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Charlton Athletic

Charlton Athletic Football Club are a Football club from southeast London. The club was founded in 1905 and currently plays at The Valley in Charlton. more...

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History

Formation and foundation

Charlton were formed on 9 June 1905 as a club of 15 to 16 year old boys in an area of Charlton which is no longer residential — near where the Thames Barrier is now. A local fishmonger Arthur 'Ikey' Bryan was one of their early patrons. Arthur used to provide fish and chip suppers for the youngsters after games and his hospitality gave rise to Charlton's famous nickname , the \"Addicks\" , a corruption of the word haddock. The haddock as a symbol of the Charlton team came into full public prominence in 1909 at the final of the Woolwich Cup at Creed's Farm, Cemetery Lane, Charlton, when Charlton beat the military team Army Service Corps 3-0, to win their very first cup trophy. Arthur by that time was vice president of the club and several large haddocks from his shop were paraded on poles by Arthur and fellow fans around the ground.

The progression of the nickname can be seen in the book The Addicks cartoons... an affectionate look into the early history of Charlton Athletic, which covers the pre-First World War history of Charlton through a narrative based on 56 cartoons which appeared in the now defunct Kentish Independent. The very first cartoon, from October 31, 1908, calls the team the Haddocks. By 1910, the name had changed to Addicks although it also appeared as Haddick.

The club has had two other nicknames, the Robins, adopted in 1931, and the Valiants, chosen in a fan competition in the 1960s which also led to the adoption of the sword badge which is still in use. The Addicks nickname never went away and was revived by fans after the club lost its Valley home in 1985 and went into exile at Crystal Palace. It is now once again the official nickname of the club.

The club's first ground was Siemens Meadow 1905-1907, not a meadow but a patch of rough ground by the Thames. Then followed Woolwich Common (1907-1908), Pound Park (1908-1913), and Angerstein Lane (1913-1915). The boys only played friendlies in their first season but entered the Lewisham League Division 3 in 1906. They progressed through the Lewisham, Woolwich, and Blackheath Leagues, and the junior section of the Southern Suburban League, before becoming a 'senior' amateur club in the Southern Suburban League Senior Division and joining the London League.

After the First World War, they joined the Kent League for just one season (1919-20) and then at a meeting of club members voted to go professional. They were accepted by the Southern League and played just a single season (1920-21) before being voted into the Football League.