Football publications of the 1860s

The Laws of the Game

Shortly after the Football Association formulated The Laws of the Game in 1863 they were published by John Lillywhite of Seymour Street in a booklet that cost a shilling and sixpence.

Kicking the ball- simply explained with the aid of annotated diagrams(!)

Beeton's Football

In 1866 cricket writer Frederick Wood produced Beeton's Football. The Beeton's series covered a wide range of subjects, and was an offshoot of the legendary Beeton's Book of Household Management.
The book contained hints on diet and preparation (avoid foods and habits which are injurious to the wind and general powers of endurance), and illustrated guidance on how to best kick the ball. 
the 98 page octavo book cost a shilling .

Sporting Life 07.02.66

Routledge's Handbook of Football

The next publisher to respond to the growing popularity of football was G. Routledge and Sons. Their 60 page Handbook of Football appeared in 1867.

The quality of the advice, which might, to modern ears, sound quite naive, is indicative of the rudimentary state of the game at this point in time: 

For excellent fellows at football the prettiest costume is a coloured velvet cap with tassel, a tight striped jersey and white flannel trousers. It is a good plan, if it can be previously so arranged, to have one side with striped jerseys of one colour, say red, and the other with another, say blue. This prevents confusion and wild attempts to run after and wrest the ball from your neighbour. 
If you have the good fortune to own a copy you could expect to get £500 for it at auction. 


The Football Annual

The Lillywhite family had been publishing cricket books since 1848. 
The first John Lilywhite's Football Annual appeared in 1868. It was edited by  Charles Alcock, and was called The Football Annual from 1869 to 1908 .  The annuals are exceedingly rare and are commonly known as Charles Alcock's Football Annual. 
'Published with the sanction of the Football Association', the annual was a combination of rule book, instruction manual, and club directory. It contained advertisements for sports goods. 
The 85 page 1868 edition covered both Association and Rugby codes. 

William Pickford-Free Britons have queer ways of enjoying themselves

William Pickford was 17 years old when he watched an Association game between  Blackburn District and Bolton. Formerly a Rugby enthusiast he was captivated by the Asociation game. having relocated from Lancashire to Hampshire he was active in local football administration and also wrote on the  game for the local press. 
Mr Pickford took to refereeing when his playing days with Bournemouth Rovers came to an end.
He was one of the 79 attendees of the March 1893 meeting at which The FA formed the first referees’ society. C.W. Alcock was President and F.J Wall Chairman.
In 1895 the society produced the first edition of The Referees’ Chart, a set of guidelines that elabourated on The Laws of the Game.
Mr Pickford played a leading role in the production of this document.
He held several prominent positions in football; 
He was member of the council of the Football Association, a Vice-President of FIFA and a member of the International Football Association Board. In 1937 he  became president of the Football Association.
How to Referee appeared in 1906. It comnbines an analydis of the Laws of the Game with an outline of the psychological challenges of match control. 
Free Britons have queer ways of enjoying themselves is taken from Mr Pickford's comment advising referees not to be perturbed by the passionate noise of the crowd.

The matches that shaped Association football- pre 1870

The earliest games in our list of influential matches predate the establishment of the Association.
Before 1863 there was no Association football, and throughout the 1860s the game was fluid in nature as experimental rules came and went, Spectators (and there were few) witnessed a change from an 'everyone behind the ball' game in which catches and handling played a significant role, as did touchdowns for a while, into something more akin to modern soccer, Having said that by 1870 Association football was still far from being the finished article. There were still no corner kicks or crossbars, ends were changed after every score, and the goalkeeper was not a recognised position

Football at Harrow - played with a pudding shaped ball...

