The first record regarding an Eaton football team is a newspaper article from October 1893 in the Melton Times and Vale of Belvoir Gazette which reports that the Eaton Rangers lost to Stathern Olympics 5-2. The write up is not positive about Eaton’s performance: ‘If the Rangers are to be successful they must play a different game than they did on Saturday, and keep their men in their places. On Saturday they were running all over the filed . The Olympic captain, F Gordon, could take the ball clean through them to the goal, and no one could stop him’.

It’s not clear how long this original team lasted but in September 1899 a meeting was held at the Castle Hotel to form a football club for Eaton. Mr T Johnson presided and Mr W Pearson was elected captain with Mr A Meredith vice-captain. Mr C Throssell offered the use of a field free of charge. 

 

By 1902 the team is called the Eaton Rovers, presumably to avoid confusion with Long Eaton Rangers who played in a Midlands league. In their September meeting the accounts are reported as £2 15s and 5d with the captain Mr J Pennell, vice Mr A Meredith, Mr Bellamy secretary and M O Gibson treasurer. Matches are being arranged directly with other village teams rather than as part of a structured league. 

 

In May 1914 the Eaton Rovers Football Club  held a celebration for winning both the Melton and District League and the Melton and District Medal Competition. The celebration took the form of a ‘supper and smoking concert’ held at the Castle Hotel. Top goal scorers for the season were Bert Jackson  (12 goals), Robert Lilly (11), W. Pegg (10), William Darby (8), A Singleton (6), and H King (6). The club was supported by Colonel Paynter and also by the firm Messrs Adcock and Pacey with Mr Pacey present at the celebration.

 

Despite these successes by the 1930/31 season Eaton Rovers has to resign from the Melton and District league due to difficulty in recruiting players. Whether the club continued after this time on a friendly basis is unclear although there was certainly a Castle Inn team into the 70s and early 80s. The Eaton Castle team played other local pubs with practice in the field behind the pub but with most matches played away.

 

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