National Library of Scotland

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Photo LAFAYETTE, London.

LORD KINNAIRD .
President of the Football Association,
 X

ASSOCIATIO\
FOO BA &

THE MEN WHO MADE IT

BY ALFRED GIBSON & WILLIAM PICKFORD

IN FOUR VOLUMES
i
VOL. I

FULLY ILLUSTRATED

LONDON

THE CAXTON PUBLISHING COMPANY,

84,85 & 86 CHANCERY LANE, W.C.
 7

INTRODUCTORY

'So far Association Football has had no voice commensurate with its
claims. During the last twenty years the game has developed in such
a remarkable manner that the literature on the subject has failed to
keep pace with it. No game has ever taken so deep a hold on the
public imagination. Its kingdom grows from year to year, and its thrall
extends to all sections of society. The microbe of football is more
virulent and more persistent than any other of its kind. It grows by I

what it feeds on. Once it gets into the blood nothing can root it out.
The game holds the four nations of the British Isles in bondage, and
wherever the white man is found in all parts of the world, there also
the big bounding ball holds sway. Although it has developed quickly
during the past two decades it is not amushroom growth. Its roots are
deep down in the popular heart, and so long as the Empire lasts, foot-
ball will rejoice its robust, manly, sport-loving millions. The game has
grown by leaps and bounds, but its literature is by no means equal to
the demands of its devotees. It is with the desire to supply in some
measure the urgent need of the age that this book has been produced.
Newspapers and periodicals pour their daily and weekly contributions
on the game in asteady avalanche, and while we recognise the great and
good work of the Press in educating and entertaining the public, there
is still much to be done, especially in the permanent form which these
volumes will assume.
The shelves of the most ardent collector of football volumes are
still attenuated even though the world has been scoured to discover
all the printed matter with covers that deals with the subject.
Therefore any objection that the libraries are overstocked is, in this
instance, not tenable. And in regard to the special province of this
work to deal with the Association game only, the scarcity of pre-
decessors is even more marked. A game that has created such a
profusion of special journals, and the great playing days of which are
illuminated by innumerable broadsheets in colour like unto the rain-
bow, devoted solely to the purveying of fact and fancy on the one topic,
in a ratio of the one to the other that need not here be discussed;
a game that has produced a mighty series `of guides, of handbooks, of
•,.

iv Introductory
manuals, of charts of an infinite variety, surely demands a somewhat
less ephemeral literature. Moreover, the playing of Association Foot-
ball under fixed re g ulations is now rapidly approaching its jubilee.
It is more than forty years since the founding of the Football Associa-
tion, and the glamour that steals over history as it recedes into the past
has begun to colour the story of this great national winter pastime. It
has had its stirring romances and its violent upheavals. But one may
now begin to view with a more impartial eye the great changes that
have taken place, to more accurately trace the causes, and more de-
finitely find the results and point the moral. This work proposes to
treat on the subject from the point of view that all sections that there
may be in the great world of Association Football should be united. Its
inspiration will be that of Burns when he wrote—
"The man's the gowd for a' that."

It is dedicated to all who love the manly game in general, and to

those who do this and who also manfully strive to keep it free from
reproach in particular. It is not written to defend the professional
side of the pastime, nor to champion that of the amateur, for there
is indeed—
"Neither East nor West,
Border, nor breed, nor birth,
When two strong men stand face to face,"

though they be but "muddied oafs at the goals."

The aim of the authors is to make "Association Football " a com-
plete work. Its scope is practically unlimited ;its kingdom universal.
It deals with every form and phase of the game from the earliest times
down to the present day. It is hoped that it will form at once a
monument for the men who have made the game, and an education
for those who are still climbing the ladder of football fame. The first
volume is of necessity largely historical, but the subsequent volumes
are mainly modern. In everything but name the book when complete
will be the Football of To-Day and To-Morrow.
We need not here give an outline of the work which is already
in the hands of the reader, especially as our prompter whispers—
"Leave the words, sir,
And jump into the meaning."

ALFRED GIBSON,
AITILLIA-M PICKFORD.
 CONTENTS

SECTION I

HISTORY OF THE GAME

CHAP. PAGE

I.TOUCHING ON THE ANTI QUITY OF THE GAME I

II .THE TRANSITION STAGE 20

III .FORMATION OF THE FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION 32

IV .THE HALCYON DAYS OF THE AMATEUR • 45

V.THE INSIDIOUS ADVENT OF THE SCOTTISH "PROFESSOR " 58

VI .THE TRIUMPH OF THE "DEMO CRACY " 71

VII .THE FIGHT FOR LEGALISED PROFESSIONALISM 81

VIII .PROFESSIONALISII BECOMES FREED FROM "STRINGENT CON-

DITIONS " . 94

I1. THE PROFESSIONAL INVASION OF THE SOUTH 103

X.TOUCHING ON RECENT LEGISLATION 119

SECTION II

HO1
V TO DEEP GOAL . ];y J.S
1'. ROBINSON . 138

SECTION III

THE FORWARD GAME . By STEPHEN BLOOMER, . 144

SECTION IV

GIANTS OF THE GAME

STEPHEN BL OOMER 15
0

JOHN GOODALL 152

ERNEST NEEDHAM 155

NICHOLAS J. ROSS .

ALEX-A-N DER S_HITH

G. 0. SMITH .

HERBERT SMITH

HUGH 'WILSON

'WALTER AR10TT
 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
I

FULL-PAGE PLATES
LO RD KINNAIRD Frontispiece

11'. I. BASSETT To face page viii

J. C. CLEGG 17 .

EN-GLAN D v. WAL ES, 1905 . 32

N EWCASTLE v. A STON VI LLA AT THE CRY STAL PALACE, 190 5 • 49

ENGLAND v. SCO TLAND, 1905, CRYS TAL PALACE (

TEN OF THE
T1,AM) „ „ 64.

FIN AL TIE CR OW D AT THE CRYSTAL PALACE 81

THE CORIN THI ANS 81

N. L. JACKSON (FOUNDER OF THE CORINTHIAN F.C.) „ 96,

F.J. WALL 113.

TOT TENH AM AND SH EFFI ELD UNITE D AT THE CRYSTAL

PALAC E (
RECORD CROWD, 114,000) 128

R. C. HAMILTON (GLASGOW RANGERS AND SCOTLAND) „ „ 133

J. GOO DALL . „ 140,

STEPHEN BLOO M ER (DERBY COUNTY AND ENGLAND) „ „ 145

R. W ALKER (H EART OF M IDLOTHIAN AND SCOTLAND) » >, 149

A. LEAK E (ASTON VILLA AND ENGLAND) . „ „ 156

ALEC SMITH (GLASGOW R ANGERS AND SCOTLAND) „ „ 160.

G. 0. SMITH . 165

VIVIAN WOODAVA RD . 172

ENGLAND v. SCOTLAND AT SHEFFIE LD. «DOIG SAVES A STINGING

SHOT" 177
q
,
A. RAISBECK (
LIVERPOOL AND SCOTLAND)

C. WR LFORD BROWN (
CORINTHIANS AND ENGLAND) „ „ 188. I
ENGLAND v. SCOTLAND AT SHEF FIELD. "A THROW IN" 19'

11'. J. OAKL EY (
CORINTHIANS AND ENGLAND) » >> 197

JOHN K. M`DOVELL (
SCOTTISH A SSOCIATION) ,. '0 4.
vii
viii List of Illustrations

ILLUSTRATIONS I1T TEXT

PAGE

H. S. RADFORD (
COUNCIL, F.A.) 5
ALFRED DAVIS (
COUNCIL, F.
A.) 12

G. WISTOW - W ALDER (
COUNCIL, F.
A.) 21
G. S. SHERRI\ GTON (
COUNCIL, F.A.) 29
A. M. FALTERS (
CORINTHIANS AND ENGLAND) J7
P. _AL WALTERS (
CORINTHIANS AND ENGLAND) 49
N. C. BAILEY (
CORINTHIANS AND ENGLAND) 53
_"T. R. MOO -
N (
CORINTHIANS AND ENGLAND) 61
DR. TINSLEY LINDLEY (
CORINTHIANS AND ENGLAND) 69
J. S. FRYER (
CAPTAIN, FULHA3i F.
C.) . 77
FULHA\I FOOTBALL TEA-11 TRAINING 85
A.TAIT (
TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR) 89
ENGLISH CUP (
TOTTE- HAm HOTSPUR V. V EST BROMWICH ALBION). 11 A HEADER'' 93
J. BREARLEY (
TOTTEN—aAm HOTSPUR) . 97
ALFRED GIBSON (11 ROVER "), JOINT- AUTHOR OF CG ASSOCIATIO\' FOOTBALL" Io -

QUEEN'S PARK RANGERS v. SOUTHAMPTON. "TAKING A PASS" Io9

PHIL KELSO (
W OOLWICH ARSENAL) I17
JOHN DICK (W OOLWICH ARSENAL) I25
QUEEN'S PARK RANGERS v. SOUTHAMPTON. "A H OT SHOT IN THE CORNER
OF THE NET " 132
ENGLAND v. SCOTLAND (
LINACRE, ENGLAND'S GOAL-BEEPER) I41
JACK ROBERTSON (
SCOTLAND AND CHELSEA) 148
FOULKE (
CHELSEA GOAL-KEEPER) . 157

SEMI-FINAL ENGLISH CUP (

MILW ALL IV. DERBY COUNTY, AT BIRMINGHAM).
°G A THROW IN BY DERBY' 165
_lIA\ CHESTER CITY v. BOLTON WANDERERS AT THE PALACE 173

ENGLAND v. SCOTLAND, 1905 181

RE-PLAYED SEMI-FINAL (
ASTON VILLA v. EVERTON). "A SMART PIECE OF HEAD
F ORK " . 189
ASTON VILLA v. N
- EWCASTLE, 1905 . 197

"Lawrence clears by a few yards a hot shot from Hall, but Hampton dashes up and scores
the second goal for the Villa."

AITKE\ (
SCOTLAND AND \EWCASTLF, UNITED) 205
A. BUICK (
PORTSMOUTH) . 213
PRESTON -NORTH E' D TEAM, 1904-5 e 22I
 ASSOCIATION FOOTBALL

SECTION I

HISTORY OF THE GAME

CHAPTER I

TOUCHING ON THE ANTI QUITY OF THE GAME

W HEN football was first played in Great Britain history gives no

certain record. Our great historians have, with a justice which the
most ardent football enthusiast of sound mind cannot deny, directed
their attention to matters affecting the national life and progress;
have twined their narratives round the dominant figures of kings,
of king makers, and king dethroners ; and even the more pertinent
Green, with his happy side-lights upon the manner of life of the
common people, appears to have ignored pastimes, probably as in-
significant, and as unworthy of mention. It is only natural that in
the pressure on the space to be allotted to weightier doings and epoch-
l making events, they had no corner to spare for a record of the mere
playing of games. Mighty deeds, revolutionary acts, and far-spreading
changes fully occupied their attention, and, engrossed in them, what
mattered it to the serious writer that the followers of Jack Cade
kicked a pig's bladder in the streets of London, or that the burgesses
of Chester and Derby held high carnival with a similar despicable
implement at Shrovetide. It was therefore left to modern writers to
search out the football records as best they might among dusty tomes
and half-forgotten volumes, and to piece together so much of the I
neglected threads as their diligence could discover. Some have done
well, but at the best there is not much to be said, and yet there is
little to be added to their researches. Ancient urn, monument, and
sci_ilpture have been examined with microscopic eagerness for the
least scrap of evidence of the antiquity of that most simple of actions,
VOL. I. A.
2 Association Football
the kicking of a ball. The minutest references to ball games have
been noted, and he would indeed be a bold man who would seek to
outvie these gropers in the past, whose pleasure it has been to
remedy the neglect of the historian. Yet it is -indeed, as the
immortal', 'foots, was wont to say, "of no consequence at all "
whether a fragment of Babylonian mural painting pointed to the pro-
bability that the lower classes of Nebuchadnezzar's era occupied their
leisure, if they had any, in ball games; whether a hoary relic from
some ransacked pyramid of the Nile proved that the ancient Egyptians
had any pastime that bore the remotest resemblance to "Soccer" ;
whether Roman soldiers in Ceesar's camps played the "harpastum " on
the lines of "Rugger" ;or whether the woad-stained and hairy aboriginal
of old England passed the cool summer evenings, his stone hatchet
handy, at the mouth of his bone-strewed cave, and, with one eye on the
landscape watchful of the sudden approach of an iguanodon of the
pre-ice age, and the other on his frolicsome boys, held a parental
brief as referee over arough-and-tumble with the skull of the late
Next-door, neighbour.
Between fact and imagination, when past ages are the study, there
is indeed but a narrow margin. It is just as likely that some form
of football was indulged in by the navvies of the 'tower of Babel in
their dinner hour, as that the employes of some Glasgow factory spend
the precious interval between a hurried meal and the sound of the
steam hooter that rectills them to their work, in side's games between
the engine-house and the iron gates. Play, the natural impulse of
the" young, whether of the lion cubs on some and Afric plain undis-
covered by the big game hunter, or of the urchins in some Whitechapel
slum, began with the first parents, and what more likely than that
the children of Adam and Eve scrambled after rolling stones, or that
the Father of Men himself threw, and the Mother of Men herself
caught, apples from the trees. Nimrod was a mighty hunter, but can
it be safely asserted that the talents that gave him such enduring
prominence were not nurtured in the play days of his youth? And
as it is certain that things that are round can be rolled, what more
easy to imagine than that things that were round have formed a part
of the frolics of the children and the youths of all ages away down
to the dim period when the "missing link" climbed the trees !
In this work there is, however, no intention to trace football back
to the world's unfolding. It is rather with the modern side of the
 Origin of the Rugby Game 3

game that it is professed to deal. And yet it would be a neglect and

an omission deserving of criticism if some outline were not drawn of
the gradual transformation of the lawless and unregulated hurly-burly
in the wake of an inflated sphere—that led kings to denounce it in
the Middle Ages—into the limited liability football club of to-day,
with its share list, its statutory meetings, and its paid officials, which,
owing allegiance to an autocratic association of such and other clubs,
itself incorporated under the Joint-Stock Companies Act, carries out
in strict form, under severe regulations and hidebound Laws, a
spectacular exhibition that can draw together an army of enthusiastic
spectators a hundred thousand strong. Therefore, to be brief, there
must be placed on record some leading facts that may be held to be.
authenticated—or else they fail to be facts—as to the rise and progress
of the game. And let it be understood that though this work deals
with the one form of ball-playing known as Association football, its
devotees have as much right to claim their share in the antiquities
of the game as any other, while conceding the obvious fact that
hands were used to pick up, grasp, and throw a ball before feet were
used to kick it. Divergent as they are in their essentials—so much so
that many decline to consider them as at all parallel games—both the
Rugby and Association followers who play with a ball of leather
encasing one of rubber owe their origin to the same causes.
There is to be seen in the famous garden wall of the headmaster's
house at Rugby School, overlooking the playing fields or "close," the
following interesting tablet :—

This Stone
Commemorates the Exploit of
WILLIAM WEBB ELLIS,
Who with a fine disregard for the rules of
Football,
As played in his time,
First took the ball in his arms and ran with it, i
Thus originating the distinctive feature of
The Rugby game,
A.D. 1823.

If this be the accepted origin of the Rugby game it was a diver-

gence from the beaten track of great moment, but the probabilities
are that the .London 'prentices used every portion of their anatomy
in their violent scrambles in the narrow streets of the Chepe, and
i

4 Association Football
that both the Ru gby and the Association games as known to-clay are
branches from the common trunk - which, •Yith their vigorous g rowth,
ceased itself to flourish and is only found in isolated quarters. For
it is recorded that in the "sixties "Sheffield footballers, who eschewed
handling the ball, carried half-crowns, one in each hand, as a
reminder to them to keep them idle, and as an inducement to them
to play the simple game. Surely a stone should be erected to their
memory also!

SOME OLD TRADITIONS

Great Britain may not have been the birthplace of football, but
it was most surely its nursery and its home. Roman cohorts may
have planted the seed ; if so it was planted in good soil, for the
temperament of these islanders v-as ever for rough and vigorous bodily
exercise. It is true perhaps that the Saxon Thanes and the Norman
Dukes may have considered the football of their day undignified
and wanting in chivalry, but the yeoman and the burgher loved it
deeply. It found no place in the annals of knight-errantry, but it
found a warm corner in the breasts of the common people.- Rough
and ready it was as were the bow and pike men v-ho won Agincourt
and Crecy. It was beloved of the churl and the ploughman, and
at all times the "lower orders" received it gladly. Interdicted
by monarchs, it defied the law; fulminated against by prelates, it
survived the onslaught; attacked by the pens of the writers, it out-
lived them all. Outlawed it flourished ; criticised it grew. It
entered into the very life-blood of the most virile race on earth, and
has been carried to the four corners of the globe. With equal vigour
it inflames the bosoms of those who dwell under the Southern Cross
as of those who see the Milky Way over their heads of a starlight
night.
Dealing then simply with the game as indigenous or as nurtured
in Great Britain, there are many reliable records that show what a
great hold football had on the nation, and bow it has been incor- t
porated into its very fibre for many centuries. tl
The old traditions of Chester that football originated there in V
Saxon times, from the gleeful kicking through its streets of the heads Ii
of conquered Danes, may be put on one side, as also the belief that
exists in Derby to this day that football was established there to Sc
 Edward II. Forbids the Game
celebrate the victory of atroop of British warriors who, in 217 A.D.,
outnumbered an unlucky Roman cohort and forced it out of the
ancient gates, in spite of the
testimony of Glover in his 1

"History of Derby," that

"the origin of this violent
game is lost in antiquity, y
and that "the faction fights
over the ball between the A.

,k Tk

ecclesiastical districts of Derby:.. ;,

are said to have been in vogue
from about 217 (when the ;
Roman troops were slain) until Y .

For more reliable evidence t

: N rt
of the existence of the game
the Saxon period must be
.. fk► t,

1,)r1 red
- and a century of r

Norman occupation passed.

Then there is the credible
record of Fitz-Stephen that ` ,= r

in 1175 the London s ch oo l- 4,h1``

boys commenced to play foot-

ball after dinner on Shrove Photo: Phillips 61 Co., Leicester

Tuesday, and for many years x. s. RADFORD

after it was the custom for Council, F.A.

the boys to have a full afternoon's football on Shrove Tuesday in the

London Fields.

