Ely Ranger’s origins date back to 1963-64 when current chairman Graham Clarke was playing for Ely YMCA, at the time the club did not have enough players to put out a full side, so they joined with Heath Park Rangers.
After just one season, a chance meeting with other boys from Ely whilst on holiday at Butlins resulted in the formation of Ely Rangers AFC in 1965.
The club joined the Cardiff Combination League and quickly established themselves as a major playing force, in season 1967-68 they were crowned champions of the first division, and within two seasons in the senior division they won the first of five championships, their further triumphs came in 70-71 75-76 77-78 78-79.
Click Here for ALL Ely Rangers' Success & Milestones -
The clubs success was not limited to the league, as they won the Combination Cup on five occasions, the City Supporters Cup four times and the senior cup twice.
Following this successful period, the club were on the look out for a Ground of their own, so they could further their ambition of Amateur League status.
In 1983 Ely Rangers moved into Station Road Wenvoe, and were accepted into the Amateur League.
Success followed, winning the Corinthian Cup (click here for picture) and the SWFA Amateur cup twice.
In the Amatuer League the best finish was runners up, until the 1996-97 season where Ely Rangers won the First Division Championship under Manager John Boulton.
Rangers then had to contest a play off with old local rivals Caerau Ely, at Ninian Park and won the game quite convincingly 3 goals to nil in front of 1,300 spectators, to claim their place in the Welsh Football League for season 1997-98.
In the Welsh League, Rangers spent the first three seasons in division three finishing 5th, 5th, and then runners up (drawing only 3 games and winning the rest) and in turn promotion.
Division two was a short stay of only one season finishing 3rd and again gaining promotion.
Season 2001-02, Ely entered into the First Division and finished in eighth position, however, in the last few seasons Ely have finished 15th, and 14th twice.
That's the history of Ely Rangers and now a snippet of what's in store for the future......
The club has a wealth of experience and prides itself as being an Amateur & family set up and as you can see from the above history, Ely has achieved a huge amount of success without having to pay mercenaries who accept money and move on when the money dries up. People are at this club because they want to be and not because they get paid for it.
Times will change but Ely Rangers will remain an honest decent and most importantly Family club especially with the introduction of it’s youth, and junior teams – the future can only bring promise and further success!
Please click here to see the gallery for pictures of days of Old AND New
The Ely Rangers AFC crest dates back to the club's formation in the 1960s, and is more than a 'passing nod' to a certain club sponsor.
The club received a great deal of help in its early days from Barclays Bank (a link that is still alive today) and the 'iron eagle' that forms the basis of the club's crest is directly linked to the old Barclays logo. Barclays Bank may have since changed its image, but the old symbol lives on through the club's simplistic but effective crest.
The club crest is completed by the addition of the club name above the eagle, along with the club's year of formation beneath it.
Strangely, the club's nickname of 'The Griffins' also derives from the crest after the club's eagle symbol was mistaken for that of the mythical creature - a griffin (which of course used to be the logo of the old Midland Bank).
