Alcock on Lancashire

Though the introduction of Association football into Lancashire about the same period as the establishment of the Cup, the first of an innumerable succession of trophies of a similar kind, was a mere coincidence and in no way connected, it is curious, considering the conspicuous part Lancashire clubs have played in the competition of late years, that their origin should have been coeval The paternity of the Association game in Lancashire may be claimed by Mr. J. C. Kay, an old Harrovian, who subsequently made himself a reputation in another branch of sport, as a lawn tennis player of no small ability, as well as manager of perhaps the best organized lawn tennis meeting in the kingdom" that which takes place annually on the ground of the Liverpool Cricket Club. Educated at Harrow, it was only natural that the primitive game in use in Lancashire should have been based very much on the eccentric admixture of different codes to which young Harrow had been used for generation after generation. The introduction of the Association game into Lancashire was, in fact, in a very great measure the work of an old Harrovian, as, some twenty years before, the initiation of the movement which practically led to the revival of football on a proper basis was to a considerable extent the work of a few keen athletes who had graduated at his School. To East Lancashire, in particular, belongs the credit of fostering the game in its infancy, as well as of assisting in the development which has resulted in making Lancashire one of the most powerful influences in Association football Bolton, I believe, was the first place which took at all kindly to the new sport, and, under Mr. Kay's watchful eye, the Harrow game, or perhaps as near a reproduction as could be devised to suit local requirements, for a time supplied all the wants of the lads who were undergoing their novitiate in football. Practice took place in the evenings, and, in fact, the game was of a very primitive kind, followed after the hard work of the day had been completed. It was not long, though, before an attempt was made to evolve something like system out of the rough efforts of these pioneers of Lancashire football. The first result of this organization, I have reason to believe, was the Bolton Wanderers club, which has outlived the many, and some of them excellent, changes through which football has gone during the last quarter of a century, and still remains a power in the land; in fact, one of the most influential combinations of the same kind in the north of England.

C.W Alcock  Football: The Association Game  (1906) 

Bolton Wanderers

C.W Alcock is correct in that it was John Charles Kay, along with his brother, who took the Harrow game to Lancashire, but it was first played at Turton, rather than Bolton.

Mr Alcock  overlooks the 'first wave' of Lancashire clubs (Turton, Darwen) who sowed the seeds that produced illustrious clubs such as Blackburn Rovers (f.1875).
Bolton Wanderers came into being in 1877, evolving from  Christ Church F.C (f.1874).

The Wanderers' Last Match

December 18th, 1883. Kennington Oval. The great Wanderers, the dominant force in early Association football, 5 time FA Cup winners, play their last ever game, the annual match with Harrow School.

Turton

Turton's ground at Tower Street, Chapeltown 

The story of football as we know it today really begins with the working classes of the industrial north of England embracing the codified football that had been refined by the public schools. This was what gave rise to the football boom, when the game began to attract audiences of tens of thousands and professionalism evolved.
It was long thought that Turton FC were the first Association Football club in Lancashire (that honour now rests with the long lost Hulme Athenaeum).  Keith Dewhurst's excellent Underdogs: The Unlikely Story of Football's First FA Cup Heroes shows us that Pre-Association football (often referred to as Folk Football) was popular in the Turton area and when organized football arrived it was courtesy of old Harrovians.
The club was formed in 1871 when local dignitaries (James Kay of Turton Tower and WT Dixon, the local schoolmaster ) had decided to introduce some order into what was already a popular diversion for the men of the area. James Kay was also inspired by the return of his 16 year old son John Charles Kay, who had been away at Harrow School.  John Charles Kay was elected captain and the club played a variant of the Harrow Rules.
It was in August 1873 that Turton Football Club voted to play exclusively by the Football Association rules. This was as a result of correspondence between John Charles Kay and CW Alcock, Kay having been keen to adopt the 'London' rules. 
Turton Football Club  was one of the original members of the Lancashire Football Association. 
J.J Bentley, a  former captain (secretary, treasurer and president)  went on to become President of the Football League and Vice-President of the Football Association and secretary of  both Bolton Wanderers and Manchester United as well as being the editor  of The Athletic News.
Turton's former home ground at Tower Street, Chapeltown is claimed to be the oldest football pitch still in use today.
Turton entered the FA Cup 3 times (1879-1881) and in 1885 the undertook a brief tour to Scotland, playing Partick (drawn)  and St Mirren (lost 2-1).

With the emergence of professionalism Turton were eclipsed by neighbours such as Darwen Blackburn Rovers and Bolton Wanderers. 

In the 1892-93 season they joined the  Lancashire Combination.

The World...1867

It's hard to imagine a time when football did not enjoy mass popularity, and unless you've ever tried to organise a works or pub team , it's equally difficult to appreciate the obstacles that Alcock, Kinnaird et al overcame in order to bring the game to a wider public.
 As Alcock himself reflected in 1880:
What was ten or fifteen years ago the recreation of a few … has now become the pursuit of thousands – an athletic exercise, carried on under a strict system … almost magnified into a profession.

The world of Association football in the 1860s and early 1870s was narrow and parochial, described in correspondence to the press as a 'local clique.'
A great sense of fun also reaches out to us across the years- these were hip young men engaged in something novel and almost esoteric.