THE DAWN OF REPRESSIVE LEGISLATION

Some people are fond of dilating upon the repressive legislation

of that autocratic body, The Football Association, but in the four-
teenth century the game appears to have so attracted the notice of
the authorities, that in 13 14 Edward II. forbade it altogether, "owing
to the evil that might arise through many people hustling together."
It is plain that schoolboys alone did not create such disturbances as
would arouse the wrath of monarchs, and there must have been
somethin g serious taking place, for Edward III. found reason to
6 Association Football
enact a law against football and similar "foolish games," and it was
partly due, no doubt, to the fact that in the fourteenth century, as in
the nineteenth, the young men took greater delight in the aimless
pursuit of a bladder than in fitting preparation in the arts of war.
Just as Rudyard Kipling during the Boer War criticised the
"flannelled fools " and the "muddied oafs," so the warlike Edward
felt that at all costs he must have a nation trained to archery and
not to "useless games." In 1389 Richard II. passed another Act to
prohibit football playing, and with special reference to encouraging
archery, and the Act was re-enacted and re-enforced by Henry IV.
in 1401, and later by Henry VIII. Some of these ancient documents
have been unearthed and translated for our benefit. The proclama-
tion of Edward II. was as follows :—

"Forasmuch as there is great, noise in the city caused by hustling

over large balls, from which many evils may arise, which God forbid,
we command and forbid on behalf of the Ding, on pain of imprison-
ment, such game to be used in the .
city in future."
What Edward II. would think of the orderly gathering of a hun-
dred thousand people to the Final Tie of the Cup at the outskirts of
the "City," of the football editions, the special excursions, and the
wonderful excitement of the occasion, is only fit for conjecture,
Nor were the Scottish kings at all behind their southern rivals in
the endeavour to "scotch" the sport, for Sir Thomas Thornton, the
town clerk of Dundee, speaking some time ago at a football club
bazaar, reminded his audience that football is to this day forbidden
by Scottish law, and that there is still unrepealed an Act of Parlia-
ment dating from the reign of James I. (of Scotland) enacting that
"no man shall play football hereafter, under apenalty."
James III. tried in vain to extirpate the game, and in 1458 ordered
that "it be utterly put down." But it was not to be, for it is
recorded that in 1497 the High Treasurer to James IV. paid two
shillings to Game Dog for "fut balles " for the king, for a game
played at Stirling in the month of April. So that the king himself
was. not a keeper of his father's laws, and with such a sad example
how could the people be expected to forego their already national
pastime? In spite of laws and "enactments, football playing grew in
favour. Queen Elizabeth proclaimed in 1572 that "no football play
be used or suffered within the City of London and the liberties
 Playing on Sunday 7
thereof upon pain of imprisonment"; and it was repeated in 1581.
Elsewhere the sedate elders had been doing their best to extinguish
the popular enthusiasm. For playing football on a Sunday in 1579
John Wonkell, of Durham County, was sent to prison for aweek and
had to do penance in church. According to Sir Thomas Elyot of the
same period, "foote balle was a pastime to be utterly objected by all
noble men, the game giving no pleasure, but beastlie furie and
violence."

"A FRIENDLIE KIND OF FIGHTING"

The eminent antiquary Stubbs says :—

"Concerning football playing, I protest unto you it may rather
be called a friendlie kind of fighting than recreation. For, doth not
every one lye in waight for his adversarie, seeking to overthrow him
and pick him on his nose, though it be on hard stones, in ditch or
dale, or whatsoever place it be he careth not, so be he have him
down. And he that can serve the most of this, he is counted the
only fellow, and who but he. So that by this means sometimes their
necks are broken, sometimes their backs or legs, sometimes their
noses gush out with blood, and sometimes their eyes start out. And
no mervaille, for they dash him against the hart with their elbows,
butt him under the short ribs with gripped fists, and ahundred such
murthering devices."
A writer of the Elizabethan period describes the football as played
by the London 'prentices and their companions in Crooked Lane,
Covent Garden, the Strand, and Cheapside, as "a bloodie and mur-
thering practice rather than . a felowly sport or pastime." In fact it
is plain that this early progenitor of our present game was not a
thing to be much admired. In 1583 the end of the world was pre-
dicted on the ground that football "and other devilish pastimes were
played on the Sabbath," "causing necks, legs, backs, and arms to be
broken, eyes to start out, and noses to gush out with blood."
The Manchester Court Leet Records of October 12, 16o8, contain
the following resolution : "That whereas there bath bene heretofore
great disorder in our toune of Manchestr, and the inhabitants thereof
greatelye wronged and charged with makings and the amendinge of
their glasse windows broken yearelye and spoyled by a companye
of lewd and disordered p'sons vsinge that unlawfull exercise of play-
inge with the ffoteball in ye streets of the said toune, breaking many
 Association Football
men's windowes and glasse at theire plesures, and other greate
inormyties. Therefore wee of this jurye doe order that no maner of
p'sons hereafter shall playe or vse the footeball in any street within
the said toune of Manchester subpoend to euye [every] one that shall
so vse the same for euye time xijd." It is of interest to note that
when the Final Tie of the Cup was played at Fallowfield 285 years later
in the same city between Wolverhampton Wanderers and Everton, the
crowd of 45,000 who broke into the enclosure behaved themselves in
all other respects in aseemly manner. For though standing ten deep
round the touch-line the game was played and concluded without
trouble or delay, and counted as amatch. Surely in the long interval
Manchester people had redeemed their characters. The breaking in
of the crowd was an accident, the temptation to crush in closer to the
play was too much for almost any man, but once on the limits of the
field of play the whitewash mark of the touch-lines was sacred to
the feet of the Lancashire spectators and the line was kept to the
very end.

OLIVER CROMWELL A FOOTBALL PLAYER

There must have been something in the atmosphere of the Tudor

and the Stuart epochs that fed football as oil feeds the flames, but the
Commonwealth saw a temporary decline. It was among the many
sports that the Puritans looked upon askance. And yet even the
Lord Protector himself knew of the game and had played it, for one
of Cromwell's experiences at football is given in an interesting letter
from the Rev. Cotton Mather, D.D., to Mr. George Vaughan, January 3,
1700:-' - 'l have heard that when he (the Rev. John Wheelwright)

was a young spark at the university, he was noted for a more than
ordinary stroke at wrestling, and that afterwards waiting on Crom-
well, with whom he had been contemporary, Cromwell declared unto
the gentlemen then about him, that he could remember the times he
had been more afraid of meeting this gentleman at football than of
anything else since in the field, as he was infallibly sure of being
tripped up by him."
With the Restoration the game broke out with renewed violence,
and some of the descriptions of how it was played read more like
battles between heathen tribes than the sport of intelligent and fairly
civilised men.
 When Hacking was Lawful g

Pepys in his Diary describes how in the great frost of January

1565 "the streets were full of footballs." Two years later the roar
of the Dutch fleet's guns in the Thames put a momentary pause to
the game, and the 'prentices of London, so wrote a contemporary
poet—
"Contemn the humble play
Of rap or football on a holiday
In Finsbury Fields. No; 'tis their brave intent
Wisely t'advise the King and Parliament."

Ding Charles II., indeed, so far sanctioned the people's sport that
after the Habeas Corpus Act was passed he attended a match between
his servants and those of the Duke of Albemarle,and expressed much
delight with the game. One is irresistibly reminded of the visit of
Ding Edward VII., when Prince of Wales, to see the Preston North
Ind team in their prime , how Major Sudell , the famous organiser,
had an interview with royalty, and how "Nick"
Nick " Ross, as impertur-
bable as in any cup tie,explained to the Prince the use of the shin-
guards.
It may be noted that in 1711 a certain Tom Short played so
well in a match, as mentioned in the Spectatov, near the estate of
Sir Roger de Coverley,"that most people seem to agree that it was
impossible that he should remain a bachelor until the next wake."
There are in these days some who make such heroes of the back or
forward of the hour that there is ground for wonder, but it has not
yet come to be an accepted fact that the bestowal of an International
Cap is the sure precursor of offers of marriage. Still, there is no doubt
that proficiency in football has had its bearing on the matrimonial
market. Football, it is clear, was played less viciously than it had
been, and was slowly resolving itself into rule and method, though
they were meagre and irregular. Thus in 1Soo it is noticeable that the
game was often played with an equal number of players on each side,
with goals 2 feet to 3 feet wide, but until a recent period hacking
each others' shins was a.lawful part of the game!
•
1ti

A HUNDRED YEARS AGO

It is interesting to note that a hundred years ago the goals were

from So to 1oo yards apart, and that the ball was made of a blown
bladder encased in leather.
 Yo Association Football
In 1815 Sir Walter Scott, Sheriff of Ettrick Forest, backed his
men in a football match against the Earl of Home's Yarrow players,
and each gentleman wrote a song. Sir Walter Scott says in his "Lay
of the Last Minstrel "—
"Some drive the jolly bowl about,
With dice and draughts some close the day,
And some with many amerry shout,
In riot, revelry and rout,
Pursue the football play."

The match is famous for the description of it by the author of

cc Waverley," who wrote—
"The appearance of the various parties, marching from their
different glens to the place of rendezvous, with pipes playing and
loud acclamations, carried baek the coldest imagination to the old
times when the Foresters assembled with a less peaceable purpose of
invading the English territory or defending their own."
According to another report we are told that "Master Walter
Scott (the younger), of Abbotsford, at that time a boy of thirteen,
rode round the field waving the old Buccleuch banner, after which
the Duke of Buccleuch himself threw up the ball, and the struggle
began. Amongst the heaving mass two stalwart Selkirk men were to
be seen. One of them eventually got the ball and threw it to the
other, who, not being so much in the thick of the fight, ran off
as hard as he could towards the woods of Bow Hill, intending, albeit
by along circuit, to reach the Yarrow goal, and thus bring victory to
his side. He would doubtless have succeeded had not a horseman
run him down; and so keen was the excitement that the mounted
man had some difficulty in getting away from the infuriated players;
indeed, Lord Home said he would have shot the rider if agun had been
handy.. ..The match was atie, no goal being scored on either side."
In Sir Walter Scott's "Lay of the Last Minstrel "football is referred
to, the English and Scotch soldiers being engaged in the "merry
football play " in afew hours' cessation from skirmishing on the eve of
battle.
Then we have Sir Walter's advice in verse—
"Then strip, lads, and to it, though sharp be the weather,
And if, by mischance, you should happen to fall,
There are worse things in life than a tumble in heather,
And life is itself but agame at football."

I
1
 In Derby a Century Ago 11 s
In IIone's "Every-day Book "a description is given of "Football
Day" in 18 15 at Kingston-on-Thames :—` ` A traveller journeying to
Hampton Court by coach was not a little amused, upon entering Ted-
dington, to see all the inhabitants securing the glass of all their front
windows from the ground to the roof, some by placing hurdles before I
them, and some by nailing laths across the frames. There were
several balls in .Kingston, and of course several parties. I observed
some persons of respectability following the ball ;the game lasts about
four hours, when the parties retire to the public-houses." In the
same book a correspondent tells of how football was played in his
village, in the west country, before church-time on Sundays, the venue
being the Church piece.
In a volume of records published in 1829, it is written that the
game was played in Derbyshire at the commencement of the present
century. It says: "The contest lies between the parishes of St.
Peter's and All Saints, and the goals to which the ball is taken are
Nun's Mill for the latter, and the Gallow's Bank on the Normanton
Road for the former." The account concludes with a report of the
damage.
"The struggle to obtain the ball, which is carried in the arms of
those who have possessed themselves of it, is then violent, and the
motion of the human tide, moving to and fro without the least regard
to consequences, is tremendous. Broken shins, broken heads, torn
coats, and lost hats "—mere details—" are amongst the minor inci-
dents of this fearful contest, and it frequently happens that persons
fall, owing to the intensity of the pressure, fainting and bleeding
beneath the feet of the surrounding mob. The shops are closed, and
the town presents the aspect of a place suddenly taken by storm."
In the town of Derby the ball used to be kicked off actually in
the market-place, where there was considered to be ample room, and
thence driven through the narrow side streets at the will of the
strongest players; but matters got so rough that it was found neces-
sary to forbid the sport altogether. At Ashbourne, in the same county,
the game was long kept up on Shrove Tuesday. The hill referred to in
the lines—
•• Adown thy hill, romantic Ashbourne, glides i
The Derby Dilly with its four insides,"

has seen many a tough struggle. The ball was started at the Green
Man, one of the old-fashioned, cosy, homelike hostelries which are, sad

i
 Association Football
to say, every clay growing scarcer in the land. In one of the rooms
of this inn hangs, or did a few years ago, a smoke-dried old painting
representing a football tussle on a Pancake Tuesday some half-century
ago. The scene was the
r market -place, and the fun
was watched by groups of men
who -
were probably the shining
lights of the place. It has
been said that the figures of
r, the bystanders were actually
portraits.
- R
The Corporation of King-
ston made an effort to stop
Shrove Tuesday .football about
- • that time but the ud•es con-
.
t 5 firmed the right to the game.
kt "' Seldom indeed has the game
L F found its way into the Law
„;.:
~;
`~"• r'' °•
o Courts save in the triflin
_.... 0,

r `•a V ZD
matter of boys kicking balls
about in the public streets to
the annoyance of passersby.
The Football Association, in-
deed, holds that its rules are
Photo: Scott Smith, Great Marlow sufficient for every purpose of
ALFRED DAMS government, and that resort
Council, F.A . to the law should not be made
without the permission of the
Council. That, of course, would not prevent people outside its authority
taking action on their own account.
Moor wrote in 182 :"Each party had two goals, Io or 15 yards (?)
apart. ...An indifferent (sic) spectator throws up a ball the size
of a cricket ball midway between the confronted players and makes
his escape. The rush is to catch the falling ball. He who first can
catch or seize it speeds home. ...If in danger of being held he throws
the ball to some less beleaguered friend more free and more in breath
than himself. ... Sometimes a large football was used ; the game
was then called 'kicking camp,' and, if played with shoes on, 'savage
camp.' "
 The Poets on the Game
And so the approach to modern times is made. In the fifties
Cumberland was the scene of many wild games, the scholars of her
schools having three days' holidays at Shrovetide for football playing.
The Cumberland players kicked or carried the ball, as witness the
quotation from asong of the period—

At Scales, great Tom Barnes got the ba' in his hand,

And t' wives all ran out and shouted and banned.
Tom Cowan then pulched and Hang him 'mang t' whins
And he bleddered, `Od—white—te !'tou's broken my shins. "'

There seems to have been no spot, however remote, without its

football. Things got to a lively pitch in 186o at Ashbourne, Derby-
shire, for in that year some of the natives were convicted for "riotous
assembly" in connection with the Shrove Tuesday football disturbances.
Royal Oak Day used to be celebrated with fierce revels at Tong Fold
Fair, whence started the football matches on the highroad between
Bolton and Bury. A local poet makes one of his characters, an Irish-
man, say—
If thou one wild audacious sport didst see,
The mighty mob appears as fierce as we,
Where each with lofty look the law disdains;
For once Isaw the old Boltonian swains,
With wooden shoes, with iron plated strong,
Fierce o'er the, rattling pavement roll along;
A bladder pent in leathern case
Was tossed aloft; a smile arrayed each face.
...Clogs and crashing windows sound ;
Confusion, tumult, riot reign o'er all."

One reads of a fierce encounter in 18-o between the rival football

factions of Darwen and of Tottington on Shrove Tuesday. It appears
to have been fought to the accompaniment of wild excitement, such
as that referred to in the Derbyshire quotation, not to mention
barricaded windows. Bolton and Bury, too, were, ninety years ago,
great rivals, as they are now, and football fights took place, the
excitement and keen struggling being as great as at the present day.

SOME MODERN SURVIVALS

There are many accounts of survivals even now of the football as

it was played—but with less violence, happily—in mediaeval times. In
 14 Association Football
the Coronation year of King Edward VII. the annual struggle, called
a football match, between the "Uppies " and "Downies," took place
at Workington on Easter .Monday in the presence of from 12, 000 to
i5,00o spectators. The "goals" were about two miles apart. The
"Downies " had to get the ball (a leather sphere stuffed with cork)
over acapstan at the end of the Quay, and the task set the "Uppies "
was to throw the ball over the wall into the lull Park. There was
no referee. In past encounters several lives have been lost by
drowning, the "players " following the ball through mill-stream, river,
or harbour. Broken limbs are not uncommon. The play under notice
was no exception to the rule, unless it was that the struggle was keener
on account of it being Coronation year. Old players on both sides
who had not played for years were in the thick of it, and here and
there at the beginning were seen football club jerseys ;but they were
soon but ribbons. Over 200 players stripped for the game; some
started with only clogs, socks, and trousers on. Others wore shirts,
which were soon torn off. The ball was thrown into the crowd from
afootbridge crossing the mill stream about midway between the two
((goals." For a minute there was a struggle for the first advantage,
and the "Downies " had it. Into the stream below the bridge the
crowd plunged ;then the "Uppies " made progress. After a quarter
of an hour's keen fight' in the water, the ball got amongst the outsiders,
u and there was a smart run "up." Then a sleeper fence was rushed,
and sleepers, men, and ball rolled into the water. The struggle here
lasted half an hour, first one side then the other having the advantage.
While the ball was on terra firma for a brief period a couple of police-
men got mixed up with the crowd of half-naked players, to the great
amusement of the spectators. Gradually the "Downies " gained the
supremacy; yard by yard they worked their way towards the starting-
place, amid yells of "Up wid hur," and "Down wid hur." There was
never a more exciting competition in the memory of those living.
The "Uppies "were reinforced, and slowly but surely approached their
goal in the cricket field. Fresh players joined in, and aterrific struggle
took place without either side having advantage, which lasted until
dark, when the ball was lost. Subsequently both sides claimed the
victory, and next morning two sets of players, each with a ball which
they said was the. Coronation ball, were parading the town.
The town of St. Colomb in Cornwall boasts of the only survival
,of what was once a very popular game, the origin of - which is buried

