When I was a history teacher a lot of my students wanted to do coursework on the history of their football club. This was understandable as football dominated their lives. Any teacher knows that it is vital to tap into the interests of the student. If you do this successfully, you can turn the apathetic student into someone who is highly motivated. They can also learn a great deal about political, social and economic history by studying football. It also makes a good local history study, which is now a compulsory aspect of the National Curriculum. So also is the need to do in-depth studies.

Most students use the internet for their research. However, despite the large number of websites on the current activities of football clubs, there is very little on the history of football clubs.

I have therefore decided to create a resource for students to use. It will be an online encyclopaedia that will provide a detailed history of the game. I will also produce sections on individual clubs. I have started with my own club but plan to branch out to include other major teams. This will include biographies and photographs of individual players.

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/WestHamHistory.htm

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/WestHam.htm

I will also be producing guidelines on how this material can be used for coursework. For example, suggested topics, advice on how to carry out your own research in local libraries, etc. West Ham’s early history was reported in great detail in the local press and these newspapers are available at the Newspaper Library at Collindale. The Newham Local Studies Library at Stratford is another great source of information on West Ham.

The other clubs that I include in this project depends on the interest I get from other history teachers. This could include creating online materials produced by students. For example, student research could be indexed and posted on this forum. Or, it could be published on the school’s own website. If you are interested in this project, please post details below.

I plan to create individual sections on different aspects of football. This should enable schools and individual students to carry out in-depth studies. I will also be providing advice on how students can carry out their own research into their club.

I think this approach will appeal to individual football clubs. For example, most have “education in the community” type schemes.

Topics I have so far chosen include (please add your ideas if they are not on this list):

Railways and the Growth of Football

Transport and Football Supporters in the 19th Century

Scottish Migration to England (1880-1920)

Black Players in Britain

Racism and Ethnicity

Technology and Football: Case Study - Floodlighting

Women and Football

Football Trade Unions

Government Legislation and the Health and Welfare of Footballers

Social Class and Leisure

Ownership of Football Clubs

Footballers and Working-Class Communities

History of Football Rules

Social Reformers and Football

Football and Marketing

Football and Globalization

Parliamentary Politics and Football

Local Club Rivalries

Religion and Football

Temperance Society and Football

Public Schools and Football

Development of Football Coaching

Early History of Football (pre-1870)

Corruption

Crowds and Stadiums

History of the Transfer System

Football Deaths

Football Derbies

Football Disasters

History of Refereeing

History of School Football

Discipline and Punishment

Newspapers and Football

Football and Literature

Football and the Cinema

Radio and Television

Fan Culture

Boer War

First World War

Second World War

The British Army and Football

History of Footballs and Football Boots

Footballing Families

History of Goalkeeping

Crowd Behaviour

Football in Ireland

Football in Scotland

Football in Wales

Football Programmes

History of Football Tactics

Tobacco and Football

If you are not a member of the forum and you wish to join the project you can email me here: johnsimkin45@yahoo.co.uk

This is a useful resource for students researching the history of their club.

http://www.historicalkits.co.uk/

I'd be interested in getting involved in writing resources for students for this project. I will investigate with my colleague how it might support A Level PE as well as History students

That is an interesting idea. Let me know what sort of things they want covered. For example, I plan to produce some material on the history of football tactics. I also have some fascinating material on early training techniques. Another area of interest is role-models. The first two managers of West Ham insisited that the players when traveling in the area had to wear ties. I have evidence that this rule was still in existence in the late 1930s.

I have added a brief history of football here:

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/Fhistory.htm

There is an A2 unit in PE called Historical Studies - they seem to need to study mob football, the relationship between sport and society and the transition to rule governed sport. There would seem to be some scope for an in depth study of the emergence of an individual club - more details when I get them

I have started an Encyclopedia of British Football here:

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/ENCfootball.htm

This is excellent. I'll link up to this HERE for now and try and get some interest from the PE Department - shouldn't be too difficult as I live with one of them

One possible angle in the role of women in football. It is a very interesting story.

Scotland seems to be the first country in the world to encourage women to play football. In the 18th century football was linked to local marriage customs in the Highlands. Single women would play football games against married women. Single men would watch these games and use the evidence of their footballing ability to help them select prospective brides.

There is no evidence that women played football in England during the 18th century. In fact, until the formation of the Football League in 1885, football was dominated by the public schools. These early clubs feared that opposing sets of supporters would get into fights. As Dave Russell points out in Football and the English: A Social History of Association Football in England (1997): "in terms of social class, crowds at Football League matches were predominantly drawn from the skilled working and lower-middle classes... Social groups below that level were largely excluded by the admission price." Russell adds "the Football League, quite possibly in a deliberate attempt to limit the access of poorer (and this supposedly "rowdier") supporters, raised the minimum adult male admission price to 6d".

Several clubs came to the conclusion that male behaviour at football matches would be improved if they were accompanied by women. In April, 1885, Preston North End announced that women would be allowed free entry to all home games. Over 2,000 women turned up for the first game. Free entry for women was so popular that by the late 1890s all the football clubs had discontinued the scheme.

Nettie Honeyball helped to pioneer women's football in England. With the help of Florence Dixie, the youngest daughter of the Marquis of Queensbury, Honeyball established the British Ladies Football Club in 1894. Honeyball wrote in 1895: "I founded the association late last year, with the fixed resolve of proving to the world that women are not the ‘ornamental and useless’ creatures men have pictured. I must confess, my convictions on all matters where the sexes are so widely divided are all on the side of emancipation, and I look forward to the time when ladies may sit in Parliament and have a voice in the direction of affairs, especially those which concern them most."

The first official match played by women took place at Crouch End in London on 23rd March, 1895. Organized by Honeyball, the match was between teams of girls attending leading public schools. The girls were organized into north and south teams.

The game was condemned by the male establishment. The British Medical Journal published an article condemning who played football: "We can in no way sanction the reckless exposure to violence, of organs which the common experience of women had led them in every way to protect."

Florence Dixie, an ardent supporter of women's suffrage and Britain's first war correspondent, was especially active in organizing women's exhibition games in Scotland. As president of the British Ladies Football Club she played an important role in the early development of women's football.

On 4th August, 1914, England declared war on Germany. The role of women changed dramatically during the First World War. As men left jobs to fight overseas, they were replaced by women. Women filled many jobs brought into existence by wartime needs. As a result the number of women employed increased from 3,224,600 in July, 1914 to 4,814,600 in January 1918. Nearly 200,000 women were employed in government departments. Half a million became clerical workers in private offices. Women worked as conductors on trams and buses. A quarter of a million worked on the land. The greatest increase of women workers was in engineering. Over 700,000 of these women worked in the highly dangerous munitions industry.

The women working in factories began to play football during lunch-breaks. Teams were formed and on Christmas Day in 1916, a game took place between Ulverston Munitions Girls and another group of local women. The muntitionettes won 11-5. Soon afterwards, a game between munitions factories in Swansea and Newport. The Hackney Marshes National Projectile Factory formed a football team and played against other factories in London.

