Darwen FC. this represents the top four divisions of english football. I hoped that local research would be unearthed and that could also be fed into my original classification and I’m pleased that seventeen clubs have had their details changed in this edition as a result of readers contacting me with their findings. Eastbourne FC It is (at least) SIX books in one. The thoroughness of this work and the quality, depth and breadth of the content plus the sound logic of the rules of engagement mean that ‘England’s Oldest Football Clubs 1815-1889: New chronological classification of early football (Folk, School, Military, County, Rugby, & Association) must now be accepted as the definitive global source on this subject”. Founded in 1870 as one of the early Lancashire clubs. One key element in the book’s Introduction is the author’s definition of the Classification Rules used to sequence clubs in order of their foundation dates etc. The untold story. It should rightly take its place alongside the other major classics of association football literature. Thanks for reading. Oldest Clubs in England Here’s a look at the eleven oldest football clubs in England that are still in existence. Post WWII, further excellent books such as Geoffrey Green’s “The History of the Football Association” (1953), Fabian and Green’s four volume “Association Football” (Caxton, 1960), and Simon Inglis’s “League Football and the Men Who Made It” (1988) have added further detail and depth to the genre. However, QPR are actually the outcome of an 1886 merger involving Christchurch Rangers and St Jude’s Institute, although their official founding date is four years earlier to mark Christchurch’s formation.Bobby Buckle, a member of Hotspur Cricket Club, was the man chiefly responsible for the foundation of Tottenham in 1882. These Classification Rules should be accepted globally as definitive, unless and until they can be evolved by common consent. This is of course a judgement call, but one year seems eminently reasonable. I checked a couple of clubs – such as Fordingbridge Turks and was pleased to find them. Chester St Oswald’s FC The oldest continually used football ground by the same club is York Road, the home of Maidenhead United FC, who celebrate their 150th anniversary later this year. With a long history dating back to their formation in 1879, Fulham is one of the oldest clubs in England as well as in London. Yet there are bound to be errors, and there are bound to be many facts that will need revision once later research unearths new information. Sheffield Football Club is not only the oldest football club in England and in Europe, but it is also the oldest in the world. This is not a glossy volume full of coloured illustrations like the other new books mentioned earlier. Made with VIDEOSHOW. Founded under the name of Stoke Ramblers in 1863, the club changed its name to Stoke City after Stoke-on-Trent was granted city status in 1925. Author of Erbstein: The Triumph and Tragedy of Football’s Forgotten Pioneer. The oldest football club in England is Sheffield F.C., originally from the city of Sheffield, South Yorkshire, although now based in the town of Dronfield, Derbyshire (between Sheffield and Chesterfield). It’s eleven rather than ten because many of them were formed in the same year as each other, which also means they’re not in an exact order… Number Eleven: Port Vale - 1876 Global Professorial Fellow, University of Edinburgh Academy of Sport In my view, this classification acts as one of the key texts that should be required reading for students interested in the history of football. Among their honors are one EFL title, two FA Cups, four League Cups, and one In the beginning the global game, as we now know it, was first organised around 1857, with England recognised as the source of the world’s oldest football clubs. The Cottagers have enjoyed reasonable success throughout their history, winning the Football League Division One in the 2000/1 year before going on to mix with the Premier League’s best teams for many years. Wimborne FC The oldest professional football club in the world, Notts County were founded in 1862 and have been trailblazers for the game ever since their genesis 147 years ago. It should rightly take its place alongside the other major classics of association football literature. al, 1939) are all pre-WWII books which have been described as the classics of football literature. Senior Special Projects Editor, International Journal of the History of Sport. “My main problem in attempting to review this new publication has been to decide exactly what it is I am reviewing. The Maidenhead FC part of the club were founded in December 1870 and were one of 15 clubs that originally entered the FA Cup in 1871. He shares the images of his collection on Twitter using the handle @notinSeddon. Between 1888 to 2014, they've played more Football League matches than any … Chapter Six: A Chronological Classification of Association football clubs (1857 -1889). The Foot-Ball Club of Edinburgh was the first documented club (as well as the first to call itself such) and existed from 1824 to 1841, while the oldest continuous club is the one formed by the staffs of Kings, Grey’s, and St. Thomas’s hospitals which formed in 1843. Sheffield F.C. Aston Villa was formed by William McGregor. The Notts County Football Club is the oldest association football club currently playing at the professional level. The game between these two clubs is called the Rules derby. You will not be able to forward the book in its entirety in order to protect my copyright). Since the RFU was only established in 1871, a number of clubs pre-dated it by several years, as indeed did Alcock’s Annual. I would argue this work goes beyond being a chronological classification. Sheffield Football