The team formed in 1897 as an amateur church team competing in local leagues. They turned professional in 1907, joining the Southern League Second Division. A final place of third was achieved despite the stand at the Crescent being burnt down.
An immediate return was made to the Second Division after finishing second from bottom. At the new ground another main stand was damaged; the roof being removed in a gale.
Seasons of mid to high table finishes then followed until the 1913–14 season when the championship was achieved again with only two defeats.
Again, Common's stay in the First Division resulted in a second from bottom placing. Relegation was not experienced due to the suspension of the League during World War I. In 1917 the club was finally wound up, the only First Division club not to return to action after the War.
The Official Centenary History of the Southern League ISBN1-871872-08-1
References
^Twydell, Dave (1991). Football League Grounds For A Change. p. 121. ISBN0-9513321-4-7.
^ abRiddoch, Andrew; Kemp, John (2011). When the Whistle Blows: The Story of the Footballers' Battalion in the Great War. Haynes Publishing. p. 327. ISBN978-0-85733-103-8.