Founded: 1905, Stadium: The Valley (London), Capacity: 27,111
Charlton Athletic is based in Charlton, south-east London. The club was founded in 1905 when a number of youth clubs in south-east London, including East Street Mission and Blundell Mission combined to form Charlton Athletic. Their home ground is The Valley, where the club have played since 1919, apart from one year in Watford during 1923-24, and seven years at Crystal Palace and West Ham United between 1985 and 1992, due to financial issues, and then safety concerns.The club’s fans formed the Valley Party, nominating candidates to stand in local elections, in a bid to return to The Valley. Charlton won the FA Cup in 1947. Historically, Charlton’s most successful period was the 1930s , when the club’s highest league finishes were recorded. Charlton share local rivalries with fellow South East London clubs Crystal Palace and Millwall. Charlton have used a number of crests and badges during their history, although the current design has not been changed since 1968. The first known badge, from the 1930s consisted of the letters CAF in the shape of a club from a pack of cards. In the 1940s, Charlton used a design featuring a robin sitting on a football within a shield. In the late 1940s and early 1950s, the crest of the former metropolitan borough of Greenwich was used as a symbol for the club but this was not used on the team’s shirts. In 1964 the hand holding sword appeared in their crest. It complied with Charlton’s nickname of the time, the Valiants. By 1968, the design had reached the one known today, and has been used continuously from this year apart from a period in the 1970s.