David Lloyd George, the British Prime Minister, encouraged these games as it helped reinforce the image of the "plucky heroine". These matches also helped to raise money for wartime charities.

At the end of the war women lost their jobs in the munitions factories. However, some retained their interest in football. For example, the Sutton Glass Works women's football team reformed as St Helens Ladies' AFC. Some teams retained the support of their employers. This included the Dick, Kerr's factory in Preston.

The women working in factories began to play football during lunch-breaks. Teams were formed and on Christmas Day in 1916, a game took place between Ulverston Munitions Girls and another group of local women. The muntitionettes won 11-5. Soon afterwards, a game between munitions factories in Swansea and Newport. The Hackney Marshes National Projectile Factory formed a football team and played against other factories in London.

These teams played a series of charity games. They were highly popular and 53,000 people watched Dick, Kerr's play St Helens at Goodison Park on 26th December, 1920. The following year, Dick, Kerr's played 67 games for charity in front of 900,000 people. The game was usually preceded by a laying of wreaths on the graves of local football players killed during the First World War. For example, when they played in Blackburn, they placed a wreath on the grave of Eddie Latherston, the talented inside forward who was killed at Passchendaele.

Preston Ladies also toured Europe to serve the cause of international peace and reconciliation. They played games in France, Belgium, Holland and even carried out an extensive tour of America.

The star football player of this period was Alice Woods, a miner's daughter from St Helens. She was instrumental in organizing games in order to raise money for workers and their families during the 1921 Miners Lock-Out. Games took place in front of crowds of 5,000 people. The money was used to provide soup kitchens to feed the families of unemployed miners.

On 6th December, 1921, the Football Association banned women's football from the grounds its member clubs. It justified its decision by saying the "game of football is quite unsuitable for females and should not be encouraged".


http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/Fwomen.htm

I have just discovered that there is a documentary about Dick Kerr Ladies on BBC 2 tonight at 7.30. You will find this very useful if you do a study of women's football. This is a story that will help students understand the prejudice that women faced between the wars.

The BBC have made it possible for people to download film clips on football matches from the past. The current list is disappointing but hopefully it will get better:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/nationonfilm/topics/football/

I have produced a lot of material on early women’s football. It is a fascinating story and I have created web page biographies on 14 of these early pioneers. It also raises interesting issues on interpretation of sources. Gail J. Newsham (In a League of their Own) and Jean Williams (A Game for Rough Girls) both argue that the FA suppression of women’s football is an example of male sexism. However, David J. Williamson (Belles of the Ball) places an emphasis on male psychology following the First World War. Barbara Jacobs (The Dick Kerr Ladies) takes a different approach. She argues that there were wider political and economic reasons for the FA action. Jacobs points out that FA action followed attempts by the women to raise money for the miners who were suffering from the 1921 lock-out. She also points out that similar action during 1926 saw the Dick Kerr Ladies losing their sponsorship from English Electric. (Their main sponsor after this was the Whittingham Hospital and Lunatic Asylum, who provided jobs and accommodation for the players).

Your students might be interested in doing research into early women’s football in your area. Local newspapers provided detailed accounts and photographs of these games.

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/Fwomen.htm

Alison Chapman and I are going to work on creating some lesson plans and activities based on John's football project for A2 PE students and teachers. We will also submit the work to TeachNet http://www.teachnet-uk.org.uk/shared-resources.htm as a project for 2007 and also link up the project from my A Level PE support site http://www.educationforum.co.uk/PE/PEHome.htm

One way of looking at the history of football is via the growth of the transport system.

In the 19th century football clubs found it difficult to obtain a mass following. One reason concerned the cost of travelling to games.

In 1871, Charles W. Alcock, the Secretary of the Football Association, announced the introduction of the Football Association Challenge Cup. All games had to take place in London and as a result, three of the original 15 entries had to withdraw because they could not afford the travelling costs of playing in the competition. Only 2,000 spectators watched the first FA Cup final in 1872. The cost of travelling to the game was a major factor in this low attendance.

In March, 1889 the Football League was formed. It consisted of six clubs from Lancashire (Accrington, Blackburn Rovers, Burnley, Everton and Preston North End) and six from the Midlands (Aston Villa, Derby County, Notts County, Stoke, West Bromwich Albion and Wolverhampton Wanders). The main reason Sunderland was excluded was because the other clubs in the league objected to the costs of travelling to their ground.

In the 19th century it cost 6d to watch a Football League match. This was expensive when you compare this with the price of other forms of entertainment. It usually cost only 3d to visit the musical hall or the cinema. It has to be remembered that at this time skilled tradesmen usually received less than £2 a week.

As Dave Russell points out in Football and the English: A Social History of Association Football in England (1997): "In terms of social class, crowds at Football League matches were predominantly drawn from the skilled working and lower-middle classes... Social groups below that level were largely excluded by the admission price." Russell adds "the Football League, quite possibly in a deliberate attempt to limit the access of poorer (and this supposedly "rowdier") supporters, raised the minimum adult male admission price to 6d".

Men also had the problem of having to work on a Saturday. Although some trades granted their workers a half-day holiday, it did not give them much time to travel very far to see a game. Even a local game caused considerable problems. For example, West Ham United played Brentford in an important game at the end of the 1897-98 season. A local newspaper reported that because of the inadequate transport system supporters had to travel by boat from Ironworks Wharf along the Thames to Kew before catching a train to Brentford. Given these transport problems, it is no surprise that the game was watched by only 3,000 people.

It was the railways that eventually provided cheap and fast travel. Over 114,000 people watched Tottenham Hotspur play Sheffield United in the 1901 FA Cup. It has been estimated that a large percentage of the crowd travelled to Crystal Palace Stadium via the London & Brighton Railway and Great Northern Railway.

It was the railways that eventually provided cheap and fast travel. When Chelsea was formed in 1905 it chose Stamford Bridge as its home as it was close to Waltham Green station (now Fulham Broadway). Tottenham Hotspur benefited from its closeness to White Hart Lane railway station. It has been argued that "10,000 spectators could be easily handled by trains arriving every five minutes".

In 1906 a railway station at Ashton Gate was opened to enable people to travel to the Bristol City ground. Manchester United moved to Old Trafford in 1909 to take advantage of the railway network established for the nearby cricket ground. One of the main reasons Arsenal moved to Highbury in 1913 was because it was served by the London Underground station at Gillespie Road (later renamed Arsenal).

In 1923 the FA Cup was moved to Wembley. The ground had been built for the British Empire Exhibition and had excellent railway links. Over 270,000 people travelled in 145 special services to the final that featured West Ham United and Bolton.

The railways had a considerable impact on the attendances of international matches. Only 1,000 people from Scotland travelled to watch the game against England at Crystal Palace in 1897. However, for the match at Wembley in 1936, 22,000 Scots came to London in 41 trains provided by the London Midland and Scottish Railway.

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/Frailways.htm

I will be producing material looking at different sources of information about the history of football. This includes cigarette cards.