1
 On the. House-tops 15

in obscurity. It is called "Hurl," but it is different from the Gaelic

national game, which it resembles in name in that the rules which
govern the latter are conspicuous by their absence. On Shrove
Tuesday the first match of the year is contested. The number of
hurlers or players engaged in championing the cause of the two sides,
town and country, is unlimited. A ball similar in size to that used
in cricket, but made of a wooden block around which a thick coating
of silver is placed, and two goals about two miles apart, are the only
requirements of the game. To each side is allotted a goal, and to
become the holder of the trophy until the next "hurl," a person has
either to place it in the stone trough of his side, or to carry it over
the parish boundaries. At 4.15 on the "Feast of Pancakes "the ball
is "called up" by the person who secured it at the last encounter.
This simply means a gathering of opposing factions around the holder,
and the giving of three cheers as a signal that the contest will soon
begin. Business has for a time been abandoned, shops barricaded,
and rich and poor, young and old of both sexes eagerly anticipate the
coming fray. Every point of vantage is occupied by the fair sex
or visitors, whilst all but the infirm amongst the sterner sex join the
encounter. The tension is relieved at 4.3o by the ball being thrown
in the air, a general scramble to secure it following; then by short
deals, varied occasionally by long throws, it is taken up and down
the narrow streets. Probably it gets lodged on the roof of a house
as the result of a higher throw than usual, but that only serves as a
moment's pause, for the rain-water pipes are climbed, and the ball is
quickly secured. It is not an unusual occurrence for it to be thrown
through a window, but the inhabitant allows a member of each side
to enter, without a murmur, the particular room, and never dreams
of claiming damages for the breakages even should the guilty person
be known. To refuse to allow the search would be but to court a
storming of the premises. After the game has proceeded for an hour
the ball is generally carried towards the fields, and the number of
hurlers dwindles, although it is only then that the actual struggle
begins. Field after field, and often mile after mile is covered before
the competition is finally decided, and the result is always a matter
of speculation until the victor "calls up "the ball at 8P.m. Accidents ;,';
sometimes occur, but considering the dense crowd packed into the
narrow, winding streets, they are indeed few, and rarely serious. The
game somewhat resembles football under the Rugby code, but whilst
 16 Association Football
possessing all its dangerous elements, it lacks its stringent rules and
referee to restrain the players.
From times beyond the memory of man football has been played
at Swanage as a part of the annual Shrove Tuesday ceremonials of
the ancient guild of "marblers." Here is an account of agame played
in the year 1902 :-
"At the quaint old-world village of Corfe Castle, Shrove Tuesday
is one of the most important and interesting days of the year, and
consequently any one visiting Corfe on Tuesday would have been struck
with the unusual air of alacrity and importance with which the
inhabitants were invested. The reason was not far to seek. It
was the annual celebration of carrying out the requirements of an
ancient Charter granted to the `marblers ' of Purbeck, known as
the Queen Anne Charter, where by this ancient institution the 'free'
men in the stone trade are allowed on certain conditions to open
quarries and also to despatch their stone by sea. The quarrymen
assembled in the queer old reading-room, and a burly custodian kept
out all curious people who had no right to be present at the delibera-
tions. The number of lads who were to be made 'free' was fourteen,
and the sightseer was presently gratified by the sight
zn of these youths
coming out of the meeting-room. They went to a small public-house
opposite, and soon returned, each armed with a quart of beer and a
small loaf, and with some chaffing among themselves and the spectators
they once more disappeared inside the portals of the mysterious
'Charter' room. Emerging again soon after, these new aspirants
to the honour of being quarrymen under the old Charter began to
walk in the direction of the fields known as the 'Halves,' where it
was their duty to kick about a football, which one of them held
concealed under his coat. One of them told our representative,
rather dubiously, that they had to kick about the ball, whilst their
seniors stayed behind to drink the beer, which, together with a loaf
and 7s. 6d., constitute the initiation fee for a candidate. On arrival
at the field, followed by a small crowd of boys and others, the new
members kicked off the football, but the boys and lads of the town,
who had evidently come out with the intention of so doing, got
possession of the ball and raced round the field with it, with the
indignant members bringing up the rear. When the ball was again
secured a fight seemed imminent, but eventually all were pacified,
and a return journey to the meeting-room was made. Not the least

,ti
 Every Cork Worth a Glass of Beer 17

funny part was the sight of an enthusiastic camera 'fiend,' who vainly
endeavoured to get near enough to the football scrimmage to secure a
`snapshot.' The meeting lasted for some time, and afterwards small
parties of ` marblers' scattered all over the town. The custom is some-
what dying out, possibly with the decline of the stone trade, for in the
old times the football used to be kicked through the streets."
A tolerably recent game at Nuneaton is thus described:—
The tradesmen having judiciously put up their shutters, the fun
began, and it seemed as if every able-bodied male in the place took
some part in it. The game was about one of the noisiest Iever s"aw.
Up one street, down another, the ball was driven, until it was landed
in the market-place, where there was ample room for all the players.
I
But it did not stop there long ;a big young fellow got it away into
one of the side streets, and then it just appeared as if pandemonium
had broken loose. I stayed in the town some hours longer, but the
game had not finished when Ileft."
And the following equally recent account will be read with interest :—
`` In some of the northern villages the pancake football is made
with great ceremony. As I have been told, the following` is the
way: A certain sum of money is begged or subscribed, and with
it used bottle corks are bought from the innkeepers of the place
at a certain fixed figure, say a halfpenny or a penny each. These
corks are put into a stout bag, and this again is covered with other
strong materials, so as to make its lasting qualities as good as
possible. This forms the 'ball,' which is a good deal larger than
the one used in either the Rugby or Association game—in fact, a
`crack' would turn up his nose at the idea of kicking such a thing
at all. The inhabitants are formed into two sides in avery arbitrary
manner, and the ball is thrown up. The strife continues until the
coverings burst and the corks escape, and then all thought of the
game is lost in the struggle for the bottle plugs. It will not need
any words of mine to make my readers imagine what the scene is
like. A couple of hundred thirsty men fightin g for twenty or thirty
or forty old corks, higgledy-piggledy on the ground together, will at
all events make a curious picture, and one very seldom met with
nowadays. But why all this fighting when the game is over? some-
body asks. The reason is that every coi-k is worth a glass of leer.
The holder of a cork takin g it to the inn gets for it a gill of ale..
That is the secret of the struggle. But I fancy I hear my critic
VOL. 1, B
18 Association Football
say, How are the innkeepers to know whether the players bring
the right corks? This I cannot answer, but I suppose when they
have redeemed the same number of corks they were originally paid
for they will cry `Hold ! enough!' or perchance they will strain a
point, and draw a thirst-quencher for an old customer, with the full
knowledge that they will be amply recouped by what he afterwards
drinks and pays for."
And it is only a few years since the following extraordinary
disturbance took place at Dorking, with atruly modern sequel:—
Shrove Tuesday saw tumultuous scenes at Dorking, as the result
of a determined attempt on the part of the Surrey County Council
to put an end to a custom which has been recognised for several
centuries, viz. that of playing football in the main streets on Shrove
Tuesday. While many favoured a discontinuance of the custom on
the ground of its being detrimental to the interests of the town,
a large proportion of the townspeople—including the local governing
body—favoured its maintenance. A force of a hundred members
of the Surrey County Constabulary was drafted into the town, but,
nothing daunted, the supporters of the custom made an equally
determined attempt to maintain what they considered to be their
rights. The first ball was started by a well-known townsman, and
the police made strenuous efforts to obtain possession, which they
succeeded in doing after traversing the whole of High Street with
the, crowd of many hundreds. For several hours these proceedings
were continued. No sooner had one ball been started and the police
were in hot pursuit, than another was kicked off at the opposite end
of the town. This game of see-saw was immensely relished by many
hundreds of townspeople, who lined the streets and good-naturedly
jeered the police. Towards the finish the proceedings were of amost
disorderly character; the police were very roughly treated, and pre-
sented a sorry spectacle as the result. Many of the players, too,
were more or less injured. The crowd as a rule, however, looked
upon the whole affair as ajoke.
"The Sequel.—Fifty of the townspeople of Dorking were summoned
before the Dorking magistrates for obstructing the highway on the
occasion of the annual football match held in the streets on Shrove
Tuesday. The Bench fined each of the defendants one shilling and
costs, saying the practice was `
an obstruction of the highway and
a danger to life,'"
 Introduced to the Public Schools 19

Out of chaos and pandemonium—of which these preceding extracts

give some inkling—the game shaped itself through the centuries. Out i
of the almost aimless fury of the multitudinous scrambles such as have
been recorded it became a sedate and well-ordered form of sport.
To-day the authority of the Football Association, though the title of I

that body bears the word "Limited," is practically unlimited. It holds

the scales and keeps the peace between thousands of paid performers
and the clubs that engage them. Its arms stretch out from coast to
coast. It controls with an iron hand, if gloved for the most part,
numerous county and district Associations, thousands of Leagues, and
almost innumerable clubs and players. But how this order arose out
of the chaos is another story. One fact is as plain as the proverbial
pikestaff, that the public schools were the melting-pot in which the
heterogeneous forms of play were consolidated. Introduced when and
how no man knows into the great schools, refined by a saner atmos-
phere and amore secluded arena, there arose nobler forms of the game.
There it found its regeneration and a new inspiration. But for the
public schools it might even have died away. But it was too good
for that fate, and in its fresh garb, and with the impulse of a better
organised life, it emerged from the schools to anew lease of life in the I
country. In the seething excitement of Cup and League matches, and
the keen race for pre-eminence, the part played by the public schools
should not be forgotten. And lest such a fate should overtake it, let
the fact be here recorded that to Eton, Harrow, Ruby, and their
contemporaries, the country owes the modern football that inspires it
with so great an enthusiasm.
'Thanks to the public schools, "the inglorious football " of which
Wordsworth wrote nearly acentury ago has redeemed itself, and indeed
"mounted to the pitch of the lark's flight."
 CHAPTER II

THE TRANSITION STAGE

THE point has now been arrived at when the nebulous stage of football
reached the beginning of its end, and amore precise and formal period
commenced. But between the free and easy conditions of play in the
early Victorian period and the concise formulae of its close there were
many years of transition. The undisciplined battles of Shrovetide
did not enthuse the public schools at any one particular moment.
Doubtless some form of the game specially adapted to the particular
characteristics of the arenas into which it was introduced, and under
codes of rules more or less loosely drawn according to the views of
individual masters and the temperament of the pupils, existed long
before any effort was made in the direction of amalgamation. And
it cannot but be of deep interest to the student of the game to note
by what devious ways the survival of the fittest rules was in due course
consummated. It was impossible that the disorganised rowdyism of
the ploughboys could be permitted in well-disciplined schools, there-
fore it was modified to suit the occasion. Apart from the natural
variations that were clue to the isolation of the schools, the playing
pitches also varied. In one there was ample room on level sward;
in another the play was confined in anarrow strip bounded by a high
wall, and so on. What more natural than that rules should be shaped
to meet the circumstances ? But in the main the leading principles
of the modern game can be traced in all the college games. There
were filed boundaries, fixed goals, regulations against foul play,
directions as to the manner of kicking, running, and scoring, stipula-
tions against players taking unfair positions and provision made
for the settlement of disputes and doubtful points. The following
rules that prevailed in some of the public schools in the middle of the
last century will show what great strides had been achieved in the
consolidation of the game.
That a game played so generally should also have reached the
schools at all early period is nothing to be wondered at. If the
Zo
 Poet Cowper Played the Game
London 'prentices ,
kicked a ball about the streets small wonder

that the Westminster schoolboy kicked one about in the Cloisters.

And boys who had perhaps been fired with the uproarious perform-
ances they had seen in their provincial towns were not unlikely to
introduce the play on their arrival in the more secluded precincts of
Eton or Harrow. At West-
minster School the authentic
records go back at least more
than two hundred years, for
notice is to be found of various
edicts against its once violent
forms in the archives. The _ w "
poet Cowper, who was there in
1741, for some eight years, on f r 2
a,

his own admission "excelled

at cricket and football." The »•
• r
play in
• th
e Cloisters continued
z

until the year 1820. when it

suffered atemporary lapse. In
k
the meantime the school play-
iii (r spaces were gradually en-
la rcred and play was transferred t .. 4

there, and was known as the r'

MIMIC "in green,'' that is to :-
say, on the open sward. The
Charterhouse boys played foot-
ball of some kind at a remote
Photo: Geo. A'emnes ; Ltd.
period, first in th e Cl oi
sters
U. `VI STOW WALKED
and afterwards in the open . Council, F. A.

But save that researches on the

part of enthusiasts have given many of the main features of the
methods of play, it is not anywhere shown that regular playing rules
were drawn up, not to mention printed, until the compilation of the
earlier "Football Annuals "fixed their shifting and uncertain vaga ri
es .

Thus it is, comparatively speaking, not until times within the

memory of men still living that any very definite description was
possible.
22 Association Football

SOME OF THE SCHOOLBOY RULES

Few pages in the story of the game are so delightful as those which
are devoted to a brief survey of those schoolboy rules. Their quaint-
ness and their use of curious terms carries the mind back to the
"fifties" with a refreshing vigour. Take the "Eton College rules as
played in the field "—the field—one of the famous fields of Eton on
which high warranty lays so much of the credit of the Battle of
Waterloo ?
The game lasted for an hour, and goals were changed at half-time.
That is simple enough, but what was the "bully "in the middle of the
field with which it was ordered to begin ? Even the boys themselves did
not feel quite sure about it, and so with a precocious wisdom that did
them infinite credit they left it, according to Rule 6, to the umpires,
in the sagacious phrase: "As the act of bullying cannot be defined
by any fixed rule the umpires must exercise their judgment on this
point." And, by the way, here is early mention of officials out of the
actual play, whose duty it was to decide the mid-Victorian knotty
points of the Law, for the Eton rules required the selection of two
such, one by "each party," and ordered them to take up a position by
the goals of their respective parties. It is along time ago, but history
seems to be returning in acircle, for there are many latter-day reformers
who would have goal judges appointed, and what were these umpires
but goal judges ? Eton boys called the posts "goal-sticks," ran them
up seven feet high and eleven feet apart, and a goal was assumed "if
the ball were kicked between theirs provided it be not above them."
Whether this meant that the ball must have been literally kicked to
score agoal, whether the words "above them" implied above the stick
itself, or above an imaginary line between the summits, is not clear.
Then there was a form of the game known as a "rouge." It was a
somewhat complicated process. A player had to be "bullied "by the
opposite side when kicking, and if that were done, and presumably
the umpires satisfied under Rule 6, and the ball so kicked went behind
(over the goal-line), the first player who then touched it obtained a
"rouge." This entitled him to bring the ball one yard from the
centre of the goal-sticks, somewhat fancifully equivalent to a goal-
kick taken not by the defending side but by the attackers, for which
obviously a goal could be scored. Surely the precursor of the recent
 Curious Play at Eton 23

allowance of a goal from certain free kicks of the present time.

Furthermore, to show that there is little new on the earth, a "rouge " i
could be extended after the "time for leaving off" had expired, a
provision that was some years ago applied to the existing penalty I
kick.
There was at Eton a most delicious regulation which read as
follows: "Should a player fall on the ball or crawl on his hands and
knees with the ball between his legs, the umpire must, if possible, force
him to rise, or break the 'bully' or 'rouge."' What a picture might
be drawn of the old time player, filled with a burning zeal to pierce
the enemy's lines and a fine disregard of danger, crawling painfully
along with the ball between his legs, the prey to numerous kicks and
plunges, and resisting with his utmost strength not only the unlawful
efforts of the opponents to upset him, but also the rule-sanctioned
prowess of the umpire, whose limitations are so aptly described by the
phrase "if possible." A Foulke or a Hillman, given the law under
such conditions, would have been a formidable engine of attack, while
there is no modern referee whose size and power would in the least
avail him to force an athletic nineteen stone player to rise. The
crawling method has often been adopted by goal-keepers of latter days,
and it is on record how one Doig, a champion of the Sunderland Club,
in a great match, so held the ball on the confines of his goal, and re-
sisting successfully all the efforts of the trained band of antagonists
to rob him of it for some minutes, finally rolled with it to the side
of the goal-post and safely delivered himself of his responsibilities
by pushing it over the goal-line.

ETON OBJECTED TO HANDLING

Eton in a dreamy way legislated against the use of the hands,

and so marked the incipient divergence between the Association and
Rugby codes. It was lawful to stop the ball with the hand, but not
to catch, carry, throw, or strike it. To this day the phrase remains 0
in Law 4 which allows a goal provided the ball has not been thrown,
knocked-on, nor carried by any of the attacking side, and the most
violent brain efforts of the rule reviser have failed to secure a more
comprehensive wording; but players were allowed to hit with the
hands or arms, or to use them "in any way" to push or hold one
 Association Football
of the opposite party. Such acts have long been made unlawful, but
they still survive. It is hard to kill old tendencies.
Of considerable interest to the numerous section that in these
days long for some simplification of the "off-side" law- will be the
Eton rule on the subject. `' A player is considered to be 'sneaking'
when only three, or less than three, of the opposite side are before
him and the ball behind him, and in such case he may not kick
the ball." An excellent word that, "sneaking," and would that
players of the day could be got to look upon playing off-side in
that light. It is "sneaking " to all intents and purposes, and
Eton is to be thanked for so early in the records making the fact
plain. The rule, if it \vere somewhat- transposed, seems to be the
germ of the present regulation, and the difficulty is to find a better
substitute.
It is often the case in matches on open ground where there is no
roping, that the spectators crowd close to the boundary lines, and
referees frequently have to adjudicate on the fine point as to whether
the ball would have gone out of play had some spectator not stopped
it. Fifty years ago and more the same trouble cropped up at Eton,
and it was declared that in the case of the ball rebounding off a
bystander or any other object outside the line of the sticks, it might
be kicked immediately on coming in. This may have satisfied the
boys of the "fifties," but it would hardly do nowadays, as it is to be
feared that many an aid would be given to the players by unscrupulous
supporters were it so.
The Eton rules did not define the number on each side, but that
there was some definite understanding is clear from the regulation that
a team bad to play through agame with the players who began it,
that substitutes were not allowed for one who was hurt "or other-
wise prevented." It is to be remembered that the Eton rules "were
drawn up in the year 1847 by H. R. Tremayne and A. R. Thompson,
being the 'keepers of the field,' and all honour to them."

Winchester College rules of these early times are an example of

the subjection of the open scrambles of the country to the confined
conditions allowed it in the precincts of the school. The length of
 The Fruit Garden at Winchester 25

the playing pitch was about eighty yards, but it was very narrow, not
more than about as many feet. At one time the length lines were
I
marked out with hurdles, until some inventive genius replaced them
by canvas stretched on woodwork to a height of seven feet, and
protected by arope about three feet high from being damaged by the
players. The canvas was for the purpose of keeping the ball in play,
and possibly due partly to the proximity of the arena to the head-
master's fruit-garden. If the ball hit the canvas it was still in play.
If it were kicked over, it was retrieved. At each end of this narrow
pitch astraight line was cut in the turf about an inch deep the width
of the boundaries, so that the ends themselves formed the goals, to score
which, subject to some strange exemptions, the ball had to be kicked on
abound off some part of the person of a player and over the lines cut
in the turf. An old diagram of the field of play shows a goal-keeper
at each end and five other players aside, but there were no doubt
more, as it was enacted that each side should be divided into "ups"
and "behinds," and states that there were generally two or three
"behinds "on each side, the "rest "being "ups." The latter engaged
in "hots," as they were termed, and which are described as attempt-
ing to push the ball through goal by "lowering their heads, but not
touching the ground, if they can avoid it, with either hand or knee."
Not unlike aRugby scrimmage this ! The "behinds" remained outside
the "hots " and waited for open kicks. The play lasted for an hour
and must have been very hot.
In these rules the umpires also figured, and were stationed at
opposite corners of the ground to "command a view of the length of
canvas." Their duties were defined (i) to score the goals (i.e. record
them) ;( 2) to give a decision in all cases of doubt, and—instructive

light on the beginnings of the Referee Autocrat—their decisions were

to be "final one of them had to possess a watch and to call
the time. Very good ground-work this for the future law-makers to
build upon. Players who caught the ball in the air were allowed a i
run of three yards and then akick, but it was an allowance on suffer-
aiice, for the ball could be "wrenched from them," and then the
robber had a free kick. There was provision made for bringing the
ball into play when kicked "behind," or a goal was scored, and a
strange phrase called "tagging," difficult of comprehension, probably
puzzled the old Wykehamist as it will do the reader. A "made-
flier" was the penalty for kicking the ball above the shoulder, and all
26 Association Football
that is certain about which is that it could not score agoal. "Behind
your side " was the Winchester
inchester heading for the off-side rule. No
player was allowed to stop between the ball and his adversaries' goal,
and if it were unavoidable he was not privileged to take advantage
of the accident. Strange to relate, "dribbling " was "entirely un-
lawful," and no goal could be scored in that -way. It must indeed
have been a quaint and hybrid form of the game that prohibited
dribbling, that with open ground in front seems to be a natural means
of progression, especially so as running with the ball was also
interdicted. Players were not allowed to kick or strike each other,
but could trip each other up, and when a player had the ball he
could be dragged down, but in the latter case it was unlawful "to
throttle or otherwise purposely hurt the player." There were good
points and bad ones in vogue at Winchester, as, it may be at once
admitted, in even the present popular pastime.

