Trading under the title of Leyton Football and Athletic Clubs Limited, the club was launched onto the public, with a marked degree of success. Anyone purchasing 20 or more of the 10/- shares would become a life member with full admission to all of the matches and a seat in the grandstand. Their sponsors had dreams of Leyton becoming the “Chelsea of the East”.
Arrangements were made for the club to pay their home matches on the ground adjacent to the Coronation Gardens (better known as Osborne Road, and now Leyton Orient’s Brisbane Road) and to compete in the second division of the Southern League; a position gained at the expense of Wellingborough who had resigned.
Wholesale changes were necessary on the plying front to be able to compete with the other professional clubs in the division.
Walter Busby was signed from Woolwich Arsenal, Jimmy Gray from Spurs and Andrew Ramsay from Middlesborough. Perhaps the signing of all was that of Sam Meredith, brother of Billy. Sam was something of a black sheep of the family and had left home in Chick to pay professionally for Stoke City.
Leyton led the league for most of the season, and would only lose two games all season. The away game against Crystal Palace in September was a real festival, with free admission, a balloon ascent, fireworks, the National Cycling Union Championships, a “colonial Indian exhibition”, and a “Somali animal camp” all taking place at the same time.
Leyton lead the league for much of the season, but were caught by Crystal Palace in early April. Palace and Leyton were level on points with Leyton having played a game more.
As there were no other clubs in contention for the title, the game at Leyton on 7 April 1906 was virtually a league decider.
Palace took the lead in the first half, but Leyton pressed for the equaliser, though were unable to make the most of their pressure. Despite pulling a goal back late on, Palace got one of their own to take the title, though both teams were promoted at the first attempt. Leyton’s promotion was even more amazing, when you consider that the majority of the team also played a full season for the club in the United League, the London League Division 1 and the South Eastern League. Despite being full time footballers, you wonder where they found the time.
Gates for the newly-professional club ranged from “small” to around 5,000 for the title decider against Palace. But player-manager J Jackson and his team would go on to perform admirably in Division One of the Southern League the following season.
