The Pinnace Collection; Reading FC
When Godfrey Phillips embarked on their epic Pinnace series, Reading Football Club was already 50 years old, having been founded at a meeting in the town in 1871. Part of the original group of clubs that formed the Southern League in 1894, Reading turned professional a year later, and moved to the purpose built Elm Park in 1896. After the Great War there was one more season in the Southern League before those teams formed the Third Division of the Football League in 1920. Reading’s first ever match as a ‘proper’ League club saw a 1-0 win at Newport County, but in general the first few seasons were a struggle. Then everything came together for the 1925-26 season with Reading winning the Division Three South title, and with it promotion to the Second Division.