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/Fcigarette.htm

The first football cards appeared in 1896. These were black and white photographs. The first painted portraits appeared in 1906. These are some of the first examples of painted portraits of working class men. (Interestingly, portraits of cricket stars, who were always from the upper and middle classes, appeared ten years earlier.

I plan to produce pages on all the main clubs. My West Ham version can be found here:

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/FcigaretteWH.htm

I work for the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, and am creating a website, supported by the FA, Premiership, PFA, Football Foundation etc. and due to be launched for this year's remembrance time - November.

‘The Glory Days’ will be very much an interactive website. It’s aimed particularly at lads who don’t do so well with traditional learning methods. The idea is to use football as a means to spark their interest – in the history of the two world wars, the contribution and sacrifices that so many men and women made, (perhaps even members of their own family) and the importance of remembering them with respect – which is, of course, what the Commonwealth War Graves Commission sets out to do.

In a lively and engaging way, we’ll be telling some of the stories of footballers who served and died, and some football-related war stories.

The site is not intended to be academic. It is created primarily to engage, entertain and inform. If some of our target audience then go on to further research as a result of what they’ve seen, then we’ll be doubly satisfied!

This is very good news. As far as war deaths are concerned, Jack Rollin's Soccer at War: 1939-45 gives a fairly comprehensive list of league footballers killed in the conflict. I am having difficulty finding a list of First World War deaths. Do you know if a list exists. Last night I went through Paul Joannou's "The Black and White Alphabet: A Complete Who's Who of Newcastle United" (1996). The following players were killed during the First World War: Richard McGough, Thomas Rowlandson, Thomas Cairns, James Fleming, Thomas Goodwill, Charles Randall and Thomas Hughes. Stan Hardy was gassed and was not able to play again. Stan Allan died of influenza soon after he arrived back from the trenches.

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/FWWinfluenzia.htm

Only one player, William Imrie, was killed in the Second World War. He served in the RAF and was killed in 1945. Jack Rollin lists Colin Seymour as being killed in the war but according to Joannou's book, he never actually played for the team.

I will be producing biographies of all these players.

I went through my reference books on West Ham and Arsenal last night. They don’t actually cover the First World War as such but by reading all the relevant biographies it would seem that the following West Ham players were killed in action: Frank Cannon (France, February, 1916), Fred Griffiths (France, 30th October, 1917), William Jones (Serbia, 1918), William Kennedy (no date given). Two others, George Hilsdon and Fred Harrison were badly gassed.

The Arsenal books provide less information on the deaths of former players. However, these two were definitely killed on active duty: Dr Leigh Roose (1916) and Spencer Bassett (1917). Roose is a very interesting character and would make a good case-study.

Leigh Roose is already one of my case studies, and he is a fascinating chap – someone, I forget who, is writing a whole book on his antics! He played for several clubs, all of whom claim him as their own! (Including Celtic for whom he only played one game, I recollect! ) That’s what I meant about the database being problematic!

The records are incomplete but it is known that two Preston North End players, John Barbour and William Gerrish were killed on the Western Front during the war. Richard Bond was taken prisoner by the German Army and William Luke was so badly wounded his football career came to an end. Fred Osborn, Preston's leading scorer in the 1914-15 season, was wounded in 1918. Although he continued to play football he was unable to regain his place in the Preston side.

For further details see the Commonwealth Grave Commission site:

Walter Gerrish

http://www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_detail...casualty=748114

John Barbour

http://www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_detail...?casualty=44227

I have also created brief biographies at:

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/PRESTONbarbour.htm

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/PRESTONgerrish.htm

I plan to provide a detailed history of all the main clubs (up until 1945) with biographies of all the players mentioned in the text. This is what I have done on Preston North End. I think it would make a good local case-study:

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/Fpreston.htm

It includes 83 biographies and is cross-referenced with a whole range of possible topics such as women’s football, black players, the two world wars, the transfer system, international games, trade unionism, television coverage of football, transport, sponsorship, etc.

I plan to produce a page like this on all the major clubs.

See also these pages for possible in-depth studies:

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/Fblack.htm

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/Fwomen.htm

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/FWWfootball.htm

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/2WWfootball.htm

One possible school project is to look at West Ham and the First World War. My research suggests that four West Ham players were killed in action during the war.

Fred Griffiths, 6ft 2ins and 15 stone, was one of the largest goalkeepers in football. He was also one of the best and in 1900 played for Wales against both Scotland and England. Griffiths had spells with Millwall, Preston North End and Spurs before joining West Ham in 1902. Griffiths kept 13 clean sheets in 48 league appearances. After his retirement he worked as a coalminer at Shirebrook. He also trained the local football team before joining the British Army during the First World War. Griffiths was killed on the Western Front on 30th October, 1917.
http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/WHgriffiths.htm

William James Jones was another Welshman who played for West Ham and his country. He was a highly regarded wing half and won two international caps while captain of Aberdare. In September, 1901, Jones moved to Kettering Town. At the same time West Ham signed Peter Kyle, a very talented centre forward from Scotland. Both men failed to settle with their new clubs and Kyle was exchanged with Jones. On 3rd March, 1902, Jones became the first West Ham player to be capped for his country when he represented Wales against England at Wrexham. Jones joined the British Army during the First World War and while serving with the Royal Welsh Fusiliers he was killed in Serbia on 6th May, 1918.

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/WHjonesB.htm

Frank Cannon became a solicitor's clerk in Hitchin after leaving school. He also played football for Hitchen Town. Described as a "dashing player and good dribbler with a fine shot" he joined Queens Park Rangers in 1907. He continued to work as a solicitor and after getting married lived at 87, Walsworth Road, Hitchin. He played at centre forward and scored a hat trick in a game against West Ham United in April 1908. His performance impressed Syd King and in 1909 he was persuaded to join West Ham. Cannon made his debut against New Brompton on 1st January, 1910. He scored in his next game against Norwich. However, he was only to play in another two games for the club. On the outbreak of the First World War Cannon joined the British Army and quickly reached the rank of sergeant major. Cannon, a member of the Essex Regiment, was killed on the Western Front on 15th February 1916 and is buried at Potijze Cemetery in Belgium.

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/WHcannonF.htm

William Kennedy was a school teacher who played amateur football for local club Grays. He also appeared for Northfleet before joining West Ham United in 1910. He scored on his debut against Brighton & Hove Albion. Playing alongside Danny Shea he scored 4 goals in 10 league games that season. He also did well the following year scoring a hat trick against Brentford on 21st October, 1911. Unfortunately he suffered a serious knee injury in a FA Cup tie against Middlesbrough on 8th February, 1912. Kennedy was unable to play professional football again. On the outbreak of the First World War Kennedy joined the British Army. Lance Corporal William Kennedy, a member of the London Scottish Regiment, was killed on the Western Front on 13th October 1915. His body was never found and his name appears on the Loos Memorial.

