PartisanDulwich
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Champions of the Hamlet
By Norman Ackland circa 1952
Dulwich Hamlet FC is one of the nurseries for amateur internationals. It's juniors grow up at Champion Hill in the best traditions of playing and enjoying the game, win or lose
Champion Hill, the headquarters of Dulwich Hamlet FC in south London is rightly named. It has been the nursery of many famous players past and present, and the cradle of our best amateur traditions.
Four times winners of the Amateur cup competition, this famous club has always investead confidently in youth. Dulwich Hamlet Juniors founded in 1922, form the basis of the great cup winning teams of the 1930's and supplied 10 of the 11 of the club's leading players at one period.
Four former Dulwich Hamlet Juniors - A.J Hugo, L.B. Morrish, C. Murray and H.S Robbins - hold the record of possessing three amateur cup medals, as well as a complete set of medals of all the amateur competitions in which the club takes part.
Today, too, in Dulwich's present side goalkeeper Alec Freeman, right back Don Eastman, right half George May, outside right Les Green, inside left Pat Connett and outside right Peter Stone all graduated from the junior elevens. And eighteen Dulwich Hamlet players have shared seventy three amateur international caps - a big proportion of them from juniors.
It has been the policy of Dulwich Hamlet to encourage local schoolboy talent. For years the club has had the closest understanding with the South London Schools Football Association which is in the happy position of being able to recommend an outstanding place to Dulwich, with the certainty of their being accepted. Many school masters too, have played a full Dulwich in the past, and at the present time there are four schoolmasters on the Dulwich Hamlet committee.
There is also a famous Lorraine Wilson' Memorial scholarship to Dulwich College, a traditional links with the club. It was founded to perpetuate the memory of the late Mr Lorraine Wilson the founder of Dulwich Hamlet FC.
No "pep" talks
Altogether five elevens turnout for the most Saturdays in the season. The first and second teams - the senior and reserves- play in the Isthmian league. The first eleven have won this championship four times and the second team have been runners-up or champions eighteen times in the 23 years that the Reserve Section championship has been in existence.
The third in order of seniority is the "A" team. They play friendly matches only against banks and teams from business houses.
For the juniors there are two teams - one for boys between 16 and 18 years old, and the other is for boys under 16. In all, between 30 and 40 juniors are on the Hamlet's playing strength.
The most coveted trophy among them is the London Minor cup. This has been won five times in the under 18s, and they have reached the finals on three other occasions. They have also won the Surrey Minor cup beating Crystal Palace Juniors 3-1.
For the under 16s is the London Football Association runs the Winchester cup competition in which over 100 clubs take part. Since the war, Dulwich has won this cup on three occasions.
So you can see that from top to bottom of the club at Champion Hill there is a real Championships spirit at work. Part of the secret is the juniors have the same training privileges as the seniors. Every Tuesday and Thursday evening during the season a full contingent of players of all ages turns up.
The juniors themselves under the expert guidance of Mr Tom Worley, take part in ball practice, exercising getting off the mark quickly, skipping and normal training routine.
Mr Warley is assisted by Ernie Toser, former Millwall professional, holder of two amateur cup medals gained with Dulwich Hamlet, and himself a former Dulwich junior played for England against Scotland in a schools International 25 years ago.
Toser is a trainer pure and simple. At Dulwich they do not lay too much stress on lectures or pep talks on training night. Sometimes there may be just an informal discussion on the previous Saturday's games, followed by suggestions as to the future tactics. There is no professional coach of Dulwich because the powers that be believe that the players in their side know quite as much as the other fellow about the game. A word or two of advice from their skipper at the interval is all they require. There is no handshaking with a player when he scores from a Hamlet team - although I have often seen and Dulwich player slap an opponent on the back for good work.
The amateur spirit
There is no rubbing it in afterwards if a Dulwich man has a bad match. It is taken for granted that he knows all about it himself without being told.
This feeling of comradeship, in the best sense of the term - the confidence that each player does his best on behalf of team mates and club- is the main explanation for the fine spirit at Champion Hill. It is not the mere possession of a medal, but the thrill of fighting for it that counts: games in all weathers: tussles against all types of teams from the pitheads of Durham, from the grimy smoke of the Midlands, from the older universities, as well as the crack Metropolitan amateur sides and that the Hamlet players meet from year to year in the ordinary seasons routine. To play and enjoy the game, win or lose that is the amateur spirit that is Dulwich
I will always remember the reply of Ernest Haley., the old Olympic runner, when he was in charge of Dulwich Hamlet juniors many years ago. They had a splendid team that particular season, and their free scoring centre forward lost count of the number of goals he had scored. so he asked Mr Haley. " You have scored all the others have made for you!" Was the prompt reply. That remark was in the true tradition.
