128:(later renamed the Amateur Athletic Association of England) and from 1866 to 1879 was the de facto governing body for amateur athletics in the United Kingdom. The club was formed at the beginning of 1866 by some old University and London athletes. In the prospectus it was announced that the club was formed to 'supply a want which existed of some established ground on which competitions in amateur athletic sports might take place, and to afford as completely as possible to all classes of gentlemen amateurs the means of practising and competing against one another, without being compelled to mix with professional runners.' The newly formed club determined to institute an Annual Open Athletics Championship and the first of these known as the
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prevented anyone in manual labour from joining. This caused debate and unease from the beginning and by 1879, the
Northern Athletics Association, whose membership was wider than that of its southern counterparts, threatened to boycott the AAC's annual championships. This caused the AAC to collapse and in 1880 the Amateur Athletic Association was formed, with rules that ensured any genuine amateur could join irrespective of their occupation or social class.
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Despite the club claiming a membership of over 350 in 1873, there is no record of it having played a match against external opposition after
November 1868, suggesting the football side was mainly aimed at matches within the membership. There is no record of the club ever having won a match against
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It has been argued that the cause of the demise of The
Amateur Athletic Club was drafted into its original constitution. There was an assumption that those who engaged in manual labour might have a competitive edge. As such, what has been termed a 'mechanics clause' was introduced that effectively
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from 1868 to 1876 and playing its first match against external opposition in
November 1866. It entered the FA Cup in 1873–74 but scratched when drawn to play
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later wrote that he believed the intention of the founders of the
Amateur Athletic Club was to place their club in the same position with athletes as the
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415:
Walter
Pilkington, "The Athlete for 1866", (with "Notes on Training", by John Graham Chambers), pages 1-2, Chapman & Hall, Piccadilly, 1867.
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Walter
Pilkington, "The Athlete for 1866", (with "Notes on Training", by John Graham Chambers), p1, Chapman & Hall, Piccadilly, 1867.
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stood to cricketers. To this end, the AAC began well and by 1868 the club had opened a very well received running ground for amateurs at
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Contemporary sources reported that the event was a success and one of the founders of the AAA later recalled this.
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The 1865 Civil
Service Athletics at Beaufort House, Walham Green - the site of the 1866 AAC championships.
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136:, a venue already known for hosting athletics, such as the 1865 Civil Service Athletics competition.
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Home matches were originally played at
Beaufort House but by 1872 the club was based at
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Eric
Halladay, Rowing in England - A Social History : the Amateur Debate, p3, 1990
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Montague Shearman, 'Athletics And Football', Longmans, Green, And Co., 1894
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external opposition, the club's best result being a 0–0 draw against the
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in February 1868, the club being bolstered by the presence of
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The club included a football club which was a member of the
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The club's colours were all white with cerise trimmings.
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318:because of an inability to get a team together.
593:"Amateur Athletic Club v Charterhouse School".
445:The Football Association 1863-83: A Source Book
132:took place on 23 March 1866 at Beaufort House,
608:"Westminster School v Amateur Athletic Club".
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503:"Harrow School 1-0 Amateur Athletic Club".
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578:"Harrow School v Amateur Athletic Club".
458:"Eton School 2-0 Amateur Athletic Club".
650:Sports organizations established in 1866
640:National governing bodies for athletics
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630:Amateur sport in the United Kingdom
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159:, which became the headquarters.
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645:1866 establishments in England
447:. Soccerdata. pp. 40, 77.
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373:played for the club in 1867.
383:Amateur Athletic Association
126:Amateur Athletic Association
48:Amateur Athletic Association
124:was the predecessor of the
83:Amateur Sports Organization
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104:Major Frederick Hammersley
518:"Amateur Athletic Club".
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16:UK Athletics organisation
563:Alcock, Charles (1873).
548:"Wanderers 2-0 A.A.C.".
533:Alcock, Charles (1873).
507:: 424. 21 November 1868.
488:Alcock, Charles (1873).
552:: 335. 24 October 1868.
59:; 158 years ago
612:: 9. 28 November 1867.
582:: 9. 12 November 1867.
462:: 4. 24 November 1866.
388:Amateur Athletic Union
324:Royal Engineers A.F.C.
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597:: 9. 3 December 1867.
477:: 4. 29 October 1873.
183:Amateur Athletic Club
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118:Amateur Athletic Club
22:Amateur Athletic Club
635:Athletics in England
443:Brown, Tony (2011).
369:, and W.J. Dixon of
312:Football Association
191:A.A.C., The Amateurs
57:20 January 1866
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522:: 9. 2 March 1868.
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610:Pall Mall Gazette
595:Pall Mall Gazette
580:Pall Mall Gazette
520:Pall Mall Gazette
332:Charles W. Alcock
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149:Montague Shearman
130:AAC Championships
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352:Lillie Bridge
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334:in the side.
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328:Edgar Lubbock
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175:Football club
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167:Football club
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292:Home colours
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134:Walham Green
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88:Headquarters
36:Abbreviation
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188:Nickname(s)
624:Categories
473:"report".
394:References
363:E.E. Bowen
64:1866-01-20
550:The Field
505:The Field
371:Crusaders
204:Dissolved
180:Full name
72:Dissolved
54:Formation
44:Successor
377:See also
99:Chairman
346:Grounds
338:Colours
196:Founded
112:History
62: (
212:Ground
153:M.C.C.
330:and
207:1876
199:1866
116:The
80:Type
75:1879
122:AAC
120:or
39:AAC
626::
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