THE INCEPTION OF "RUGGER"

In the Rugby School game there were, of course, the elements of

the future of that code. The goals were of upright posts exceeding
eleven feet, and sixteen inches apart, with a cross-bar ten feet from
the ground. Sixteen inches apart may possibly have been a printer's
error, but it is so stated in the rules under notice, and if correct it
is hard to see how a goal could be scored more than once a year!
Otherwise the rules show at that early date a remarkable closeness
to those now in use by the Rugby Union. Certainly the changes that
have taken place since were trifling in comparison with those that
-were made in the development of the Association game. Some special
points are worth noticing. Hacking above the knee, or on it, with
the heel was declared to be "unfair," and, save in the case of Rule i8,
"no player may be hacked and held at the .same time." Turnina to
Rule 18 to see why the exemption was made, it appears that it
referred to the case of aplayer obtaining the ball in a maul, and who
refused to have it down as soon as possible. cc Any player refusing
to do so," the Rule reads, "may be hacked." Also it is worth comment
that Rule 20 forbade projecting nails, iron plates, or gutta-percha, on
the soles or heels of the boots or shoes. And in Rule 34 there is
a happy sidelight on the manner in which football in the schools
 Harrow Modifies the Game 27

had to adapt itself to circumstances, for it says: "The walk and

grass up to the wall in front of the Headmaster's House leading to
the Barby road, is in goal ;the path behind the island goal is also
in goal."
Turn now to the Harrow rules. Though there are in them few
I
of the puzzling terms found in the contemporary ones of Winchester,
no "hots," "made-fliers, " and tags," the charming inventiveness of
the British schoolboy had ample scope for originality. They called
goals "bases" and they were made of poles twelve feet in height.
There was ample room at Harrow, and the poles were pitched 150
yards apart, the width of the playing piece being i oo yards, and
in the third rule there occurs the remarkable stipulation that, "if the
first day's play result in a tie, the distance between the poles shall
be doubled." What happened if the second day's play also resulted
in a tie is not stated, but think of the subtle knowledge of things
that made such a provision for the achievement of a definite result,
that aim and object so dear to the heart. Think of 300 yards
stretching between the poles, and the elimination of those who were
not both fleet of foot and strong "i' the wind." In these days of
close and chessboard tactics, when an agile line of half-backs—masters
in every art and science of frustrating the attack—is accountable for
so many ties, some such rule as prevailed at Harrow would soon alter
the relations of forwards and halves. But no such chance of varying
the game exists, and the growing triumph of the defence seems
irresistible. It is true that that famous penetrator of the defensive
lines, the elusive and brilliant W. I. Bassett, of West Bromwich
Albion, is not satisfied that the case is as stated, but in the absence
of his return to the field in company with his henchman 1VM`Leod,
in all the powers and brilliance of his best days, it is difficult of
disproof.
With acurious inconsistency in term a player at Harrow who was
in front of the ball when it was played was described as "behind,"
the equivalent of "off-side." The rule was rather intricate, and
appeared to allow two opponents between a player and the opposite
"base" to secure him in a safe position. It was permissible to make
acatch of the ball in the air if it last were kicked "by the leg below
the knee, or the foot ";and if the catcher called "three yards " before
he was tackled, he had the privilege of a "free kick." This seems the
first mention of "free kick," though its application was quite adifferent
2s Association Football
thing in those days. A player who had the luck to catch the ball
in the prescribed manner close to the opposite "base " had the privi-
lege of trying to carry the ball through in three jumps. It is to be
presumed that they were standing jumps, and as no mention is
made of the ri ght of the enemy to oppose the jumping, it must have
been a most exhilaratin g feature of the play when one who had
caught the ball tested the length of his jumping, while the onlookers
held their breath. If the third jump fell short of the base, the
disappointed player could take the ball back to where he cauglit it,
and satisfy his soul with a free kick as best he could. A C. B. Fry,
in his elastic days, would ha-ve been a v-elcome ally to a side at
Harrow.
It was unlawful to handle the ball "unless close to the body,'
the precise distinction here being rather fine. It was doubtless fully
understood at that time and acted up to with full schoolboy honour.
Next may be noted a general order that "all charging is fair, but no
holding, tripping, pushing with the hands, shinning, or back-shinning, is
allowed." And to this day llr. C. AST. Alcock, who learned his lore for
football at Harrow, retains his old belief in charging as a part of the
game the repression of which would rob it of half of its robustness,
and his old dislike to the many forms of underhand play that are still
to be found in spite of forty years or more of legislation. The dis-
tinction between shinning and back-shinning is not very apparent,
unless it meant that a player whose shins had been barked had no
right to take the law into his hands, and score his enemy's legs in
return. It is a long time ago now and there may have been special
reasons for it, but it is with some curiosity that the provision "if no
base is obtained by three o'clock, the sides change their respective
bases," will be noticed. Ends were changed after each base had been
scored, and no doubt there was adefinite hour fixed at which all sides
games commenced, which accounts for the rule which appears so
quaint. Two umpires were required, and they were perambulating
ones and not fixed at the goals. A Harrow rule that the decision of
the umpires "in matters of fact shall be final" appears to be the
precursor of the tremendous power vested in the referee in latter days.
It is now, as it was at Harrow, that the decision of the referee on
points of fact connected with the play are final, and seeing that
many thoughtful people would like to see some court of appeal
possible for the revision of mistakes on the part of a referee, it is at

7%4.
 Ordering a Player Off
least instructive to note that if at Harrow an umpire "felt unable
to decide at the time," he was "at liberty to refer any question of
law to the Committee of the
Philathletic Club." JW1 •

There are many clubs to-

day, malcontents with referees,
who would hail the appoint-
ment of a "Philathletic Club b `

Committee," in the hope that ::.

some referees would have the a .
honesty, to mark some of their`' u;;

decisions as open to doubt 7 14

and refer them to that tri-

bunal. t

But side by side with the

# Sr A

possible advantages of then {f

Harrow plan it must be men- -✓ ,f _.

tioned that a vastly different'
attitude was displayed on the
subject of umpiring by these
old schoolboys to that which
prevails in some questions to-
day, for we have the impressive
and significant "N.B." to the Photo: W. H. Midwznte+-&-Co. Bristol

rule under notice, which read: G. S. SHERRINGTON

"Tn the absence of umpires Council, F.A.

the head of a side, who is

always responsible for the regularity of the play, shall act as umpire
himself for his own side." Without doubt the head of more than one
important club, in the keenness of the struggle for the Cup, would like
to be privileged to umpire for his team, but whether he would do it
with the fairness and honesty of the Harrow "heads "is open to some
doubt.

ORDERING OFF FOR MISCONDUCT

It is to Harrow seemingly that football owes the principle of

ordering a player off for misconduct, as it was provided that the
umpire should "put out of the game any player wilfully breaking any
of the football rules." What happened to the player so "put out"
3° Association Football
is not known, but no doubt the chagrin and publicity of the deed
were sufficient punishment. Some years after the Association was
formed some such regulation was adopted, and though it was clearly
in use in at least one public school at a much earlier day, its
enforcement by the Association was at the time attacked violently as
a proof of the evils that attended on the playing of the game by
the working classes, an assumption both unjust and clearly untrue.
There was misconduct fifty years ago and wilful breaking of rules,
and there were punishments needed and inflicted, just as is the case
now, with the difference that the mere dismissal of a player has lost
its old-time stigma, and unless followed up by suspension or otherwise
would not be so much of adeterrent as it undoubtedly is.
Nails in the boots "within an inch of the toe or half an inch of
the side," were not allowed, and "no spikes whatsoever" might be
used. It has been the subject of much adverse criticism of the
modern game that precise regulations had to be enforced, but here
were regulations precise enough long before it was found necessary to
exactly describe the length, the breadth, and the thickness of studs,
and the height and width of bars on the soles of the boots. And
much good mig ht be done if an ancient Harrow rule were put into
force to-day, which ordered that copies should be conspicuously
posted in every House at the beginning of every football quarter, and
that the boys should be required to make themselves thoroughly
acquainted with them. It is strongly felt that almost the last per-
sons in these days who try to thoroughly understand the laws of the
game are the players. In some few club-houses the laws are indeed
posted up conspicuously, but for the most part the shower of rule-
books, charts, diagrams, annuals, and handbooks that deluge the
football world every September, seem to fail to reach the parties
most concerned, and the player often goes through a long and suc-
cessful career without devotino, to the laws as much consideration as
he gives to the best meth od ofti ei ng up his football boot-laces. He
leaves all that to the refere e,and, in his ignorance, is not in the least
deterred from pronouncing a determined verdict against that official's
rulings.
One more glance at some antiquated rules and this duty is ended.
Cheltenham College made some notable regulations, one of which was
to throw the ball in from touch. It also first used the term "off-
side," with the hyphen in the middle that is so often omitted to-day.
 Some Quaint Rules 31
It was made the duty of the umpire to call out "off-side "when the
rule—which was not explained, by the way—was infringed, and the
presumably shamefaced player was ordered to "immediately let the
ball fall," and if he did not, after warning, do this, he was to be
"turned out of the game." This College also used the term "cross-
bar," and the rules were mostly in the direction of the Rugby game.
Itule 22 declared it not fair "to run through the goal-posts." It
would indeed be difficult to see how a player could run through a
post, but there is ample evidence that the old-time generality, not to
use the term inaccuracy of description, is not yet eradicated, for
one often reads in accounts of matches of the ball being kicked
"through the posts." If a player held the ball he could be hacked,
but he "could not be hacked and held at the same time." Here also
is found the earliest—in default of knowledge as to an earlier—ap-
pointment of a referee. He was to be chosen by the umpires, and to
decide any point on which they could not agree. And the triumvirate
lasted for many years. It was only in the 'eighties that the umpires
were posted on the touch-lines, deprived of plenary powers, and that
the referee was made the sole arbiter.
It is unquestionable that when efforts began to be made to frame
aset of rules to govern all football, the best points of most of these
old school regulations were picked out, and to the student of the
game they offer at the least a subject for interesting and not unin-
structive consideration. Their very quaintness is enjoyable, and to
trace in them the rudiments of the laws as now in force a pleasure
to those whose be-all and end-all in football is not the winning of a
Cup or Shield.
 CHAPTER III

FORMATION OF THE FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION

IT `vas inevitable that the young men who went to the public schools
and imbibed there a taste for football should carry it with them to
their homes and their new spheres in life. They went raw youths
from the shires and the towns to Winchester or Eton, to Harrow or
Cheltenham, were licked into shape by their seniors, learned with
true British zest to rejoice in the mimic battle of the playground,
attained pre-eminence as half-backs, backs, or forwards, and, leaving
school, found themselves suddenly cut off from the exhilarating sport
and the frame-knitting exercise. A younger son, with his school
career behind him, was dumped down in a distant county, and as
winter came along and he pined for the thrill of the beloved game,
he would gather round him the village tenantry, the squire's boy, the
blacksmith's 'prentice, and the schoolmaster, and in one of the Manor
fields there would be transplanted the old game under new conditions.
Changes in the rules were necessary, and the adaptability,of the race
readily shaped them anew. Young men from Eton and Rugby, with
the heart-yearning for the old playing fields still strong -within them,
foreuathered in some grimy manufacturing town, and, compromising
upon debatable points, set the ball rolling. Indeed, so inherent in
the national fibre is the love of kicking, that it is not so far a cry
after all to the incident, the truth of which is not vouched for, that
a mild stranger happening upon a bleak Lancashire clough, and a
crowd of sturdy miners dashing up and down with unaccountable zeal,
seeing that the ball was swimming on the top of an adjoining reser-
voir, and who pointed out the fact to the nearer contestants, was met
with the trite remark: "Oh, the ball. Let's get on with the
game."
It would be difficult to find any quarter of the country where
football has long flourished without discovering, if one probed far
enough back, that it originated as a reasonably regulated sport in the
enthusiasm of some ex-pupil of a public school. Thus the ancient
game passed through the refining mill of the schools and was returned
32
 The Rules in 186.2 33
again in a new and worthier garb. Clubs were formed, and when
sufficient arose in a locality to require some control, the genius and
i
bent of the Anglo-Saxon for organisation found a humble vent in the
formation of Associations and Unions. Another fact which had an
important bearing on the later consolidation of rules was that numerous
public school boys proceeded after their earlier tuition to Oxford or
Cambridge Universities, and there they naturally found it impracticable
to play under the precise methods of the dissimilar rules they had
previously learned. But play football they needs must, and again the
spirit of compromise was apparent. Furthermore there arose a desire
to get rid of many of the intricate regulations that had overgrown
some of the school styles of play, and to aim at a simpler form.
Tlic old boys at the 'Varsities were verging upon the adult stage of
life, and felt that the absurdities of school rules were not fitting for
the pastimes of men, though in their school period they would have
laid down their lives rather than lose one single tittle of their exacti-
tude—for of such is the essence of school patriotism.

"THE SIMPLEST GAME "

There was recently published a copy of the rules of what was

called the "Simplest Game," which were drawn up by Mr. J. C. '1Thring
in the year 1862, and which were doubtless founded upon much earlier
regulations of a like simplicity, which found their origin at Cambridge.
'These were as follows :—

i. A goal is scored whenever the ball is forced through the goal

and under the bar, except it be thrown by the hand.
2. Hands may be used only to stop a ball and place it on the
ground before the feet.
;. Kicks must be aimed only at the ball.
4. A player may not kick the ball whilst in the air.
3. No tripping up or licel kicking allowed.
6. Whenever a ball is kicked beyond the side flags, it must be re-
tl•
turned by the player who kicked it, from the spot it passed the flag-line
in astraiglit line towards the middle of the ground.
7. \W hen a ball is kicked behind the line of goal, it shall be kicked
off from that line by one of the side whose goal it is.
VOL. I. C

+.I•w1..!•r U•II.II.R.W • 1•I•iWrIW IWMIs.Ir1. M■.Irlll I•.IdII1111WM1i•Y1lMr Y _ •,•••

 34
Association Football
S. No player may stand within six paces of the kicker when he is
kicking off.
g. A player is out of play immediately he is in front of the ball,
and must return behind the ball as soon as possible. If the ball is
kicked by his own side past a player, he may not touch it, or advance,
until one of the other side has first kicked it, or one of his own side,
having followed it up, has been able, when in front of him, to-kick it.
To. No charging is allowed when a player is out of play—i.e. im-

mediately the ball is behind him.

There is in these ten rules much that may raise a smile on the face
ofthe up-to-date reader, but allowance must be made for many causes
that have been lost in obscurity, and which had their bearing on the
construction. That these rules were the basis of the Association game
as now played is most evident. It was under the bar that the ball was
to be forced in order to -Tin agoal, and it is under the bar that to-day
the most skilled and trained modern forward seeks to propel the ball.
The ball was not to be handled in scoring a goal. But there was a
compromise in Rule athat is reminiscent of some of the old school games,
and still survives in hockey, that a player might stop the ball with his
hands in order to the better play it in other ways. That the old practice
still survives is the complaint of many atwentieth century referee, who
almost requires double or treble sight to check the malpractices of
excited and unscrupulous players, who pat the ball down behind his
back or out of his sight, and under pretence of accident most astutely
stop it when it would otherwise be impossible for them to do so. The
3rd Rule at the first reading seems almost anomalous, until it is borne
in mind that it is only within recent years that hacking an opponent
under certain conditions was held to be illegal. It is difficult indeed
for the present generation to comprehend in any other light than that of
foul play any such act on the part of acontestant. It is, sad to relate,
a practice still not entirely eliminated from the game, but the player
who makes use of it, the supporter who condones it, and the general
public, all are fully and clearly aware that it is one of the most serious
breaches of rule that may be committed. Rule 4, prohibiting the kick-
ing of the ball when in the air, is deliciously vague, and would in the
k precise eyes of the modern law-constructor be found full of flaws and
loopholes. But it was an attempt to clear the game of its inherent
dangers. There are to-day many who vie w th e over hea d ki cki ng of the
 An Old Boys Committee 35 1

expert player, which has been brought to such a wonderful pitch of

accuracy, as a danger to the game, but it is one of the lesser evils
after all, and few mishaps really can be laid to its discredit. Rule 5
also aimed at eliminating little vices from the game, and it may as well
be admitted that after alapse of fifty years they are still not eliminated.
Save that the ball was kicked and not thrown, the out-of-play rules
above given are in very close conformity, in their general outlines at
least, with latter-day methods. The rule as to giving "law" to the
kicker when kicking off still. holds good, but Rule 9 clearly follows the
Rugby code and was totally at variance with Association ideas. The
last rule by inference admits the righteousness of charging, which,
in spite of many adverse views, still exists. To rob the game
of its charging when "fairly and squarely" delivered would be to
injure its robustness, and would inevitably lead to the attainment I

of the same end desired by the charger, to stop or remove his

opponent, in disreputable ways.

GROWTH OF THE "OLD BOY" CLUBS

The year 186; was a notable one in the history of the game.
Clubs had been formed, chiefly by Old Boys, in many parts of the
country, and in London, where there was naturally alarger aggregation
of them than in any provincial town, the progress and spread of the
game may be almost described as rapid. In that year the players at
Cambridge again took the lead in drafting better regulations, and the
"Simplest Game "made way for the rules which acommittee appointed
for the purpose drew up. That committee comprised the following :
Rev. R. Burn (Shrewsbury), R. H. Blake and W. T. 'french (Eton),
W. R. Collyer and AV. T. Martin (Rugby), J. T. Prior (Marlborough),
H. L. Williams (Harrow), W. P. Crawley (Marlborough), and W. S.
Wri ;lit (Westminster).
These rules were agreat advance both in clearness and scope upon the
Simplest Game," which left much to be filled in by the imagination or
to be prescribed for by unwritten law. It has always been the bane of III
rule-makers, and the most eminent lawyers and statesmen are in the
same category as the humble Football Councillor who seeks to put into
black and white some point that shall be beyond cavil, but is full of loop-
holes, that the human brain is unequal to the task. The wisest of men
can only try his best, and improve on It in the light of bitter experi-
36 Association Football
ence. The Cambridge rules described, for instance, the limits of the
playing area and the goals. They provided for changing ends and some
other necessary requirements, but while they were the ground-work of
the national plan of play which now is dignified by the term "La ws "
with acapital L, amatch played under them to-day would be impossible
without many things being understood. In the 5th Rule there is the
embryo of the present off' side law. It is strange that for thirty years
afterwards no one noticed the incongruity in the first line -' when a
-

player has kicked "the ball. A generation of footballers played under a

rule practically similar to this, accepting with simple faith awider meaning
of the word "kicked" than appeared in the print. These rules still
retained the kick in from touch, and it is worthy of note that more than
forty years later many strong advocates arose who would go back to
that form of returning the ball into play -when it is wilfully put out.
Rule 7was astrange mixture of divergent codes, but it must not be for-
gotten that at the time it was written the two great branches from the
parent football tree, now so markedly separate, association and Rugby,
had not begun to grow, or if it be contended that in an immature way
they had already budded, their very advocates and exponents were not
aware of it, and «-ere, in company with the users of other codes, all
concerning themselves with the aim of unification. So it can be well
understood that the rule-makers who sat round the Cambridge table in
1863 were as the plenipotentiaries of opposing factions seeking common
ground for alasting peace. It was not secured, at least not on the lines
sought, but the year saw something done that makes it ared letter one
in the annals of the Association game. With the Cambrid ge Con-
vention, as it may be termed, the transition stage closed, for when
next the curtain was rung up, only a few months later, the scene w as
transferred to the great metropolis, and the era of a national control
entered upon.

