Eastleigh Athletic F.C.
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Formed by local railway workers Eastleigh Athletic F.C. were a long running amateur football club who for many years were the towns leading football club.
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[edit] Club History
Eastleigh Athletic became one of the eight founder members of the Hampshire League in 1896 and were league champions in 1897-98 as well as playing two seasons in the regional Southern League. In 1903 the league was divided into regional sections with Eastleigh in the South Division were they frequently struggled although they were the first club to lift the Southampton Senior Cup in its inaugral season 1908-09.
The early Twenties saw Eastleigh yo-yo between the leagues two divisions, winnining the West Division title in 1922-23 only to withdraw during the following season to join the less demanding Eastleigh League.
In 1930 the club returned to the Hampshire League Division 2 under the name of SR Eastleigh Athletic and the team soon re-established themselves as they pushed for promotion and after several near misses they won promotion as champions in 1938-39 only to have their progress halted by the outbreak of World War II.
[edit] Post-war
In 1947 Eastleigh again returned to the county league when they were placed in Division 3 East where they became a steady mid-table outfit who amended their name to BR Eastleigh Athletic in 1950. After several steady years the clubs fortunes improved and in 1956-57 they won promotion as Division 3 runners-up. Eastleigh remained a steady Division 2 side for a number of years before relegation in 1961-62 and after several years of struggle Eastleigh Athletic finished bottom of Division 3 in 1964-65 and were relegated.
[edit] Demise
Eastleigh Athletic then joined the Southampton League where they played for a number of years before their eventual demise.
[edit] Other clubs in the town
Over the years the town of Eastleigh has been represented by a number of different amateur football clubs, most of which have long since disappeared but in 1980 senior football returned to the town when Hampshire League side Swaythling Athletic became known as Eastleigh F.C. and would go on to enjoy huge success.
