# Thames A.F.C. > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Thames_A.F.C. > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Thames_A.F.C..md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thames_A.F.C. > Source revision: 1312269902 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{short description|Defunct association football club in London, England}} {{Use dmy dates|date=June 2015}} {{Use British English|date=June 2015}} {{Infobox football club | clubname = Thames AFC | image = | fullname = Thames Association Football Club | nickname = | shortname = Thames | founded = 1928 | dissolved = 1932 | ground = [West Ham Stadium](/source/West_Ham_Stadium),
[Custom House](/source/Custom_House%2C_Newham),
London | capacity = 120,000 | chairman = [Louis Dane](/source/Louis_Dane){{cite web|url=https://the1888letter.com/thames-afc-and-the-football-leagues-lowest-ever-attendance/|title='Thames AFC and the Football League's lowest-ever attendance|publisher=The 1888 Letter|date=30 November 2019|accessdate=15 May 2021}} | pattern_la1=|pattern_b1=_bluequarters23|pattern_ra1=|pattern_so1=_bluehorizontal|leftarm1=0000FF|body1=FF0000|rightarm1=FF0000|shorts1=FFFFFF|socks1=000000| }} '''Thames A.F.C.''' were an English [football](/source/association_football) club from [Custom House](/source/Custom_House%2C_Newham), east London, which played in [the Football League](/source/the_Football_League) between [1930](/source/1930_in_association_football) and [1932](/source/1932_in_association_football). ==Name== The club was founded under the name '''Custom House Athletic''',{{cite journal |title=New Southern League team |journal=Evening Standard |date=5 June 1928 |page=24}} but, to avoid confusion with the amateur Custom House F.C., changed its name to '''Thames Association''' before playing a match.{{cite journal |title=Association |journal=Daily Express |date=15 June 1928 |page=17}} Unlike other AFCs (e.g. [Sunderland A.F.C.](/source/Sunderland_A.F.C.)), the word '''Association''' was initially presented as part of the club name – i.e. '''Thames Association''' or '''Thames Association FC'''. The "Association" was abbreviated upon joining the Football League, giving the team the more regular name of '''Thames AFC'''.{{cite web | url=https://www.fchd.info/THAMES.HTM | title=Thames | work=Football Club History Database | access-date=2007-11-16 }} ==History== They were founded in [1928](/source/1928_in_association_football), in a similar manner to [Sheffield United](/source/Sheffield_United_F.C.), [Liverpool](/source/Liverpool_F.C.), [New Brighton Tower](/source/New_Brighton_Tower_F.C.) and nearby [Chelsea](/source/Chelsea_F.C.): to play on a ground which had no football club in residence. In Thames' case, they were formed by a group of businessmen who had built the [West Ham Stadium](/source/West_Ham_Stadium), with a capacity of 120,000, in the [Custom House](/source/Custom_House%2C_Newham) area of Essex (now part of the [London Borough of Newham](/source/London_Borough_of_Newham) in [Greater London](/source/Greater_London)); the stadium was primarily used for [greyhound](/source/greyhound) and [speedway](/source/motorcycle_speedway) racing which took place during the week, leaving Saturdays free. The directors of the stadium decided to form a professional football club to play on Saturdays, to bring in additional revenue to the stadium. The club began playing in the [Southern League](/source/Southern_Football_League) Eastern Division, and finished 14th in their first season and third in the season after that ([1929–30](/source/1929%E2%80%9330_Southern_Football_League)).{{cite web | url=https://www.fchd.info/THAMESA.HTM | title=Thames Association | work=Football Club History Database | access-date=2007-11-16 }} This was enough for them to gain election to the [Football League Third Division South](/source/Football_League_Third_Division_South) in the middle of 1930, in place of [Merthyr Town](/source/Merthyr_Town_F.C.). Their request to join the league was considered alongside applications from [Aldershot](/source/Aldershot_F.C.), [Llanelli](/source/Llanelli_Town_A.F.C.) and [Argonauts](/source/Argonauts_F.C.).