HISTORY
Grays Athletic Football Club is a football club based in Grays, Essex, England. They are currently members of the Isthmian League North Division and play at Chadfields in nearby Tilbury.

The club was established as Grays Juniors in 1890, before merging with former Southern League club Grays United to form Grays Athletic. The newly formed club joined the Grays & District League, later joining Division Two B of the South Essex League in 1908. They were runners-up in their first season in the division and won it in their second season, earning promotion to Division One for the 1909–10 season. The club were founder members of the Athenian League in 1912, but the league closed down in 1914 due to World War I and Grays transferred to the Premier Division (Amateur) of the London League. They won the division in their first season, with the reserves also winning Division One. The league was suspended at the end of the 1914–15 season, with Grays rejoining in the Premier Division when it restarted in 1919–20.

Grays were Premier Division runners-up in 1920–21, before winning the division in 1921–22. In 1924 the club joined the Kent League but after two seasons in mid-table, they returned to the London League in 1926. The return was a success as the club were Premier Division champions in 1926–27 and runners-up in the next two seasons, before winning the title again in 1929–30. After finishing as runners-up in 1930–31, the club spent most of the 1930s in mid-table, although they won the league's Challenge Cup in 1936–37.

After World War II Grays were founder members of the Corinthian League and were its inaugural champions and League Cup winners in 1945–46. They were league runners-up in 1951–52, and the following season saw them qualify for the first round of the FA Cup for the first time, losing 5–0 at home to Llanelli. They were league runners-up again in 1954–55 and 1956–57, before rejoining the Athenian League in 1958. When the league gained two more divisions in 1963, the club were placed in the Premier Division, where they remained until being relegated to Division One at the end of the 1971–72 season, in which they had finished bottom of the table. In 1977 the league was reorganised into a single division, and the club were runners-up in 1982–83.

In 1983 Grays transferred to Division Two of the Isthmian League. League reorganisation saw them placed in Division Two South in 1984 and they went on to win the division at the first attempt, earning promotion to Division One. In 1987–88 they were Division One runners-up, resulting in promotion to the Premier Division. In 1988–89 the club reached the first round of the FA Cup for a second time, losing 2–0 at Bath City. They remained in the Premier Division until being relegated back to Division One at the end of the 1996–97 season. In 1999–2000 the club were Division One runners-up, earning promotion back to the Premier Division. In 2000–01 another appearance in the FA Cup first round saw them play Football League opposition for the first time, losing 4–0 at Reading.

A sixth-place finish in 2003–04 resulted in Grays being placed in the new Conference South for the 2004–05 season. They went on to win the new division in its first season, earning promotion to the Conference National. The season also saw them reach the final of the FA Trophy, in which they beat Hucknall Town 6–5 on penalties after a 1–1 draw at Villa Park. In their first season in the Conference National, the club finished third, qualifying for the promotion play-offs. However, they lost 5–4 on aggregate to Halifax Town. They also reached the second round of the FA Cup, beating York City 3–0 at Bootham Crescent before losing 3–0 at Mansfield Town, as well as retaining the FA Trophy with a 2–0 win over Woking in the final. The club's league form subsequently faded and after narrowly avoiding relegation in 2006–07 and 2008–09, they finished bottom of the Conference National in 2009–10 and resigned from the Football Conference.

Ground
The club initially played at the Hoppit Ground in Little Thurrock.[14] In 1906 they moved to the New Recreation Ground, playing there until 2010. After the ground was sold to developers, the club ground shared with East Thurrock United at their Rookery Hill ground in Corringham.

During the 2012–13 season, the club played at Rush Green Stadium in Rush Green, sharing the ground with West Ham United's reserves who played in the Professional Development League. The following season, West Ham pulled out of the deal in June and Grays moved to Aveley's Mill Field ground. When Aveley moved to Parkside in 2017, Grays became tenants at the new ground. In February 2023 Grays announced the club would be ground sharing at Tilbury for the 2023–24 season.

In 2024 the club obtained ownership of Ship Lane, the former home of Thurrock, stating they hoped to be playing at the new ground in the 2025–26 season.

26 minutes and just 19.2 miles and you’re in Tilbury, at Chadfields to watch Grays Athletic v The Bridge…it’s FA Cup Extra Preliminary Round time!

