Most goals: Harry Brand, 269 (1944–1952) *Transfer record fee paid: £12,000 to

Welling United Welling United Football Club is a professional football club, based in Welling in the London Borough of Bexley, England. The club's first team play in the National League South, at the sixth tier of English football. History Welling United Foot ...

for Danny Kedwell *Transfer record fee received: £150,000 from

Peterborough United Peterborough United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, England. The team compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Peterborough have a long-standing ...

for Aaron McLean

References

External links

Official website
{{Coord, 51.503494, N, 0.26130885, E, display=title Football clubs in England Football clubs in Essex Fan-owned football clubs in England Association football clubs established in 1890 1890 establishments in England Sport in Thurrock Athenian League London League (football) Kent Football League (1894–1959) Corinthian League (football) Isthmian League National League (English football) South Essex League