Islington Corinthians

The Islington Corinthians Football Club were founded in 1932 by Mr Tom Smith, formally of Tufnell Park in order to raise money for local charities. The club progressed only ever playing mid week football to the London Professional Mid Week League, where they competed against Arsenal, Chelsea and Fulham.

In 1936 the Islington Corinthians were selected to play the Chinese Olympic team and this was the catalyst for a world tour. The tour spanned the 1937/38 football season and saw the club visit Holland, Switzerland, Egypt, India, Burma, Malaya, Singapore, Vietnam, the Philippine Islands, occupied China, Japan, Hawaii, USA and Canada.

The fascinating story of their voyage saw the Islington Corinthians being attacked by the British Army in the Khyber Pass, going on Opium Den raids with the Hong Kong police and being entertained on Hollywood film sets by stars such as David Niven. The club, besides all this excitement also managed to play 95 games on their travels around the globe.

The Islington Corinthians unfortunately did not survive World War Two and the club dissappeared from view after 1940 when ideas for a South American tour were cancelled due to world events.

References

Rob Cavallini (2008). * [http://www.dognduck.net "Around The World In 95 Games - The amazing story of Islington Corinthians 1937/38 world tour"] ISBN 978-0-9550496-1-3