The Aetolian League was a short-lived football league in the south east of England. It was established in 1959 after the Kent League folded, leaving a number of clubs without a league to play in. Seven of the founder members were from the Kent League and four from the London League.[1] The league had two divisions, although Division Two consisted mainly of the reserve teams of clubs in Division One; Medway Corinthians and Orpington Athletic were the only two clubs to field a first team in Division Two; Medway joined in 1959 and left in 1961, with Orpington joining in 1960 and remaining until the league folded.[1] As a result of Division Two being largely reserve teams, there was no promotion or relegation between the two divisions.
| Founded | 1959 |
|---|---|
| First season | 1959–60 |
| Folded | 1964 |
| Country |  England |
| Divisions | Two |
| Number of teams | Lowest: 12 (1963–64) Highest: 14 (1959–60, 1961–62) |
| Feeder to | Southern League |
| Domestic cup(s) | FA Cup |
| League cup(s) | League Cup |
| Most championships | Ford United (2) |
In 1964 after only five seasons of existence, it merged with the London League to form the Greater London League. This later merged with the Metropolitan League to form the Metropolitan–London League, which in turn merged with the Spartan League and later the South Midlands League to form the modern Spartan South Midlands League.
History
1959–60
Fourteen clubs joined the league for its first season:
- Seven from the defunct Kent League (Deal Town, Faversham Town, Chatham Town, Snowdown Colliery Welfare, Herne Bay, Sheppey United and Whitstable Town)
- Four from the London League (Cheshunt, Cray Wanderers, Eton Manor and Willesden)
- One from the Kent Amateur League (Crockenhill)
- One new club, Ford United (a merger of Briggs Motor Bodies and Ford Sports)
- Charlton Athletic 'A'
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ford United | 26 | 15 | 7 | 4 | 65 | 32 | +33 | 37 | |
| 2 | Deal Town | 26 | 14 | 7 | 5 | 68 | 35 | +33 | 35 | |
| 3 | Faversham Town | 26 | 11 | 8 | 7 | 64 | 39 | +25 | 30 | |
| 4 | Chatham Town | 26 | 12 | 6 | 8 | 48 | 40 | +8 | 30 | |
| 5 | Eton Manor | 26 | 10 | 7 | 9 | 55 | 49 | +6 | 27 | |
| 6 | Crockenhill | 26 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 47 | 55 | −8 | 27 | |
| 7 | Snowdown Colliery Welfare | 26 | 8 | 10 | 8 | 47 | 47 | 0 | 26 | |
| 8 | Willesden | 26 | 11 | 2 | 13 | 53 | 50 | +3 | 24 | |
| 9 | Cray Wanderers | 26 | 11 | 2 | 13 | 52 | 56 | −4 | 24 | |
| 10 | Cheshunt | 26 | 10 | 4 | 12 | 47 | 68 | −21 | 24 | |
| 11 | Charlton Athletic 'A' | 26 | 8 | 7 | 11 | 52 | 53 | −1 | 23 | |
| 12 | Herne Bay | 26 | 8 | 7 | 11 | 51 | 61 | −10 | 23 | |
| 13 | Sheppey United | 26 | 8 | 4 | 14 | 48 | 68 | −20 | 20 | |
| 14 | Whitstable Town | 26 | 5 | 4 | 17 | 29 | 73 | −44 | 14 | Dropped into Kent Amateur League |
1960–61
Ford United won the League Cup in the 1960–61 season.[2]
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Snowdown Colliery Welfare | 24 | 18 | 2 | 4 | 81 | 40 | +41 | 38 |
| 2 | Ford United | 24 | 14 | 3 | 7 | 68 | 39 | +29 | 31 |
| 3 | Cray Wanderers | 24 | 14 | 3 | 7 | 79 | 52 | +27 | 31 |
| 4 | Herne Bay | 24 | 11 | 9 | 4 | 50 | 40 | +10 | 31 |
| 5 | Sheppey United | 24 | 9 | 6 | 9 | 62 | 60 | +2 | 24 |
| 6 | Cheshunt | 24 | 10 | 3 | 11 | 44 | 53 | −9 | 23 |
| 7 | Crockenhill | 24 | 9 | 4 | 11 | 55 | 61 | −6 | 22 |
| 8 | Chatham Town | 24 | 10 | 2 | 12 | 37 | 50 | −13 | 22 |
| 9 | Eton Manor | 24 | 9 | 3 | 12 | 43 | 53 | −10 | 21 |
| 10 | Deal Town | 24 | 8 | 5 | 11 | 52 | 66 | −14 | 21 |
