St Bartholomew's and The Royal London Hospitals FC ("SBLHFC") are the football club of Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, having been formed from the merger of two formerly distinct hospital football clubs each with a long history. History Football at St Bartholomew's Hospital An association football club was formed at St Bartholomew's Hospital Medical College in 1879, the initiative coming in response to the start of inter-hospital competitions. St Bart's entered the FA Cup in 1881-82, and were drawn to face the five-time winners the Wanderers in the first round. However, the Wanderers were unable to field a team as their members - drawn from elite public schools such as Eton and Harrow - had chosen to play for their respective old boys' teams instead. It was the last time the Wanderers entered the FA Cup and St Bart's, playing in black shirts with the hospital crest on them, lost in the second round to Great Marlow. The following year a United Hospitals club entered the Cup rather than each hospital sending a team, the Medicals beating the works side Olympic in the first round at Upton Park, scoring three times in the first twenty minutes, but lost at Windsor in the second, the home side scoring two goals in the final three minutes. Until 1892 the various Athletic Clubs were separately maintained by the members of the individual clubs, with St Bart's playing at the Spotted Dog ground in Upton Park, but in 1892 it was finally decided that a fixed subscription should be paid by all students, and should be collected and administered by the School authorities. An entrance fee of five guineas entitled students to life membership of the Abernethian Society, Athletic, Boxing, Boating, Cricket, Lawn Tennis, Rugby, Swimming and Association Football Clubs which led to the acquisition of a sports ground by the College Committee at Winchmore Hill for £8,000 and a pavilion was erected and suitable pitches and tennis courts were laid out. The ground was taken over by the Amalgamated Clubs in 1895. Prior to the acquisition of the sports ground at Winchmore Hill, the club played their home games at the Spotted Dog ground at Upton Lane. Around 1935, the students expressed the wish that the college would provide them with larger playing fields than those then in use at Winchmore Hill, as these were no longer adequate to