{{cite web | url=http://www.nonleaguematters.co.uk/forum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=3506 | title=A History Of Admission To The Football League | access-date=2021-03-11 | archive-date=5 January 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150105134251/http://www.nonleaguematters.co.uk/forum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=3506 | url-status=dead }} The success of their application required them to suddenly upgrade the quality of the team. To achieve this objective, the newly promoted club placed an advert for ''"First Class Players Wanted. All Positions"'' in the June edition of the [Athletic News](/source/Athletic_News).{{Cite news|title=First Class players wanted|date=3 June 1929|work=Athletic News}} Thames continued to field a reserve side in the Southern League for a single further season, before withdrawing entirely in 1931.{{cite web | url=https://www.rsssf.org/tablese/engsouthernleaghist.html | title=England – Southern League Final Tables | work=RSSSF | access-date=2007-11-16 }} Thames' spell in the Football League was a short and unhappy one. The club struggled to attract spectators. It established a supporters' group, which at one point had over 1,000 members. However, this effort did not translate into a reliable supporter base that would regularly attend matches.{{Cite news|title=Support of the Right Kind|date=10 January 1931|work=Portsmouth Evening News}} Despite the stadium's capacity of 120,000 (making it the largest ground in England to regularly host League football), the club holds the record for the lowest known attendance for a Saturday Football League match; just 469 fans paid to watch Thames play [Luton Town](/source/Luton_Town_F.C.) on 6 December 1930.{{cite web|url=http://www.football-league.premiumtv.co.uk/page/RecordAttendances/0,,10794,00.html|title=Football League Records: Attendances|work=Football League official website|access-date=2007-11-16|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071217124306/http://www.football-league.premiumtv.co.uk/page/RecordAttendances/0%2C%2C10794%2C00.html|archive-date=17 December 2007}} Unable to compete with established teams nearby that included: [Charlton Athletic](/source/Charlton_Athletic_F.C.), [Clapton Orient](/source/Leyton_Orient_F.C.), [Millwall](/source/Millwall_F.C.) and [West Ham United](/source/West_Ham_United_F.C.), Thames struggled. By December 1931, the club was under severe financial pressure. To keep the club afloat, the players agreed to take a pay cut.{{Cite news|title=Critical week for Thames AFC|date=11 December 1931|work=Northern Whig}} They finished 20th out of 22 clubs in [1930–31](/source/1930%E2%80%9331_in_English_football), and 22nd (i.e., bottom) the following season ([1931–32](/source/1931%E2%80%9332_in_English_football)). This prompted the club directors' decision not to seek re-election to the League for the following season and wind up the club, despite an approach from Clapton Orient to merge the two clubs.{{cite web | url=http://home.no.net/orientfc/history.htm | title=Homes of Orient | work=Leyton Orient FC Supporters Club Scandinavia}} Their league place was taken by [Aldershot](/source/Aldershot_F.C.). Thames AFC are not the same club as Thames Ironworks FC, a club that predated them by over 30 years, and would go on to be renamed [West Ham United](/source/West_Ham_United_F.C.). ===Seasons=== {| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;" |- !scope=col rowspan=2|Season !scope=col colspan=9|League record !scope=col rowspan=2 width=80px|[FA Cup](/source/FA_Cup) |- !scope=col|Division !scope=col|{{Abbr|P|Played}} !scope=col|{{Abbr|W|Won}} !scope=col|{{Abbr|D|Drawn}} !scope=col|{{Abbr|L|Lost}} !scope=col|{{Abbr|F|Goals for}} !scope=col|{{Abbr|A|Goals against}} !scope=col|{{Abbr|Pts|Points}} !scope=col|{{Abbr|Pos|Position}} |- !scope=row|1928–29 |align=left|Southern League Eastern Section |36||13||5||18||67||74||31||[14th](/source/1928%E2%80%9329_Southern_Football_League)||— |- !scope=row|1929–30 |align=left|Southern League Eastern Section |32||17||6||9||80||60||40||[3rd](/source/1929%E2%80%9330_Southern_Football_League)||[First round](/source/1929%E2%80%9330_FA_Cup) |- !scope=row|1930–31 |align=left|Football League Third Division South |42||13||8||21||54||93||34||[20th](/source/1930%E2%80%9331_Football_League)||[First round](/source/1930%E2%80%9331_FA_Cup) |- !scope=row|1931–32 |align=left|Football League Third Division South |42||7||9||26||53||109||23||[22nd](/source/1931%E2%80%9332_Football_League)||[First round](/source/1931%E2%80%9332_FA_Cup) |} ==Players== Notable players for Thames included former [England](/source/England_national_football_team) international [Jimmy Dimmock](/source/Jimmy_Dimmock), former [Welsh](/source/Wales_national_football_team) internationals [Len Davies](/source/Len_Davies) and [Moses Russell](/source/Moses_Russell) and ex-[Arsenal](/source/Arsenal_F.C.) striker [Henry White](/source/Henry_White_(footballer%2C_born_1895)). [Eddie Perry](/source/Eddie_Perry_(footballer)) went on to be a [Welsh](/source/Wales_national_football_team) international.