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/WHkennedyW.htm


Details of the deaths of these four men can be found at the Commonwealth Graves Commission website:

http://www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_detail...casualty=620811

http://www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_detail...asualty=1649735

http://www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_detail...casualty=157774

http://www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_detail...casualty=733442

West Ham also had two players, George Hilsdon and Fred Harrison were badly gassed and this brought their football careers to an end.

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/WHhilsdonG.htm

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/WHharrisonF.htm

One possible school project is to look at West Ham and the First World War. My research suggests that four West Ham players were killed in action during the war.

Fred Griffiths, 6ft 2ins and 15 stone, was one of the largest goalkeepers in football. He was also one of the best and in 1900 played for Wales against both Scotland and England. Griffiths had spells with Millwall, Preston North End and Spurs before joining West Ham in 1902. Griffiths kept 13 clean sheets in 48 league appearances. After his retirement he worked as a coalminer at Shirebrook. He also trained the local football team before joining the British Army during the First World War. Griffiths was killed on the Western Front on 30th October, 1917.
http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/WHgriffiths.htm

William James Jones was another Welshman who played for West Ham and his country. He was a highly regarded wing half and won two international caps while captain of Aberdare. In September, 1901, Jones moved to Kettering Town. At the same time West Ham signed Peter Kyle, a very talented centre forward from Scotland. Both men failed to settle with their new clubs and Kyle was exchanged with Jones. On 3rd March, 1902, Jones became the first West Ham player to be capped for his country when he represented Wales against England at Wrexham. Jones joined the British Army during the First World War and while serving with the Royal Welsh Fusiliers he was killed in Serbia on 6th May, 1918.

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/WHjonesB.htm

Frank Cannon became a solicitor's clerk in Hitchin after leaving school. He also played football for Hitchen Town. Described as a "dashing player and good dribbler with a fine shot" he joined Queens Park Rangers in 1907. He continued to work as a solicitor and after getting married lived at 87, Walsworth Road, Hitchin. He played at centre forward and scored a hat trick in a game against West Ham United in April 1908. His performance impressed Syd King and in 1909 he was persuaded to join West Ham. Cannon made his debut against New Brompton on 1st January, 1910. He scored in his next game against Norwich. However, he was only to play in another two games for the club. On the outbreak of the First World War Cannon joined the British Army and quickly reached the rank of sergeant major. Cannon, a member of the Essex Regiment, was killed on the Western Front on 15th February 1916 and is buried at Potijze Cemetery in Belgium.

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/WHcannonF.htm

William Kennedy was a school teacher who played amateur football for local club Grays. He also appeared for Northfleet before joining West Ham United in 1910. He scored on his debut against Brighton & Hove Albion. Playing alongside Danny Shea he scored 4 goals in 10 league games that season. He also did well the following year scoring a hat trick against Brentford on 21st October, 1911. Unfortunately he suffered a serious knee injury in a FA Cup tie against Middlesbrough on 8th February, 1912. Kennedy was unable to play professional football again. On the outbreak of the First World War Kennedy joined the British Army. Lance Corporal William Kennedy, a member of the London Scottish Regiment, was killed on the Western Front on 13th October 1915. His body was never found and his name appears on the Loos Memorial.

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/WHkennedyW.htm


Details of the deaths of these four men can be found at the Commonwealth Graves Commission website:

http://www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_detail...casualty=620811

http://www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_detail...asualty=1649735

http://www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_detail...casualty=157774

http://www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_detail...casualty=733442

West Ham also had two players, George Hilsdon and Fred Harrison were badly gassed and this brought their football careers to an end.

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/WHhilsdonG.htm

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/WHharrisonF.htm

I plan to provide a detailed history of all the main clubs (up until 1945) with biographies of all the players mentioned in the text. This is what I have done on Blackburn Rovers. I think it would make a good local case-study:


http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/Fblackburn.htm

Manchester United lost three players during the First World War. This included the great Sandy Turnbull. While playing for Manchester City Turnbull won a FA Cup final medal in 1904. Two years later he moved to Manchester United and won the First Division championship in 1907-08 and 1910-11. Turnbull also scored the winning goal against against Bristol City in the 1909 FA Cup Final.

Turnbull also held left-wing views and along with fellow Manchester United players, Billy Meredith and Charlie Roberts, helped form the Association Football Players Union (AFPU). This action stopped him from being selected to play for Scotland. The same thing happened to Roberts who had got himself into the England team as a 22 year old.

Turnbull's football career ended with the outbreak of the First World War. Over a twelve year period he had scored 143 goals in 230 matches in the Football League. In 1915 Sandy Turnbull joined the Footballer's Battalion and was killed at Arras while fighting on the Western Front on 3rd May 1917. Turnbull

Two other members of the Manchester United team were killed on active service. Oscar Linkson, who played right-back for Manchester United joined the Middlesex Regiment and was killed during the Somme Offensive on 8th August 1916. Patrick McGuire, an amateur reserve player, also died on active service in 1916.

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/FmanchesterU.htm

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/MANUrobertsC.htm

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/MANCmeredith.htm

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/MANUturnbull.htm

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/MANUlinkson.htm

I plan to provide a detailed history of all the main clubs (up until 1945) with biographies of all the players mentioned in the text. One of the first clubs that I have tackled is Manchester United. I have only gone up until 1918 so far but intend to take it to 1945 over the next few months.

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/FmanchesterU.htm

It includes 30 biographies and is cross-referenced with a whole range of possible topics such as the early history of football, amateur/professionalism, corruption, transfer system, FA Cup, Football League, football kits, cigarette cards, deaths on the pitch, football regulations, tactics, back footballers, racism, football wages, First World War, international games, trade unionism, goalkeeping, goal scorers, etc.

(1) I am interested in making contact with teachers who wish to use this material in the classroom. It is possible that I might be able to get you some funding for producing teaching materials on Manchester United.

(2) I would like to make contact with relatives of Manchester United players I have already or will write about in the future. In some cases, the players themselves may be still alive.

I can be contacted via the forum or by email: johnsimkin1945@hotmail.com

I have started producing teaching materials to go with my Football Encyclopaedia:

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/ENCfootball.htm

The first lesson is for primary school children. I have tried them out on my 7 year old grandson. I would be grateful if anyone could try them out on their children. I will then use the feedback to improve the materials.

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/1Fkits.htm

I have included an answer page here:

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/1FkitsA.htm

I have just completed my history of Arsenal: 1886-1950.

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/Farsenal.htm

Interestingly, Arsenal lost more players in the Second World War than in the First World War. Eight players registered with the club died between 1939-45. Bobby Daniel, a Flight Sergeant Gunner in the RAF, was killed on 23rd December 1943. Other Arsenal players in the RAF who died included Sidney Pugh, Harry Cook and Leslie Lack.

Bill Dean, a goalkeeper who got into the Arsenal team in 1940, told friends: "Well I have fulfilled my life's ambition, I have played for Arsenal." Dean died in action with the Royal Navy in March 1942.

