Thames Ironworks' new venue, the Memorial Grounds, was opened on Jubilee Day, 1897, to coincide with the sixtieth anniversary of Queen Victoria on the throne.
This meant the players would be covered against loss of wages caused by injuries sustained from playing football.
On 18 September Thames overcame Redhill thanks to an own goal and a brace from Scottish defender Simon Chisholm.
This was followed by a game against the Royal Engineers Training Battalion which Thames won 2–1 with goals from another of The Irons' Scotsmen Jimmy Reid and former Reading centre forward Edward Hatton.
A contemporary reporter wrote this at the time: There was a two-week break from fixture commitments before Thames Ironworks briefly resumed their FA Cup involvement in the third qualifying round.
1897 ended with "The Irons" top of the table and unbeaten in the London League, having only conceded five goals, three of them coming in a 3–3 thriller against local rivals Ilford.
At Shooters Field on 23 April 1898, Thames lost the tie 0–1, and Brentford leap-frogged "The Irons" and were now one point ahead with one game left to play.
A final day victory away to 2nd Grenadier Guards on 30 April ensured that Thames Ironworks won the London League title by a single point, as fellow challengers Brentford F.C.