Mohammedan

The beginning and early decades (1887–1930)

In 1887, under the leadership of Khan Bahadur Aminul Islam, a sporting club named Jubilee Club was founded, which was later renamed into Crescent Club and Hamidia Club. Finally in 1891, Islam named it Mohammedan Sporting Club to represent the Bengali Mohammedans living in Calcutta.

The club participated in a number of local tournaments after its foundation but came into prominence only after they won the Cooch Behar Cup in 1902, 1906, and notably in 1909, with Syed Ali Ahmed as captain, the team defeated Mohun Bagan.

Khan Sahib Syed Ahmed Rashid took a very keen interest in the social and sporting life in Bengal and was the elected Joint Secretary of Mohammedan, from 1925 to 1932. Although it was not before 1927 that the financial condition of the club improved when the team was able to play in the second division of the Calcutta Football League (CFL). In order to overcome the precarious financial state of the club, the Joint Secretaries of the club made an appeal to the public "to support a scheme of the club, extending its activities in the social sphere of Muslims", and also requested for donations of ₹3,500 to ₹4,500. With the improved performances of the club in every sport it participated, the management was able to acquire a considerable amount of investment which helped the club to build better teams. Due to Rashid's widespread influence in sports in Bengal, Sir Francis Stanley Jackson, the Governor of Bengal, accepted the patronage of the club.

During the Satyagraha movement, Rashid helped to organise and make the club participate in the Monsoon League in 1930, the CFL in 1930 and 1931, and number of other sports tournaments, when every native club was boycotting sporting events, which was greatly appreciated by IFA, Bengal Hockey Association and Cricket Board of Control in Bengal and Assam. In 1930, Mohammedan finished last in the league table and was on the verge of being relegated from the CFL 2nd Division, but was allowed to continue when one of the second division teams – East Indian Railway discontinued.

The golden period (1931–1947)

One of the club officials, CA Aziz concentrated on creating a strong team through modern strategies and was one of the only Indians to first realise the importance of playing in boots. Aziz recruited Mohun Bagan rejects like Kalu Khan and Hafiz Rashid in 1933, and also players from different parts of India were gradually brought in, often in the name of religion. The whole team had a Muslim core, with no players outside the community. This helped Aziz to create unmatched unity in his squad which showed on and off the field. In 1933, Mohammedan qualified for the premier division of CFL for the first time in its history by topping the second division, under the captaincy of Habibullah Bahar Chowdhury.

Under the captaincy of Khurshid Anwar, Mohammedan became the first native club to capture the CFL title in 1934, in their very first year in top division. In March 1935, he was unanimously elected as the General Secretary of the club for the second time and in October that year he organised a successful tour to Rangoon, Mandalay, Maymyo, Colombo, Galle, Kandy, Madras, Bangalore and Mysore for the football team. The tour of Burma undertaken by Mohammedan Club proved to be a valuable experience for the side, as the team encountered strong opposition and competitive standards of football. On 10 October, the team played against University of Ragoon football team, conceding four goals and reducing the margin by one goal. Regardless, the team defeated the Rangoon League Champions, Burma Police, by five goals, with Rahmat and Rahim scoring two, along with Abbas Mirza. The team also played several matches against colleges and universities teams, another match which was regarded as a game full of rough play was against the Friends Union, who were runners-up in the league, the match ended in a 0–0 draw.In late October, the team arrived in Ceylon. The first match against Colombo League XI resulted in a 4–1 victory, with Habib scoring two, Mohiuddin and Shedule scoring the remaining two goals. Their next match ended in a 1–1 draw against an All-Ceylon XI. With Mohammedan scoring through Rahmat and Chambers equalizing for the opposition. The team then beat the Saxer Club on 5 November by 3–1, at half-time, the team led by a goal, with Habib and Mohiuddin scoring later on. The team was defeated by a Colombo City League XI by 0–1, with a goal from Buhar of the opposition. They drew against the Amateur League XI, thanks to a late goal by Salim. And faced up against Ceylon Mohammedan, which they won 2–0, and Habib along with Mohinuddin scoring in the match. Lastly, they played a match at Galle, against a Galle XI, winning 3–1, with Habib scoring twice along with a goal from Mohinuddin.