History

In the beginning

The Crouch End Football Club was founded at least as early as 1883 and there is some suspicion it may have been earlier. It was originally named Balmoral Football Club (for no reason that we know) but quickly changed its title to represent the area in which it played. The club played its home fixtures in front of sizeable crowds - some rumoured to stretch into four figures - on the Crouch End Playing Fields. This area of land is now occupied by the North London, Highate and Crouch End cricket clubs in Park Road, Crouch End.

Like most clubs of its era, Crouch End engaged in friendlies and, in keeping with many of its southern neighbours, shunned the professionalism which began to encroach on the game towards the end of the 19th century. This was not a reflection of lowly status mind, as the club was invited to join a proposed Southern Football League in 1891. The proposal was dropped when its main proponent - Woolwich Arsenal - were elected into the Football League in 1892, but Crouch End had declined the offer as it would have involved turning professional.

The club continued to play a list of prestigious friendlies throughout the 1890s as evidenced by a number of match cards which are on display in the club house. Opponents included the likes of Tottenham Hotspur and a number of decent sides are also included on these cards such as Millwall [Athletic] and Queen's Park Rangers. In the 1891-92 season the club is thought to have played a match against the previous season's FA Cup runners-up, Notts County, although this has not been verified thus far.

Meet the Vampires

A match card from 1896 - note Queen Victoria's likeness on the stamp

In 1896 Crouch End became founder members of the London League and in its first season entered 1st and reserve teams into the competition. The 1st team finished 5th out of seven teams in Division 1, one place and three points ahead of Vampires, a name which of great import to the future of the club.

Vampires Football Club was based in Norbury and the link between them and Crouch End F.C. in unclear but it is likely that it was one forged through professional connections as many of the gentlemen amateurs of the time had business in the City of London where they would come into contact with members of other clubs. Similarly, the reasons for the merger are lost to the march of time but merge these two clubs did to produce the famous Crouch End Vampires title in 1897.

The new club is not listed in the London League tables for 1897-98 but it appears to have been a successful venture given that it continues to this day. At this time the club was still playing its matches in Crouch End, possibly in the grounds of Alexandra Palace, roughly where the current Alexandra Park F.C. is situated, with changing facilities and hospitality offered at the Railway Tavern pub on the corner of Nightingale Lane, near to Hornsey railway station.

Gentlemen Amateurs

The club is likely to have played league football after leaving the London League but no trace of it has yet been found up until 1907 when it became a founder member of the Southern Amateur League. 1907 was the year of the 'Great Split' between the professionals and amateurs. The Amateur Football Defence Federation (later renamed the Amateur Football Association and, later still, the Amateur Football Alliance) was formed by a number of clubs and county associations concentrated in, but not restricted to, the home counties. Essentially, these parties felt that the Football Association was overlooking the interests of amateur footballers in favour of professionals.

The Southern Amateur League, being formed by much the same people who had created the AFA, was the new association's flagship league and the Vampires were proud to be invited to join for the 1907-08 season. The seventeen clubs were divided into Sections 'A' and 'B' with 'A' (later Senior Division 1) being made up for teams which had previously won County FA Senior Cup competitions, while clubs which had not were placed into Section 'B'. The Vampires, having won the London Junior Cup way back in 1890 but never a senior cup, began in the lower section but achieved promotion in their first season by finishing as runners-up to Reigate Priory.

Unfortunately, life in the top flight - against such names as Eastbourne and Ipswich Town - proved tough and the team returned to Section 'B' immediately. After a few years of 'finding their feet', however, the team went one better and became champions of their division in 1912-13 - the club's very first league championship. During that season the Vamps faced three current SAL rivals: Alleyn Old Boys, Carshalton and Norsemen while another current SAL member club, Civil Service narrowly missed out on the Section 'A' championship.

The team's second stint in the top flight was more successful and a mid-table finish was considered a success, with 8 wins and 6 defeats along the way. Sadly, this would be the last league season the team would complete for many years due to the outbreak of the Great War in 1914.

Between the Wars

After the War the club was resurrected by the inspirational Jack Bruce, who would later become a committee member for the Nemean Amateur League and the Southern Amateur League and a Vice-President of the AFA. Under Jack, the club roamed north London from Lea Bridge Road to Preston Manor in place of a permanent home which it found, for some time, at Woodside Park (see further on).

