History of Football Project

[John Simkin]

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

[John Simkin]

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

[John Simkin]

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

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

[Guest]

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

[John Simkin]

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.

[John Simkin]

I have added a brief history of football here:

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

[Guest]

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.

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

[John Simkin]

I have started an Encyclopedia of British Football here:

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

[Guest]

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

[John Simkin]

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

[John Simkin]

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.

[John Simkin]

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/

[John Simkin]

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

[Guest]

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.

[John Simkin]

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