The Varsity Match

Having being played every year since the 1873-74 season (aside from wartime interruptions 1915-19 and 1940-45) the Varsity match between the football clubs of Oxford University and Cambridge University must surely be the longest standing regular fixture in world football.

The first Varsity match, played at The Oval,  was won 1-0 by Oxford, with England international Robert Walpole Sealy Vidal scoring the only goal. (Vidal played in the first 3 FA Cup finals).

Oxford lost the 1873 FA Cup Final 2-0 to Wanderers and beat Royal Engineers by the same score in the final the following year.

 England's first ever international XI, featured 3 Oxford players. In total 22 Oxford players have been capped by England, and 5 by Wales.

Oxford University 1874

Cambridge was noted for football in the pre association days, and in fact the Cambridge Rules of 1848 played a significant role in the development of the Football Association's rules of 1863.  In the words of C.W. Alcock:
The Cambridge Rules appear to be the most desirable for the Association to adopt...

This influence is commemorated by a plaque at Cambridge University's home ground:

Here on Parker's Piece, in the 1800s, students established a common set of simple football rules emphasising skill above force, which forbade catching the ball and 'hacking'. These 'Cambridge Rules' became the defining influence on the 1863 Football Association rules

The Light Blues also had a significant influence on the way in which the game developed tactically, with references being made to them playing a 'combination game ' as early as the 1870's. They were also early exponents of a pyramid system (2-3-5):

The Cambridge University eleven of 1883 were the first to illustrate the full possibilities of a systematic combination giving full scope to the defence as well as the attack...
C.W. Alcock,  The English Illustrated Magazine (1891)
24 Cambridge players represented England, including 5 in the same match against Scotland in March 1886.

An Oxford v Cambridge game at the Queens Club in the early 20th century.

Table of results- 1874-1937*

		1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9
1870
1880
1890
1900
1910
1920
1930									*	*

Dark Blue- Oxford (26 wins- most consecutive wins=4)

Light Blue- Cambridge (22 wins- most consecutive wins=5)

Red- Draw (9)

Black- No fixture 

* our coverage of football history ends in the summer of 1937

Oxford and Cambridge also featured in the early years of the FA Cup. Oxford were the more successful of the two, reaching the final 4 times, lifting the Cup once.

Year	Oxford	Cambridge
1871-72
1872-73	Runners-up
1873-74	Winners	2nd round
1874-75	Semi Final	2nd round
1875-76	Semi Final	3rd round*
1876-77	Runners-up	Semi Final
1877-78	4th round	3rd round
1878-79	4th round	3rd round
1879-80	Runners-up	1st round

*In 1875-76 season the two were drawn together in the 3rd round.  On 31st January 1876 at Cambridge, Oxford won by 4-0. This does not count as a Varsity match as such. Six weeks previously Oxford had won the 1875 Varsity match 4-1.