Ramblers F.C. (England)
{{Short description|English association football club}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox football club |
| clubname=Ramblers
| image=
| fullname=Ramblers Football Club
| nickname=
| founded=1874
| dissolved=1879
| ground=Marsh Street, Walthamstow
| capacity=
| chairman=
| mgrtitle=Secretary
| manager=1875: T. B. Fairbairns,
1876 onwards: T. Murray Ford
| league=
| season=
| position=
| website =
|pattern_b1=_|leftarm1=ae0606|body1=ae0606|rightarm1=ae0606|shorts1=000066|socks1=ae0606
|}}
Ramblers F.C. was an English association football club from London.
History
The club was founded in 1874 as a spin-off of the Pilgrims side. Of the XI which started the first recorded Ramblers match, against Leyton F.C. in January 1875, 10 had played for Pilgrims in 1873–74,{{cite journal |title=Leyton 0-1 Ramblers |journal=Sportsman |date=20 January 1875 |page=3}} and, like the Pilgrims, the club limited playing membership to 60 members.{{cite book |last1=Alcock |first1=Charles |title=Football Annual |date=1875 |publisher=Virtue |location=London |page=140}} At a time when a player could be a member or player of more than one club simultaneously, many of the Ramblers players also continued to play for Pilgrims. The club's most notable player was E. H. Topham, picked out by Charles Alcock as an active half-back with a sure kick,{{cite book |last1=Alcock |first1=Charles |title=Football Annual |date=1877 |publisher=Cricket Press |location=London |page=46}} and who played for the Old Foresters in the Cup against the Pilgrims in 1881.{{cite journal |title=Pilgrims v Old Foresters |journal=Sporting Life |date=6 December 1881 |page=1}}
The club entered the FA Cup for the first time in 1875–76, and was drawn to play Maidenhead away. As Pilgrims had entered the Cup as well, players had to choose which of the two sides to represent; those who had chosen Pilgrims travelled to the tie by train with the Ramblers' select.{{cite journal |title=Maidenhead 2-0 Ramblers |journal=Reading Observer |date=30 October 1875 |page=3}} Most of the first-choice Ramblers players decided to play for Pilgrims, and replacement players were former pupils of the Forest School of nearby Walthamstow, as they had not yet formed an old boys' club; the home side won 2–0.{{cite journal |title=Maidenhead v Ramblers |journal=Maidenhead Advertiser |date=27 October 1875 |page=3}}
In 1876–77, the dilemma of whom to represent became more acute, as Pilgrims and Ramblers were drawn together in the first round of the FA Cup. Again the better players chose to play for Pilgrims, who won 4–1. Normally, each side would nominate an umpire for the match, but the two sides were so closely linked that they agreed to ask Charles Alcock to be the sole umpire.{{cite journal |title=Pilgrims 4-1 Ramblers |journal=Sportsman |date=16 October 1876 |page=4}}
The same tie came out of the hat the following year, this time the Pilgrims winning in a replay at the Ramblers' ground, and again Alcock acting as sole umpire.{{cite journal |title=Ramblers v Pilgrims |journal=Field |date=10 November 1877 |page=562}}
The club entered the FA Cup a final time in 1878–79, losing to Romford in the first round. There is no record of the club playing after the 1878–79 season, with some players reverting to the Pilgrims, although it retained membership of the Football Association until 1882.{{cite book |last1=Alock |first1=Charles |title=Football Annual |date=1882 |publisher=Cricket Press |location=London |page=68}}
Colours
The club's colours were dark red jerseys, dark blue knickers, and dark red stockings, originally with a dark red cap.{{cite book |last1=Alcock |first1=Charles |title=Football Annual |date=1876 |publisher=Cricket Press |location=London |page=138}} In 1877, the club replaced the dark red with maroon,{{cite book |last1=Alcock |first1=Charles |title=Football Annual |date=1877 |publisher=Cricket Press |location=London |page=144}} although in practice this may have been the same hue.
Ground
The club's first ground was at Hackney Downs, and it based itself at the Princess Alexandra Inn in Nightingale Road.{{cite book |last1=Alcock |first1=Charles |title=Football Annual |date=1875 |publisher=Virtue |location=London |page=140}} From its second season it had a private ground in Walthamstow, a five minute walk from St James' railway station, and used The Chequers on Marsh Street for facilities.{{cite book |last1=Alcock |first1=Charles |title=Football Annual |date=1876 |publisher=Cricket Press |location=London |page=138}} In 1877 it found a new ground slightly nearer to the station by the Cock Tavern.{{cite book |last1=Alcock |first1=Charles |title=Football Annual |date=1877 |publisher=Cricket Press |location=London |page=144}}