Harrow- 1850s
The Football Association's  Laws of the Game were developed in order to unify existing codes that were in use in various schools and colleges. The Harrow rules were one such code. Given the later importance of Charles Alcock in the development and promotion of the Association game, we must acknowledge the importance of Alcock's earliest footballing experiences.  Alcock attended Harrow from 1855 to 1859 ; he was in Drury's House. The Houses played each other for the honour of being 'Cock House'. It was the format of these knockout competitions that inspired the FA Cup.
The press (in particular Bell’s Life in London and Sporting Chronicle) carried reports on football matches played at all the leading public schools. I have only been able to find one contemporary press report of Alcock playing football at Harrow- Bell’s Life in London and Sporting Chronicle (12.12.58) has an account of a match between Rev. B.H Drury's and Rev. Dr. Vaughan's (the Houses took the names of the leading masters). Drury's won by 1 base to 0 (base was the Harrovian term for a goal)- the base was obtained by 'a capital kick by Mr Alcock'. The result confirmed Drury's as Cock House for the season.

Sheffield FC v 58th (Rutlandshire) Regiment of Foot- 1858
It is impossible to overlook the importance of Sheffield's contribution to the development of the Association game. The Sheffield Rules predated the Football Association by 6 years, and were adopted by many clubs and associations in the midlands. Sheffield was a frequent source of inspiration as the Laws of the Game evolved during the 1860s and 70s. During the early years of its exsitence the Sheffield club played scratch matches between its members. 
Sheffiled versus Hallam in 1860 is often referred to as the earliest club football match, however, there are references to Sheffield FC playing a team from the 58th (Rutlandshire) Regiment of Foot in 1858. Unfortunately I have not been able to find any accounts of this match.

Barnes v Richmond 1863
The Presidents side v The Secretary's side, played at Battersea Park on 9th January 1864 was scheduled to be the first encounter under the newly drafted Football Association Laws of the Game.  However, EC Morley et al were keen to get on with it, and on December 19th 1863 the very first game of football played under Football Association rules took place at Limes Field, Mortlake, between Barnes FC and Richmond FC.
 The 15 a side game, ' distinguished by no disputes about the rules' , ended in a 0-0 draw.


The Association game continued to be played on an informal basis throughout the decade, mainly by clubs in the metropolitan area. Sheffield football also flourished, and both sets of rules underwent gradual changes and slowly a spectacle bearing a closer resemblance to modern football emerged, as handling, fair catches and touchdowns were eradicated. 


London v Sheffield 1866 
The first representative match under the auspices of the FA.  Sheffield FC had initially asked the FA for a match with one of the FA member clubs. The FA however selected a Football Association XI, drawn from 4 metropolitan clubs- Wanderers, Barnes, NN's and Civil Service. 

The Youdan Cup 1867
February 16th 1867 saw first round of the first ever knockout football tournament. It was played under Sheffield Rules during a period where the 4 yard goal and the rouge were in use (thus distancing it somewhat from modern soccer). The eventual winners, Hallam, defeated Heeley 2-0 (and 2 rouges to 1) in their first round match. 

Middlesex v Kent-1867
Another venture masterminded by CW Alcock to stimulate interest in the Association game was an attempt to introduce inter county matches.
The first of this sporadic series was due to take place on November 2nd at Beaufort House, but Lord Ranelagh, being in dispute with the Amatuer Athletic Club, in whose name the ground was leased, withdrew his permission for his land to be used, and the game was played 'in the wilds' of Battersea Park. The match ended in a 0-0 draw.
The ground was described as being 'in wretched order' but the match itself ('a most stubbornly contested game') was given a good write up.
In these days in which the FA were working hard to spread the appeal of the game it is worth remembering when reading enthusiastic and glowing reports of 0-0 draws played in unfavourable conditions that the author might well have been none other than C.W Alcock! 


Queen's Park v Thistle- 1868
I'm not going to turn these posts into a catalogue of the first games of all significant clubs, but i'll make an exception in the case of Queen's Park. Queen's Park assumed the status of an institution within the Scottish game in its earliest days, and fulfilled the functions of a national association. As with Sheffield (above) the earliest games were between scratch sides drawn from club members. 
On 1st August 1868 Queen's Park had their first fixture against outside opposition: Played at the Recreation Ground (South Side Park?) fellow Glaswegians,Thistle FC were beaten by  'two goals within an hour'.
Having kept a clean sheet in their debut match Queen's Park didn't concede a goal until March 1875 and their unbeaten run went on until 1876.

