Leytonstone F.C.

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Leytonstone F.C. was a London football club, founded in 1886. Its ground was near Leytonstone High Road, next to what was the Midland Railway's overhead line, so near in fact that it was possible to watch the game, looking down from the railway platform. Before 1939 as a juvenile it was possible to watch the game for 2d and 2d for a packet of peanuts. There was one covered stand and the remaining three sides were for standing. Sometimes the Leyton Silver Band would play melodies in the interval and money would be collected in the interval by two men carrying a stretcher along the touchlines inviting people to throw coins into the stretcher. The club won the FA Amateur Cup in 1947, 1948, and in 1968, in which they beat Chesham United 1-0 in a tight game, losing one player to injury before half-time, and playing the majority of the game with ten men. Otherwise there was a memorable away game before WWII when the team lost 13-1. However, it supplied some players to the local professional team, West Ham United (the other one, Leyton Orient - at one time called Clapton Orient - was always too low in the League to attract players from Leytonstone. In 1979 it merged with Ilford to create Leytonstone/Ilford, a precursor to Dagenham & Redbridge, who were formed in 1992 on the merger of Dagenham and Redbridge Forest and in 2007 reached the Football League as Conference National champions.

[edit] Honours

• FA Amateur Cup 1947, 1948, 1968
• Isthmian League Premier Division 1919, 1938, 1939, 1947, 1948, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1966

[edit] External links

• Leytonstone at the Football Club History Database