| 11 | Faversham Town | 24 | 5 | 8 | 11 | 45 | 60 | −15 | 18 |
| 12 | Charlton Athletic 'A' | 24 | 5 | 6 | 13 | 39 | 58 | −19 | 16 |
| 13 | Willesden | 24 | 5 | 4 | 15 | 33 | 56 | −23 | 14 |
1961–62
One new club, Beckenham Town from the London League, joined the league for the 1961–62 season.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ford United | 26 | 16 | 6 | 4 | 61 | 22 | +39 | 38 | |
| 2 | Snowdown Colliery Welfare | 26 | 14 | 6 | 6 | 71 | 51 | +20 | 34 | |
| 3 | Cheshunt | 26 | 13 | 6 | 7 | 67 | 49 | +18 | 32 | Joined Spartan League |
| 4 | Sheppey United | 26 | 14 | 4 | 8 | 64 | 57 | +7 | 32 | |
| 5 | Deal Town | 26 | 13 | 5 | 8 | 56 | 50 | +6 | 31 | |
| 6 | Herne Bay | 26 | 14 | 2 | 10 | 53 | 55 | −2 | 30 | |
| 7 | Cray Wanderers | 26 | 12 | 4 | 10 | 60 | 52 | +8 | 28 | |
| 8 | Willesden | 26 | 10 | 4 | 12 | 60 | 61 | −1 | 24 | |
| 9 | Chatham Town | 26 | 10 | 4 | 12 | 55 | 57 | −2 | 24 | |
| 10 | Charlton Athletic 'A' | 26 | 11 | 0 | 15 | 65 | 58 | +7 | 22 | Left the league |
| 11 | Eton Manor | 26 | 6 | 9 | 11 | 41 | 41 | 0 | 21 | |
| 12 | Faversham Town | 26 | 8 | 4 | 14 | 47 | 69 | −22 | 20 | |
| 13 | Beckenham Town | 26 | 8 | 4 | 14 | 36 | 64 | −28 | 20 | |
| 14 | Crockenhill | 26 | 3 | 2 | 21 | 48 | 98 | −50 | 8 |
1962–63
One new club, East Ham United from the London League, joined the league for the 1962–63 season.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cray Wanderers | 24 | 16 | 5 | 3 | 58 | 30 | +28 | 37 | |
| 2 | Chatham Town | 24 | 16 | 3 | 5 | 69 | 24 | +45 | 35 | |
| 3 | Herne Bay | 24 | 14 | 6 | 4 | 59 | 27 | +32 | 34 | |
| 4 | Ford United | 24 | 16 | 2 | 6 | 54 | 29 | +25 | 34 | |
| 5 | Deal Town | 24 | 11 | 5 | 8 | 47 | 41 | +6 | 27 | Promotion to Southern League Division One[3] |
| 6 | Faversham Town | 24 | 10 | 5 | 9 | 43 | 36 | +7 | 25 | |
| 7 | Eton Manor | 24 | 10 | 4 | 10 | 46 | 35 | +11 | 24 | |
| 8 | Snowdown Colliery Welfare | 24 | 9 | 6 | 9 | 38 | 34 | +4 | 24 | |
| 9 | Sheppey United | 24 | 6 | 7 | 11 | 48 | 61 | −13 | 19 | |
| 10 | East Ham United | 24 | 9 | 1 | 14 | 34 | 59 | −25 | 19 | |
| 11 | Willesden | 24 | 6 | 4 | 14 | 33 | 50 | −17 | 16 | Joined Spartan League |
| 12 | Beckenham Town | 24 | 4 | 2 | 18 | 29 | 76 | −47 | 10 | |
| 13 | Crockenhill | 24 | 3 | 2 | 19 | 28 | 84 | −56 | 8 |
1963–64
Whistable Town rejoined the league for the 1963–64 season. At the end of the season most clubs joined the newly formed Greater London League.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chatham Town | 22 | 16 | 4 | 2 | 73 | 24 | +49 | 36 | Joined the Metropolitan League[4] |
| 2 | Herne Bay | 22 | 16 | 3 | 3 | 70 | 23 | +47 | 35 | Promotion to Athenian League Division Two[5] |
| 3 | Cray Wanderers | 22 | 15 | 5 | 2 | 76 | 27 | +49 | 35 | Placed in B Section of Greater London League |
| 4 | Sheppey United | 22 | 12 | 4 | 6 | 64 | 49 | +15 | 28 | |
| 5 | Ford United | 22 | 12 | 2 | 8 | 55 | 38 | +17 | 26 | Placed in A Section of Greater London League |
| 6 | Snowdown Colliery Welfare | 21 | 9 | 1 | 11 | 43 | 37 | +6 | 19 | Placed in B Section of Greater London League |
| 7 | Faversham Town | 22 | 8 | 2 | 12 | 38 | 51 | −13 | 18 | |
| 8 | Beckenham Town | 21 | 5 | 4 | 12 | 36 | 69 | −33 | 14 | |
| 9 | Eton Manor | 22 | 6 | 2 | 14 | 25 | 62 | −37 | 14 | Placed in A Section of Greater London League |
| 10 | Crockenhill | 22 | 6 | 1 | 15 | 39 | 65 | −26 | 13 | Placed in B Section of Greater London League |
| 11 | Whitstable Town | 22 | 5 | 2 | 15 | 38 | 76 | −38 | 12 | |
| 12 | East Ham United | 22 | 5 | 2 | 15 | 36 | 72 | −36 | 12 | Placed in A Section of Greater London League |