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Shepherd's Bush F.C.

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Shepherd's Bush
Full nameShepherd's Bush Football Club
Nickname(s)The Bushmen
Founded1880
Dissolved1915
GroundVarious, including Loftus Road
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

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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,[citation needed] which was to host football at the 1908 Summer Olympics (linked article says this event took place at White City stadium). 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 joined the Spartan League, after winning the 1906–07 Great Western Suburban League,[6] 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.[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e "News September–October 2004". QPR Loyal Supporters Association. Archived from the original on 8 December 2004. Retrieved 24 April 2007.
  2. ^ "Help". The Peckham Society. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 23 April 2007.
  3. ^ a b "Old St Stephen's". Football Club History Database. Retrieved 23 April 2007.
  4. ^ "England – Southern League Final Tables". RSSSF. Retrieved 23 April 2007.
  5. ^ a b "Shepherd's Bush". Football Club History Database. Retrieved 23 April 2007.
  6. ^ "Great Western Suburban League 1904–1931". Non-League Matters. Retrieved 17 February 2021.

Further reading

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  • Trinder, Frances (2004). Loftus Road Legacy: The History of the Shepherd's Bush Football Club. Yore Publications. ISBN 0954783018.
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