In the early years of the 1920s the club played in the Middlesex County Amateur League but in 1926 the Honorary Secretary of competition decided, without mandate from its member clubs, to affiliate the league directly with the Football Association instead of with the Amateur Football Alliance. In protest a number of the member clubs, the Vampires included, resigned and set up an alternative competition, the Nemean Amateur League.The Vampires thrived winning the Senior Division of the new league in 1926-27, quickly followed by the Premier Division in 1927-28. This proved to be a springboard for the club as it was elected back into the Southern Amateur League for the 1928-29.

At this time the club was playing its matches further a field using a variety of grounds across north London. The Woodside Park Garden Suburb Club - opposite the Old Finchleians ground - was home for a number of seasons, as was Folly Farm, New Barnet - roughly where the gasworks behind the Railway Bell pub now stand. Another ground used was the Hare & Hounds Ground on Lea Bridge Road.

The club did not manage to lift itself out of the bottom division of the league during this time, but did achieve its first AFA Cup success, defeating Old Owens in the 1938 AFA Middlesex Senior Cup final. Unfortunately, those storm clouds which appeared to have been dispersed two decades earlier were returning and football would once again have to take a back seat.

The Move to Muswell

Following World War II Southern Amateur League clubs were quick to restart their activities. Indeed, the Vampires competed in a truncated SAL Second Division in season 1945-46. A priority for the club at this time was to find itself a permanent home. In 1952, after several nomadic years which saw the club move to King's Park, Enfield and back to Woodside Park, it took on a lease at Muswell Hill Sports Ground in Coppetts Road - the current home of the club. Club members built the original club house themselves with an extension to the front and side being added later.

The ground at this time only offered one football pitch as the area now occupied by the top pitches was a municipal refuse facility (a dump) and so Enfield and Woodside Park were still used to accommodate lower team home games. This area was filled in in 1962 and was made available to the Vampires in time for the ill-fated 1962-63 season during which all league competitions had to be abandoned following an incredibly harsh winter. The club was kept alive by the playing of friendly matches and, probably more importantly, socialising with opponents in the club house. It was during this time that the club developed a reputation for hospitality and sociability.

The Modern Era

During the next two decades the 1st XI flitted between the Second and Third Divisions with a 3rd placed finish in Division in 1974-74 the best to show for their toils until promotion back to Division 1 was gained in 1979-80. In the build up to the club's centenary it was fitting to see the side in the SAL's top division once again but the pinnacle of the club's achievements came three years later when, bang on schedule for the 100th anniversary celebrations, the club became champions of the League for the first and only time. For good measure the 2nd XI also brought home the AFA Middlesex Intermediate Cup.

Despite slipping back into Division 2 in 1986 the side returned to the top flight at the first attempt meaning that for the 1986-87 season all seven Vampires sides were competing in Division 1 of their respective sections of the SAL.

The 1st XI slipped back into Division 2 in 1990 but the arrival of Brian Owen as 1st team manager signalled the beginning of the club's most successful period. An unbeaten championship season in 1991-92 returned the side to Division 1 where it challenged regularly for the next 10 seasons at the top of the SAL. A final game defeat at home to Nat West Bank at the end of the 1992-93 season saw the side's title hopes dashed and the following season the side came 2nd place. This time, however, there was more than consolation as club's won its first and only AFA Senior Cup with a 3-1 victory against Old Ignatians at Midland Bank's Beckenham ground, goals coming from Pat Rimmer, Karl Bateson and Tony Bannister.

In the team that day were two of the best players ever to represent the club. Steve Langley (pictured above with the Senior Cup) and Ben Smart (far left, front row) formed a formidable centre-back partnership. Sadly, both suffered untimely deaths in the next decade. With the 1st XI once again vying for the SAL championship in the 1996-97 season Ben suffered a brain haemorrhage and died aged just 28. A few short years later Steve was diagnosed with lung cancer and passed away aged 42 years in 2003. The untimely loss of Ben, shortly followed by another stalwart - Ian Goldie - led to the introduction of the Annual Memorial 6-a-side tournament.

Both Ben and Steve were, however, still present when the club won its second AFA Middlesex Senior Cup by beating Old Ignatians (again), this time by 3 goals to 2 at Old Owens at the end of the 1995-96 season. The club again finished runners-up in Division 1 with that 2nd championship proving ever elusive.