Alcock, in particular, was always on the lookout for novelty- ultimately it was this desire that gave us both international football and the FA Cup.

In 1867 a combined Eton and Harrow team challenged The Rest of the World.
A fitting example of how the most rag tag scratch matches in which these pioneers were involved has retained a place in the annals of the Association game, for the first match , which took place on January 8th 1867 , The World (referred to in some quarters of the press as The Universe) could only muster 8 players.
The 8 who took to the field at Westminster's Vincent Square ground were:

C.W Alcock (Old Harrovians / Wanderers)

K Muir McKenzie (Old Carthusians / Wanderers)

M Muir McKenzie (Old Carthusians / Wanderers)

H.F Deacon (Civil Service)

H.G Phipps (Old Harrovians)

J.E Tayloe  (Old Westminsters)

C.M Tebbut (Wanderers)

C.G Waudby (Civil Service)

Selected but absent were:

F Lucas (Old Westminsters)

S.H West (Westminster School)

W.J Dixon (Westminster School)

The Eton Harrow line up was: A.F Kinnaird (E), E Freeth (E), C.J Thornton (E), E.L Corrie (E), E.A Owen (E), A Crompton (H) & F.R Broughton (H).

The game ended in a 2-2 draw.

The Vincent Square playing fields can still be seen in London SW1.

For the rematch, held at the same venue on 23.01.67, The World turned out only 7 players. Despite the fact that Eton and Harrow had a one man advantage The World (who were practically Old Carthusians) ran out 0-2 winners.

K Muir McKenzie (Old Carthusians / Wanderers)

M Muir McKenzie (Old Carthusians / Wanderers)

J Butter (Charterhouse School)

E.C.S Gibson (Charterhouse School)

C.E.B Nepean (Charterhouse School)

J.A Foote (Charterhouse School)

J Kirkpatrick (Civil Service)

Selected but absent were:

O.S Walford

W.J Dixon (Westminster School)

E.C Bovill                            

H.J Smith

The Eton Harrow line up was: A.F Kinnaird (E), A.L Gallus/ C.W Alcock (H), E Freeth (E), C.M Tebbut, S.T Holland, J.H Morgan, E Trower & H.F Deacon.

I note that Tebbut played both for and against The World.

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.

A.H. Chequer

This rather solemn looking cricketer should be a familiar face to all students of Association football history. 
On March 16th 1872 at The Oval The Wanderers played The Royal Engineers in the first ever FA Cup Final. Fifteen minutes into the match Wanderers' 18 year old forward Robert Walpole Sealy Vidal succeeded in dribbling the ball a considerable distance into the Engineers' territory. Vidal centered and a teammate finished off the move from an acute angle.  The goalscorer was listed on the teamsheet as A.H Chequer. 
His actual name was Morton Peto Betts, known as Monty, a 24 year old  Old Harrovian and Cambridge University student. 
Bett's pseudonym arose from his membership of Harrow Chequers, It was common in the amateur era for players to be members of a number of clubs simultaneously.  As an Old Harrovian Betts was naturally a member of their old boys' side- the Chequers, founded in 1865. 
Chequers had been drawn to play against Wanderers in the first round of the FA Cup, but had withdrawn. There has been speculation that Betts chose his rather transparent alias to avoid being 'cup-tied.' It may, however, simply have been an example of the humour of the day. I note that in one early West Kent fixture one of the forwards is listed as A Chizelhurst- Chiselhurst  being the home of the West Kent club. I  can't help but wonder if this might also have been Betts!
Betts' name crops up frequently in the sporting annals of the 1870s and 1880s.
The earliest references I have found to him as a footballer come from 1870. His name does not feature in any reports of House matches at Harrow in the years when he would have been at school. In November 1870 he appears on a Wanderers line-up. Betts was also on a shortlist to represent England in the 2nd Alcock International on November 19th, but he wasn't selected and instead appeared in the role of Umpire (discharging  his duties with commendable impartiality throughout according to the press). December 1870 sees the first mention of Betts as a West Kent player, and he also played for South vs North during that month.
An example of multiple club membership giving rise to possible divided loyalties can be seen in January 1871. West Kent played Wanderers. Betts played for West Kent. In November that year Betts represented England in the 4th Alcock International. 1871 also saw the beginning of Betts' 20 years service as a member of the Board of the Football Association .
Betts' status within the game is reflected by his captaincy in 1872 of Middlesex (for a county game vs Surrey) and of Old Harrovians vs Old Etonians. This meant that he captained teams containing such natural leaders as Alcock and Kinnaird. 
Betts also featured regularly for London in their series of matches with Sheffield, and captained London in 1877.
By now Betts had 'matured' into a goalkeeper (although he does not appear to have been Old Harrovians' regular 'keeper in the 1876-77 season). On March 3rd 1877 Betts won his one and only official England cap when he played in goal against Scotland at The Oval.
Scotland won by 3 goals to 1. Contemporary reports attributed the Scots' success to combination play. England, on the other hand, retained the old singular approach.
This match did not signal the end of Betts' involvement with the international game. In 
1885 and 1888 he appeared as an Umpire in the  England vs Scotland matches.