{{cite web|url=http://cc.fulhamfc.com/forum/topics/old-timers-with-early-fulham?xg_source=activity |title=Forum citing Fulham Facts and Figures by Dennis Turner and Alex White |access-date=2011-06-21 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110919023117/http://cc.fulhamfc.com/forum/topics/old-timers-with-early-fulham?xg_source=activity |archive-date=19 September 2011 }} ==Colours== Thames' home colours were red and blue quartered shirts with white shorts and black socks with red and blue trim.{{cite book | title=Club Colours | author=Bob Bickerton | isbn=0-600-59542-0 | year=1998 | publisher=Hamlyn }} Cited in: {{cite web | url=http://www.historicalkits.co.uk/Thames/Thames.htm | title=Thames | work=Historical Football Kits }} ==Records and statistics== Thames' record for their two seasons in the Football League was played 84, won 20, drew 17, lost 47, scored 107 and conceded 202. The club's record league win was 6–3, against [Mansfield Town](/source/Mansfield_Town_F.C.) on 2 April 1932, while their record league loss was 8–0, against [Luton Town](/source/Luton_Town_F.C.) on 11 April 1931 and [Fulham](/source/Fulham_F.C.) on 28 March 1932.{{cite web | url=https://www.footballsite.co.uk/Statistics/Seasons/1930-31/ClubResults/1930-31.Thames.html | title=Thames 1930/31 playing record | work=footballsite | access-date=2007-11-16 }}{{cite web | url=https://www.footballsite.co.uk/Statistics/Seasons/1931-32/Div3(S)1931-32.htm | title=Thames 1931/32 playing record | work=footballsite | access-date=2007-11-16 }} The furthest they ever reached in the FA Cup was the First Round proper, in [1929–30](/source/1929%E2%80%9330_FA_Cup), [1930–31](/source/1930%E2%80%9331_FA_Cup) and [1931–32](/source/1931%E2%80%9332_FA_Cup). In total, 103,698 fans watched all of Thames' games, at an average of 2,469 per game, which ranks them as 122 out of all the 130 Football League teams in terms of attendance.{{cite web|url=http://www.nufc.com/html/attendance-all-time.html |title=All Time League Attendance Records |work=NUFC.com |access-date=2007-05-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070527133055/http://www.nufc.com/html/attendance-all-time.html |archive-date=27 May 2007 |url-status=dead }} The club's record highest attendance was approximately 8,000, against [Exeter City](/source/Exeter_City_F.C.) in August 1931.{{cite news|url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_19950416/ai_n13977391 |title=McGrory's goal a game |date=1995-04-16 |work=The Independent |access-date=2007-11-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080220085622/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_19950416/ai_n13977391 |archive-date=20 February 2008 |url-status=dead }} ==References== {{Reflist}} ==External links== *[https://web.archive.org/web/20070929001616/http://www.groundtastic.co.uk/Postcards/Thames%20Ass%20card.htm Aerial photograph of West Ham Stadium] *[https://www.fchd.info/THAMESA.HTM Thames Association F.C. on Football Club History Database] *[https://www.fchd.info/THAMES.HTM Thames A.F.C. on Football Club History Database] {{former football league members}} Category:Thames A.F.C. Category:Association football clubs established in 1928 Category:Association football clubs disestablished in 1932 Category:Defunct football clubs in England Category:English Football League clubs Category:Defunct football clubs in London Category:Southern Football League clubs Category:1928 establishments in England Category:1932 disestablishments in England Category:Sport in the London Borough of Newham --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Thames A.F.C.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thames_A.F.C.) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thames_A.F.C.?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.