Three Arsenal players who joined the Royal Fusiliers also lost their lives. Hugh Glass was drowned at sea in 1943, Cyril Tooze was killed by a sniper's bullet in Italy on 10th February 1944 and Herbie Roberts, a regular in Arsenal's team that won a hat trick of League Championships between 1932 and 1935, died of erysipelas in June 1944.

Here is the first part of my proposed course on the history of football:

1. Social Class and the Origins of Football

The students could start the course by looking at the origins of football. The first documentary evidence of football being played is in 1170. It was a game that was played by working-class boys in the towns and peasants in the villages. Football was a constant concern of the authorities. It was first banned by Edward II in 1314. At the time he was trying to raise an army to fight the Scots and was worried about the impact that football was having on the skills of his archers. It seems that most young men took little notice of the order and his father, Edward III, reintroduced the ban in 1331 in preparation for an invasion of Scotland. Henry IV was the next monarch who tried to stop England's young men from playing football when he issued a new ban in 1388. This was ineffective and in 1410 his government imposed a fine of 20s and six days' imprisonment on those caught playing football. In 1414, his son, Henry V, introduced a further proclamation ordering men to practise archery rather than football. The following year Henry's archers played an important role in the defeat of the French at Agincourt.

Edward IV was another strong opponent of football. In 1477 he passed a law that stipulated that "no person shall practise any unlawful games such as dice, quoits, football and such games, but that every strong and able-bodied person shall practise with bow for the reason that the national defence depends upon such bowmen." Henry VII outlawed football in 1496 and his son, Henry VIII, introduced a series of laws against the playing of the game in public places.

Whereas the monarchy objected for military reasons, church leaders were more concerned about the game being played on a Sunday. In 1531 the Puritan preacher, Thomas Eliot, argued that football caused "beastly fury and extreme violence". In 1572 the Bishop of Rochester demanded a new campaign to suppress this "evil game".

After the execution of Charles I in 1649 the new ruler, Oliver Cromwell, instructed his Major-Generals to enforce laws against football, bear-baiting, cock-fighting, horse-racing and wrestling. Cromwell was more successful than previous rulers in stopping young men from playing football. However, after his death in 1660 the game gradually re-emerged in Britain.

However, football amongst the masses was unorganized and was barely tolerated by those in authority. Every so often men were fined in local courts for causing damage and social disorder while playing football.

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/Fhistory.htm

2. Public Schools and the Development of Football

In the 18th century football was played by most of Britain's leading public schools. There is documentary evidence that football was played at Eton as early as 1747. Westminster started two years later. Harrow, Shrewsbury, Winchester and Charterhouse had all taken up football by the 1750s.

Football rules began to be codified in schools such as Eton (1815) and Aldenham (1825). Other schools such as Rugby, Marlborough, Lancing, Uppingham, Malvern and Cheltenham also introduced football to the school curriculum.

Thomas Arnold was appointed headmaster of Rugby in 1828. He had a profound and lasting effect on the development of public school education in England. Arnold introduced mathematics, modern history and modern languages and instituted the form system and introduced the prefect system to keep discipline. Arnold also emphasized the importance of sport in young men's education. Like most head teachers in public schools, Arnold believed that sport was a good method for "encouraging senior boys to exercise responsible authority on behalf of the staff". He also argued that games like football provided a "formidable vehicle for character building".

In 1848 a meeting took place at Cambridge University to lay down the rules of football. As Philip Gibbons points out in Association Football in Victorian England (2001): "The varying rules of the game meant that the public schools were unable to compete against each other." Teachers representing Shrewsbury, Eton, Harrow, Rugby, Marlborough and Westminster, produced what became known as the Cambridge Rules. One participant explained what happened: "I cleared the tables and provided pens and paper... Every man brought a copy of his school rules, or knew them by heart, and our progress in framing new rules was slow."

After leaving public school players established their own football teams. This included Old Carthusians, Old Etonians, Old Harrovians, Wanderers, etc. These clubs went on to dominate the early years of football.

English public schools also provided most of the players who appeared in the national team. For example, Westminster supplied ten England internationals between 1873 and 1894, whereas Old Etonians won a total of 39 England caps between 1873 and 1903.

The public schools also provided most of the early administrators, including, Arthur Kinnaird, Charles Wreford Brown and Francis Marindin.

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/Fpublic.htm

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/Foldcarthusians.htm

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/Foldetonians.htm

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/Foldharrovians.htm

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/Fwanderers.htm

3. The FA Cup and Social Class

In 1871, Charles W. Alcock, the FA Secretary, announced the introduction of the Football Association Challenge Cup. It was the first knockout competition of its type in the world. In the 1872 final, the public school team Wanderers beat the Royal Engineers 1-0 at the Kennington Oval.

The Wanderers, based in Battersea in London, went onto win the FA Cup five times in its first seven seasons, between 1872 and 1878. Old Etonians won the cup in 1879 and 1882. Old Carthusians, a team made up of former students at Charterhouse, defeated the Old Etonians in the 1881 final 3-0.

In 1882, Blackburn Rovers became the first provincial team to reach the final of the FA Cup. Their opponents were Old Etonians who had reached the final on five previous occasions. However, Blackburn had gone through the season unbeaten and was expected to become the first northern team to win the game. However, key players were injured and were unable to play. During the game another injury reduced Blackburn Rovers to ten men and they lost the game 1-0.

The following year Blackburn Olympic became the second provincial team to reach the final of the FA Cup. Over 8,000 people arrived at the Oval to watch Blackburn play Old Etonians in the final. Blackburn selected the following team: Thomas Hacking (dental assistant), James Ward (cotton machine operator), Albert Warburton (master plumber and pub landlord), Thomas Gibson (iron foundry worker), William Astley (weaver), John Hunter (pub landlord), Thomas Dewhurst (weaver), Arthur Matthews (picture framer), George Wilson (clerk), Jimmy Costley (spinner) and John Yates (weaver).

Old Etonians were appearing in their third successive FA Cup Final. An example of how the public schools had dominated the competition is that the captain of Old Etonians, Arthur Kinnaird, was playing in his ninth final. Blackburn Olympic won the game 2-1. No public school based team was to win the trophy again.

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/Ffacup.htm


4. Amateur Football

The Football Association was established in October, 1863. The aim of the FA was to establish a single unifying code for football. The first meeting took place at the Freeman's Tavern in London. The clubs represented were all products of football played in public schools. Percy Young, has pointed out, that the FA was a group of men from the upper echelons of British society: "Men of prejudice, seeing themselves as patricians, heirs to the doctrine of leadership and so law-givers by at least semi-divine right."

The FA insisted that football should remain a sport for amateurs. As Richard Holt and Dave Russell pointed out in the Encyclopedia of British Football: "They wished to create a new sporting elite where an upper-class code of honour could be combined with the middle-class virtues of exertion and competitiveness. Amateurs advocated participation over spectating and adopted an ethical code of sportsmanship, stressing respect for opponents and referees."

