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London Athletic Club
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London Athletic Club
London Athletic Club (LAC) is a track and field club based in London, England. It is the oldest independent track and field club in the world and celebrated its first 150 years in 2013. More than sixty athletes connected with the club have become Olympians and top athletics administrators in Britain.
LAC's colours are Classic Green and Old Gold. The club's kit includes a green vest with a single horizontal gold band. Inside the gold band on the front of the vest is the name of the club or the club's crest.
The London Athletic Club, founded in 1863, is the oldest independent track and field club in the world. Initially the club was named Mincing Lane Athletic Club because its members were mainly businessmen in the City of London.
Its first meeting, on 27 June 1863, was at the (then recently opened) West London Cricket and Running Grounds, Brompton. A later meeting, held on 9 April 1864 at Bow running grounds, was reported in The Sporting Life: "From the attendance….and the excellent sports exhibited, the club promises to become very popular". Meetings were held at various locations across London: another was at the West London running grounds held on 25 November 1865. On 16 January 1866 The Sporting Life reported that the Mincing Lane Athletic Club had been renamed the London Athletic Club, because "gentlemen from all parts of London and most of the principal pedestrians of the day [were] among its members". Three years later, in 1869, the club moved its base to the newly-opened Lillie Bridge Grounds, a few hundred yards north of where Stamford Bridge Stadium is today. Then, in 1870, the brothers James and William Waddell, who had joined LAC as athletes, became treasurer and secretary. Profits soared and in 1877 they secured six and a half acres at Stamford Bridge. The grounds made LAC the premier club of the time. (The brothers fled the country in 1883 and they left the club in debt.)
The early meetings featured events such as cricket ball throwing, bicycle races and, in winter, regular "Assault at Arms" evenings which included fencing and boxing. The LAC even raised a rugby team. Charles Dickens Jr wrote that in 1878 LAC had 700 active and non-active (i.e. non-competing) members; it held 90 competitions with over 1,000 competitors and in that year 268 new members had joined. In 1879 LAC held its own ‘national championships’, since its members had boycotted those of the Amateur Athletic Club based at Lillie Bridge and the forerunner to the governing body of the sport, the Amateur Athletic Association.
In 1897 it was said to be the most important athletic club in London that "takes the lead in almost all matters connected with amateur ... athletics sports."
The club had a football section which early adopted the association football laws. For the most part, the club only hosted matches between its members, but had a handful of games against external opposition between 1867 and 1870. The most notable result for the club was a 3-2 win over the Wanderers in 1868, but this was largely due to a number of L.A.C. players not turning up and some of the Wanderers playing for the opposition to make the sides equal; the posts also did not have the regulation tape and the L.A.C. was credited with one goal that would ordinarily have been considered "over". The club's most notable footballers were F.H. Hartung, who also played for the Clapham Common Club and later joined the Wanderers, and the Chinnery brothers, who also played for the Amateur Athletic Club and the C.C.C.
London Athletic Club was the leading track and field club in the 1870s, illustrated by the fact that its members held every track world record between 220 yards to 10 miles during that decade.
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London Athletic Club
London Athletic Club (LAC) is a track and field club based in London, England. It is the oldest independent track and field club in the world and celebrated its first 150 years in 2013. More than sixty athletes connected with the club have become Olympians and top athletics administrators in Britain.
LAC's colours are Classic Green and Old Gold. The club's kit includes a green vest with a single horizontal gold band. Inside the gold band on the front of the vest is the name of the club or the club's crest.
The London Athletic Club, founded in 1863, is the oldest independent track and field club in the world. Initially the club was named Mincing Lane Athletic Club because its members were mainly businessmen in the City of London.
Its first meeting, on 27 June 1863, was at the (then recently opened) West London Cricket and Running Grounds, Brompton. A later meeting, held on 9 April 1864 at Bow running grounds, was reported in The Sporting Life: "From the attendance….and the excellent sports exhibited, the club promises to become very popular". Meetings were held at various locations across London: another was at the West London running grounds held on 25 November 1865. On 16 January 1866 The Sporting Life reported that the Mincing Lane Athletic Club had been renamed the London Athletic Club, because "gentlemen from all parts of London and most of the principal pedestrians of the day [were] among its members". Three years later, in 1869, the club moved its base to the newly-opened Lillie Bridge Grounds, a few hundred yards north of where Stamford Bridge Stadium is today. Then, in 1870, the brothers James and William Waddell, who had joined LAC as athletes, became treasurer and secretary. Profits soared and in 1877 they secured six and a half acres at Stamford Bridge. The grounds made LAC the premier club of the time. (The brothers fled the country in 1883 and they left the club in debt.)
The early meetings featured events such as cricket ball throwing, bicycle races and, in winter, regular "Assault at Arms" evenings which included fencing and boxing. The LAC even raised a rugby team. Charles Dickens Jr wrote that in 1878 LAC had 700 active and non-active (i.e. non-competing) members; it held 90 competitions with over 1,000 competitors and in that year 268 new members had joined. In 1879 LAC held its own ‘national championships’, since its members had boycotted those of the Amateur Athletic Club based at Lillie Bridge and the forerunner to the governing body of the sport, the Amateur Athletic Association.
In 1897 it was said to be the most important athletic club in London that "takes the lead in almost all matters connected with amateur ... athletics sports."
The club had a football section which early adopted the association football laws. For the most part, the club only hosted matches between its members, but had a handful of games against external opposition between 1867 and 1870. The most notable result for the club was a 3-2 win over the Wanderers in 1868, but this was largely due to a number of L.A.C. players not turning up and some of the Wanderers playing for the opposition to make the sides equal; the posts also did not have the regulation tape and the L.A.C. was credited with one goal that would ordinarily have been considered "over". The club's most notable footballers were F.H. Hartung, who also played for the Clapham Common Club and later joined the Wanderers, and the Chinnery brothers, who also played for the Amateur Athletic Club and the C.C.C.
London Athletic Club was the leading track and field club in the 1870s, illustrated by the fact that its members held every track world record between 220 yards to 10 miles during that decade.
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