Bromley F.C.
Bromley Football Club is a professional football club based in Bromley, Greater London, England. They are currently members of the National League, the fifth tier of English football, and play at Hayes Lane.
Established in 1892,[2] Bromley initially played in the South London League,[3] before becoming founder members of the Southern League in 1894, joining Division Two.[4] However, after finishing bottom of Division Two in 1895–96 they left to become founder members of the London League, also joining Division Two.[4] They won the division at the first attempt, and were promoted to Division One.[5] They switched to the Kent League for the 1898–99 season, but after finishing bottom of the league, they returned to Division One of the London League.[4] During the 1899–1900 season the club withdrew from Division One, taking over their reserves’ fixtures in Division Two.[5] They withdrew from Division Two at the end of the 1900–01 season.[5]
In 1907 the club were founder members of the Spartan League and went on to become its inaugural champions.[4] They joined the Isthmian League for the following season, and won back-to-back titles in 1908–09 and 1909–10. In 1910–11 the club won the FA Amateur Cup, beating Bishop Auckland 1–0 in the final.[4] The season also saw them finish seventh in 1910–11,[4] the club returned to the Kent League and were placed in Division One.[6] They remained in the league until World War I,[6] but joined the Athenian League when football resumed in 1919.[4] The club were Athenian League champions in 1922–23. In 1937–38 they reached the first round of the FA Cup for the first time. After beating King’s Lynn in the first round, they lost 4–1 at Scarborough in the second.[4] They also reached the final of the FA Amateur Cup again, beating Erith & Belvedere 1–0.[4] The club repeated the feat the following season, this time playing Football League opposition for the first time as they lost 8–1 at Lincoln City in the second round.[4] In 1945–46 another second round appearance resulted in a 4–2 aggregate defeat to Watford.[4] In 1947–48 they held Reading to a 1–1 draw in the first round, before losing the replay at Elm Park 3–0.[4]
The club won another Athenian League title and the FA Amateur Cup in 1948–49, with the following season seeing another FA first round defeat, this time 2–1 to Watford. In 1950–51 the club won their third Athenian League title; the season also saw them lose 1–0 to Aldershot in the FA Cup first round. Going straight into the first round the following season, they lost 3–2 at Torquay United.[4] In 1952 they rejoined the Isthmian League, and after finishing as runners-up in their first season back in the league, they were champions in 1953–54.[4] They won the league for a fourth time in 1960–61.[4]
After finishing bottom of Division One in the 1974–75 season Bromley were relegated to Division Two. In 1976–77 the club appeared in the FA Cup first round for the first time in over twenty years, losing 7–0 at Swindon Town. Division Two became Division One in 1977, and the club were promoted to the Premier Division after finishing as runners-up in 1979–80.[4] They were relegated to Division One again in 1983–84, but returned to the Premier Division as Division One runners-up in 1985–86. Another relegation followed in 1989–90, but was followed by an immediate return to the Premier Division as Division One runners-up in 1990–91.[4] In 1996–97 they qualified for the FA Cup first round again, but were beaten 3–1 at home by Enfield.[4]