In 1871, the FA Cup was introduced. It was the first knockout competition of its type in the world. Only 12 clubs took part in the competition. Once again they were all run by former public school pupils. There were some working class clubs in existence but they did not enter for financial reasons. All ties had to be played in London. Clubs based in places such as Nottingham and Sheffield found it difficult to find the money to travel to the capital. Each club also had to contribute one guinea towards the cost of the £20 silver trophy.

Public school boys had also established football clubs in Scotland, Wales and Ireland. They also formed their own Football Association. Charles W. Alcock, the secretary of the FA, and Arthur Kinnaird, his friend from Cambridge University, who had been born in Scotland, arranged the first international football game to be played on the 30th November, 1872. From this date the England-Scotland match became an annual fixture.

Former public schoolboys lived in industrial areas of Britain. Their families were often owners of local factories or mines. In 1875 John Lewis and Arthur Constantine, who had played football at Shrewsbury School, formed Blackburn Rovers. At first the club was exclusively made up of men with public school backgrounds.

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/Famateur.htm

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/Ffa.htm

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/Ffacup.htm

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/Finternational.htm

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/Fblackburn.htm

5. Scotland and the Rise of Professionalism

In the 1870s some public school educated factory owners began to consider the possibility of forming football clubs for their workers. There were several reasons for this. Some saw it as a means of publicizing their company. Others saw it as a form of social control. For example, Arthur Hills established West Ham United in response to a trade union dispute. He also used the club to further his temperance campaign.

Blackburn Olympic was established in 1877. Whereas Blackburn Rovers was mainly made up of players who attended public schools, the Blackburn Olympic team largely contained men from the working-class and was funded by Sidney Yates of the local iron foundry. The two clubs played each other on 15th February 1879 but Olympic, now one of the best teams in the country, won 3-1. It was the first sign that the working class was going to dominate football in the future.

Preston North End was originally a cricket club. On 5th October 1878, Preston North End played its first football game. Two years later the club decided to concentrate on football rather than cricket or rugby.

Major William Sudell, the manager of a local factory, became the secretary/manager of the club. Over the next few years Sudell was to create a revolution in football. He decided to improve the quality of the team by importing top players from other areas. Under the rules of the Football Association, Sudell was officially unable to pay these players. Therefore, he arranged to find these players well paid jobs in Preston. He also unofficially paid them a small fee for playing on Saturday. Sudell mainly recruited these players from Scotland. Over the next few years players such as John Goodall, Jimmy Ross, Nick Ross, David Russell, John Gordon, John Graham, Robert Mills-Roberts, James Trainer, Samuel Thompson and George Drummond joined the club. Sudell found these players by watching Scotland’s international games. Other secretary/managers followed Sudell’s example.

The Scottish Football Association responded by announcing it would only select players who played their football in Scotland. However, as they were so much better paid in England they were willing to sacrifice their international careers.

Other teams based in England’s industrial heartlands followed the example of Sudell and began importing Scottish players. This included Derby County, Blackburn Rovers, Sunderland and West Bromwich Albion whereas Aston Villa was virtually formed by two Scotsmen, George Ramsay and Archie Hunter, who had moved to the Birmingham area. They also brought in the Scottish way of playing football. The public schools had pioneered the individualistic “dribbling” game, whereas the Scots invariably came from a trade union background and placed their emphasis on the “passing” game. It is no coincidence that these Scots called it the “combination” system.

Blackburn Rovers decided to appoint a Scotsman, Tom Mitchell, as secretary-manager. These enabled him to recruit the best players available in Scotland and they became the best team in England, winning the FA Cup in 1884, 1885 and 1886.

The Football Association continued to select players who were clearly amateurs to play for England. As a result, England suffered a series of defeats against the better Scotland team.

On 17th March, 1884, the FA selected James Forrest, a 19 year-old player from Blackburn Rovers for the England team against Wales. The following year he was selected to play against Scotland. Scottish officials complained as they argued that Forrest was a professional. It seems they had discovered that he was being paid £1 a week for turning out for his club on a Saturday. Forrest was eventually allowed to play but he had to wear a different jersey from the rest of the team.


http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/FblackburnO.htm

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/Fpreston.htm

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/Fastonvilla.htm

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/Fsunderland.htm

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/Fwba.htm

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/Fderby.htm

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/Fsudell.htm

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/BLACKBmitchell.htm

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/Fscotland.htm

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/BLACKBforrest.htm

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/WHhillsA.htm

6. The Football League

In January, 1884, Preston North End played the London side, Upton Park, in the FA Cup. After the game Upton Park complained to the Football Association that Preston was a professional, rather than an amateur team. William Sudell, the club’s secretary-manager, admitted that his players were being paid but argued that this was common practice and did not breach regulations. However, the FA disagreed and expelled them from the competition.

Preston North End now joined forces with other clubs who were paying their players. In October, 1884, these clubs threatened to form a break-away British Football Association. The Football Association responded by establishing a sub-committee, which included William Sudell, to look into this issue. On 20th July, 1885, the FA announced that it was "in the interests of Association Football, to legalise the employment of professional football players, but only under certain restrictions". Clubs were allowed to pay players provided that they had either been born or had lived for two years within a six-mile radius of the ground.

The decision to pay players increased club's wage bills. It was therefore necessary to arrange more matches that could be played in front of large crowds. On 2nd March, 1888, William McGregor circulated a letter to Aston Villa, Blackburn Rovers, Bolton Wanderers, Preston North End, and West Bromwich Albion suggesting that "ten or twelve of the most prominent clubs in England combine to arrange home and away fixtures each season."

John J. Bentley of Bolton Wanderers and Tom Mitchell of Blackburn Rovers responded very positively to the suggestion. They suggested that other clubs should be invited to the meeting being held on 23rd March, 1888.

The following month the Football League was formed. It consisted of six clubs from Lancashire (Preston North End, Accrington, Blackburn Rovers, Burnley, Bolton Wanderers and Everton) and six from the Midlands (Aston Villa, Derby County, Notts County, Stoke, West Bromwich Albion and Wolverhampton Wanderers). The main reason Sunderland was excluded was because the other clubs in the league objected to the costs of travelling to the North-East. McGregor also wanted to restrict the league to twelve clubs. Therefore, the applications of Sheffield Wednesday, Nottingham Forest, Darwen and Bootle were rejected.

The first season of the Football League began in September, 1888. Preston North End won the first championship without losing a single match and acquired the name the "invincibles". Major William Sudell, had persuaded some of the best players in England, Scotland and Wales to join Preston and replaced Tom Mitchell of Blackburn Rovers as the country’s best secretary-manager.

Preston North End also beat Wolverhampton Wanderers 3-0 to win the 1889 FA Cup Final. Preston won the competition without conceding a single goal. The club also won the league the following season. However, other teams began to employ the same tactics. Clubs like Derby County, Everton, Sunderland, Aston Villa, and Wolverhampton Wanderers had more money at their disposal and could pay higher wages than Preston. Over the next couple of years Preston lost all their best players and they were never to win the league title again.

