The ESPCFA was formed on the March 19, 1923, when representatives of six churches in the Camberwell district met at the Camberwell Methodist School office to discuss the possibility of forming a local competition between the churches. However, it disbanded before the 1936 season following the loss of a number of clubs and would not return until after World War II. D-grade was introduced in 1947. St Marys Church of England achieved the league's first A-grade three-peat between 1978 and 1980. This would be bested by Donvale between 1988 and 1991 when they won four premierships in a row before departing for the
Eastern Districts Football League. which helped keep the number of clubs reasonably stable. However, the loss of eight clubs at the end of the 1989 season, many of them decades-long members of the league, saw E-grade dropped for 1990 and revealed that the competition's days were numbered. == Clubs ==