Aetolian League (football)

The Aetolian League was a short-lived football league in the south east of England. It was established in 1959 after the Kent League folded, leaving a number of clubs without a league to play in. Seven of the founder members were from the Kent League and four from the London League.[1] The league had two divisions, although Division Two consisted mainly of the reserve teams of clubs in Division One; Medway Corinthians and Orpington Athletic were the only two clubs to field a first team in Division Two; Medway joined in 1959 and left in 1961, with Orpington joining in 1960 and remaining until the league folded.[1] As a result of Division Two being largely reserve teams, there was no promotion or relegation between the two divisions.

Aetolian League
Founded1959
First season1959–60
Folded1964
Country England
DivisionsTwo
Number of teamsLowest: 12 (1963–64)
Highest: 14 (1959–60, 1961–62)
Feeder toSouthern League
Domestic cup(s)FA Cup
League cup(s)League Cup
Most championshipsFord United (2)

In 1964 after only five seasons of existence, it merged with the London League to form the Greater London League. This later merged with the Metropolitan League to form the Metropolitan–London League, which in turn merged with the Spartan League and later the South Midlands League to form the modern Spartan South Midlands League.

History

1959–60

Fourteen clubs joined the league for its first season:

  • Seven from the defunct Kent League (Deal Town, Faversham Town, Chatham Town, Snowdown Colliery Welfare, Herne Bay, Sheppey United and Whitstable Town)
  • Four from the London League (Cheshunt, Cray Wanderers, Eton Manor and Willesden)
  • One from the Kent Amateur League (Crockenhill)
  • One new club, Ford United (a merger of Briggs Motor Bodies and Ford Sports)
  • Charlton Athletic 'A'
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Notes
1 Ford United 26 15 7 4 65 32 +33 37
2 Deal Town 26 14 7 5 68 35 +33 35
3 Faversham Town 26 11 8 7 64 39 +25 30
4 Chatham Town 26 12 6 8 48 40 +8 30
5 Eton Manor 26 10 7 9 55 49 +6 27
6 Crockenhill 26 9 9 8 47 55 −8 27
7 Snowdown Colliery Welfare 26 8 10 8 47 47 0 26
8 Willesden 26 11 2 13 53 50 +3 24
9 Cray Wanderers 26 11 2 13 52 56 −4 24
10 Cheshunt 26 10 4 12 47 68 −21 24
11 Charlton Athletic 'A' 26 8 7 11 52 53 −1 23
12 Herne Bay 26 8 7 11 51 61 −10 23
13 Sheppey United 26 8 4 14 48 68 −20 20
14 Whitstable Town 26 5 4 17 29 73 −44 14 Dropped into Kent Amateur League at end of season
Source: Sheppey United

1960–61

Ford United won the League Cup in the 1960–61 season.[2]

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
1 Snowdown Colliery Welfare 24 18 2 4 81 40 +41 38
2 Ford United 24 14 3 7 68 39 +29 31
3 Cray Wanderers 24 14 3 7 79 52 +27 31
4 Herne Bay 24 11 9 4 50 40 +10 31
5 Sheppey United 24 9 6 9 62 60 +2 24
6 Cheshunt 24 10 3 11 44 53 −9 23
7 Crockenhill 24 9 4 11 55 61 −6 22
8 Chatham Town 24 10 2 12 37 50 −13 22
9 Eton Manor 24 9 3 12 43 53 −10 21
10 Deal Town 24 8 5 11 52 66 −14 21
11 Faversham Town 24 5 8 11 45 60 −15 18
12 Charlton Athletic 'A' 24 5 6 13 39 58 −19 16
13 Willesden 24 5 4 15 33 56 −23 14
Source: Sheppey United

1961–62

One new club, Beckenham Town, joined prior to the start of the 1961–62 season.

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Notes
1 Ford United 26 16 6 4 61 22 +39 38
2 Snowdown Colliery Welfare 26 14 6 6 71 51 +20 34
3 Cheshunt 26 13 6 7 67 49 +18 32 Left to join the Spartan League at end of season
4 Sheppey United 26 14 4 8 64 57 +7 32
5 Deal Town 26 13 5 8 56 50 +6 31
6 Herne Bay 26 14 2 10 53 55 −2 30
7 Cray Wanderers 26 12 4 10 60 52 +8 28
8 Willesden 26 10 4 12 60 61 −1 24
9 Chatham Town 26 10 4 12 55 57 −2 24
10 Charlton Athletic 'A' 26 11 0 15 65 58 +7 22 Left league at end of season
11 Eton Manor 26 6 9 11 41 41 0 21
12 Faversham Town 26 8 4 14 47 69 −22 20
13 Beckenham Town 26 8 4 14 36 64 −28 20
14 Crockenhill 26 3 2 21 48 98 −50 8
Source: Sheppey United

1962–63

East Ham United joined from the London League prior to the start of the 1962–63 season.

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Notes
1 Cray Wanderers 24 16 5 3 58 30 +28 37
2 Chatham Town 24 16 3 5 69 24 +45 35
3 Herne Bay 24 14 6 4 59 27 +32 34
4 Ford United 24 16 2 6 54 29 +25 34
5 Deal Town 24 11 5 8 47 41 +6 27 Joined the Southern League at end of season[3]
6 Faversham Town 24 10 5 9 43 36 +7 25
7 Eton Manor 24 10 4 10 46 35 +11 24
8 Snowdown Colliery Welfare 24 9 6 9 38 34 +4 24
9 Sheppey United 24 6 7 11 48 61 −13 19
10 East Ham United 24 9 1 14 34 59 −25 19
11 Willesden 24 6 4 14 33 50 −17 16 Left league at end of season
12 Beckenham Town 24 4 2 18 29 76 −47 10
13 Crockenhill 24 3 2 19 28 84 −56 8
Source: Sheppey United

1963–64

Whistable Town rejoined the league for the 1963–64 season. At the end of the season most clubs joined the newly formed Greater London League.

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Notes
1 Chatham Town 22 16 4 2 73 24 +49 36 Joined the Metropolitan League[4]
2 Herne Bay 22 16 3 3 70 23 +47 35 Joined Division Two of the Athenian League[5]
3 Cray Wanderers 22 15 5 2 76 27 +49 35 Placed in B Section of Greater London League
4 Sheppey United 22 12 4 6 64 49 +15 28
5 Ford United 22 12 2 8 55 38 +17 26 Placed in A Section of Greater London League
6 Snowdown Colliery Welfare 21 9 1 11 43 37 +6 19 Placed in B Section of Greater London League
7 Faversham Town 22 8 2 12 38 51 −13 18
8 Beckenham Town 21 5 4 12 36 69 −33 14
9 Eton Manor 22 6 2 14 25 62 −37 14 Placed in A Section of Greater London League
10 Crockenhill 22 6 1 15 39 65 −26 13 Placed in B Section of Greater London League
11 Whitstable Town 22 5 2 15 38 76 −38 12
12 East Ham United 22 5 2 15 36 72 −36 12 Placed in A Section of Greater London League
Source: Sheppey United

References
  1. Aetolian & Seanglian Leagues 1959–1964 Non-League Matters
  2. History Redbridge FC
  3. Deal Town at the Football Club History Database
  4. Chatham Town at the Football Club History Database
  5. Herne Bay at the Football Club History Database
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