Old Alleynian Football Club
| Full name | Old Alleynian Football Club |
|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | OAs |
| Founded | 1898 |
| Location | Dulwich, London, England |
| Ground(s) | Dulwich Common (Capacity: .) |
| Captain(s) |
 J. Knox |
| League(s) | London 2 South East |
| Official website | |
| www |
|
This article concerns the rugby club. For a list of eminent Old Alleynians please see List of Old Alleynians
The Old Alleynian Football Club is an open rugby union club founded as a team for the old boys of Dulwich College, themselves known as Old Alleynians. It is one of the oldest clubs in London and was the last of London's old boys clubs to become a fully open club. It is notable not only for its longeivity, but also for the prominence it once attained on the club circuit and for the number of eminent players that have been members of the club, some of whom gained their international caps whilst at the club.
Dulwich College had been playing football using Rugby School rules since 1858 and the school had been playing against scratch sides of old boys since the 1890s. In October 1897 a former pupil of Dulwich College wrote to the school magazine (The Alleynian) bemoaning the fact that despite the school having an old boy representative "in almost all the first-class football clubs" the fact that it did not have an old schoolboy team, "such as Old Merchant Taylors, Old Leysians, Old Carthusians, Marlborough Nomads", meant that it was missing out on "the greater athletic reputation [it] would otherwise have obtained." Within a few months R.M. Everett, a member of the school's first XV, and William Leake, an Assistant Master at the school and former Cambridge rugger Blue, had joined forces to promote the formation of the club. In June 1898 Leake published an invitation in "The Alleynian" to "all OAs desirous of joining". In September 1898, the club played its first match, drawing with Croydon 3rds (Croydon FC being the name by which Old Whitgiftians were known at the time). On October 8, 1898, the club's first general meeting was held, rules approved, officers elected and the dark blue, light blue and black hooped jerseys were decided upon.
The club was regarded as one of the best in London by 1913 and in that year five of its players, who had all played together in the school's 1st XV, were selected to play in the Varsity Match. The five were J. E. Greenwood, Cyril Lowe, Eric Loudoun-Shand, Graham Donald and W. D. Doherty. They were known at the school as the "famous five", having played in an unbeaten school side, all going on to play in the Varsity Match and all going on to represent their countries, two as captain.
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