Chelsea

Augustus Mears

Chelsea originally played in Eton Blue

The great names in English football can trace their roots back to humble beginnings as local organizations representing a particular community or group of people. Manchester United,  Arsenal and West Ham began as works' teams, Everton and Manchester City as parish teams to provide diversions for poor youth. Chelsea can have no such claim.
Relative latecomers, Chelsea were essentially put together as a plan B.
In 1896 26 year old entrepreneur Gus Mears purchased the Stamford Bridge Athletics Ground. His plan was to turn it tinto Britain's leading football venue. When  the freehold became his in 1904, Mears tried to persuade local club, Fulham, to move to the ground .  Fulham wouldn't match Mears' rent demands, so he considered selling to the Great Western Railway Company, who wanted to use the land as a coal yard. 
 Having reconsidered Mears set about forming his own club. Chelsea FC came into being on  10th March 1905. A number of names were considered, including  London FC, Kensington FC and Stamford Bridge FC .
Chelsea applied to the Southern League, but were denied entry following opposition from  Fulham and Tottenham Hotspur, who didn't want the competition for support. The Football League, who at  this time  were keen to extend their catchment area, welcomed an application from a London club, even though they had never played a game!

John Tait  Robertson

Scottish International half back Jacky Robertson was recruited as player -coach, his move from Glasgow Rangers being Chelsea's first ever signing. Chelsea then set about building a squad, signing players from Football League, Scottish League and Southern League clubs.   
Chelsea's first league match took place away at Stockport County on 2 September 1905, where they lost 1-0. This was Chelsea's line up for the first game. In brackets are the clubs that the players signed from:

Willie Foulke (Sheffield United )
Bob Mackie (Airdrieonians)
Bob McEwan (Bury)
George Key (Heart of Midlothian)
Bobby McRoberts (Small Heath)
Tommy Miller (Falkirk)
Marty Moran (Celtic)
Jacky Robertson (Glasgow Rangers)
David Copeland (Tottenham Hotspur)
Jimmy Windridge (Small Heath )
Jack Kirwan (Tottenham Hotspur)

Other players to feature prominently in Chelsea's first season were:

Dougal Watson (Sunderland) 
Tommy McDermott (Everton) 
Frank Pearson (Manchester City) 
Jimmy Robertson (Small Heath)

In their first season Chelsea finished third in the Second Division (but 9 points adrift of a promotion place).

Tottenham Hotspur 1901

The Tottenham Hotspur team of 1901 is known as the only 'non-league' team to win the FA Cup. This creates images, to our modern minds, of a part time or obscure amateur team punching well above their weight. At this point in the games development, however, the term 'team from outside the Football League' is far more accurate a description of their status. Tottenham, professionals since 1895, had been Southern League champions in  1899-1900 season, but did not apply to join the Football League.Of the 36 teams competing in the two divisions of the Football League in 1900-1901 only one (Woolwich Arsenal) was from the south. 

The final, against Sheffield United, was the first FA Cup final to be filmed (the footage is very brief). 110,000 watched the first match, a 2-2 draw at Crystal Palace. United's second goal was highly controversial. Following a scramble in the goalmouth the referee awarded a corner, only then to decide that the ball had crossed the goal line earlier in the melee. 

In the replay at Burnden Park, Bolton, Tottenham won 3-1.

Tottenham's winning XI was:

 George Clawley (England),Harry  Erentz (Scotland), Sandy Tait (Scotland), Tom Morris (England),Ted Hughes (Wales), Jack L Jones (capt. Wales), Tom Smith (England), John Cameron ( player-manager-  Scotland), Sandy Brown (Scotland), David Copeland ( Scotland), Jack Kirwan* (Ireland).

Sandy Brown- his 15 FA Cup goals in a single season remains a competition record.

Tottenham joined the  Second Division of the Football League for the 1908–09 season.
In their early years Tottenham underwent many changes of club colours. At one point they wore blue and white halves in imitation of Blackburn Rovers. They adopted white shirts in 1899-1900 in tribute to Preston North End, the team they defeated in the first round of the FA Cup the following year.

* Kirwan went on to manage Ajax.

Ajax

Ajax c.1901 

                                                          Promotion winners 1910-11

1911-12  A change of strip -to avoid a clash with Sparta Rotterdam

Amsterdamsche Football Club Ajax NV was founded on March 18, 1900, a revival of an earlier, short lived club (1894).

When Ajax reached the Netherlands top league for the first time in 1911 it was under the management of Jack Kirwan, a former Irish international who had played in the Tottenham Hotspur FA Cup winning team of  1901, as well as having spells with Everton and Chelsea.
Kirwan returned to Britain during the First War, but later coached Livorno in Italy (1923-1924).