 In 1907 , Ipswich became founder members of the Southern Amateur League . The club narrowly avoided relegation in many of the following seasons , and suffered a club record 15 – 1 defeat at the hands of the Corinthians at Portman Road on New Year 's Day , 1910 . The outbreak of the First World War and the commandeering of Portman Road by the Army curtailed the 1914 – 15 season and organised football did not return until the 1920 – 21 season . Just one year later , Ipswich Town became champions of the Southern Amateur League , clinching the title on the last day of the season . The club won the league a further three times , in 1929 – 30 , 1932 – 33 and 1933 – 34 , before becoming founder members of the Eastern Counties Football League at the end of the 1934 – 35 season . 
