Estadio Centenario

Estadio Centenario, Montevideo.
A super stadium purpose built for the 1930 FIFA World Cup.
The stands commemorated the triumphs of Uruguay's Golden Decade (Amsterdam, Colombes, Olympic).
Originally the plan was to hold all 18 matches at Estadio Centenario, but in the event games were also played at Estadio Gran Parque Central and Estadio Pocitos. Centenario hosted 10 games, which yielded 44 goals.
The stadium was capable of accommodating 90,000 spectators. The official attendance for the final was 68,346, 11,500 less than attended the semi final of Uruguay vs Yugoslavia.
The diagram has the pitch divided into squares as a means of helping radio listeners keep track of where the action was (a system pioneered by BBC commentators). 

Scotland v England 1884

Played at Cathkin Park 15.03.84.
This was the inaugural season of the British Home Championship and the Scotland England clash was always likely to be the decider. This was the 13th meeting between the 2 sides. Scotland had won 8 of the previous 12 matches and England had not beaten them since 1879.
For the first time in international football admission was by ticket only.
Dr John Smith scored the only goal of the game in the 8th minute to give Scotland a 1-0 victory.
The illustration shows 'A Bailey' but it is in fact Norman Coles Bailey, while E.C Bambridge Swift is E.C Bambridge of the club The Swifts. Francis Marindin , here acting as Umpire for England was so well known as to be recognizable only by the title The Major.
The contrast in stature between the illustrated English and Scotch (sic) players is worthy of note. The era of the gentleman amateur was drawing to a close, but the England approach was still largely based on the muscular public schools approach whereas Scottish football was more tactically refined.

The final table:

	P	W	D	L	F	A
Scotland	3	3	0	0	10	1
England	3	2	0	1	12	2
Wales	3	1	0	2	7	8
Ireland	3	0	0	3	1	19

Alumni A C

1910 

In their 15 year existence Alumni Athletic Club won 22 major trophies:

Primera División : 1900, 1901, 1902, 1903, 1905, 1906, 1907, 1909, 1910, 1911

National cups:
Copa de Honor Municipalidad de Buenos Aires : 1905, 1906

Copa de Competencia Jockey Club: 1907, 1908, 1909

International competitions:
Tie Cup: 1901, 1903, 1906, 1907, 1908, 1909
Copa de Honor Cousenier: 1906

Italy 1934

Pozzo and his formidable team, 9 of whom had won World Cup winners medals the previous June.
They played England at Highbury on 14.11.34.
England won a highly controversial match 3-2.

Olphie Stanfield

Olphert Stanfield was the most capped international footballer in the 19th century, becoming the first man to each 20 caps (24.02.94) and 30 caps (27.03.97).
He made his debut at 17. 

He scored 11 international goals, an Irish record that stood until 1926.

Ireland's record in the 30 matches in which Stanfield played:

W	D	L	F	A
4	3	23	43	137

Stanfield played his club football for Distillery.  Stanfield  played 181 competitive games for Distillery, scoring 178 goals. He also played in 115 friendlies, (62 goals).
In the 1888-89 season he scored hat-tricks in four consecutive games.
His domestic honours were: 

Irish League Champion 1895-96.

Irish Cup Winner 1888-89, 1893-94, 1895-96.

The Two Referee System

Sheffield Independent 15.11.34 

 Whereas nowadays we debate the use of video technology to assist referees the concern in the 1930s was that referees could not keep up with the pace of the modern game. At this time Stanley Rous, inspired by continental referees such as John Langenus, introduced the diagonal method. This now universally adopted system maximized collaboration between  the referee and linesmen.

A Schoolboys' International

The English Schools' Football Association was founded in 1904 , the idea having been proposed at that year's conference of  The National Union of Teachers.
The first schools international fixture was played between England and Wales at Walsall in 1907.
Of the 22 boys who took part 8 went on to play in The Football League. There were 2 future FA Cup winners in the Wales team, both of whom went on to represent Wales at senior level.
The lads were born in 1893-95.

