History

The Southern Amateur Football League was founded in 1907 by the same movers and shakers who were responsible for the creation of the AFA. It has hosted some famous names in its time, Football League champions and UEFA Cup winners, Ipswich Town being the most prominent. Indeed, the Tractor Boys took just three years from departing the SAL to playing League football between 1935 and 1938.

Let's start at the beginning: 1907-1908

The League history has been preserved in its annual handbooks which are much more than just an administrative tool for many, capturing glimpses into a world before the internet, where results were cribbed from colleagues who knew someone who played for someone's 5th team, and where the chance to play organised football on decent grounds was a joy that could not be overvalued. It was a time when players wore knickers and stockings and where colours included 'biscuit and blue' (no mention of what kind of biscuit, sadly) and where vast corporations laid on lavish facilities for their employees and gave their visitors top notch grub, even if they beat them.

Football is still a wonderful game, and playing it in the Southern Amateur League is the most wonderful thing of all, but how much more wonderful is it to know of the tradition on which it is built. Please enjoy your stroll down the many memory lanes in these archives and feel free to get in touch if you have anything to contribute or any questions to ask.

Andrew Copeland
Web Officer and Archivist

Season Guide

1900s	Clubs	Teams	T/C	Divs	Pld	Gls	GPG
1907-1908	17	17	1.00	2	128	578	4.52
1908-1909	17	17	1.00	2	126	513	4.07
1909-1910	17	17	1.00	2	128	495	3.87
1910s	Clubs	Teams	T/C	Divs	Pld	Gls	GPG
1910-1911	17	17	1.00	2	128	474	3.70
1911-1912	18	18	1.00	2	144	523	3.63
1912-1913	19	19	1.00	2	152	620	4.08
1913-1914	18	18	1.00	2	142	525	3.70
1919-1920	17	17	1.00	2	125	657	5.26
1920s	Clubs	Teams	T/C	Divs	Pld	Gls	GPG
1920-1921	22	32	1.45	3	310	1301	4.2
1921-1922	22	36	1.64	4	304	1165	3.83
1922-1923	21	35	1.67	4	285	1254	4.40
1923-1924	22	38	1.73	4	332	1468	4.42
1924-1925	22	38	1.73	4	332	1291	3.89
1925-1926	24	42	1.75	4	408	2104	5.16
1926-1927	24	44	1.83	4	444	2143	4.83
1927-1928	26	47	1.81	4	512	2584	5.05
1928-1929	30	57	1.90	6	491	2425	4.94
1929-1930	32	61	1.91	6	564	2723	4.83
1930-1931	32	62	1.94	6	582	2913	5.01
1930s	Clubs	Teams	T/C	Divs	Pld	Gls	GPG
1931-1932	32	62	1.94	6	582	2906	4.99
1932-1933	32	62	1.94	6	582	2652	4.56
1933-1934	33	62	1.88	6	582	2467	4.24
1934-1935	33	63	1.91	6	582	2507	4.31
1935-1936	32	61	1.91	6	564	2498	4.43
1936-1937	32	61	1.91	6	564	2698	4.78
1937-1938	32	62	1.94	6	582	2498	4.29
1938-1939	31	59	1.90	6	530	2238	4.22
1939-1940	32	61	1.91	6	0	0	.0.00
1940s	Clubs	Teams	T/C	Divs	Pld	Gls	GPG
1945-1946	14	14	1.00	2	86	508	5.91
1946-1947	30	58	1.93	6	504	2728	5.41
1947-1948	31	61	1.97	6	562	2467	4.39
1948-1949	32	94	2.94	9	894	4100	4.59
1949-1950	32	97	3.03	9	952	4023	4.23
1950s	Clubs	Teams	T/C	Divs	Pld	Gls	GPG
1950-1951	32	112	3.50	10	1162	5325	4.58