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/Fleague.htm

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/Fsudell.htm

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/Fpreston.htm

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/Fastonvilla.htm

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/Fsunderland.htm

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/Fwba.htm

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/Fderby.htm

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/Feverton.htm

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/Fwolves.htm

Here is the first part of my proposed course on the history of football:

1. Social Class and the Origins of Football

The students could start the course by looking at the origins of football. The first documentary evidence of football being played is in 1170. It was a game that was played by working-class boys in the towns and peasants in the villages. Football was a constant concern of the authorities. It was first banned by Edward II in 1314. At the time he was trying to raise an army to fight the Scots and was worried about the impact that football was having on the skills of his archers. It seems that most young men took little notice of the order and his father, Edward III, reintroduced the ban in 1331 in preparation for an invasion of Scotland. Henry IV was the next monarch who tried to stop England's young men from playing football when he issued a new ban in 1388. This was ineffective and in 1410 his government imposed a fine of 20s and six days' imprisonment on those caught playing football. In 1414, his son, Henry V, introduced a further proclamation ordering men to practise archery rather than football. The following year Henry's archers played an important role in the defeat of the French at Agincourt.

Edward IV was another strong opponent of football. In 1477 he passed a law that stipulated that "no person shall practise any unlawful games such as dice, quoits, football and such games, but that every strong and able-bodied person shall practise with bow for the reason that the national defence depends upon such bowmen." Henry VII outlawed football in 1496 and his son, Henry VIII, introduced a series of laws against the playing of the game in public places.

Whereas the monarchy objected for military reasons, church leaders were more concerned about the game being played on a Sunday. In 1531 the Puritan preacher, Thomas Eliot, argued that football caused "beastly fury and extreme violence". In 1572 the Bishop of Rochester demanded a new campaign to suppress this "evil game".

After the execution of Charles I in 1649 the new ruler, Oliver Cromwell, instructed his Major-Generals to enforce laws against football, bear-baiting, cock-fighting, horse-racing and wrestling. Cromwell was more successful than previous rulers in stopping young men from playing football. However, after his death in 1660 the game gradually re-emerged in Britain.

However, football amongst the masses was unorganized and was barely tolerated by those in authority. Every so often men were fined in local courts for causing damage and social disorder while playing football.

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/Fhistory.htm

2. Public Schools and the Development of Football

In the 18th century football was played by most of Britain's leading public schools. There is documentary evidence that football was played at Eton as early as 1747. Westminster started two years later. Harrow, Shrewsbury, Winchester and Charterhouse had all taken up football by the 1750s.

Football rules began to be codified in schools such as Eton (1815) and Aldenham (1825). Other schools such as Rugby, Marlborough, Lancing, Uppingham, Malvern and Cheltenham also introduced football to the school curriculum.

Thomas Arnold was appointed headmaster of Rugby in 1828. He had a profound and lasting effect on the development of public school education in England. Arnold introduced mathematics, modern history and modern languages and instituted the form system and introduced the prefect system to keep discipline. Arnold also emphasized the importance of sport in young men's education. Like most head teachers in public schools, Arnold believed that sport was a good method for "encouraging senior boys to exercise responsible authority on behalf of the staff". He also argued that games like football provided a "formidable vehicle for character building".

In 1848 a meeting took place at Cambridge University to lay down the rules of football. As Philip Gibbons points out in Association Football in Victorian England (2001): "The varying rules of the game meant that the public schools were unable to compete against each other." Teachers representing Shrewsbury, Eton, Harrow, Rugby, Marlborough and Westminster, produced what became known as the Cambridge Rules. One participant explained what happened: "I cleared the tables and provided pens and paper... Every man brought a copy of his school rules, or knew them by heart, and our progress in framing new rules was slow."

After leaving public school players established their own football teams. This included Old Carthusians, Old Etonians, Old Harrovians, Wanderers, etc. These clubs went on to dominate the early years of football.

English public schools also provided most of the players who appeared in the national team. For example, Westminster supplied ten England internationals between 1873 and 1894, whereas Old Etonians won a total of 39 England caps between 1873 and 1903.

The public schools also provided most of the early administrators, including, Arthur Kinnaird, Charles Wreford Brown and Francis Marindin.

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/Fpublic.htm

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/Foldcarthusians.htm

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/Foldetonians.htm

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/Foldharrovians.htm

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/Fwanderers.htm

3. The FA Cup and Social Class

In 1871, Charles W. Alcock, the FA Secretary, announced the introduction of the Football Association Challenge Cup. It was the first knockout competition of its type in the world. In the 1872 final, the public school team Wanderers beat the Royal Engineers 1-0 at the Kennington Oval.

The Wanderers, based in Battersea in London, went onto win the FA Cup five times in its first seven seasons, between 1872 and 1878. Old Etonians won the cup in 1879 and 1882. Old Carthusians, a team made up of former students at Charterhouse, defeated the Old Etonians in the 1881 final 3-0.

In 1882, Blackburn Rovers became the first provincial team to reach the final of the FA Cup. Their opponents were Old Etonians who had reached the final on five previous occasions. However, Blackburn had gone through the season unbeaten and was expected to become the first northern team to win the game. However, key players were injured and were unable to play. During the game another injury reduced Blackburn Rovers to ten men and they lost the game 1-0.

The following year Blackburn Olympic became the second provincial team to reach the final of the FA Cup. Over 8,000 people arrived at the Oval to watch Blackburn play Old Etonians in the final. Blackburn selected the following team: Thomas Hacking (dental assistant), James Ward (cotton machine operator), Albert Warburton (master plumber and pub landlord), Thomas Gibson (iron foundry worker), William Astley (weaver), John Hunter (pub landlord), Thomas Dewhurst (weaver), Arthur Matthews (picture framer), George Wilson (clerk), Jimmy Costley (spinner) and John Yates (weaver).

Old Etonians were appearing in their third successive FA Cup Final. An example of how the public schools had dominated the competition is that the captain of Old Etonians, Arthur Kinnaird, was playing in his ninth final. Blackburn Olympic won the game 2-1. No public school based team was to win the trophy again.

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/Ffacup.htm


4. Amateur Football

The Football Association was established in October, 1863. The aim of the FA was to establish a single unifying code for football. The first meeting took place at the Freeman's Tavern in London. The clubs represented were all products of football played in public schools. Percy Young, has pointed out, that the FA was a group of men from the upper echelons of British society: "Men of prejudice, seeing themselves as patricians, heirs to the doctrine of leadership and so law-givers by at least semi-divine right."

The FA insisted that football should remain a sport for amateurs. As Richard Holt and Dave Russell pointed out in the Encyclopedia of British Football: "They wished to create a new sporting elite where an upper-class code of honour could be combined with the middle-class virtues of exertion and competitiveness. Amateurs advocated participation over spectating and adopted an ethical code of sportsmanship, stressing respect for opponents and referees."

In 1871, the FA Cup was introduced. It was the first knockout competition of its type in the world. Only 12 clubs took part in the competition. Once again they were all run by former public school pupils. There were some working class clubs in existence but they did not enter for financial reasons. All ties had to be played in London. Clubs based in places such as Nottingham and Sheffield found it difficult to find the money to travel to the capital. Each club also had to contribute one guinea towards the cost of the £20 silver trophy.