OPENING OF THE FOOTBALL PARLIAMENT

A fascinating picture could be given us by some survivor of the

historic gathering in the Freemasons' Tavern, Great Queen Street,
London, in October 1863, at which the first attempt was made
to organise the straggling clubs into an Association, and to band
them together- under one set of rules. No account is, however,
extant of the proceedings, save the bare report in Bell's Life giving
 The Old Blackheath Club
the names of the delegates. There were present the following
ardent pioneers, and though their names have often been given
before, it would indeed be a sad omission to leave them out of this
narrative. In those days the Crystal Palace had its Club, revived, after
forty-two years, in aguise that the original members would have never
dreamed. Mr. F. Day, the
Secretary, was their delegate.
Their colours were blue and
white, with blue serge knicker-
bockers, and the Club was a
new one that very year. Black-
heath Club, the obstinate
sticklers for hacking and in-
cidentally thereby the founders
of the Rugby Union, were re-
presented by the Captain, Mr.
T. II. Aloore, and Secretary,
Mr. F. W. Campbell. The
original "Heathens " were
formed in 1858, and played in
red and black striped jerseys
with stockings to match.
Mr. J. Shillingford, the Secre-
tary, of Percival House and
Blackheath School, attended,
representing a Club formed in
1856. Air. W. Macintosh, the Photo: Geo. Newnes, Ltd.

Captain, was the delegate of A. M. WALTERS

Itensington Grammar School. Corinthians and England

Air. E. C. Morley, the Captain,

and *,1'f r. T. D. Gregory, the Secretary, represented the Barnes Club,
who played "in a field belonging to J. Johnstone, Esq., near the
White Hart," and whose blue and white vestments were seen in
many asubsequent Cup tie. Mr. Morley it was who had the honour of
being appointed the first Hon. Secretary to the young Association.
Air. Hartshorn appeared for Cbarterhouse, the nursery of so many bright
and debonair Internationals of a later period. Blackheath Proprietary
School was represented by the Captain, Air. W. H. Gordon :Forest Club
by lr. J. F. Alcock and Air. A. W. Mackenzie; the "No Names" of
':k,
 38
Association football
Kilburn by Mr. A. Pember, the Captain, another mighty warrior and legis-
lator of the past; and the War Office by Mr. G. T. Warren. Other clubs
represented were the Crusaders and the Forest, and it is recorded that
there were "several other gentlemen present interested in the subject,
but who, although players, did not definitely represent any club." Such
was the assembly of worthies who laid the corner-stone of an edifice that
it must have surpassed in its magnitude their wildest dreams. They met
to erect a modest building wherein to house the few clubs of the day,
and from it grew a "sky-scraper "that contains or controls an army of
twenty thousand. A resolution was carried that the clubs represented
should form themselves into an Association to be called "The Football
Association." Mr. Pember was elected the Chairman, for there was no
Royal patronage and no titled President in those days. Mr. E. C.
Morley was appointed the first Secretary, there being no need what-
ever in that time to mark the difference between. the paid and the un-
paid official. And Mr. Campbell became the first Treasurer. He did
not hold office long, however, for he and his club stood out for their own .
views against the majority, the result of which was an early, and, let it be
said, aprofitable secession. With this resolution the Association began
its career of reform and legislation, and at the start the prospect seemed
bright and rosy. But the public schools had not attended the meeting,
save Charterhouse, and with them there began the first troubles. Eton,
Harrow, Winchester, Rugby, and Westminster were invited to join, but
when it came to these institutions giving up their beloved rules and
adopting anew set their conservatism was put to too severe a test. At
the second meeting the replies came in. That from Harrow was: "We cling
to our present rules and should be sorry to alter them in any respect."
Charterhouse, though represented at the first meeting, received the report
of their delegate with doubt, and sent asimilar reply. The attitude of
the rest was non-committal. So there was an obstacle at the very out-
set. It is not difficult to understand the attitude of these schools, for
which of us at the bidding of some aggressive combination is ready to
yield up his treasured tenets and embrace strange doctrines ? But the
outside clubs came in readily, and the rules of the new Association were
:, submitted and adopted.
A third meeting quickly followed, for once hot-foot on the path of
reform these resolute pioneers of the 'sixties were determined not to rest
until their scheme had been placed on asure foundation. It is interest-
ing to note that at this gathering Mr. J. C. Thring, the author of the
 Rugby Union Split 39
simple rules, sent in the adhesion of 'Uppingham School, and naturally
had some criticism to make upon the draft of the rules of the game
which the energetic Mr. Morley had already made. Lincoln Club had
heard of the movement and joined it, while Aldershot, by Colonel the
Hon. H. H. Clifford, supported the amalgamation, thougli what club he
represented in so doing is ail item that football history has lost. It
was probably an officers' club, for Colonel Clifford offered a copy of
their rules to the meeting. Then began differences of opinion as to
the vital matter of the playing code, as might have been anticipated,
necessitating further adjournments, and on November 2q. afresh set of
rules was submitted.

THE RUGBY DEFECTION

After extended discussion a meeting on December i passed these

as the rules of the game, and the first Committee was appointed. It
included the Chairman, Treasurer, and Secretary, Mr. J. F. Alcock of
the Forest Club—the bearer of a name honoured in all football circles,
the elder brother of Mr. C. AV. Alcock—Mr. Turner of the Crystal
Palace, Mr. Steward of the Crusaders, and Mr. Warren of the War
Office. The Blackheath Club had seceded owing to their disagreement
with various suggestions, though Mr. Campbell continued to act as
`treasurer to the Association. The supporters of "handling" went their
way and founded the glorious Rugby game, but compensation was
found in the accession of Sheffield clubs. Of these there was already
quite a coterie in existence. The Hallam Club was formed in 18 57,
Pittsmoor and Norfolk in 1861, and Heeley and Fir Vale in 1862.
The differences, however, between the Sheffield and the London rules
were marked, and it was not an easy task to reconcile them that faced
the new Association.
Any comparison of the nine rules of the Association in 1863 with
the complex enactments of the present would be worthless. For one
thing, the young Association soon entered upon a career of expansion,
and the regulations were gradually increased in number, and also, be it
said, in severity. The contrast, however, between what are now, for
d•
the sake of distinction from the rules of the Association, termed the laws
of the game, dealing with the play only, as first legalised, and as they
now stand, is instructive. Already a great advance had been made on
the "Simplest Game," and many of the ideas of the public schools had
40 Association Football
been laid hold of and shaped, not all for the better, but for the most
part so. The limits of the field of play were generous indeed. There
was no stipulated minimum width, but the extreme length was 200 yards.
The goals were defined by two upright posts, and the distance filed
of eight yards apart has remained intact. No provision was made for
a bar or tape, though the use of both helps to definiteness was shown
in earlier regulations of one or two of the schools. A goal was there-
fore scored if the ball passed through the posts at any height, and ends
were changed at each goal. The throw-in from touch was imported as
preferable to the kick. Running with the ball was prohibited, and
was a cases belli of the Rugby enthusiasts, though the latter made
the more violent war over the determination of the majority to have
nothing to do with "hacking." How so objectionable a habit should
find sturdy championship is somewhat of a wonder. In favour of it
Mr. Campbell's remarks have been rescued verbatim by that great
football authority, Mr. C. W. Alcock, who, though not till several years
later honoured with office, was one of the "Old Brigade." He states
that _Mr. Campbell said that "hacking was the true football game," and
that if it were done away with "all the courage and pluck of the game
would be at an end."
Mr. J. F. Alcock and Mr. Morley were the prime leaders of the no
hacking side, and the latter is said to have argued that if hacking were
made legal no one of years of discretion would play the game, which
would be entirely relinquished to schoolboys. For many a long year
the original text was closely maintained that "neither tripping nor
hacking shall be allowed, and no player shall use his hands to hold or
push his adversary," till it was finally merged in an omnibus rule
containing provision for those and other forms of misconduct.
These rules were, as has been pointed out, an effort to unite all
parties. Indeed the young Association placed in its forefront that
great desire "to remove the barriers which prevent the accomplishment
of one universal game." The greatest barrier they met in this was the
objection of the runners with the ball to consent to play with idle
hands, and it was abarrier that was never broken down. The Associa-
tion, for a dozen years or so, did not cease to try its -best to get the
handlers to join in, but finally gave up the effort. It is as well perhaps
that it failed, for the football of to-day might not have been what it is
had there been one universal set of rules for it. Nor is it easy to see
on what lines any compromise could have been effected. The use of
 The Origin of the F.A. 41
the hands was entirely adifferent form of play from the use of the feet,
and later, the head and body also, and there could have been no half-
way-liouse that would accommodate both sections.

THE ADVENT OF MR. C. W. ALCOCK

Three years passed by, and the young Association had only secured
to itself amodest handful of adherents. But one must remember that
the publicity that now is given to the most meagre detail connected
with the game was then entirely absent; also the objection of the
schools to give up their cherished rules, and that outside London the
clubs were few and isolated. Though the title of the Association began
with the word "The," and the "T"was acapital letter, it was considered
to be a London affair, and indeed at one time it selected the London
elevens. But the year 1866 saw the advent of amaster mind. There
was dissatisfaction in the air. Clubs like Lincoln complained that the
rules were difficult to get on with. Other clubs found the need of
more matches under the code. At the annual meeting Mr. Morley
resigned the Secretaryship, and was succeeded by Mr. R. Willis, and ,
Mr. C. W. Alcock was placed upon the Committee. The tall and ,
athletic "Wanderer," so soon as he got into harness, had agood deal to
do with the subsequent rise of the Association. A man of fine and
commanding presence, who had the happy knack of at the same time
beinig free from narrow views and yet of being able to persuade others
to his way, lie may not have been the most machine-like of officials, but
lie was essentially a leader. But as he is a striking figure in the
history of the game thence onward, references to his broad aims and
bold policy will naturally fall into their proper sequence.
About this time, in 1867, to be accurate, the Sheffield clubs, who were
fairly numerous, formed an Association of their own. The first club
there had been established by some old Eton boys in 1857, and was
called by the name of the town, the Sheffield Club. The Sheffield and
1-fallamshire young men took to football like ducks to water, and when
their Association began operations it had as many clubs as that in London.
And to be quite fair, the rules of play were equally useful, and in some
cases even of an advanced order, for they provided for a"cross-bar nine
feet from the ground," and one may pardon the trifling discrepancy that
in the same rules allowed the scoring of agoal when the ball had passed
41
underneath the tape." The important step was also made of marking
4' Association Football
off the field of play with flags, and the first mention appears of acorner
kick in words almost similar to the present rule on the point. The "fair
catch "was retained from Eton, as was only likely, but it was later on
excised. "There were other useful points in the Sheffield rules, points that
have been incorporated in the national game. A player defending afree
kick within six yards of his goal-line was not compelled to stand behind
the line—nor is he now. A goal could not be scored from a free kick
—nor may it in all cases now. And there was aprovision against pro-
jecting nails or spikes in the boots. The London rules made no provision
for either umpires or referee, but the Sheffield Association legislated for
umpires "to enforce the preceding rules" (the word "enforce" is in Law 1•
to-day), with full and final powers to settle all points and maintain fair
play. A curious addition to the umpire rule was :"Each umpire to be
referee in that half of the field of play nearest the goal defended by the
party nominating him," and if ever a change is made in modern methods
it is likeliest to be on the lines of two referees, one for each half of the
field of play. But the main distinction between the two codes was upon
" off-side." The Association in London had the rule so that a player
nearer the opponent's goal-line when the ball was kicked by one of
the same side, was out of play. The Sheffield rule was worded: "Any
player between an opponent's goal and goal-keeper, unless he has
followed the ball there, is off-side and out of play," and the goal-
keeper was described as "that player who for the time being is nearest
his own goal.'' Those "reformers "who to-day, plead for the abandon-
ment of the Off-side Law, would only throw the hands of the clock
back to Sheffield of nearly forty years ago, and old-time players under
the rule last quoted tell strange stories of how it worked. "Afiaiting
on" the goal-keeper was one of the least of the consequent evils, and
the game was not really opened out until the restrictions were generally
enlarged. The Sheffielders stood by their rule for some rears, but in
the end fell in with the London one and so paved the way to "a
universal g ame )) of Association type.

LONDON v. SHEFFIELD

In 1866 a match had been played between London and Sheffield,

which London won by two goals and four touch-downs to nil. _Mr. E.
C. W_orley got the first g oal in the first representative match on record,
and 3Tr. C. W. Alcock earned the distinction of being the first player in
 Lord Kinnaird at Play 43
such aconflict being ruled off-side. It was reported in acorner in Bell's
Life that the game was avery hot one, and that though Sheflield were
overmatched, many of the Londoners were badly knocked about. There
need be no comment on this, for the game of the period certainly did not
suffer from want of vigour, and the teams dined happily together after
the game was over. The present President of the Football Associa-
tion, then the Hon. A. F. Kinnaird, played in the match, and was one
of the most active men that the game ever produced. His vivacity,
fervour, and agility were said to have been remarkable, and those who
meet him to-day and note his brisk step and the spring of his move-
ments after all these years can well believe it.
Mr. R. G. Graham, of Barnes Club, replaced Mr. Willis, his club-mate,
as Secretary at the annual meeting, when the "rouge "and "fair catch "
were knocked out of the Laws and arope ordered to be used to connect
the posts and mark the goal more clearly. This last change was largely
due to the Chairman's comment on the fact that a balloon kick quite
ninety feet in the air had scored a goal in a match at Reigate, the
absurdity of which strongly impressed the legislators.
The season of 1867-1868 saw the new Association making hard
efforts to gain adherents. All the clubs were circularised to support the
"most scientific game in vogue," and a match played between Middle-
sex, and Surrey and Kent. The result was a draw, as was also that
of another game between Surrey and Dent, the players being chosen
from the clubs in those counties. And so the Association grew, so that
in 1868 it was found necessary to increase the Committee to ten, and
the clubs belonging to the Association were :—
Amateur Athletic; Barnes; Bramham College (Yorks) ;Charterhouse ;
Civil Service; C.C.C. (Clapham) ; Cowley School (Oxford) ; Crystal
Palace; Donnington School (Lines) ; Forest School; Holt (Wilts . );
1-lull College; IIitchin ; Kensington School; Leamington College;
London Scottish Rifles; London Athletic; Milford College (S. Wales) ;
No Names; .Royal Engineers (Chatham) ; Reigate; Sheffield; Tot-
tericlge Park (Herts) ; Upton Park; Wanderers; Westminster; West
Brompton College; and Worlabye House (Roehampton).
Up to this year (1868) the membership of the Association had been tll
free, but the playing of matches and the printing of the rules began to
be atax on the members, so it was agreed that each club should pay a
subscription of five shillings. As there were about thirty clubs in all,
it is easy to compute the modest income of the body which aten pound
 44 Association Football
note financed for the first five years. From that time balance-sheets
were submitted yearly, and it is of interest to note that that of 1904—
iqo5 dealt with a total of nearly two thousand times larger. This
year was issued the first Football Animal, compiled by John Lilly-
white, which in its second issue was taken over by Mr. C. W. Alcock,
by whom it has since been published.
In the next three years the outlook of the Association vastly
broadened. In i8- o Mr. C. W. Alcock succeeded to the post of
i Secretary, which was most emphatically an honorary one, and with
his installation in office things began to boom. He succeeded in getting
the Sheffield Association to join, amatch between En rlish and Scottish
players was played in the same season, while in the following winter
the Association Cup Competition was started on its long and memor-
able career. In 1870 charging behind was prohibited, and the goal-
keeper, who had long been an institution, but amere competitor with no
larger powers than the rest, was recognised and given the right to
use his hands in defence of his goal.
 i

CHAPTER, IV

THE HALCYON DAYS OF THE AMATEUR

BEING thus starred as the year of the inception of "The Cup," the
officers of 187 1 may appropriately be mentioned. They were :-
1'resident, E. C. Morley (Barnes) ;1reasu7•er, A. Stair (Upton Park) ;
Secretary, C. W. Alcock (W anderers); Committee, D. Allport (Crystal
Palace), A. J. Baker (Wanderers), 1A. P. Betts (West Kent), J. Cockerell
(Brixton), J. H. Giffard (Civil Service), A. F. Kinnaird (Old Etonians),
J. Kirkpatrick (Civil Service), Captain Marindin (Royal Engineers),
C. W. Stephenson (Westminster), R. W. Willis (Barnes).
Every club of a year's standing was eligible for membership at the
aforementioned tribute of five shillings per annum, and had the right
to send two representatives to the annual meeting, privileged to vote,
while in addition the proceedings were open to all, and the attendance
of every class of football player was invited. The Football Annual
of the period adds: "Neither is the sphere of the Association limited,
nor are its aims exclusive, but that it appeals to all footballers alike,
whether they be of the hacking or non-hacking persuasion. To effect
a code of rules that shall unite all the various differences under one
recognised head may emphatically be described as the ruling principle
of those who, under its management, seek a healthy reform of what
may be regarded as football abuses." But though Mr. Alcock and his
Committee may have piped sweetly enough and thrown open the doors,
those of the "hacking persuasion " sulked in their tents, and listened
in vain, if at all, to the voice of the charmer. In 1871 the Rugby
Union was formed, and henceforth this narrative follows the work
and progress of the Association alone.
The establishment of the Cup Competition was indeed an event
of vast importance, though its earlier career was like that of most
other mundane things, quiet and unobtrusive. In these days it has
been shown to be possible for the devotees of football in some important
centre of population to build up a club in a few months, and to attain
in one season agiddy pitch of pla•,iiig prowess that would have aston-
45
46 Association Football
fished the old school. In the 'seventies football growth -was leisurely,
and there were no great teams "made to order." No club sprang
almost at a bound from nothing to first rank like Preston North End
in the 'eighties, and like Portsmouth and Plymouth Argyle in the
present century. In those days clubs had time in which to grow.
To-day the wealthy brewer and the prosperous builder combine to form
acompany, lay out capital in the provision of aground that is up-to-date,
purchase or otherwise collect together an array of "talent," and take the
football world by storm. Where once clubs grew slowly and quietly,
they now spring up "like mushrooms in a night," and spare neither
time nor money nor trouble to find favour with the committee of some
purely utilitarian combination that will give a series of attractive
matches. "Other days other manners," and in the 'seventies the
foundations were solidly, laid for future development. 'Whether the
layers of the corner-stones would have approved of the building, so
far as it is to-day completed, or not, is amatter that cannot affect the
question, but some of them at any rate "hung on " to their posts for
avery long period. Mr. C. AV. Alcock is still a Vice-President, Lord
Kinnaird is the President, and Sir Francis Marindin retained his interest
in the work for many years.
Speculation as to -That founders may think, or have thought, of the
ultimate results of their labour is idle, but the wildest dreams of the
pioneers could hardly have conceived the transformation into abusiness-
like combination of limited liability clubs concerned in purveying
spectacular football to the masses, that after all has the "last word "in
the Association of to-day. These company promoters with their share-
holders, their statutory meetings, their splendidly fitted up arenas, their
magnificent stands, and enormous incomes, are the tallest flowers which
have sprung from the seeds sown forty years ago. Be it understood
that they were the natural results, and that as the tall hollyhock and the
lowly pansy flourish alike in our gardens, and are each in their way a
part and parcel of them, so the mighty organisations with incomes
running into tens of thousands, and the lowly village club, are each part
and parcel of the huge amalgamation into which the Football Association
grew. It is the fashion in some quarters to decry the grouping of all
these clubs under one banner, to bewail the "good old days," and to
sigh for the separation of the amateur sheep from the professio nalgoats,
but the marvellous control exercised by the Association over great and
small is in the main for the benefit of the game at large. No legisla-
 Beginning of the Cup Competition 47

tion could restore pristine simplicity, and no separation would impair

the power of professional football, whereas the amateur element would
lose immensely from any serious split; and it may be taken as a fact that
the great mass of clubs, the preponderating thousands that are worked
on amateur lines, would infinitely prefer their present masters than to
follow the lead of strange ones on an unmapped path. In accepting
the conditions of football as they are, and making the best of them; in
seeking always to reform abuses, and to keep the game as free from
evils as possible; in trying to put down wrong-doing on and off the
fields of play; in short, in watching over the pastime, and in keeping it
on sane lines, the Association has useful work still and ever before it.
It would indeed be an evil hour when the check upon the professional
side of the game was removed, and the inevitable running to riot would
culminate in the lowering of the professionalism to the level to which
it has dropped in some other sports, by the selfish refusal of the
amateur to help it to rise to better things. If it be admitted that pro-
fessionalism must be, it is far better that it should be well controlled
and handled than that it should be allowed to fall entirely into the
clutches of those by whom the sport would be wholely regulated for
their monetary ends.