1951-1952	33	115	3.48	10	1225	5838	4.77
1952-1953	33	115	3.48	10	1226	5495	4.48
1953-1954	32	114	3.56	10	1212	5673	4.68
1954-1955	33	123	3.73	12	1158	5540	4.78
1955-1956	33	123	3.73	12	1154	5531	4.79
1956-1957	33	126	3.82	12	1206	5857	4.86
1957-1958	33	133	4.03	13	1242	6169	4.97
1958-1959	35	143	4.09	13	1444	7089	4.91
1959-1960	34	146	4.29	13	1502	7030	4.68
1960s	Clubs	Teams	T/C	Divs	Pld	Gls	GPG
1960-1961	34	155	4.56	16	1468	7208	4.91
1961-1962	33	160	4.85	16	1476	7464	5.06
1962-1963	35	174	4.97	16	0	0	.0.00
1963-1964	34	164	4.82	16	1552	7646	4.93
1964-1965	34	165	4.85	16	1580	7664	4.85
1965-1966	34	169	4.97	16	1648	8253	5.01
1966-1967	34	174	5.12	17	1640	7734	4.72
1967-1968	35	182	5.20	17	1796	8012	4.46
1968-1969	35	185	5.29	17	1856	8391	4.52
1969-1970	35	189	5.40	17	1936	8623	4.45
1970s	Clubs	Teams	T/C	Divs	Pld	Gls	GPG
1970-1971	34	191	5.62	17	1970	8522	4.33
1971-1972	34	194	5.71	18	1916	8265	4.31
1972-1973	34	196	5.76	18	1950	8134	4.17
1973-1974	34	199	5.85	18	2012	8256	4.10
1974-1975	34	199	5.85	18	2020	8174	4.05
1975-1976	34	207	6.09	19	2066	8399	4.07
1976-1977	34	206	6.06	19	2048	8286	4.05
1977-1978	36	236	6.56	21	2438	10709	4.39
1978-1979	36	239	6.64	21	2497	10679	4.28
1979-1980	36	240	6.67	21	2522	10753	4.26
1980s	Clubs	Teams	T/C	Divs	Pld	Gls	GPG
1980-1981	36	246	6.83	22	2592	11234	4.33
1981-1982	36	248	6.89	22	2574	10426	4.05
1982-1983	35	241	6.89	22	2453	10607	4.32
1983-1984	36	248	6.89	22	2601	10852	4.17
1984-1985	36	248	6.89	22	2601	11396	4.38
1985-1986	36	247	6.86	22	2583	10991	4.26
1986-1987	36	251	6.97	22	2632	11670	4.43
1987-1988	36	251	6.97	22	2624	11104	4.23
1988-1989	36	249	6.92	22	2588	11089	4.28
1989-1990	35	242	6.91	22	2444	10098	4.13
1990s	Clubs	Teams	T/C	Divs	Pld	Gls	GPG
1990-1991	36	247	6.86	22	2550	10587	4.15
1991-1992	35	243	6.94	22	2470	10731	4.34
1992-1993	36	251	6.97	23	2595	12408	4.78
1993-1994	36	244	6.78	23	2456	11490	4.68
1994-1995	35	240	6.86	23	2338	10748	4.60
1995-1996	35	236	6.74	23	2250	10136	4.50
1996-1997	36	243	6.75	22	2497	11227	4.50
1997-1998	35	236	6.74	22	2368	11292	4.77
1998-1999	36	240	6.67	22	2424	11543	4.76
1999-2000	36	232	6.44	22	2266	10768	4.75
2000s	Clubs	Teams	T/C	Divs	Pld	Gls	GPG
2000-2001	36	223	6.19	21	2204	9754	4.43
2001-2002	36	225	6.25	20	2324	11267	4.85
2002-2003	34	213	6.26	20	2080	9593	4.61
2003-2004	33	211	6.39	20	2112	9705	4.60
2004-2005	33	212	6.42	20	2044	9698	4.74
2005-2006	33	216	6.55	20	2120	9709	4.58
2006-2007	33	218	6.61	20	2155	9976	4.63
2007-2008	33	222	6.73	21	2168	10095	4.66
2008-2009	33	218	6.61	21	2094	9538	4.55
2009-2010	33	222	6.73	20	2246	10421	4.64
2010s	Clubs	Teams	T/C	Divs	Pld	Gls	GPG
2010-2011	33	215	6.52	20	2092	9861	4.71
2011-2012	35	210	6.00	21	2014	9406	4.67
2012-2013	35	201	5.74	19	1944	8988	4.62
2013-2014	35	202	5.77	19	1954	8839	4.52
2014-2015	36	196	5.44	19	1915	8944	4.67
2015-2016	34	188	5.53	19	1750	8054	4.60
2016-2017	33	180	5.45	19	1599	7620	4.77
2017-2018	40	181	4.53	19	1617	7777	4.81
TOTAL					148463	670407	4.52