Long Eaton Rangers F.C.
Full name | Long Eaton Rangers Football Club | ||
---|---|---|---|
Nickname(s) | the Eatonians, Recreation Ground, Long Eaton | ||
League | Midland League | ||
1898–99 | 13th of 14 | ||
|
Long Eaton Rangers Football Club was a football club based in Long Eaton, Derbyshire, England, which, for a brief period in the 1880s, had a legitimate claim to being one of the best teams in the country. They were founding members of the second ever league, The Combination, in 1888, and when that folded, the Football Alliance in 1889.
History
The club was founded in 1881, playing in fields that were opposite what would, in 1884, become the Long Eaton Recreation Ground. The first reported game for the club was a goalless draw at Derby Midland in November 1881.[2] The club was unbeaten at home for its first two seasons.
The first impact the club made on a wider stage was when beating
However, in 1886–87, thanks in part to a kind draw, and to
Despite these successes on the local stage, a long run in the FA Cup eluded the Rangers. With the competition arranged on a regional level, the club was put into "divisions" which featured many of the country's leading clubs, and Long Eaton never had the luck of the draw; the club's first round opponents in its first entries (from
Even when Rangers had a kindly first round draw for the first time, in
1888-89: the Combination
The Birmingham Senior Cup success was not enough for the Rangers to be one of the clubs invited to form the
The club's record however was good enough to gain exemption from the FA Cup's first set of qualifying rounds, and it was placed in the first round proper, with 31 other clubs. Again the regional nature of the draw was unkind to the club, and it was drawn away to Birmingham St George's,[16] losing 3–2 to a team that would reach the quarter-finals.
1889-90: the Football Alliance
With the collapse of the Combination, the Rangers were one of the clubs that banded together to form the Football Alliance, although it was not one of the clubs originally accepted;
1890-99: the Midland League
The Midland League was in its second season and Rangers finished second, two points behind
The club never reached such heights again, and indeed finished the 1891–92 season only four points off the bottom. It also never got beyond the first round proper of the FA Cup, only winning through the qualifying rounds twice (in
The club ceased to operate before the 1899–1900 season, the club withdrawing from the Midland League for financial reasons,[20] having finished bottom of the table with 20 points from 26 matches.[21] Two weeks after the club withdrew, the Derbyshire Football Association suspended the club for telling a player that the club was insolvent and he "would have to take his chance when the debts were liquidated".[22] In 1900 the club launched an unsuccessful public appeal to clear debts and re-start the team.[23]
Ground
They played at the
Colours
Rangers originally played in a chocolate and sky blue halved shirt with navy shorts and socks.[25] By 1887 the club changed to white shirts, originally with red trimmings,[26][27] but by 1893 the trimmings were blue.[28]
Honours
Birmingham Senior Cup
- Winners: 1886–87
Derbyshire Senior Cup
- Winners: 1890–91
- Runners-up: 1886–87, 1889–90, 1891–92
Derbyshire Charity Cup
- Winners: 1888–89
Notable players
- "Tich" Smith, future Nottingham Forest regular and unofficial England international[29]
References
- ^ "Long Eaton Rangers v Aston Villa 2nd". Long Eaton Advertiser: 5. 4 November 1882.
- ^ "Derby Midland v Long Eaton Rangers". Nottinghamshire Guardian: 12. 25 November 1881.
- ^ "Long Eaton Rangers v Aston Villa 2nd". Long Eaton Advertiser: 5. 4 November 1882.
- ^ "Sports & Pastimes". Nottinghamshire Guardian: 12. 27 April 1883.
- ^ Carr, Steve (2000). History of the Birmingham Senior Cup. Grorty Dick.
- ^ "Birmingham Cup - Fourth Round". Birmingham Daily Post: 7. 7 March 1887.
- ^ "Birmingham Cup - Semi-Final Tie". Birmingham Daily Post: 7. 14 March 1887.
- ^ "report". Lichfield Mercury: 2. 25 March 1887.
- ^ "Birmingham & District Cup - Final Tie". Birmingham Daily Post: 7. 9 May 1887.
- ^ "Derbyshire Cup". Derby Daily Telegraph: 4. 4 April 1887.
- ^ "report". Sheffield Independent: 8. 3 November 1885.
- ^ "report". Nottingham Journal: 7. 23 November 1885.
- ^ "report". Sheffield Independent: 6. 7 November 1887.
- ^ "Football & other notes". Derby Daily Telegraph: 4. 14 December 1887.
- ^ Blakeman, Mick (2012). The Football Alliance Match By Match. Soccerdata. p. 64.
- ^ The renamed Mitchells St Georges
- ^ "A Rival Football League". Nottinghamshire Guardian: 3. 18 May 1889.
- ^ "The Football Alliance". Sheffield Independent: 8. 29 May 1889.
- ^ Long Eaton Rangers at the Football Club History Database Retrieved 2 July 2008
- ^ "Midland League". Long Eaton Advertiser: 5. 3 June 1899.
- ^ Albeit only 13 points off the champions Doncaster Rovers.
- ^ "Derbyshire Football Association". Long Eaton Advertiser: 5. 17 June 1899.
- ^ "Long Eaton Rangers Football Club". Long Eaton Advertiser: 4. 26 October 1900.
- ^ "Long Eaton Rangers". Nottingham Evening Post. 1 September 1885. Retrieved 10 September 2014 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ Moor, Dave. "Eminent Victorians". historicalkits.co.uk. Historical Football Kits. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
- ^ Alcock, Charles (1887). Football Annual 1887. London: Wright & Co. p. 186.
- ^ Alcock, Charles (1889). Football Annual 1889. London: Wright & Co. p. 178.
- ^ "Answers to correspondents". Athletic News: 4. 16 October 1893.
- ^ "Tich Smith". England Football Online. Retrieved 16 June 2022.