THE ESTABLISHMENT OF "THE CLIP"

To go back to this epoch-making event in 1 87 1 , the establishment

of the Cup Competition. There were not wanting at the time critics
whose successors are still at work, and whose views were and are
strangely inconsistent with the general lines on which most pastimes are
based, the natural one of some tangible reward for victory, if not of I
necessity for proficiency. The stimulus which is world-wide and in_
grained in human nature could not be withheld from football without
deadening its activity. In the absence of proof to the contrary vLr. C.
W. Alcock, the new Hon. Secretary to the Association, must be considered t
to be the chief "culprit " in the institution of the Cup, which after all
was the most modest of trophies, costing only some Z20, which was
subscribed by the clubs. The resolution passed on July 20, 18-j, was
as follows: "That it is desirable that a Challenge Cup should be estab-
lished in connection with the Association for which all clubs should
1
•1
be invited to compete." On October 16, at a meeting of the Associa-
tion, the following clubs were represented :Royal Enginbers, Barnes,
4. 8 Association Football
Wanderers, Harrow, Chequers, Clapham Rovers, Hampstead Heathens,
Civil Service, Crystal Palace, Upton Park, lVindsor House Park, and
Lausanne, when the recommendation of the Committee was considered,
and it was decided "That a Challenge Cup be established open to
all clubs belonging to the Football Association." It is interesting to
note that among the clubs who subscribed to the cost was Queen's Park,
Glasgow, who sent a guinea, though their income for the year was only
"6. To start a Cup Competition in October would nowadays be both
illegal and late, but there was no hurry in those times, and October 1
was the general day for opening the season with a practice match.
The entries were fifteen in number—viz., Barnes, Civil Service, Crystal
Palace, Clapham Rovers, Hitchin, Maidenhead, Marlow, Queen's Park
(Glasgow), Donington School, Hampstead Heathens, Harrow Chequers,
Reigate Priory, Royal Engineers, Upton Park, and the Wanderers.
Donington School was near Spalding, and with their exception and that
of Queen's Park all the clubs were in or near London. The distance
of Queen's Park made some special consideration of their entry necessary,
and they were excused until the semi-final. The other three clubs that
survived were the Wanderers, Royal En gineers, and Crystal Palace.
The journey of the Scotchmen to London was accomplished by the aid
of a special subscription in Glasgow, great public interest having been
raised by the unusual event. The match took place at the historic Oval
on Alarch 4, 1872, with the 'Wanderers. The game was astubborn one,
and ended in a draw. Unable to make a second trip to London, the
"Queens "then withdrew and left the l anderers to go into the final
tie. As the Royal Engineers had defeated Crystal Palace by ;—o,
and had in three matches not lost a goal, they were full of confidence.
It was a great game, and only one goal was scored. This goal was
credited in Bell's Life to "A. H. Chequer," which was a nom. A
plume taken by Mr. M. P. Betts, so that the first final tie winning
goal stands to his reco rd. Th e Engineers - were very unfortunate, as
Lieutenant Cresswell injured his collar-bone, the first recorded football
accident. Thus the Wanderers began their career of cup winning,
which for along time continued with so muc h brilli anc y. Th e t eam s

in this first final tie -were as follows :—

Wanderers—C. JA'. Alcock, A. G. Bonsor, "A. H. Chequer," AIT. P.
Crake, T. C. Hooman, E. Lubbock, A. C. Thompson, R. C. Welch, Rev.
R. W. S. Vedal, C. H. R. Wollaston, and E. E. Bowen.
Royal Engineers— Captain Merriman, Captain Marindin, Lieutenants
 Money in the Cup Ties 49
Addison, Mitchell, Cresswell, Renny-Tailyour, Rich, A. Goodwyn, Muir-
head, Cotter, and Boyle.
The rules of the Cup Competition in these days were very simple.
The Cup was open to all clubs that joined the Association. The 15th
day of Aurrust was the last day of entry. The size of th e ball had to I
be regulated, owing to various
local eccentricities in this re-
spect that were likely to pro-
duce strange results. It was
in the power of the Com-
mittee to exempt prow i11-
cial clubs, or group them in
divisions. In the first two
rounds the captains of clubs
tossed for choice of ground.
All matches after the second
round were played at Ken- •i
nington oval, or as the Com-
mittee inigllt order, though in
the final tie the Cup-holders
were allowed choice of ground,
a privilege that many aclub in
these days would gladly see
extended again ! The Associa-
tion appointed umpires and a
referee for the closin b(r matches,
and pledged itself to "present Plcoto :Geo. Newnes, Ltd.

to the winners of the final tie 1'. DI. wA LTERS

Corinthians and England
eleven medals or badges of
trifling value." Whether this
last item was a sop to the critic, who feared all manner of evil as
the outcome of the competition, it is hard to say, but the words as
given appeared lit the earlier rules, and those who like. to moralise
on them are at liberty to do so, in the light of the contrast that
the winners in the final tie of 1905 received each a gold medal, and
that the lLston Villa Club, which provided the successful team,
took as their share of the semi-final and final ties x'3362, i-s. 5d., in
addition to shares of gates in their other matches in the competition
proper!
VOI.. I. D
so Association Football

THE FIRST INTERNATIONAL MATCHES

Already mention has been made of a match between English and

Scottish players of the London clubs in 187o. A second was played in
February, 1871, and asporting challenge by the Wanderers to meet any
eleven was taken up by the Queen's Park, but did not come to actual
hostilities, as that team found vent for its energies in the newly-
instituted Cup. In fact this little Z2o trophy quickly began its work
of leavening the lump of British football, and, from the moment of its
inception, there were distinct signs of accelerated movement in all parts
of the country. Football in Scotland is dealt with in another chapter,
but it is worthy of passing note that in no part of the British Isles did
the game take such wonderful root as on the north side of the Border.
While the English -were taking their games -with due leisure and some
ease, the Scotch players -went far ahead of them in the sheer "mechanical
science " of the game, in wild enthusiasm and violent paroxysms of
club fervour. The Queen's Park Club men put the playing of the game
at a point many years ahead of their southern rivals, and their efforts
to win the English Cup aroused the keenest excitement, which led to
awonderful spread of the game. In Scotland the Rugby form of play
had the pride of place until Association roused the clansmen, and it was
the playing of a Rugby International at Edinburgh in March 1871 that
fired Mr. Alcock with zeal to promote areal International at Association.
Two more exhibition games were played in London on November 18,
1871, and February 24, 1872, the English side winning by 2 -1 an d
1-o, and then these sham matches came to a close. A difficulty in
the way was the want of a body in Scotland on similar lines to that in
En gland, and as the Scottish Association was not formed until March
18 73, the Queen's Park Club undertook the selection of the first two

Scottish elevens. It is interesting to note that at this period the

Rugby clubs in Scotland did not consider the Association game to be
football, or, at any rate, as its followers -were comparatively few, they
objected to International matches at "football "other than their own.
It -was reasoning that can with difficulty be understood to-day, but in
Scotland the subject -was aburning question for several years. In any
case two matches were played, the first in Glasgo-w on November 3o,
1872, and the second in London on March 8, 1873. The first match
was at Hamilton Crescent, Partick, and no goals -were scored. The
 Three Notable Amateurs 51

attendance was close on 4000. The names of the first Internationals

are surely worthy of being honoured. They were
lnyland. —C. J. Ottaway, F. C. Maddison, and A. Kirke Smith
(Oxford University), J. Brochbank (Cambridge University), C. J.
Chenery (Crystal Palace), J. C. Clegg (Sheffield), C. J. Morice (Barnes),
and R. C. Welch (Harrow Chequers), forwards; E. H. Greenhalgh
(Notts), half-back; R. Barker (Herts bangers), back; and W. J. May-
nard (First Surrey Rifles), goal.
Scotland. —R. Leckie, AIT. M`Kennard, A. Rhind, J. Weir, A,
`Votherspoon (Queen's Park), and R. Smith (South Norwood), forwards;
J. Smith (South Norwood), and J. Ta3,lor (Queen's Park), half-backs
W leer (Queen's Park), and J. J. Thompson (Queen's Park), backs; and
R. AV. Gardener (Queen's Park), goal.
In the return match the Scotch side, which in the first game was
almost entirely composed of Queen's Park men, included Renny-
Tailyour of the Royal Engineers and the Hon. A. F. Kinnaird, when
England won by 4—a.
Mr. Alcock lost the honour of playing in the first International by
an accident that he sustained in an old boys' match, but he umpired in
the match at Partick. It is also worthy of notice that-in the English
team Mr. J. C. Clegg of Sheffield appeared, and in the second his
brother, Mr. W. E. Clegg, both of them, especially the former, staunch
and earnest champions of the Association game. Mr. J. C. Clegg's
devotion has withstood the lapse of many years and aweight of care
and responsibility. Mr. Alcock, 11Ir. J. C. Clegg, and Lord Kinnaird
are atrio whose long and honourable connection with the Association is
asource of pride to all its members.
In 1873 the Cup entries remained at the same number, and the
Queen's Park were again exempted until the semi-final, when, drawn
against Oxford University, they scratched, and the latter, who had
been exempted till the final, a challenge round—which did not long
survive—being instituted, were beaten by the Wanderers. In this
season the punishment of a free kick for handling the ball was insti-
tuted. It is the custom with some critics of the game to foist all the
penal codes of the Association upon the supposed lack of honour among
W,
the working classes when they took to the game, but in 1873 the bulk
of the players were not exactly of that type, and if there were at that
tiine need of some punishment for breaches of the laws, it was only an
adoption of the free kick that was awarded by some of the public school
 52 Association Football
laws of amuch earlier date. At all times it has been found necessary
to punish the evil-doer, who is not at all a 9°ara avis in any circle,
however high. To saddle awant of good sportsmanship among the
"masses "is unjust, and because in 1874- the free kick was made also a
punishment for other offences, and the umpire was authorised to rule
I
an offending player out of the game who persistently infringed the laws,
it rather follows that the rules were, under the stress of Cup ties, being
more actively and vigorously enforced, than that unsportsmanlike tactics
were at that early period being introduced. These drastic rules were
probably wanted as much in an exciting Cup tie between two London
clubs as between two provincial ones.

BEGINNING OF THE "CUP FEVER"

In 1873-1874. the Cup fever had begun to reach the towns in the
country. There were twenty-eight entries, or nearly double the previous
season. Those who claim that modern play has so devitalised the attack
that drawn games are at apremium may find little comfort in the fact
that Sheffield Club and the Shropshire Wanderers played two draws, and,
be it added, with very little gate-money inducement. Rather than battle
again the captains tossed up, and the Wanderers, winning the toss, went
into the next round. The greater Wanderers, the Cup-holders, were
beaten by Oxford University in an earlier round, the challenge round
having vanished, and in the final they beat the Royal Engineers by 2-0.
The Engineers in this season had undertaken the first football tour
ever carried out. They had three days of hard football. The first
match was against the Sheffield Association, half according to "London
rules," and half under the Sheffield code. They won by 4-0. In the
same way the Engineers beat the Derbyshire Association by 2-1 and
Nottingham Forest by the same score. In this last match - Mr. S. AST.
117iddowson made his first noticeable appearance, and led the Foresters
with such speed and vigour that the Engineers were very lucky to win.
This tour did much to extend the enthusiasm in the Midlands, and
clubs increased with startling rapidity, but at headquarters the duties
were still comparatively light. Meetings of the Committee were often
held at Mr. Alcock's office. Mr. J. H. Clark, of 'Maidenhea.d, apowerful
supporter of the game in Berks and Bucks, came on the Committee,
also _Mr. R. A. Ogilvie, who was afterwards associated with the London
 Introduction of the Cross-bar 5
3
Football Association. iAIr. E. C. Morley refused the Presidency, and
Nlaj or -\'l arindin was elected and rendered valuable service for many
Years. 'L'hougli, in company with others of the "old school," he was
lacking in sympathy with the trend which the game soon afterwards
took, he was always very loyal to the game and the Association, bad a
very strong sense of justice, and gave his fellow-councillors most valu-
able advice from time to time. •
A most estimable gentleman, r

and with the best of motives, r

;•r

he found himself face to face..r••'••'

with problems that required
extremely judicious handling , `..
and it is no wonder that, having.:
played in a free and easy era, ::,,
lie sometimes chafed at the
need for cast-iron re(rula- n„

tions which time's changes `.

demanded. He was a splendid,
Chairman, and amost successful •"` •;:v e: eC
9a t s "• rtr p *'• •7 '
referee, but lie never overcame .,
his dislike to professionalism a

and the things that it brought x

in its wake. And yet as the

ruler
impartiality
of the Association
personified,he and
was •• a

leis retirement after some fifteen ,

years ) service was a personal
Photo: Geo. Newnes, Ltet.
loss to many whose views were
N. C. BAILEY
as opposed to his as the poles Corinthians and England

are asunder.

The year IS74—I 875 saw very little change or progress, the two not
having always been synonymous in the Football Association Parliament.
The old plan of changing ends after each goal had been scored was
abolished, and the present and more sensible one adopted, and it was
ordered that a cross-bar could be used instead of a tape if wanted. In
the Sheffield Association bars had been always used, and it is rather a
wonder how umpires managed with only a wind-blown tape to guide
them. The entries for the Cup remained under thirty. The Shropshire
Wanderers, whose captain, J. H. Edwards, was an English International,
54 Association Football
made aspirited attack on the Cup, and were only beaten in the semi-
final by the Old Etonians by 1-0. In the final the Royal Engineers, a
club that had been a strong pillar of support to the game, earned the
reward of having their names inscribed on the Cup, by a 2- 0 «in
after adraw. It is interesting to note that even then, more than thirty
years ago, the Football Annual, in recording the year's work and the
spread of the game, which had resulted in so many players being in a
state of equality, reflects on the time-worn text: "There were giants—
unmistakable giants — only a few years back. Since then a steady
advance in the game has brought a proportionate diffusion of skill."
It has been from that day to this a cry of "giants in those days,"
and of a "state of equality." But in the lapse of years the fact
impresses itself that the great players of to-day are always the
giants of to-morrow, and that the lament of a state of equality ill
football is at least thirty years old.