Honours
FA Trophy
Winners 2004–05, 2005–06
Football Conference
Conference South champions 2004–05
Isthmian League
Division Two South champions 1984–85
Division One North champions 2012–13
League Cup winners: 1991–92
London League
Premier Division champions 1921–22, 1926–27, 1929–30
Premier Division (Amateur) champions 1914–15
Challenge Cup winners 1936–37
Corinthian League
Champions 1945–46
League Cup winners 1945–46
South Essex League
Division Two B champions 1908–09
Essex Senior Cup
Winners 1914–15, 1920–21, 1922–23, 1944–45, 1956–57, 1987–88, 1993–94, 1994–95
Essex Thameside Trophy
Winners 1947–48, 1978–79, 1980–81, 1987–88, 1988–89, 1990–91, 2001–02
East Anglian Cup
Winners 1944–45

Records
Best FA Cup performance: Second round, 2005–06
Best FA Trophy performance: Winners, 2004–05, 2005–06
Best FA Vase performance: Fourth round, 1977–78, 1979–80, 1981–82, 1983–84
Biggest victory: 12–0 vs Tooting Town, London League, 24 February 1923
Biggest defeat: 0–12 vs Enfield, Athenian League, 20 April 1963
Attendance: 9,500 v Chelmsford City, FA Cup fourth qualifying round, 1959
Most appearances: Phil Sammons, 673 (1982–1997)
Most goals: Harry Brand, 269 (1944–1952)
Transfer record fee paid: £12,000 to Welling United for Danny Kedwell
Transfer record fee received: £150,000 from Peterborough United for Aaron McLean
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Geography
Grays (or Grays Thurrock)[1] is the largest town in the borough and unitary authority area of Thurrock, in the ceremonial county of Essex, England. The town, which is both a former civil parish and one of Thurrock's traditional Church of England parishes, is located on the north bank of the River Thames.

It is approximately 20 miles (32 km) to the east of central London, and 2 miles (3.2 km) east of the M25 motorway. Its economy is linked to Port of London industries, its own offices, retail, and the Lakeside Shopping Centre at West Thurrock.

The origin of the name "Grays Thurrock" comes in two parts. Thurrock is a Saxon name meaning "the bottom of a ship". The element "Grays" comes from Henry de Grai, a descendant of the Norman knight Anchetil de Greye, who was granted the manor of Grays Thurrock in 1195 by Richard I.

Grays contains the wards and residential areas of Grays Riverside, Grays Thurrock, Stifford Clays, Little Thurrock Blackshots, Little Thurrock Rectory, and Chadwell St Mary. Parts of Chafford Hundred and North and South Stifford are also in Grays.

History
Archaeological evidence indicates that the area now occupied by Grays has been inhabited by humans since the Palaeolithic period.

Samuel Pepys recorded in his diary that he visited Grays on 24 September 1665 and apparently bought fish from the local fishermen. Parts of Grays and Chafford Hundred are set within three Victorian chalk pits; the largest two being the Lion Gorge, and the Warren Gorge. Another area of the Chafford Hundred residential development is built on a Victorian landfill site. Thurrock Town Hall on New Road in Grays was built in the 1980s; work on an extension began in January 2020.

In 1931 the parish had a population of 18,173. On 1 April 1936, the parish was abolished to form Thurrock.

On 23 October 2019, the bodies of 39 people were found in the back of a lorry at Waterglade Industrial Park in Eastern Avenue. They are believed to have been victims of human trafficking, or migrants being smuggled into Britain. The vehicle, registered in Bulgaria, was thought to have travelled to the UK through Purfleet from Zeebrugge. A 25-year-old lorry driver from Northern Ireland was arrested by Essex Police on suspicion of murder and pleaded guilty to manslaughter in April 2020. Essex Police launched an investigation afterwards and the lorry was moved to the nearby Port of Tilbury. It is the biggest murder investigation in the history of Essex police. On 26 May 2020, a total of 26 further suspects, most of whom were Vietnamese nationals, were arrested in Belgium and France.

30/07/24 Friendly
GRAYS ATHLETIC 3
(Michael Finneran, Joe Damrell, Joao Martin Pais De Carlos)
SITTINGBOURNE 3

23/07/24 Friendly
GRAYS ATHLETIC 5
(Luke Hirst 3, Alejandro Machado 2)
TILBURY 0

20/07/24 Friendly
EAST THURROCK UNITED 5
GRAYS ATHLETIC 3

Grays finished in a lowly 16th place in the Isthmian League North Division in 2023/24 with 33 points from 36 matches. Their record was won 9, drawn 6, and lost 21. They scored 46 goals and conceded 69 for a -23 goal difference.

Note – Source, Grays Athletic FC official website
Anthony Page
Danny Sambridge
Michael Finneran
Aaron Clarke
Kenedi Dariri
Julian Gibson
Jack Humphrey
Issac Long
Alex Moss
Matas Skarner
Jack Wilson
Joao Carlos
George Craddock
Joe Damrell
Aron Gordon
Alejandro Machedo
Elliot Sartorius
Malaki Toussaint
Bobby Unwin
Sid Walker
Luke Hirst
Michele Maccari
Albert Perry
Louis Remi