Wanderers v West Kent 1869
 In the 1860s London's football was played in public parks such as Clapham Common and Battersea Park. There were no enclosed football grounds. 
On Saturday October 9th 1869 The Wanderers v West Kent was played at the Kennington Oval, the home of Surrey Cricket Club. This arose from CW Alcock's involvement with Surrey Cricket Club.
As well as generating (negligible) income for the cricket club in the winter months, it meant that the Football Association now had access to a large enclosed venue capable of accommodating thousands of paying spectators. During the course of the following decade The Oval became a regular venue for club fixtures and hosted big events such as FA Cup Finals and semi finals, internationals, and The Varsity match.

Royal Engineers v Wanderers

In the 1870s there were few serious competitors aside from Wanderers and the Royal Engineers for the title of the best club in England. It was fitting that these 2 sides contested the first FA Cup Final, and there was a period from 1871 -1875 when the Royal Engineers won just about every game that they played other than FA Cup Finals. Wanderers of course won the FA Cup 5 times in 7 seasons. In the previous decade matches between the 2 had been far more casual in nature. Here's an account of an early meeting in which the military metaphors are done to death, Note that the mention of the after match hospitality was almost obligatory in football journalism during the 18th century. Its a curious team list as well...

Kentish Chronicle-19.11.64

Four years later the Wanderers don't come across as one of the leading clubs, managing to muster only 8 players for a home fixture and failing to ensure that there was a football available! The thoughts of the Engineers on travelling up from Chatham for a 35 minute game are unrecorded. As Charles Alcock may (or may not) have said, its a funny old game... 

Bell’s Life in London and Sporting Chronicle - 05.12.68

“Wanderers” Football Club Season 1865-1866

Forest FC of Leytonstone, formed in 1859 and adherents of the Harrow Rules, relocated to London in 1864 and adopted the name Wanderers (although their 'home' ground was Battersea Park).
Copied this from The Code War: English Football Under the Historical Spotlight  by Graham Williams. Not sure of the original source...

“WANDERERS” FOOTBALL CLUB

SEASON 1865-1866

LIST OF MEMBERS.

                      Alcock, J.F                Green, F           Pember, A

                      Alcock, C.W              Green, J.F         Phipps, H.G

                      Allfrey, W.M              Gaillemaid, A.G   Prior, J.T

                      Baker, A                   Hall, C.H            Reid, C.F

                      Baker, W.F                Harper, Syd.       Richardson, H

                      Bowen, E.E                Head, H            Sparks, T.H

                      Butler, C.F                 Howlett, W.O       Smyly, W.C

                      Burnett, E.W              Jackson, C.D       Tayloe, J.E

                      Crompton, A               Lucas, F            Tebbut, A.M

                      Cruikshank, J.A           Lucas, J             Tebbut, C.M

                      Cutbill, W.J.C              Ludlam, J.W       Thompson, A

                      Elliot, J                      MacKenzie, A.W  Thompson, W

                      Gillespie, E.W             Martin, J.B          Thornton, P.M

                      Green, A                    Morley, J.L          Tupper,C.H

                                                            Weber, C.L

LIST OF MATCHES

ALREADY ARRANGED

1865

Saturday, 28^th October, Civil Service, at Battersea Park

Wednesday, 8^th November, Charterhouse School, at Charterhouse

Saturday , 11^th      ”      Crystal Palace Club, at Penge

  ”       18^th      ”      Westminster School, at Westminster

  ”       25^th      ”      Forest School, at Walthamstow

  ”     2^nd   December,  “N.N.s” at Kilburn

  ”     9^th        ”       Harrow School, at Harrow

  ”    16^th       ”       Reigate Club, at Reigate

1866

Saturday, 6^th January, Crystal Palace Club, at Penge

    ”    13^th   ”    Civil Service, at Battersea Park

    ”     20^th   ”     “N.N.s” at Kilburn

    ”    24^th February, Civil Service, at Battersea Park

All Communications respecting Matches &c, to be addressed to C.W ALCOCK, 155, Fenchurch Street

