Shepherd's Bush F.C.

Shepherd's Bush
Full name Shepherd's Bush Football Club
Nickname(s) The Bushmen
Founded 1880
Dissolved 1915
Ground Various, including Loftus Road
Ground Capacity ?

Shepherd's Bush Football Club were an English football club based in Shepherd's Bush, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, although they originally played in central and south London.

History

The club were founded as Old St Stephen's FC in 1880 in Westminster,[1] although they soon moved out to play in Denmark Hill and Nunhead.[2] In 1892 they were founder members of the Southern Alliance, one of the first attempts at a league in southern England, and topped the table before the competition was abandoned before the 1892–93 season was out. In 1894 they went on to become a founder member of the Southern League Second Division and finished third in their inaugural season; however they lost a test match against Royal Ordnance Factories and did not achieve promotion to the First Division.[3]

They continued to play in the Southern League under the Old St Stephen's name for another three seasons, never performing better than their inaugural season.[3] During this time, in 1895, they moved across London to Shepherd's Bush, playing on Shepherd's Bush Green itself, which was to host football at the 1908 Summer Olympics. In 1898 Old St Stephen's merged with another local team to become Shepherd's Bush FC.[1] They took Old St Stephen's place in the Southern League[4] and continued to play up until the 1901–02 season.[5]

Gaining the nickname of "the Bushmen", the club moved to Wormholt Farm, but when that site was threatened with development in 1904, Shepherd's Bush built and moved into the Loftus Road ground nearby; they played their first game there against Old Malvernians on 22 October 1904.[1] In 1907 the club re-entered competitive league football, joining the Spartan League and a year later the Isthmian League, where they played until the outbreak of World War I.[5]

Loftus Road as it is today

During wartime, Shepherd's Bush F.C. were unable to play any further fixtures and disbanded in 1915.[1] In 1917, their ground, Loftus Road was taken over by Queens Park Rangers, who continue to occupy it to this day.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "News September–October 2004". QPR Loyal Supporters Association. Retrieved 2007-04-24.
  2. ↑ "Help". The Peckham Society. Retrieved 2007-04-23.
  3. 1 2 "Old St Stephen's". Football Club History Database. Retrieved 2007-04-23.
  4. ↑ "England – Southern League Final Tables". RSSSF. Retrieved 2007-04-23.
  5. 1 2 "Shepherd's Bush". Football Club History Database. Retrieved 2007-04-23.

Further reading

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