History of Leigh Ramblers FC
"W P Mara" Shield Winners 1902/03
Leigh Ramblers F.C. is, without doubt, one of the oldest and most respected amateur football clubs if not in the country, then certainly in the county of Essex. A key part of the local community, the Club looks forward to boasting over sixty teams playing in mens, ladies and youth football this forthcoming season.
The year in which Leigh Ramblers F.C. was established has actually been a topic of debate recently. Having celebrated our centenary in 2002, in the same year as footballing Goliaths Real Madrid, documentation was later uncovered to demonstrate that Leigh Ramblers F.C. had been affiliated with the Essex County FA earlier, in 1898, when the Southend & District League was formed.
However thanks to local football historian Keith Roe, we can confirm that Leigh Ramblers was actually formed a year earlier in 1897, being defeated by Hadleigh United Reserves in their first friendly in October of that year. Leigh Ramblers also entered the Leigh Challenge Cup that same season, reaching the quarter final and losing in a replay.
History tells us that the founders were mainly cocklers from the fishing village of Old Leigh and to this date the Old Town connection can still be traced through names such as Robinson, Johnson and Noakes with many families claiming sons, fathers and grandfathers having worn the green and white and/or light and dark blue of past and current Ramblers teams.
Pre-war halcyon days for the Ramblers were the 1920s-30s when the Club won countless titles in both the Southend District League and the Southend Borough Combination. The highlight of this period was winning the prestigious Sir Thomas Lipton Grays Cot Cup, the only local side to do so, in season 1925/26. This triumph was followed by the Ramblers lifting the Essex Junior Cup two years later (1927/28) in front of a crowd of thousands. Ramblers remain, to this date, one of only two local clubs to have won this trophy twice. The other? Interestingly, Leigh Town!
In fact, this win was held in such esteem that the winning team were paraded around Leigh in an open-top bus with the cup, very much akin to having won the FA Cup, before joining a victory celebration in the Grand Hotel.
"Pip" Thompson, who also won County honours, was the skipper and prolific goal-scorer of this Ramblers side. His younger brother Cyril, who also turned out for the Rams when not appearing for Southend United, later signed pro forms for the other well known Rams... Derby County!I
Both "Pip" and Ron Johnson, whose father was President of the Club during the 1930s, stayed loyal supporters of the Club in their later years.
Following cessation of WW2, Ramblers hit hard times and by the late 1950s were wallowing in the bottom half of the Borough Combination's Division Three. In fact the Club, running just one team, was so depleted it was in serious danger of folding.
Southend & District League Champions 1921/22
Leigh Ramblers F.C. - 1975/76
The re-birth of the present-day Leigh Ramblers started in the late 1960s, through the '70s, culminating in the '80s with the club reaching close to its current status.
This was primarily down to an influx of young players from Belfairs High School for Boys. The catalyst for this initial regeneration was Dick Holmes, a respected giant of a PE teacher at the Belfairs school.
Dick, a former SBS hero from the War, had played for the Rams. He started a Minor League side for his protégés leaving school and when they reached 18 and too old to figure in youth football, he encouraged them to join the Ramblers.
During this period the Club was predominantly made up of players with a connection to the school, either former pupils or current members of staff and went from running one team to boasting five Saturday sides in addition to two Sunday veterans teams.
Many of the players from this formative period are still associated with the Club in a number of ways, some as Hon. Life Members.
A stalwart of this period was John Davison. JD, as he was affectionately known, typified what being a Leigh Rambler was all about. He insisted on wearing the number 10 shirt and is the Club's most decorated player, winning an Essex County Honours Badge and the Southern Counties Junior Championship. On finishing playing, he managed both the Essex County side and and the Rams 1st Team, before handing over the reigns to Bobby Payne who then led them to a "quadruple" of the Alliance League, the Alliance Cup, the Carradus Cup and Pete Simmonds Cup in 1988/89.