Uniform Flannel can be obtained of Gann, Jones & Co, 171, Fenchurch Street

North v South 1870

The Sportsman- 15.12.70

Charles Alcock was always keen to promote the image of the Football Association as being a national body under which the various codes of the game would come together. The truth of the matter was that even 7 years after the Association's foundation their sphere of influence was only just beginning to spread beyond the metropolitan clubs.
Alcock had promoted the idea of inter county matches and in 1870 had started the 'International' series between teams representing England and Scotland (again, featuring almost exclusively London based players on both sides).
In December 1870 Alcock hit on the novel idea of a North vs South match to further the notion of the Association has having nationwide influence.
Most clubs in the north and midlands tended to follow either the Sheffield Rules or local variations. It was only in 1870 that the then leading midlands clubs had  agreed to play exclusively by the rules of the Association.
A list of FA member clubs from 1870 shows the following clubs form the north and midlands:
Bramham College York.
Chesterfield
Donington Grammar School (Lincolnshire)
Garrick (Sheffield)
Hull College
Leamington College
Lincoln
Newark
Nottingham (Notts County)
Sheffield

(10 out of a total membership of 39).

The North therefore were bolstered by a number of metropolitan players (Alcock included) on the basis of their northern birthplaces. North of London seems to have been far north enough, though in the case of 'Scotland's' Quintin Hogg London itself counted as the north.
The Sheffield and Rotherham Independent (20.12.70) reported that: the rules were those of the of the Football Association, and the principle of 'no hands' was strictly maintained, although there was an amount of arm work visible throughout the game, which we hope to see reduced, if not entirely abolished , on future occasions.
Press reports of the game itself were very positive, describing the game as being the best contest seen for some time, with the teams as evenly matched and ceaseless in their efforts. This despite the fact that the heavy ground and  slippery conditions rendered dribbling impossible. The play was described as being superior to that seen in the recent England v Scotland match.
The South won 1-0 thanks to an 87th minute goal from Crake, shooting from a Howard cross following a 'rush' by the South's forwards. Reports mention the South's familiarity with each other's play as being the factor that separated the 2 elevens.

North
J. Kirkpatrick  (A Scott)   (goal)	Civil Service
Captain (and selector) of Scotland in the Alcock internationals. The humorous pseudonym appeared in several contemporary press reports.
J.C Whelan   (back)	Sheffield FC
Sheffield FC were the originators and guardians of the Sheffield Rules, which still held sway over football in South Yorkshire and much of the midlands well into the 1870s. During the 1870s the Sheffield and ‘London’ rules grew closer.
Q.Hogg   (half-back)	Scotland
London born Hogg was actually a Wanderers player – he had represented Scotland in the ‘Alcock International’ the previous month.
C.W Alcock	Durham
When he had captained ‘England’ against ‘Scotland’ the previous month Alcock’s club was listed as Harrow Pilgrims. His connection to the North in this instance comes from his place of birth (Durham being the county in which he was born).
T.C Hooman	North Worcestershire
As with Alcock above and the various players listed as ‘Scotland’ Hooman was qualified for the north by his place of birth (Kidderminster). His club was Wanderers.
E.H Greenhalgh	Notts (County)
Harwood Greenhalgh represented England in the first ‘official’ international in 1872 and played for Notts County from 1867-1883.
G. Holden	Newark
E.S Gibney	Lincoln
Newark and Lincoln had been among a group of Midlands clubs that had, in October 1870, resolved to play by The Football Association rules from then on, (The Sportsman - Wednesday 05 October 1870).
A.F Kinnaird	Scotland
Arthur Kinnaird was primarily a Wanderers player at this point in time.  Future Scotland international.
W.E Rowlinson	Liverpool
Originally named was C.E Nepean (Scotland) an Oxford University and Clapham Rovers  player who had represented Scotland in the ‘Alcock International’ the previous month. His replacement, Rowlinson, was another to use his place of birth as a qualification for the north, his club being Clapham Rovers .
C.L Rothera	Notts Club
Rothera, who was later Borough Coroner for Nottingham, was also the Hon, Sec of County in 1870.