Public school boys had also established football clubs in Scotland, Wales and Ireland. They also formed their own Football Association. Charles W. Alcock, the secretary of the FA, and Arthur Kinnaird, his friend from Cambridge University, who had been born in Scotland, arranged the first international football game to be played on the 30th November, 1872. From this date the England-Scotland match became an annual fixture.

Former public schoolboys lived in industrial areas of Britain. Their families were often owners of local factories or mines. In 1875 John Lewis and Arthur Constantine, who had played football at Shrewsbury School, formed Blackburn Rovers. At first the club was exclusively made up of men with public school backgrounds.

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/Famateur.htm

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/Ffa.htm

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/Ffacup.htm

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/Finternational.htm

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/Fblackburn.htm

5. Scotland and the Rise of Professionalism

In the 1870s some public school educated factory owners began to consider the possibility of forming football clubs for their workers. There were several reasons for this. Some saw it as a means of publicizing their company. Others saw it as a form of social control. For example, Arthur Hills established West Ham United in response to a trade union dispute. He also used the club to further his temperance campaign.

Blackburn Olympic was established in 1877. Whereas Blackburn Rovers was mainly made up of players who attended public schools, the Blackburn Olympic team largely contained men from the working-class and was funded by Sidney Yates of the local iron foundry. The two clubs played each other on 15th February 1879 but Olympic, now one of the best teams in the country, won 3-1. It was the first sign that the working class was going to dominate football in the future.

Preston North End was originally a cricket club. On 5th October 1878, Preston North End played its first football game. Two years later the club decided to concentrate on football rather than cricket or rugby.

Major William Sudell, the manager of a local factory, became the secretary/manager of the club. Over the next few years Sudell was to create a revolution in football. He decided to improve the quality of the team by importing top players from other areas. Under the rules of the Football Association, Sudell was officially unable to pay these players. Therefore, he arranged to find these players well paid jobs in Preston. He also unofficially paid them a small fee for playing on Saturday. Sudell mainly recruited these players from Scotland. Over the next few years players such as John Goodall, Jimmy Ross, Nick Ross, David Russell, John Gordon, John Graham, Robert Mills-Roberts, James Trainer, Samuel Thompson and George Drummond joined the club. Sudell found these players by watching Scotland’s international games. Other secretary/managers followed Sudell’s example.

The Scottish Football Association responded by announcing it would only select players who played their football in Scotland. However, as they were so much better paid in England they were willing to sacrifice their international careers.

Other teams based in England’s industrial heartlands followed the example of Sudell and began importing Scottish players. This included Derby County, Blackburn Rovers, Sunderland and West Bromwich Albion whereas Aston Villa was virtually formed by two Scotsmen, George Ramsay and Archie Hunter, who had moved to the Birmingham area. They also brought in the Scottish way of playing football. The public schools had pioneered the individualistic “dribbling” game, whereas the Scots invariably came from a trade union background and placed their emphasis on the “passing” game. It is no coincidence that these Scots called it the “combination” system.

Blackburn Rovers decided to appoint a Scotsman, Tom Mitchell, as secretary-manager. These enabled him to recruit the best players available in Scotland and they became the best team in England, winning the FA Cup in 1884, 1885 and 1886.

The Football Association continued to select players who were clearly amateurs to play for England. As a result, England suffered a series of defeats against the better Scotland team.

On 17th March, 1884, the FA selected James Forrest, a 19 year-old player from Blackburn Rovers for the England team against Wales. The following year he was selected to play against Scotland. Scottish officials complained as they argued that Forrest was a professional. It seems they had discovered that he was being paid £1 a week for turning out for his club on a Saturday. Forrest was eventually allowed to play but he had to wear a different jersey from the rest of the team.


http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/FblackburnO.htm

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/Fpreston.htm

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/Fastonvilla.htm

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/Fsunderland.htm

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/Fwba.htm

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/Fderby.htm

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/Fsudell.htm

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/BLACKBmitchell.htm

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/Fscotland.htm

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/BLACKBforrest.htm

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/WHhillsA.htm

6. The Football League

In January, 1884, Preston North End played the London side, Upton Park, in the FA Cup. After the game Upton Park complained to the Football Association that Preston was a professional, rather than an amateur team. William Sudell, the club’s secretary-manager, admitted that his players were being paid but argued that this was common practice and did not breach regulations. However, the FA disagreed and expelled them from the competition.

Preston North End now joined forces with other clubs who were paying their players. In October, 1884, these clubs threatened to form a break-away British Football Association. The Football Association responded by establishing a sub-committee, which included William Sudell, to look into this issue. On 20th July, 1885, the FA announced that it was "in the interests of Association Football, to legalise the employment of professional football players, but only under certain restrictions". Clubs were allowed to pay players provided that they had either been born or had lived for two years within a six-mile radius of the ground.

The decision to pay players increased club's wage bills. It was therefore necessary to arrange more matches that could be played in front of large crowds. On 2nd March, 1888, William McGregor circulated a letter to Aston Villa, Blackburn Rovers, Bolton Wanderers, Preston North End, and West Bromwich Albion suggesting that "ten or twelve of the most prominent clubs in England combine to arrange home and away fixtures each season."

John J. Bentley of Bolton Wanderers and Tom Mitchell of Blackburn Rovers responded very positively to the suggestion. They suggested that other clubs should be invited to the meeting being held on 23rd March, 1888.

The following month the Football League was formed. It consisted of six clubs from Lancashire (Preston North End, Accrington, Blackburn Rovers, Burnley, Bolton Wanderers and Everton) and six from the Midlands (Aston Villa, Derby County, Notts County, Stoke, West Bromwich Albion and Wolverhampton Wanderers). The main reason Sunderland was excluded was because the other clubs in the league objected to the costs of travelling to the North-East. McGregor also wanted to restrict the league to twelve clubs. Therefore, the applications of Sheffield Wednesday, Nottingham Forest, Darwen and Bootle were rejected.

The first season of the Football League began in September, 1888. Preston North End won the first championship without losing a single match and acquired the name the "invincibles". Major William Sudell, had persuaded some of the best players in England, Scotland and Wales to join Preston and replaced Tom Mitchell of Blackburn Rovers as the country’s best secretary-manager.

Preston North End also beat Wolverhampton Wanderers 3-0 to win the 1889 FA Cup Final. Preston won the competition without conceding a single goal. The club also won the league the following season. However, other teams began to employ the same tactics. Clubs like Derby County, Everton, Sunderland, Aston Villa, and Wolverhampton Wanderers had more money at their disposal and could pay higher wages than Preston. Over the next couple of years Preston lost all their best players and they were never to win the league title again.

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/Fleague.htm

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/Fsudell.htm

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/Fpreston.htm

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/Fastonvilla.htm

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/Fsunderland.htm

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/Fwba.htm

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/Fderby.htm

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/Feverton.htm

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/Fwolves.htm