Of the twelve founder members of The Football League, and in the current football league,Notts County are the oldest club.
However the oldest club is Sheffield FC
The world's oldest football club
I just find this fascinating. How on earth did they let both Wednesday and United steal a march on them?
Has anyone ever seen a match involving this club?
How odd that a non-league club can attrack a crowd of nearly 20,000, playing Inter Milan in a match attended by Pélé.
Surely as a rich arab megabucks, ego-centred nutjob, this would be the club to buy.
Comments
They're hiring a new manager if anyone is interested.
As far as I know, in the early days, "Sheffield" played "London" in two-legged ties every year (one under London rules, the other unde Sheffield rules). Maybe Sheffield FC is a continuation of that Sheffield team.
As for the "London" team, I *think* the main driving force behind football in the early days in London (apart from the public schools) was what is now Blackheath RFC. That's not fact, but when I skim-read the History of the FA, they seemed to be the only London club involved in the codifying of the rules of football.
eg "The oldest man in the world"
"Blackheath had a leading role in the formation of both the Football Association and the Rugby Union.
Blackheath decided to pioneer its own code of rules during a period when almost every variation of rules were followed. Printed in 1862, these included the famous Rule 10 which said that, "Though it is lawful to hold any player in a scrimmage, this does not include attempts to throttle or strangle, which are totally opposed to the principles of the game".
Presumably the first football song was "Can we play you every week?".
The same conundrum applies, of course, to the telephone. Although there is dispute as to exactly who invented the telephone, presumably there must have been two telephones right from the outset.
Picture the scene:
*Ring, ring. Ring, ring*
"Hello. Oh, it's you again, Bell.
Yes, yes, I'm fine.
Where are you?"
Or alternatively ....
"Hello, Directory Enquiries? I need the number of a Mr A G Bell.
What's that you say?
One.
OK, thank you."
I also believe they are the oldest teams in existence hence why they played each other?
Surely the first song was ' we're by far the greatest team, the world has ever seen'
Yes - my son used to play for Cray Wanderers and they were proud of the fact that they were the second oldest football club...
Is Hallam FC still in existence - if so they are by far the oldest - I make it that they are 206 years old(!!)
No the FC only been there since 1860
While there were teams before them the Like of Sheffield and Cray Wanderers where some of the first Clubs
Worth a read if you are interested in Football history from before 1860
http://footysphere.tumblr.com/post/929371317/football-first-hundred-years-harvey
its painted in big bold black letters along the old stand at their original ground in Oxford Road, Sidcup. Pitch is like a cow field.
Exactly. I've just been reading (online) a bit of the book that Henry suggested. Sheffield FC were formed on 24th October 1857 but there were clubs playing before this.
They even had a full England international in their ranks at one point, Edgar Kail. Imagine that, a non-league team with a player in the England team.
Cray Wanderers were invite and won it.
They had no goalkeeper available that weekend and invited a north upper regular to deputise in goal.
The goalie who hadn't played for a few years saved the penalties that won the tournament.
http://www.newsshopper.co.uk/sport/8305587.Sam_s_the_man_as_Cray_win_the_Heritage_Tournament/
oh, this is charltonlife
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