South
A.Morten (goal)	Crystal Palace
Represented Scotland in an Alcock international and England in an official international.
C.W Stephenson  (back)	Westminster School
E. Lubbock  (half -back)	West Kent
R.W.S Vidal	Westminster School
Future England International.
W.P Crake	Barnes
C.J Chenery	Crystal Palace
Future England International.
M.P Betts	West Kent
Monty Betts scored the winning goal in the first FA Cup Final, He played for England in Alcock Internationals and official internationals and was also a referee/ umpire at international level.
A.J Baker	Wanderers
R. Franks	C.C.C (Clapham)
R.S.F Walker	Clapham Rovers
Future England International.
A.W Howard	Weyside
A Wanderers player.

Fixtures 1869-70

A fixture list of metropolitan matches from Bell’s Life in London and Sporting Chronicle (27.11. 1869). No distinction is made between the codes. In an exoticism sadly lost from the Association game,  Wasps, Owls and Flamingoes  feature alongside Pirates, Gipsies and Gitanoes.
Several of these clubs featured in the early years of the FA Cup. The legendary Wanderers were playing their home fixtures at The Oval cricket ground ( courtesy of Mr Alcock). CCC (Civil Service), Barnes and Royal Engineers still play. The Crystal Palace name survives, but it is an entirely different club. 

Hamilton Crescent

Cricket was being played in Hamilton Crescent before the West of Scotland Cricket Club was founded in 1862.

Hamilton Crescent's place in sporting history was assured when it was chosen by Queen's Park to host what is considered to be the first ever international Association football match.

As we have seen , Charles Alcock had , in his enthusiasm to spread the association game, instituted 'international' matches in 1870. The 'Scottish' teams involved were not truly representative, the players usually having only tenuous connections with Scotland. Alcock didn't want this to be the case, however. He wanted genuine Scottish representation, as we can see from the following letter, which appeared in  The Glasgow Herald in November 1870:

ENGLAND versus SCOTLAND

Sir,—Will you allow me a few lines in your paper to notify to Scottish players that a match under the above title will take place in London on Saturday, 19th inst, according to the rules of the Football Association? It is the object of the committee to select the best elevens at their disposal in the two countries, and I cannot but think that the appearance of some of the more prominent celebrities of football on the northern side of the Tweed would do much to disseminate a healthy feeling of good fellowship among the contestants, and tend to promote to a still greater extent the extension of the game. In Scotland, once essentially the land of football, there should still be a spark left of the old fire, and I confidently appeal to Scotsmen to aid to their utmost the efforts of the committee to confer success on what London fondly hopes to found, an annual trial of skill between the champions of England and Scotland. Messrs. A. F. Kinnaird, 2 Pall Mall East, London, and J. Kirkpatrick, Admiralty, Somerset House, London, will be glad to receive the names of any Scottish player who will take part against England in the match in question.—I am, etc.,

Charles W. Alcock, Hon. Secretary of Football Association.

West Dulwich, Surrey, 1st November, 1870.

Queen's Park responded to the letter by asking if one of their members could play, They nominated Robert Smith (conveniently he had recently moved to London and was playing for South Norwood). Smith consequently played in the 2nd and 3rd 'Alcock Internationals'.

Queen's Park wrote to Alcock in the summer of 1872. What was happening regarding international matches? would the Football Association be disposed to send a team to play Scotland in Scotland? In effect the  Queen's Park club assumed responsibility for responding to Charles Alcock's challenge to Scottish footballers. There was no Scottish Football Association at the time. Queen's Park were in effect the governing body in Scottish football, as well as dominating the game on the pitch they were also arbiters and guardians of the rules. One thing that they didn't have, however, was a ground of their own. They still played in public parks.