Following the disbanding of the District Alliance League, the Club rejoined the Southend Borough Combination in 1989/90 where we remained for a further 12 years. Over the next decade there were cup successes from top to bottom throughout the Club. The 1st Team added two more Carradus Cups in 90/91 and 92/93 and the 2nd Team winning the Gladwin Cup in 89/90, 94/95, 95/96 and again in 99/00. The 3rd Team won the Chautard Cup in 90/91, 91/92 and again in 92/93 becoming the first and last team to win the trophy on three consecutive occasions.
Meanwhile, the Veterans and the 4th Team got in on the action by winning the Division 1 Cup in 90/91 and the Faux Cup in 91/92 respectively, really demonstrating the strength of the Club as a whole.
Silverware! Bigger trophy cabinet required after the historic 1988/89 season
"To the Rams, from the Rams" a signed shirt and special message from the "other Rams" for our “late” centenary celebrations in 2002
As the Club geared up to celebrate its centenary in 2002, we approached the wider footballing community for merchandise that could be auctioned in aid of Great Ormond Street Hospital. We received numerous pieces of signed memorabilia but perhaps the most special was a shirt from the other Rams, Derby County. At the time, a Premier League Club, not only was the shirt signed by the whole first team squad but it also bore the unique message, "To the Rams, from the Rams".
At the same time, the Club was assessing its long term goals for the future and despite having spent many successful seasons as part of the Southend Borough Combination it was time to take the next step.
The Club joined the, Essex Intermediate (now Olympian) League in Senior Division 3 for the 2002/03 season.
In the years that followed, despite silverware being hard to come by, the Club has consolidated its position in the League and slowly built upwards. We are now entering our sixth season in the Premier Division, having progressed further up the table each year.
Club Captain & League Representative, Ryan Lowe
The growing stature of Leigh Ramblers within the Olympian League in recent years has been recognised through the selection of several players in the League Representative side. This began with Club Captain, Ryan Lowe, in 2017, and continued in following seasons with Aaron Benstead, Matthew Brinklow and Daniel Williams.
It was in the 2010s that also saw the reintroduction of a Leigh Ramblers Veterans team competing in the Essex Veterans League. The "Vets" were no stranger to silverware themselves, winning Divisions 3, 2 and 1 as they progressed up the League. In 2015 they reached a total of three cup finals and winning the Charity A Cup.
Football in the "COVID era" presented many challenges, with the 19/20 season being scrubbed from the history books and the 20/21 season being hugely interrupted and final standings decided by the Points Per Game system. We can look back proudly on the 2021/22 season. A transitional year for the 1st team saw them fight very well to maintain their status in the Premier Division, providing a good platform for the new season. The Reserves did exactly what was asked of them and under the stewardship of Terry Johnson and Glen McCarthy, narrowed the gap between the two sides by being promoted to Division 4.The return of the Leigh Ramblers A Team to the Southend Borough & District Football Combination, was hugely successful. They finished third in a very strong division and reached not one, but two cup finals.
In their first season in the Southend Sunday League Premier Division, the Sunday 1st Team managed to secure their survival and the Sunday Reserves consolidated their place in the Sceptre Sunday League Division 2, after having achieved promotion the year before.
In addition to the existing five teams, for the 2022/23 season we will be re-introducing two Veterans teams to the Essex Veterans League. It is great to see the adult men’s section continuing to grow.
Leigh Ramblers, as a Club, has always nurtured a healthy respect for the social and community aspect of sport and, over the years, has built up and excellent reputation for organising first-class social events, least of all the Club's centenary celebration held at the Cliffs Pavilion in 2002. The Club and its members have made, and continue to make, some fantastic efforts to raise money for various charities over the years, including local charity Gold Geese and the I Fight For James family fund.
These elements are vital to the Club's continued success and well-being. An example of this is the long-term relationship forged with the German club, ASV Horb. Once rivals in the town's previously annual Easter Tournament - now adopted as friends.
The Club's adopted motto: "Friendship Through Football" succinctly sums up the essence of what being a LEIGH RAMBLER represents.