 England:

W Hayne	Manchester
E Tompkins	Rushden
A Cornell	Nottingham
H Sherwin	Walsall	Sunderland, Leeds United & Barnsley
R Musgrove	Sunderland	Barnsley, Leeds United & Durham City
L Grant	Reading	Reading
A Denyer	West ham	West Ham (Southern League)  Swindon Town
E Hodgkinson	Sheffield
J Lawton	Derby	Nottingham Forest
WC Lockett	Dudley	Wolverhampton Wanderers, Northampton Town
E Taylor	Newcastle

Wales:

T. Williams	Wrexham
W. Farmer	Barry
W. Jennings	Barry	Bolton Wanderers (FA Cup winner 1923) 11 Wales caps
P. Jeans	Cardiff
S. Hughes	Wrexham
J. Fearby	Cardiff
W. Woodhall	Wrexham
E. Parr	Cardiff
J. Pryde	Wrexham
W. Saunders	Barry
F. Keenor	Cardiff	Cardiff City (FA Cup winner 1927), Crewe Alexandra 32 Wales caps

 

The England Team

England won 3-1.
It was another 4  years before  England played their first game against Scotland, in Newcastle.

Aberystwyth Town v West Bromwich Albion 1895

South Wales Daily News  26.09.95 

Jack Edwards had joined Bury from Aberystwyth  in 1894. He only made 2 league appearances. At West Bromwich he made no competitive first team appearances and returned to Aberystwyth in 1896.

England v Scotland 1899

England v Scotland, Villa Park, 08.04.1899

The England XI for this match was made up of 10 professionals and 1 amateur. These men illustrate the social gulfs that were bridged by the game in Victorian Britain.

Player 'a' is Raby Howell, of Liverpool. Howell was a Sheffield born Roma.
Player 'b' is Gilbert Oswald Smith. Smith was a Charterhouse pupil and went on to Oxford University. After graduating he played for Corinthians and Old Carthusians. He won 20 caps and scored 11 international goals in the period 1894 to 1901. 
This was the deciding match in the British Home Championships. 
In their games against Wales and Ireland Scotland had scored 15 goals and England 17! 
England ran out winners at Aston lower Grounds. G.O Smith's 20 yard lob went in off the post after 25 minutes and Settle had an easy finish after a good cross from Athersmith 5 minutes before the break. 
Hamilton pulled one back in the 52nd minute after a scrimmage had floored Jack Robinson.

GK	Jack Robinson	Southampton
FB	Harry Thickitt	Sheffield United
	Jimmy Crabtree	Aston Villa
HB	Frank Forman	Nottingham Forest
	Raby Howell	Liverpool
	Ernest Needham	Sheffield United
F	Charlie Athersmith	Aston Villa
	Steve Bloomer	Derby County
	G.O Smith	Old Carthusians
	Jimmy Settle	Bury
	Fred Forman	Nottingham Forest

GK	Ned Doig	Sunderland
FB	Nicol Smith	Glasgow Rangers
	Davie Storrier	Celtic
HB	Neil Gibson	Glasgow Rangers
	Alexander Christie	Queen’s Park
	John Robertson	Southampton
F	John Campbell	Celtic
	Robert Hamilton	Glasgow Rangers
	Robert McColl	Queen’s Park
	Hugh Morgan	Liverpool
	Jack Bell	Celtic

Netherlands 1900

Netherlands played their first international fixture in 1905. Prior to this All Netherlands select teams had played against foreign clubs and selections. Examples of  English opponents include Maidstone Church Institute Wanderers (1894), Felixstowe (1894) , English Wanderers (1896-1899) and London Caledonians (1905).
The team pictured above faced the German side Berliner F.C. Preussen on 30th December 1900.
The Netherlands won 5-1.
Headwear seems to have been de rigueur and the man standing on the far left seems to also be wearing  spectacles.
The line up:
Cramer (Ajax Leiden), Mundt (HVV), Van der Linde (RAP), Carli (HBS), Hartog (RAP), De Stoppelaar (Ajax Leiden), Jongheer Meyer (HBS), Hesselink (Vitesse), Sol (HVV), Offers (Victoria Wageningen) & Goedvriend (Vitesse).

Arthur Grimsdell

Arthur Grimsdell made his debut for Tottenham Hotspur in April 1912.
His career was interrupted by the 1914-18 war.
He had been touted as an England international as early as 1913, and played in 2 Victory Internationals in 1919, but his full international debut was delayed until 1920. He represented England 6 times, captaining on 3 occasions.
The picture shows The Prince of Wales, later King Edward VIII, meeting Arthur Grimsdell prior to the match between Spurs and Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on 16th October 1920. Spurs won 4-0. Earlier that month Spurs had beaten Chelsea 5-0 at White Hart Lane.
Grimsdell was back at the Bridge the following March, meeting King George V and the Duke of York as Tottenham won the FA Cup.