BIRMINGHAM MAKES A START

In view, of the fact that the year 1871, by reason of the establishment
of the Cup Competition, must for ever be considered the red-letter year
of the history of the game, it would be idle to attach equal importance
to every season in which some considerable step was taken in progress,
but the season 1875-1876 was certainly amemorable one. A new Asso-
ciation was formed in Birmingham, and it will ,be good reading for the
latter-day enthusiasts of the respective towns to note that it is recorded
of amatch between the new Association and Sheffield that "the ` Brums'
had not gained sufficient experience to meet their practised opponents
with any chance of success." The Wanderers won the cup for the third
time, beating the Old Etonians after adrawn game, and the spread of
the Association game in all parts of the country was remarkable. Scot-
land beat England, and the gate at Glasgow was 12,000, showing what
ahold the game had made on the public there. An Association was also
formed at Manchester, the forerunner of the Lancashire Association, no
doubt. It is recorded that, whereas in 187; there was one Association
club in Birmingham, "there are now ten, and about twelve to fifteen
in the district." The Football Association of Wales was formed and the
first International between Wales and Scotland played, and won by the
Scots. though the "Welshmen fought with vigour and clash that spoke
 London Association Formed ss

well for their future success." A Welsh Club, the Druids, entered for
the English Cup. As early as this the Sheffield Club had a .Players'
Accident Society," and the gate of the Birmingham match was given in
its aid. Mr. E. C. Bambridge of the Swifts, afamous player of the day,
joined the Football Association Committee. The legislators were not
troubled with many difficulties at this period, and in the season 18 76- 7
the fusion of the Sheffield and Football Association rules, while it made
some changes necessary, helped to remove an obstacle from the attain-
ment of the desideratum of one code of rules everywhere. The accession
of the Sheffield Clubs strengthened and concentrated the Association
game. What were known in the provinces as the "London rules "were
merged in the special regulations of Sheffield and other big centres, and
the off-side question "settled for good," so it almost seems. In the
Cup Competition the Wanderers again won, but there were no sensational
features. What was more to the point was the spread of the Cup
Competition system. Glasgow, Sheffield, and Birmingham followed suit,
and aLondon Football Association is mentioned as having been formed,
though the present organisation under that name dates back only to
1882-8, when the London Cup was established. In regard to the
Birmingham Association, it is noteworthy that the first president was
Mr. C. Crump, and that he is still in office. No one can hope to fill his
place and no one wants to. He is one of the "old brigade" whose
presence is still in the ranks and who honour the ranks by it. He had
made his mark in the football field literally as well as figuratively, for
the game was resolute in the seventies, and it had not been found
requisite to insert asentence in the laws to emphatically remind referees
that charging is and always has been alegitimate part of the game. He was
the first captain of the first Association Club in Wolverhampton, Stafford
Road Works, attached to the Great Western Railway, and is one of that
small coterie of men who have made the welfare of the Association game
ahobby, and almost a business thereby, and to whose splendid services
the modern game owes so much. J. H. Cofield was the Honorary Sec-
retary, aman whose early demise was much lamented, as he possessed
a wonderful breadth of view and organising power. Of the Sheffield
Association, Mr. W. Pierce Dix was the Honorary Secretary, and also
amember of the Association Council, which by this time had increased
to twenty, and included Mr. C. L. Rothera of Nottingham.
S6 Association Football

THE WANDERERS' TRIPLE VICTORY

Several items of moment for posterity- to lay a mark against

happened in the season 1877-8. The Scotchmen certainly claimed a
7-2 victory over England, scoring more goals in this one gam e
against the Southrons than they had done before, or have done since,
and the Wanderers won the Cup a third time by defeating the Royal
Engineers. Under the rules they became the owner of the "little
tin idol," as it has been affectionately named, and handed it back to
the Committee on the condition that in future it was not to be won
outright by any club. It was a very sportsmanlike act and redounds
to their credit. But the club which had borne such a great share in
the hard work of founding the game was on the eve of dissolution.
Composed as it was of acollection of members of other clubs, it found
increasing difficulty in securing players. Thereafter the club never
again figured in the final tie, but its deeds are written deep in the
annals of the game.
Trouble began to arise, and had indeed not been altogether absent
for some seasons between the Football Association and the new-formed
and remarkably vigorous Scottish Association. The success of the
Scottish Cup Competition was one of the wonders of the day, and with
Scotchmen beating the English easily at the game, and showing such
remarkable national aptitude for it, the spirit of toleration was not so
apparent as it might have been. The toleration that the Football
Association desired was that of the lion and the lamb, the latter
quiescent. But the Scottish clubs were of a very different frame of
mind, and had at no time any idea of coalescing with the "London
Association." The dream of one governing body of the game was
nipped early in the bud by Scotland, and its Association claimed the
right to make and construe laws as it pleased. Until the formation
of the International Board some years later difficulties continued and
occupied the minds and the tempers of both parties. The keenest
fights arose over the International matches and the interpretation of
rules and methods of play by the umpires. In this season the present
President of the Football Association, Lord Kinnaird, captained the
London team, the present Chairman, 21r. J. C. Clegg, captained the
Sheffield team, and the present senior Vice-President, Mr. C. Crump,
 Local Cup Ties 57
I

captained the Birmingham team. If any three men earned the right
to leas] these three did, and they are still leading.
The local Cup ties in the large manufacturing centres now began
to attract the public, who realised that such matches were played in
any weather. The struggle for the possession of the /-5o cup at
Birmingham roused keen interest, over 5000 spectators watching the
Shrewsbury knock out the Wednesbury Strollers in the final tie. What
is more to the point, the Birmingham Association had a balance in
hand of ;6roo at the end of the season.
Another Association was formed, the Staffordshire Football Asso-
ciation, in this season by the efforts of the Stoke Club members, and
here also aChallenge Cup was at once provided. An old and much-
respected football worker, the late Mr. T. C. Slaney, here came upon
the active stage, and his memory will be long green while the generation
that knew him lasts out.
I
 CHAPTER V

THE INSIDIOUS ADVENT OF THE SCOTTISH PROFESSOR"

I the following season, 1878-9, the influence of the Association was

further extended. Queen's Park, Glasgow were represented on the
Committee by llr. F. Tod, the Cup entries numbered forty-three, but
aSouthern team came out again on top, the Old Etonians beating
Cla.pbam Rovers in the final. But there was a challenge more than
in the air from the provinces, for Darren reached the fourth round,
and Nottingbam Forest the semi-final. The old boys beat them both,
but the struggle had fairly begun which was to end in the triumph of
democracy. In referring to these bids for fame, Mr. Alcock wrote at
the time, "I should be ranting in my duty if I did not record the
general satisfaction felt by the Association players at the plucky effort
of the 1ottingham Forest and Darwen Clubs for the Challenge Cup,
and many would have felt pleased, in the interests of the game, had
the possession of that trophy been fairly gained by a Northern team."
Nottingham Forest certainly made the better show of the two clubs.
as they defeated Nottingham, Sheffield. Old Harrovians, and Oxford
University; but greater prominence is attached to the Darwen feat,
as, in contrast to most of the clubs, the team was composed almost
entirely of working lads and young men from the mills of that typical
Lancashire town. It was the first blow of the County Palatine at the
old "go -as -you please" methods and a marked page in the history of
the game. Having disposed of the gallant youths of the neighbouring
village of Eagley by "four goals and a disputed goal to one," Darwen
were drawn to play the Remnants, a London collection of old Public
School boys, modelled on the plan of the Wanderers, and to their sur-
prise won the match by ; goals to 2 at Slough after a very hard
battle. At this jump into the prominence of the fourth round the
excitement in the mid-Lancashire district was tremendous. At that
time the prowess of the Southern clubs was not seriously challenged by
the provincials, who entered the competition with the idea of winning
about as far distant as the moon. The records made by the Wanderers,
58
 The Days of Fergie Suter 59
the Royal Engineers, and the old boy clubs were dreams to such as
played football at Darwen, but this visit to Slough and triumph over the
Remnants showed that in football nothing was impossible.

THE DARWEN MOVEMENT

The Darwen team has been referred to as composed mainly of

working men of the town, but some little explanation seems needful
here to show how the side received the stiffening that gave it the con-
fidence in meeting the unknown quantity of Southern football. In the
team xi-ere two ever-famous Scotchmen, James Love and Fergus Suter,
of Partick, Glasgow. How came they there? They had been in the
team the year previous, and were, to put it plainly and simply, resident
in Darwen because they were good football players. There can be no
suggestion that at the time of their removal from Glasgow they were
i
professional players, and it is not proved that the Darwen Club officials
in any way imagined such a possibility, any more than it can be hinted
that Peter Andrews and James J. Lang, who had gained Scottish caps,
went to Sheffield under false pretences and joined Heeley Club in
1877. The explanation is reasonable that these Scotch players, having
paid visits to Lancashire and Yorkshire in the many matches played
between Scotch and English clubs, saw in Sheffield and Darwen better
opportunities for work at higher wages than they could get at home.
1• rom the earliest days En gl and has been to the working-class Scot
a sort of an Eldorado,where "siller " was plentiful and openings for
Caledonian grit and push even more so. At any rate with regard to
Jimmy'.' Love and "Fergie " Suter there is little room for doubt but
that football ability was the key that gave them openings in Darwen.
It was all innocent enough on the part of the club, for the then secretary,
Al r. Tom Hindle, has over and over again denied the contrary, and there
is no reason whatever to doubt his word. It appears that a Darwen
man who was working in Glasgow, and carried with him his patriotic
love for his native town and its football, got the Partick team to visit
Darwen on more than one occasion, and after one visit Love remained,
and was found employment because of his football. Suter soon followed
him, and the pair naturally gave a stimulus to the home-bred talent
that was possibly at the moment wanting, for at the date the charac-
teristics of Scottish football, with its close and studied combination,
were in some degree superior to that of English play, which ;while more
 6o Association Football
brilliant individually, was lacking in a due appreciation of the merits
i
of the passing game. The dribbling style that suited the old boys best
had been carried to a marvellous perfection, but it was, all other
things being equal, not the style to last. The combined zeal and
determination of the Lancashire lads, in the teams led in harness by two
I
such masters of the art of combination as Love and Suter, made the
Darwen side aserious obstacle.
When, then, Darwen were next drawn against the Old Etonians and to
play at the Oval, the town was filled - with aperfect furore of excitement.
The cost of the journey was too great for the club to stand, and the pre-
cedent set of a public subscription to help Queen's Park in an earlier
year was followed. A public subscription was raised, and the match was
played on February i3, 187 9. It was an extraordinary game. The Old
Etonians led at half-time by 4-0, and, adding another goal, were lead-
ing by 5—o. Tip to then the "Darreners "must have been overcome
by their surroundings, and yielding, as many clubs have done since, to
afictitious feeling of inferiority. In all probability the scoring of agoal,
possibly quite unexpectedly, and a slackening of the Etonians' efforts, I
cave them confidence, for after gaining another point the Lancashire
team arrived at that portion of ahard flame known as the "last quarter,"
when, above most things, condition tells. In that famous fifteen minutes
they showed such grit and vigour that they actually made a draw,
and their doughty antagonists, tired 'with their exertions, declined
an offer to `- finish it off." It is well that they did. Again the
"Darreners " had to go to the Oval, on _March 8, -with the baclilll0 of
nearly /_ r 5 in subscriptions ; to which to their honour the Association
had contributed ; 61oand the Old Etonians ,5. Again the match was
drawn at two goals each, and, areek later, Darwen were beaten by 6-2,
A doubtless almost exhausted by their lon g and tiring journeyings and
hopes raised and deferred. 'Thou gh beaten, the battle was a glorious
one for the provincials, and surely, if the clubs of the day had any pro-
phetic tendencies, a foretaste of the \orthern supremacy so close at
hand. The Old Etonians beat Notts Forest in the semi-final by 2-1,
and though great credit attaches to the Foresters for tlfeir performance,
yet the glamour that attached to the Darwen team was absent, for the
Nottingham men were of the ordinary middle class and amateur class in
whose grasp so far the chief honour of football had lain. In the final
the Old Etonians won, beating Clapham Rovers by 1-o, and after
having been twice runners up.
 Advent of John Lewis 61

LANCASHIRE ORGANISES ITSELF

The Lancashire Football Association was formed in 1878. The

county had up to then been a"hot-bed "of Rugby, and the Association I
Clubs were few in number.
The Darwen Club took the lead
in the movement, and Mr. 'P.
Hindle was the first Hon. Sec-
retary elected at a meeting
held at the Co-operative Hall,
Darwen. At once twenty-one
clubs joined, and among the
names of the Committee-men
appeared that of _Nl r. John
Lewis, of the Blackburn Rovers,
who has since taken such a
commanding position in the
refereeing world, and had so
much to do with the successes
of the club to which he was a
attached. A Challenge Ctlp
was obtained, almost as a
matter of course, for Associa-
tion football seemed to gravi-
tate in that direction.
Up to now, though there Photo: Geo. Newnes, Lid.

were quite a number of local W. R. AlOON

Associations in existence, only Corinthians and England

the Birmin gham, Sheffield, and

Lancashire bodies had allied themselves with the Football Associa-
tion, and the same rules were not played in all parts of England,
while in Scotland there was considerable dissimilarity of codes,
especially as to the throw in from touch "in any direction" which
was not the vogue on the other side of the Border. It is worth
noting that rumours were rife of trips to America by teams from
Scotland and Darwen, and that a Canadian football visit was on the
tapis, but none of these things came to fruition. What with the im-
portation of players, the offer of gold watches to a Shropshire team to
 62 Association Football
win the Cup by alocal magnate and suggested trips abroad, it is evident
that 1878-9 contained in it all the elements- that were likely to grow
into aserious clashing with the old traditions of amateurism, and which
were, in the provinces at any rate, not so firmly fixed as they were in the
metropolis, where the weight of opinion of the "old boy" element was a
preponderating influence. Elsewhere the game was reaching the masses,
and new methods were coming to the front. The seed was the same, but
the soil and the situation in which it was sown was different, and changes
were rapidly coming. For another season- or t wo atan y rate the burn-
ing problem of professio na li sm was no tth rown w ith st
ar tli ng su dd enness

at the heads of the amateur Committee which met, when wanted,

at the office of the Cricket Press, 6 Pilgrim Street, Ludgate Hill,
London, E. C.

THE "NORTHERN HORDE" STILL RISES

The season of 1879-8o was an uneventful one in the Pilgrim Street

fold. In the Laws of the Game it was dec id ed t
o add th at "no player

shall charge his opponent by leaping on him," an addition supposed to

be due to the somewhat vigorous methods of some of the .Northern clubs,
though why these players should have been made the reason for any
additions to the penal code is not quite clear, for it is on record that
Jimmy Knowles, the Darwen captain, was, in one Cup tie with an amateur
team of irreproachable character, knocked silly by a charge, and was so
angry thereat that he refused to accept an apology, and gave his burly
antagonist amouthful of choice Lancashire rebukes. There were faults
on all sides then as now. This season the entries for the Cup were
grouped in divisions, so as to save clubs like Darwen from such terrible
expenses and such frequent journeys to London. Only Notts Forest of
all the provincial clubs, however, reached the semi-final tie, Darwen
succumbing to their near and dear rivals of Blackburn, who in turn
received their quietus from Notts Forest; while Sheffield, who drew
with the Forest in the fourth round, refused to play the extra time and
l were disqualified. In the fifth round the forest were given a bye, but
it availed them little, for after ahard game they lost to Oxford Univer-
sity by 7-0, and Clapham Rovers beat Oxford in the final by the
same score. The decade closed quietly, the quiet before the storm.
Thenceforward came the storm of professionalism before which the
legislators were powerless. In the eighties the game was revolutionised,
 i•

First North v. South Match 6

3

but the story will follow in its proper sequence. Already the principle
of importing players for football, and of legitimate work being found
them, had been introduced. It was the thin end of the wedge, and from
recognition of football ability as astep-stone to employment being found,
to the payment for football services pure and simple, was only aquestion
of degree. The one admitted, the other came as a matter of course.
Even in this year the Football Annual refers to the fact that "there are
many old fogies who recall, with no small satisfaction, the days when foot-
ball had not grown to be so important as to make umpires necessary
and the ` gate 'the first subject for conversation." The old fogies were
about to have a shock.
The Berks and Bucks Association came into the scope of the
Association at this time, with the ever-popular Mr. J. H. Clark of
Maidenhead as President. Northumberland and Durham formed a
combine, and both Associations promptly put up Challenge Cups for
competition, with the usual result that the wave of interest in football
spread apace. The first North v. South match was played on March 6,
188o, at the Oval. In the South team such famous players as C. H.
AVoollaston (Wanderers), E. C. Bambridge (Old Carthusians), Lionel 11

Bury (Old Etonians), and H. A. Swepstone (Pilgrims) took part, while

the North side included J. Hunter (Sheffield Heeley), E. Luntley (Notts
Forest), J. Brindle (Darwen), F. W. Earp (Notts Forest), W. H.
Alosforth (Sheffield Albion), and T. Marshall (Darwen). The teams in
these days when reported in the public press began with the right out-
side forward working back to the goalkeeper, and the usual formation
was two backs, two half-backs, and six forwards, two being in the
centre. This match was drawn, no goals being scored.

GREATER POWERS FOR THE REFEREE

In the summer of i88o the Association, which had now so outgrown its
simple character, went into regular oflices'at 28 Paternoster Row. It had
attained the status of afixed institution with regulation headquarters. In
fact there can be no doubt but that some such change had been found to be
absolutely necessary, for the work of the Hon. Secretary must have been
III
accumulating quicker than compound interest. Dear to the hear ts of

the surviving "Old Timers "is the memory of Paternoster Row, though
only two remain, Lord Kinnaird and Mr. Alcock, of the officers and com-
mittee which first met in that busy centre of the metropolis. Among the
0
P

64 Association Football
"new hands " who came in that season were Mr. C. E. Hart, a quiet
and unobtrusive gentleman, who afterwards received the honour of the
appointment of Hon. Treasurer, and was for years identified with the
London Association after it came into existence. Mr. N. L. Jackson
was also elected, for until alater period the Committee were all elected
on the ordinary club plan at the general meetings.
In the Laws of the Game provision was now made for giving the
referee larger powers. Indeed the referee was first mentioned in the
regulations. He was to be agreed on by mutual arrangement between
the clubs, and to decide points on which the umpires differed. In
those times and until much later, the referee and the umpires went like
the wind, where they listed, and the referee's task was perhaps not such
asimple one as the Law might in its wording suggest, for the umpires
were, even in that happy time, by no means free from club fervour,
and as often as not disagreed and generally so on any doubtful goal.
The referee was empowered to keep a record of the game and act as
timekeeper, and, in order to cope with the "wicked ways," presumably,
of the semi-amateur, he bad the power to caution players who were guilty
of ungentlemanly conduct, in the presence of the umpires, though how
that added to the force and solemnity of the occasion it is not easy to
see. And if the player continued to transgress or one were guilty of
"violent conduct "he had the power to order him off and to report him,
and had no right to accept an apology. Nothing was said in the Laws
as to what might happen to aplayer ordered off, nor did the rules give
the Association any authority, but doubtless the very vagueness of the
implied punishment . was a part of its terrors if nothing else. 'The first
mention is also found of shin-guards, which tradition has credited the
inventiveness of the Nottingham players with the introduction of,
though in some of his reminiscences Mr. J. C. Clegg, of Sheffield, has
mentioned the fact that he used home-made guards for the shins in his
earlier and brilliant playing days.

THE SECRETARIES' CONFERENCE STARTS

Another interesting step was taken in the founding of an Annual

Conference of Association Secretaries. It was as follows: "That each
season, under the auspices of the Football Association, aconference shall
be held, and a representative invited from the following Associations :
The Football (i.e. the parent Association), Scotland, Wales, Sheffield,
y`L'i•••,5•a^•.\:}i.•4Y..:3e..a.•w+
s .*••..vsF:•vv:'
,
I
 I

Mr. Alcock's Broad-mindedness 65

Lancashire, Staffordshire,Berks and Bucks, Birmingham and District,
and all County Challenge Cup Associations, at which discussions as to
the promotion of the game shall take place and arrangements of dates
for the ensuing Inter-Association contests be decided upon; the place of
such conference to be moveable,if practicable ,to the headquarters of
head Associations respectively, to be specified by the Committee of the
Association, at its February general meeting in London, when also the
dates shall be fixed." At this time, and for some years, the Inter-
Association matches were features of the season's programme, and there
was. real need for some common ground of action among them. But
now the Conference, though a very happy function, and one that
enables many who would otherwise never meet, from rubbing acquaint-
ance, has been deprived of most of its serious value. The Cheshire
Football Association, which had been started in 1878, now joined the
parent body." Its first Hon. Secretary was Mr. C. J. Hughes of
Northwich, now aVice-President of the Association, and who a year or
two back celebrated his twenty-fifth year of continuous office. He is
still occupying the post, though his earlier colleague, Mr. R. E. Lythgoe,
shortly afterwards helped to form the Liverpool Association, of which he
became and remains the Hon. Secretary. Such instances of long con-
tinuance in office are among the most striking features of football, and
they are by no means rare.
In the Football Annual of this season, which forms the best record
of the early years of the Association at any rate, and is a gold-mine
of information to the football historian, the Hon. Secretary of the
Association sounded the first serious note as to the approach of
professionalism and how it should be dealt with. From the first
Mr. Alcock seems to have shown a broad-minded attitude towards
an aspect of the game that could not but have clashed with his strong
amateur tendencies. Referring to a grievous dispute between Darwen
and Blackburn Rovers, in which he credits the latter with unsportsman-
like behaviour, he continues :"There is no use to disguise the speedy
approach of atime when the subject of professional players will require

•
the earnest attention of those on whom devolves the management of
Association Football."
The competition for the Cup created an amount of excitement never
P
experienced in previous years and a series of surprises. But still
9
the old boy players held their own. Early in the season the chances I
of both Aston Villa, which club had with rapid strides come to the
VOL. T. E

2 A
i
l

66 Association Football
front, and Notts Forest, who had proved their worth, were strongly
impressed on the Southerners, who must have watched the growth of
these North and Midland rivals with deep interest. Aston Villa began
well, and vanquished their Nottingham opponents in the second round,
r, but were unexpectedly overthrown by Mr. Crump's combination,
Stafford Road, in the fourth, while Blackburn Rovers fell at the second
hurdle. Not so, however, the dauntless "Darreners," who pursued a
conquering career up to the semi-final, defeating both Sheffield clubs
on the way. The 'Varsities dropped out of the competition this season;
also the famous Wanderers. The Old Carthusians and Old Etonians,
together with Darwen, reached the semi-final, and the Etonians received
a bye. In the battle with the Old Carthusians Darwen were very
disappointing and were comfortably defeated, and the victors also
vanquished the Old Etonians. Instance of the popularity of the game
in the l-Iidlands was found in the crowd 12,000 strong that watched
E
one of the closing games for the Birmingham Cup. The Irish clubs
formed aNational Association during the season.

