History of Football

Football was recorded in English history in the thirteeth century but at that time it was a lawless affair with town against town chasing the ball through streets, across fields and rivers and was really a good excuse for drunkeness and a riot ( a bit like it is today ! )

In the middle of the nineteenth century the game was taken up by the Public Schools of that time, Eton, Harrow, Winchester etc with the emphasis on order, fair play, disipline and team spirit, but each school had their own rules and it was not until 1863 when a housemaster, Mr Thring at Uppingham school, published "Thrings Simplest Rules of Football" which along with the formation of several London clubs meant that it became imperative to standardise the rules.

On October 26 1863 the representatives of these London clubs met at the Freemasons Tavern in Lincoln's Inn Field, the teams represented were :- No Names of Kilburn, The War Office, Crusaders, Forest (Leytonstone), Barnes, Percival House (Blackheath), Crystal Palace, Blackheath, Kensington School, Surbiton, Charterhouse, and Blackheath Proprietary School. They decided to standardise the rules and at the same time the formation of the Football Association was carried by Eleven votes to One, the rules being published in November of that year and became known as the "London Rules."

The game slowly spread to all parts of the country and matches were organised on a inter-county friendly basis and continued like this until the 20 July 1871 when the F.A. Cup was established. Many of the clubs did not like the idea of "competition" in football and fought against it but in 1871-72 fifteen clubs took part in the first F.A. Cup Competition, the final was at the Oval in which Wanderers beat the Royal Engineers 1 - 0 before 2000 spectators. Football became more and more competitive and in July 1885 professional football was legalised by the F.A. due to the increasing number of "working class" players coming into the game and the revenue gained from increased spectator numbers.

By 1886 - 87 considering football had been widely known and played in Lancashire and the West Midlands for not much more than ten years the progress of clubs in these parts was amazing; they had quickly caught up with the Southern clubs and were now organised and playing more successful football and also had some of the most powerful voices in the organisation of the Football Association.

Football in Lancashire and the Midlands was taken very seriously indeed and it became almost a way of life similar to what is is today although in the South of the country the game was still played for fun and enjoyment. In Bolton the remark was heard " We haven't come here for fun, we've come here to play football !"

It became obvious just how influential the Northern voice was in the Football Association when in 1888, with the F.A. backing the Football League was formed, the twelve founder members being, Accrington Stanley, Aston Villa, Blackburn Rovers, Bolton Wanderers, Burnley, Derby County, Everton, Notts County, Preston North End, Stoke, West Bromwich Albion and Wolverhamton Wanderers. The first games were played on the 8 September 1888 and the Football League Committee met on the 22 November 1888 that to decide the Championship they would award 2 points for a win and 1 point for a draw.

There is no doubt that all the clubs involved found the League was a success and the number of clubs was increased to fourteen in the 1891 - 92 season, and in the following season 1892 - 93 a Second Division was formed by amalgamating with a rival league the Football Alliance. Two Alliance clubs were elected directly into the First Division with the remainder forming the new Second Division.

For the 1920 - 21 season this was repeated when the first division of the Southern League ( formed in 1894 ) became the Third Division ( South ) and in the following year a Third Division ( North ) was formed with clubs from the North Eastern, Lancashire Combination, Birmingham and District, Midland, and Central Leagues. Most of these Leagues were established in the early 1890s, all using the Football League rules as their basis.

There was little change from 1922 to 1958 when it was decided to replace the regional Third Divisions with a Third and Fourth Division, the top half of each regional division formed the Third Division and the bottom half the Fourth. The next big change took place when the clubs who would have formed the First Division in 1992 - 93 became known as the F.A. Premier League, the remaining divisions Two, Three and Four were then renumbered One, Two and Three, which is still the present formation.

Football Milestones.