Club is the oldest football club in the world, dating back to the fall of 1857. Nelson FC Oldest Grounds Oldest Grounds. You have managed to compile so much original documentation…it will be a necessity for all football historians. The amount of time, effort and rigorous research which has gone into the project is clear to see from the first page to the last. The following clubs’ information has changed in this edition and the people who produced this new information are gratefully acknowledged at the end of the book: Barton Town FC The seven chapters deal with distinct elements of English football but in a manner that ensures they are interlinked. The club was originally known as Stoke Ramblers. They currently play in the Northern Premier League Division One South. For many years, club histories in print and online just repeated the same historical facts that had been passed down through the years, with little scrutiny. The answer is of course “No I haven’t”, as a large proportion of them are books for reference, which can be dipped into on a continuous basis when exploring the history of the game. Westby makes reference to this and also dispels some of the more persistent myths around club foundation dates. In 1855, members of a Sheffield cricket club organised an informal kick-abouts without any official rules. That may sound a trivial observation, but the reality is that this has been a very difficult task given the breadth of the subject matter, and the complexity of the analysis contained within the volume. Chapter Seven: Clarification and detail on a selection of prominent English Association Football Clubs. Alcock himself was a crucial figure in the development of both codes and later corresponded with the RFU Secretary each year to ensure that the rugby clubs listed in his book included the year in which they became affiliated with the union. With the new information gleaned from Alcock’s Football Annuals and the new club histories written with the help of the BNA, historians are now revisiting old facts and re-examining their accuracy. Stockport FC Founded in 1860, it is second only to local rivals Sheffield FC in the list of the oldest football clubs in the world. The World Rugby Museum regularly receives correspondence from all over the world from clubs seeking approval for their claim to having been the first, either in their country or region. If however you prefer the feel of a printed book then that includes the PDF option free of charge. No sooner has one been compiled then a dusty piece of microfilm reveals another long-forgotten claim, Brighton Shoeflies are forced to adjust their website and a scuffle breaks out on Wikipedia. That is a very complex subject, and this is the first time that well-structured rules have been proposed for such an effort. The worst football teams to follow in England have been named and shamed today. It is an English football club from Sheffield, South Yorkshire. It is an endeavour that is often clouded by contradictory evidence and unsupported claims, which makes the drawing up of lists very difficult. Professional football didn’t … As a specialist book collector, I am in awe of many of the major works celebrating overall association football history which were produced in times gone by. This allows for the reader to follow the flow and contextualise the themes of the book. This edition has now sold out and in the summer of 2020 I produced an updated 640 page second edition, and that is what is now for sale from this site. Bury St. Edmunds FC We want to hear from you! It is now THE major reference work for anyone who wants to investigate the history of any of the six topics mentioned in the paragraph above. “Once again Martin Westby takes us on a journey into the depths of football history where no other historian has dared to go. He is Britain’s (if not the world’s) leading custodian of Association football literature from the very beginnings in 1874 until the present day. At the end of five years’ research, I was left with over 5,000 pages of data and in 2017 I decided to extract all the research that applied purely to Sheffield and published a book called ‘A History of Sheffield Football 1857-1889: Speed, Science and Bottom’, which is now in its second edition and is available to purchase from this website. Oldest Football Clubs in London Wanderers FC – 1857 Fulham – 1879 Royal Arsenal (the current Arsenal) – 1891 Evidence for foundation in 1863 is provided by "The Book of Football"(1905), which names four founder players, and a … Find out more on the Next Art Store football blog! The untold story. The chapter contextualises military football through the key conflicts of the period covered such as the Crimean and Boer Wars allied to societal developments. It covers a number of teams including the Royal Engineers and Aldershot FC. So many of the grand old football grounds of England have disappeared in recent years - The likes of Highbury, Maine Road and the Boleyn Ground have been consigned to history. They currently play in the Northern Premier League Division One East, at tier 8 … We are indebted to his ambition and dedication tell the full story of of footballs’ origins and pay homage to the long forgotten teams and men who laid the foundations for the our beautiful game to become what we know today.With an ever growing interest in football’s early history Martin has truly positioned himself as one of the most important football historians of our time”. One of the founding members of the Football League, the 152-year-old Potters’ home ground is the Britannia Stadium, which opened in … Brilliant stuff Martin and I would happily recommend this as a must read to anyone.” Andy Dixon Sheffield Football Club’s official historian. 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