Queen's Park were devilishly good at organizing things. They set up subcommittees to handle every aspect of preparing for the visit of the English.  The West of Scotland Cricket Club were approached regarding the use of Hamilton Crescent. Queen's Park anticipated the match being a lucrative event. The following terms were agreed:

West of Scotland Cricket Club to receive £10* for staging the match and and a further sum of £10 should the receipts exceed  £50. 

This was a bold move by Queen's Park, who only had £7 in their account and had been offered the Burnbank Rugby ground free of charge.

It paid off, though, as the takings reached £102 19s. 6d. Admission was 1 shilling and the attendance topped 4,000. 

The match cost a total of  £69 11s. 6d to stage, leaving Queen's Park a balance of £33 8s which they used to fund their journey to London for the following season's international.

One thing about this first international troubles me- if, according to  F.I.F.A. regulations, a match must be organised according to the prescribed rules by two National Football Associations, then should this game be considered a full international? There was no Scottish FA. Queen's Park organised the match, selected the team and provided all the players (who incidentally played in Queen's Park's colours). 

Hamilton Cresecent had served it's purpose well, though. Queen's Park moved into the first Hampden Park in 1873, but the internationals of 1874 and 1876 were both played in Hamilton Crescent, as were the first 2 matches of the 1877 Scottish Cup Final between Glasgow Rangers and Vale of Leven. (It took 2 replays to settle the tie- the 2 matches at Hamilton Crescent were drawn, 1-1). 

* 1872 Pre decimal money: 1 pound (£) = 20 shillings (s). 1 shilling = 12 pence (d). A general labourer earned about £1 per week. 

The Alcock Testimonial

Sheffield and Rotherham Independent 12.04.81

The Alcock Testimonial was raised in 1881, in the pre professional era. There is no doubt that Alcock's singular devotion to the advancement of Association football laid the foundations for its becoming the national game.
The gifts presented to Alcock as outlined above are considerable. 300 guineas compares favourably to, for example, the £92 paid by the 6-7000 crowd (well, the men anyway- ladies were admitted free)  who watched that seasons' Staffordshire Cup Final between Walsall Swifts and Aston Villa...
Four years later Jimmy Forrest (on £1 a week at Blackburn Rovers) became England's first professional internationalist. 
It was in July 1885 that strictly marshaled professionalism was legalised by the Football Association.
The sub committee engaged to address the professional question stated:
 no player can be termed an amateur who receives any remuneration or consideration above his necessary hotel or travelling expenses. 
and that no professional should be allowed to serve on any Association Committees, or to represent his own or any other club at meetings of the Football Association, 
Alcock was the secretary of the Football Association at the time. 

Wanderers v Queen's Park 1872

 Glasgow Daily Herald 05.03.72

Given that the teams representing Scotland in the Alcock Internationals were made up of  'London Scotsmen' or others with more tenuous Scottish connections this FA Cup tie represents the first 'international' fixture in Association football history.

The Wanderers team list only includes 10 names, though ‘Hoolaston’ (Woolaston) is mentioned in the report. By my reckoning 8 of the Queen’s Park XI became ‘official’ Scottish internationals (if we accept  that ‘Leaks’ is Leckie).

Four of the Wanderers side gained official international recognition for England. 

Football: The Association Game (1906)

The following plates are taken from the 1906 edition of Football: The Association Game by C.W Alcock.
It's hard not to smile at the indifferent expression on the face of the goalkeeper - he doesn't exactly look ready to spring into action...

Again, the goalkeeper looks ill prepared considering he's about to face a shot from 4 yards out!

I love this staged photograph. The team in stripes are defending quite deep. The goalkeeper seems to be actually behind the goal line.  Look at the stooping aspect of both attackers and defenders. The goal frame looks exceedingly flimsy...

The book is available to read online here.