Following the departure of Brian Owen the Vampires continued to challenge. Under the tutelage of former Alexandra Park manager Paul McKiernan the side secured a 3rd place finish in 1999-2000 and once again reach the final of the AFA Senior Cup. This time, however, luck was against the Vampires as they became the first side to lose-out in a penalty shoot-out following a hard-fought 1-1 draw with UCL Academicals.

The 21st century has seen the club's flagship side struggle after the dizzying heights of the 1990s with consecutive relegations to Division 3 of the League but with former 1st XI goalkeeper Ina Singh at the helm the team won promotion back to Division 2 during 2007-08 and, in 2016 led by Dan Oliver and Drew Dawson, achieved the Holy Grail of First Division status with promotion back to the top flight after a fourteen year absence. Plans to relay the first team pitch and build a new clubhouse are the main talking points as the club looks to the future.

Honours

 

Honours 1st XI

1888-1889 - London FA Junior Cup
​1912-1913 - Southern Amateur League | Senior Division 2
1927-1928 - Nemean Amateur League | Senior Division
1937-1938 - AFA Middlesex Senior Cup
1949-1950 - Southern Amateur League | Senior Division 2
1959-1960 - Southern Amateur League | Senior Division 3
1982-1983 - Southern Amateur League | Senior Division 1
1991-1992 - Southern Amateur League | Senior Division 2
1993-1994 - AFA Senior Cup
1995-1996 - AFA Middlesex Senior Cup

Honours 2nd XI

1950-1951 - Southern Amateur League | Reserve Team Division 2
1966-1967 - Southern Amateur League | Reserve Team Division 3
1976-1977 - Southern Amateur League | Reserve Team Division 2
1980-1981 - AFA Middlesex Intermediate Cup
1980-1981 - Southern Amateur League | Reserve Team Division 2
1981-1982 - AFA Middlesex Intermediate Cup
1982-1983 - AFA Middlesex Intermediate Cup
1986-1987 - AFA Middlesex Intermediate Cup
1989-1990 - AFA Middlesex Intermediate Cup
1995-1996 - AFA Intermediate Cup
1996-1997 - Southern Amateur League | Reserve Team Division 2
2000-2001 - AFA Intermediate Cup
2006-2007 - Southern Amateur League | Intermediate Division 3

Honours 3rd XI

1951-1952 - Southern Amateur League | 3rd Team Division 1
1960-1961 - AFA Minor Cup
1983-1984 - AFA Junior Cup
1986-1987 - AFA Junior Cup
1989-1990 - AFA Junior Cup
1989-1990 - Southern Amateur League | 3rd Team Division 2
1993-1994 - Southern Amateur League | 3rd Team Division 3
1994-1995 - Southern Amateur League | 3rd Team Division 2
1996-1997 - Southern Amateur League | Junior Cup
2001-2002 - Southern Amateur League | Junior Cup

Honours 4th XI

1951-1952 - Southern Amateur League | 4th Team Division 1
1957-1958 - AFA Novets Cup
1957-1958 - Southern Amateur League | 4th Team Division 2
1967-1968 - Southern Amateur League | 4th Team Division 2
1975-1976 - AFA Novets Senior Cup
1978-1979 - Southern Amateur League | 4th Team Division 2
1981-1982 - Southern Amateur League | 4th Team Division 1
1983-1984 - Southern Amateur League | 4th Team Division 1
2006-2007 - Southern Amateur League | Minor Division 2 North
​2015-2016 - Southern Amateur League | Minor Division 3 North

Honours 5th XI

1957-1958 - Southern Amateur League | 5th Team Division 1
1964-1965 - Southern Amateur League | 5th Team Division 2
1973-1974 - Southern Amateur League | 5th Team Division 1
1979-1980 - Southern Amateur League | 5th Team Division 2
1988-1989 - Southern Amateur League | 5th Team Division 2
2000-2001 - Southern Amateur League | 5th Team Division 2
2004-2005 - Southern Amateur League | Minor Division 3 North

Honours 6th XI

1968-1969 - Southern Amateur League | 6th Team Division 2
1985-1986 - Southern Amateur League | 6th Team Division 2
1996-1997 - Southern Amateur League | 6th Team Division 2

Honours 7th XI

1974-1975 - Southern Amateur League | 7th Team Division 1
2016-2017 - AFA Junior Novets Cup

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