By Norman Ackland circa 1952
Dulwich Hamlet FC is one of the nurseries for amateur internationals. It's juniors grow up at Champion Hill in the best traditions of playing and enjoying the game, win or lose
Champion Hill, the headquarters of Dulwich Hamlet FC in south London is rightly named. It has been the nursery of many famous players past and present, and the cradle of our best amateur traditions.
Four times winners of the Amateur cup competition, this famous club has always investead confidently in youth. Dulwich Hamlet Juniors founded in 1922, form the basis of the great cup winning teams of the 1930's and supplied 10 of the 11 of the club's leading players at one period.
Four former Dulwich Hamlet Juniors - A.J Hugo, L.B. Morrish, C. Murray and H.S Robbins - hold the record of possessing three amateur cup medals, as well as a complete set of medals of all the amateur competitions in which the club takes part.
Today, too, in Dulwich's present side goalkeeper Alec Freeman, right back Don Eastman, right half George May, outside right Les Green, inside left Pat Connett and outside right Peter Stone all graduated from the junior elevens. And eighteen Dulwich Hamlet players have shared seventy three amateur international caps - a big proportion of them from juniors.
It has been the policy of Dulwich Hamlet to encourage local schoolboy talent. For years the club has had the closest understanding with the South London Schools Football Association which is in the happy position of being able to recommend an outstanding place to Dulwich, with the certainty of their being accepted. Many school masters too, have played a full Dulwich in the past, and at the present time there are four schoolmasters on the Dulwich Hamlet committee.
There is also a famous Lorraine Wilson' Memorial scholarship to Dulwich College, a traditional links with the club. It was founded to perpetuate the memory of the late Mr Lorraine Wilson the founder of Dulwich Hamlet FC.
No "pep" talks
Altogether five elevens turnout for the most Saturdays in the season. The first and second teams - the senior and reserves- play in the Isthmian league. The first eleven have won this championship four times and the second team have been runners-up or champions eighteen times in the 23 years that the Reserve Section championship has been in existence.
The third in order of seniority is the "A" team. They play friendly matches only against banks and teams from business houses.
For the juniors there are two teams - one for boys between 16 and 18 years old, and the other is for boys under 16. In all, between 30 and 40 juniors are on the Hamlet's playing strength.
The most coveted trophy among them is the London Minor cup. This has been won five times in the under 18s, and they have reached the finals on three other occasions. They have also won the Surrey Minor cup beating Crystal Palace Juniors 3-1.
For the under 16s is the London Football Association runs the Winchester cup competition in which over 100 clubs take part. Since the war, Dulwich has won this cup on three occasions.
So you can see that from top to bottom of the club at Champion Hill there is a real Championships spirit at work. Part of the secret is the juniors have the same training privileges as the seniors. Every Tuesday and Thursday evening during the season a full contingent of players of all ages turns up.
The juniors themselves under the expert guidance of Mr Tom Worley, take part in ball practice, exercising getting off the mark quickly, skipping and normal training routine.
Mr Warley is assisted by Ernie Toser, former Millwall professional, holder of two amateur cup medals gained with Dulwich Hamlet, and himself a former Dulwich junior played for England against Scotland in a schools International 25 years ago.
Toser is a trainer pure and simple. At Dulwich they do not lay too much stress on lectures or pep talks on training night. Sometimes there may be just an informal discussion on the previous Saturday's games, followed by suggestions as to the future tactics. There is no professional coach of Dulwich because the powers that be believe that the players in their side know quite as much as the other fellow about the game. A word or two of advice from their skipper at the interval is all they require. There is no handshaking with a player when he scores from a Hamlet team - although I have often seen and Dulwich player slap an opponent on the back for good work.
The amateur spirit
There is no rubbing it in afterwards if a Dulwich man has a bad match. It is taken for granted that he knows all about it himself without being told.
This feeling of comradeship, in the best sense of the term - the confidence that each player does his best on behalf of team mates and club- is the main explanation for the fine spirit at Champion Hill. It is not the mere possession of a medal, but the thrill of fighting for it that counts: games in all weathers: tussles against all types of teams from the pitheads of Durham, from the grimy smoke of the Midlands, from the older universities, as well as the crack Metropolitan amateur sides and that the Hamlet players meet from year to year in the ordinary seasons routine. To play and enjoy the game, win or lose that is the amateur spirit that is Dulwich
I will always remember the reply of Ernest Haley., the old Olympic runner, when he was in charge of Dulwich Hamlet juniors many years ago. They had a splendid team that particular season, and their free scoring centre forward lost count of the number of goals he had scored. so he asked Mr Haley. " You have scored all the others have made for you!" Was the prompt reply. That remark was in the true tradition.
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