"NOT IN SPIES, BUT IN BATTALIONS"

All this time the rumours as to the payment of players, whether

openly or indirectly, were prevalent, and it was undoubtedly the case.
Scotchmen were coming South, not now in twos and threes, but in
dozens; and it is certain that they did not come merely for football, or
merely for work, but for the cash that stuck to their fingers out of the
I big gates that were being taken by some of the leading clubs in the
provinces. It is said that some club officials paid openly and risked
consequences ; that others "cooked " the gates, and that men found
"unexpected " gold coins in their pockets on dressing after matches.
But the Association remained quiescent.
In the following season, however, that of 1881 -2, arule was passed
prohibiting remuneration of any sort to players above their actual
expenses "and any wages actually lost by such players taking part in
any match," and it was decided that any player breaking the rule should
be debarred from the Cup, Inter-Association, and International matches,
and that any club "employing "such player should be excluded from
membership. There must have been many clubs and players breaking
the rule, but there do not appear to have been any really strong steps
taken to deal with the matter. The insertion of the clause as to the

M
 Blackburn for Ever! 67

refunding of wages lost was no doubt felt to be alikely settlement of

the trouble, though of course it may only have aggravated it, as it was
some official recognition of payment that astute club officials could
easily expand into a certain amount of licence, or at the least salve
their consciences with. It has been declared that if the Association bad
at this juncture acted firmly professionalism could have been stamped out;
but it is difficult to accept that in the light of later happenings. AVhat
would probably have occurred, would have been the splitting up of
the Association into two bodies, the one seeking to be amateur and the
other openly professional; and if this had come to pass the government
and the state of football to-dCay would have been a strange one. The
amateur clubs could, no doubt, have continued their combination with
much success, but they would have been completely overshadowed by
the professional side of the game, which might have drifted to excesses
that it is not pleasant to imagine. By the combination of the two
sections professionalism has been kept within reasonable bounds, though
amateurism has sacrificed its glories.
Several names of gentlemen who afterwards made a deep mark on
the legislature of the game appeared this season. Dr. Morley became
a Vice-President of the Lancashire Association, 117r. R. P. Gregson
succeeded Mr. Hindle as Secretary, and Mr. D. B. Woolfall was elected
to the Committee. All these were Blackburn residents and have
attained high honours in the Association. Dr. Morley, at his death,
was the senior Vice-President, Mr. Gregson, who is still Secretary to
his county body, is a member of the International Board, and Mr.
Woolfall is the Hon. Treasurer. Blackburn has shown its equal facility
in producing players and legislators. Another well-known member of
the Association also came to the front in Mr. D. Haigh, who was the
first Hon. Secretary of the Hallamsbire Association founded in 1881,
and which was afterwards amalgamated with the Sheffield Association.
A new law was passed by the Association giving power to 'the
umpires and referee to allow agoal when the ball had been handled by
aplayer other than the goal-keeper if in their opinion the ball would
have passed between the posts. It was felt at the time to be a dis-
tasteful step to give the officials the right to allow goals that had not
been scored. It was also adding to the already heavy responsibility of
the referee. But it was in the nature of an experiment, such as alive
body is always ready to make, and there are some to-clay who would be
glad, if referees were nearer perfection, to see such great power placed
6s Association Football
again in their hands as preferable to the award of a penalty kick. The
latter is, however, less likely to miss the mark now that the law has been
altered so that the goal-keeper must not advance beyond his goal-line,
and with advantage to the play.

LONDON GOES IN FOR "HOME RULE"

The London Association was now formed. Hitherto the "parent

Association "had selected the London teams, a duty that it really
had outgrown, and the new body, with Mr. N. L. Jackson as Hon.
Secretary, filled anecessary and useful place. The competition for the
Cup was very interesting—it always was and will be. Blackburn
Rovers came out well and reached the final, the first time that a
provincial club had attained such a distinction. By this time there
were nearly as many "country "entries for the Cup as Metropolitan,
the proportions being 32 to 4 r, and in the fifth round four of the nine
clubs came from outside the London district. These were: Blackburn
Rovers, who beat titiWednesbury Old Athletic; Great Marlow, who defeated
the Old Foresters; Sheffield Wednesday, who ousted Upton Park; and
the Old Etonians, who received abye. Thus there were three provincial
clubs in the semi-final for the first time in the history of the Cup. The
tide of the "new school " was flowing fast, but it was not yet at its
height, for after the Rovers had vanquished Sheffield Wednesday in a
great battle after a drawn game, the Old Etonians proved one goal
cleverer than the Lancastrians.

A RESPITE FOR THE SOUTH

Though the victory was a respite for the South, the best judges
candidly admitted the right of the Rovers to be considered the best
playing side of the year. In Lancashire there was no doubt about the
popularity of the team, and in matches with outside clubs it had certainly
the almost undivided support of the Palatine. Quite acrowd went with
the eleven to the Oval, and, possibly in some anticipatory vein, the Black-
burn Borough member then sitting at Westminster arranged to give a
dinner to the club after the match. The dinner came off, but it was
not the gay affair that it would have been had the Rovers placed the
Cup on the table. It is, however, the first instance of notice being
taken by members of Parliament of the football of their constituents.
Probably there are no folk so alive to the times as gentlemen who hold
aseat in "the best club in Europe" by the virtue of a majority vote in
aconstituency, and so early as this the provincial M.P. sdiscovered the
value of a warm support of the game. The Rovers somehow or other
failed to show in the match at
the Oval the brilliancy of their '
other achievements, and the
victory of the Old Etonians
was no fluke. What is more,
it was felt in London and the
bigger centres that there was
a considerable ambiguity as to
the bona fides of the Rovers' •

team in the matter of amateur-

ism. Even Sheffield and Bir-
mingham had not gone to the;
lengths that rumour declared '
the mid-Lancashire clubs had
one in the matter , and as for
the "blue-blooded" amateur of
the South, he was getting in- 4. ;t:
dignant "at the presence of so
many Scotchmen among the
Rovers and the air of profes-
sionalism which pervaded the
team." The increase of gate- Photo .Geo. Newnes, Ltd.

money was bringing about other DR. TINSLEY LINDLEY

changes . For instance, the Corinthians and England

time-honoured Ist of October

-vas set at naught for the opening of the season, and the Darwen Club
went to play a match at Glasgow at the unheard-of early date of 24th
September, while the matches were kept up until well on in April. The
"old fogies "believed that six months' football was quite enough, and
tried to check April fixtures, but they might as well have tried to
clieck the solar system.
Some important reforms were executed by the Association. It was
decided that any club deemed guilty of misbehaviour should be liable
to
- have its conduct brought before a special meeting, with the penalty
7° Association Football
of expulsion at their discretion. Truly the early enthusiasm of the
provinces for the dame '-as causing much anxiety to the legislators,
the bulk of whom, being from the London area, must have - watched
the growth of the newly-hatched clubs under their sway with some
apprehension. But at the moment all the leading Associations - were
professedly loyal to the amateur rules, and the uneasiness felt --as not
allowed to give place to drastic action. In fact the vacillation of the
leaders in the matter of payments allowed the principle to root deeply
and quickly, so that --hen the coats - were taken off to pull up the
(;accursed weed" it broke the backs of its assailants and only embedded
itself the deeper in what certainly was amost fertile soil.
 t

CHAPTER VI

THE TRIUMPH OF THE "DEMOCRACY"

AND so the season 1882-83 arrived, and with it the final triumph I
of democracy in the Cup ties, and the assimilation of the English
and Scottish laws of play, two important landmarks in the story of
the game.
The Surrey Association came into the fold this season, and introduced
to the legislative table Mr. R. R. H. Lockhart-Ross, Mr. Norman C.
Bailey, the famous International half-back, and Mr. W. W. Read, that
excellent cricketer of the eighties. The Liverpool Association was also
formed, and Mr. R. E. Lythgoe,. who had been joint honorary secretary
of the Cheshire Association and helped to found the Association of Wales,
became the honorary secretary. In the personnel of the Football
Association there were some interesting changes. For the first time
the office of Vice-Presidents was decided on, and Mr. Pierce Dix of
Sheffield, who had worked so long and suffered so much in the best
interests of the game, was appointed the senior and Mr. J. W. Clark of 1
Maidenhead his colleague. Mr. N. C. Bailey was among the Committee
elected, also Mr. C. Crump of Birmingham, Dr. Morley of Blackburn,
and Mr. W. B. Mason of Aston Villa. The Association Committee was
becoming more and more leavened by the provinces, for now there were
eight of the twenty-one who were interested in clubs outside the
Metropolis and the Public Schools.
Scotland, with its wonderful playing pre-eminence, shown by her six
International wins in the previous seven encounters, was very strong
upon two points, one being her own ideas as to the Laws of the Game,
and the othe r a fear of being in any way tributary to the Football

Association. There had been fears of a.

serious rupture which it must
be admitted were not due to the attitude of the English Committee,
which was quite conciliatory, but to the impetuous procedure of a N
faction of the Scottish Association Clubs. The Football Association
proposed to submit all difference of opinion and rules to a court of
arbitration consisting of two repr esen t
ati ves f
rom eac h of the four
7_

.... ...... 7
Y

i` ••4i

•Y3fl'9,q••4• E""
72 Association Football
national Associations, which was a generous offer, considering the
comparative weakness and want of influence of the Welsh and Irish
bodies. After some diplomacy the conference was held at - ATanchester
on December 6, 1882. Major Marindin and Mr. Pierce Dix represented
England, ATr. J. Laurie and Mr. John -Wallace, Scotland; Mr. J. K'Alery
and Mr. J. Sinclair, Ireland; and _Mr. L. Kenrick =and NV. S. Owen,
Wales. With so capable achairman as the Major the rough edges were
smoothed, and the conference submitted the basis for an assimilation of
codes. The chief points of variation were the off-side law and that of
the throw in from touch. Previous to this it had been the custom to
throw the ball in from touch with one hand, aided by a run varying
with the player's idea as to how he could the furthest hurl the ball.
Some players could land it behind the posts from the half-way flag, or
even further, and the records of the game contain some wonderful feats
of this nature. The change made, by which both hands were to be
used, was auseful one. As another result of the conference the standard
size of the ball was fixed, and the use of a tape was abandoned, fixed
cross-bars being ordered. The touch lines were to be legibly marked,
and charging behind was mocl i fi ed and made allowable only after direct
obstruction by an opponent. The Manchester conference was the
inauguration of a happier state of international courtesies, and though
the -ssociation did not succeed in enrolling all British football under
A -

one flay, it did obtain auniform code of laws.

THE CUP GOES NORTH

Turnin g now to the first triumph of Lancashire in the playing fields

over all the countryside, and the capture of the cup by Blackburn
Olympic, it is noteworthy that the ultimate winners were not at all
fancied by the cognoscenti, who pinned their faith to clubs which had
made records, such as the Old Etonians, Blackburn Rovers, and Aston
Villa. The victory of the ever famous Olympic was therefore in the
nature of a surprise packet. They began with a win over Accrington
by 6 to 3, and followed up that initial success by defeating Lower
Darren 9to i, Darren Ramblers 8 to o, and Church 2 to o. In the
second series of fl ames they beat the Druids 4 to o, Old Carthusians
4to o, and Old Etonians 2 to z after an extra half-hour, thus marking
this victorious procession to the Cup by scoring no less than 35 goals
against 5, which in these days would be considered a wonderful per-
 A Democratic Team 73

formance. What was this club, and what the stamp of its players
who made such a dint in the records, and who gave the death-blow to
the Cup aspirations of the classical school of Southern players ? It
was, in 1883, in its fifth year of existence; and its advance was quick
and strong. Jack Hunter of Sheffield, a splendid half-back, and
one who had been guilty of certain money-making enterprises in
connection with exhibition games in theatrical style known as the
"Zulus," went to Blackburn at the beginning of the season, and his
business-like methods soon turned the local team into an invincible
side. He gave them excellent coaching, and the team, fired by his
zeal, went in for the strictest training. Prior to the final the side
were sent to Blackpool to get braced up for the contest, and their
prime physical condition wore down the opposition of the fleet but
breathless old boys. They were a small lot on the average, and of
small repute in this world's goods. One—famous T. Hacking, the
goalkeeper—was a dentist's assistant; S. A. Warburton was a master
plumber, and his comrade at back, J. T. Ward, a cotton operative;
W. Astley, one of the halves, was a weaver; T. Gibson was in the
employ of an iron-moulder; and J. Hunter was—well he may be
described as a "professor," a term well known in Scotland; T. Dew-
burst and J. Yates were weavers; A. Matthews, a picture-framer;
J. Costley, a spinner; and G. Wilson, another Sheffield import, whose
employment was "various," probably principally football, like Hunter.
But though these young men were of such humble origin their assimi- I
lation of the principles of the game was marvellous. Nothing like
their style of play had been seen before in London. The old boys,
and many of the leading provincial clubs, went in for individual
dribbling and backing up. Passing was of course acted up to, but
more or less as a second string to the bow, the leading one being
the dribble. The Scotch teams cultivated short passing, and they
may be seen in an International match playing it now as they played
it in Glasgow twenty years back. But the brain pan of Jack Hunter
conceived a more terrible combination still, awelding of short passing
and dribbling with long passing from wing to wing. Operating in
this way against men in condition, but not trained to go "all out"
for two hours, their tactics simply wore the Etonians off' their legs,
and the Olympic had also the advantage of having their opponents'
ranks reduced to ten owing to an injury to A. T. B. Dunn. This I
combination of long passing and vigorous rushes was effectual, if only

ail. .tinC• d• Al •, .►•` •..

 Association Football
from its novelty, and before the Etonians had time to size up the
`= new model" thev --ere run ofi their lees. The end of the long run of
London successes -vas sounded in the extra half-hour which the Associa-
tion Committee had before the game decided should be planed in the
event of a drams-. It might hav e been possible for the tired Etonians
to have lived to fight another dad-,and - with success, had the- had an
interval for reflection and reorganisation, and to fill up th e gap in
the team caused by the loss of so redoubtable a player as Dunn, but
in the fatal thirty minutes the .superior condition of the lithe 01) mpic
over their heavier opponents was marked. and the winning goal fell
to the share of the tiniest member of the Olympic,. little Jimmy
Costley-, --ho had only been in the first eleven since th e Christmas
previous. He --as on the left ring and received from T. Dewhurst
on the right ring one of those long and high passes that: puzzled
the enemy. "Without hesitation he met the ball and kicked it into
goal. Then. ensued a scene and series of scenes hitherto -without
parallel in the football world. The Olympic and their suppo rt
ers

rent -wild With excitement, and --hen the rPresident of the Association
actually- produced the Cup -which had for Lancashire till then but
a vague existence, and handed it to "Cap-Lain" -1 arburtou, the
master plumber, excitement quite carried the provincials away-. The
full lesson of the win was not; at the moment realised by the assembled
" patricians" and the Association Committ ee. nor indeed by- an one. y'

The southern clubs were not aware that. the Cup had gone from
London not to return for nearly twenty- ;ears. or that in all proba-
bility- it had left the grasp of the amateurs for ever. Major Marindin,
in congratulating the winners, expressed the hope that their success
would encourage young club:. It did, but in a manner very far,
probably-,from his point of vier, astute legislator as he undoubtedl y
vas. This time the Borough members, -who --ere again on duty at
the Oval, Mr. W. E. Briggs, an old Ru gby forward, and 3Tr. A".
Coddington, had the pleasure of seeing smiling faces round th e
festive board at the banquet riven to the team: and as for the
return home of the Olympic to Blackburn, why- it is becoming a
traditionary- tale among the good folk of East Lancashire. In a
waggonette dray% u by six horses, the victors were
- ara\% a throuerh
the tour u, escorted by- brass bands and cheering multitudes, and the
•ti riter of this narrative remembers in his youth going from the near
town of Bolton to join in the welcome. A snapshot of Alf. War-
 Preston beaten by 16 Goals 75
burton standing next the driver holding the Cup in the air is engraved
on his memory.
Though the victory of the Olympic marked an epoch in the game
the club itself and its win was only an incident. Before the more
pushful management of its town rival, the Rovers, it faded away,
and its one great achievement was the only mark it made of permanence
in the log-book of the game.

THE RISING OF THE ROVERS

In the next season, 1883-84, the Blackburn Rovers began their

wonderful career in the Cup Competition; a third half-back was intro-
duced in the place of the duplicated centre forward, sham amateurism
grew apace, and the Association began to timorously tackle it, and a
hundred clubs entered for the Cup. In all directions new Associations
and Cup Competitions which were the nucleus of others were originated,
and with them the hold of the Rugby game in many centres began to
weaken. It is a surprising fact that the Rugby code obtained in the
provinces an earlier and stronger following than did the Association
game, though the latter as an organised body came first. One is
driven to the conclusion that the Rugby style of play decidedly found
more favour at the outset. The records of the inauguration of football
Associations almost invariably point, at or after this period, to the
ousting of the Rugby game from popularity, partly no doubt owing
to the greater push and energy of the enthusiasts of the rival code.
Dealing with the professional problem it was -undoubtedly brought
to a head by the open and wholesale manner in which -Mr. W. Sudell,
a Preston enthusiast, set about to build up a great team. Football
was not new to Preston, as its playing began with the Rugby game
in 1877. But the wonderful performances of Darwen and Blackburn
fired the Prestonians who adopted the Association rules. The Black-
burn Rovers gave the new followers of the dribbling game a severe
lesson in an exhibition match in 1881, beating them by no less than
16 goals to o. This and some almost as heavy defeats, instead of
diminishing the interest, only roused the club officials to greater zeal,
and seeing that their conquerors owed much to Scotch players for
their football prowess, Mr. Sudell, who held an important post in one
of the largest cotton mills, and thus had both influence and probably
some cash to spare, became an advocate of following the lead. So

4 ["4fIwY•?t:l..,
76 -association Football
far no serious repressive measure had been taken by the authorities,
and professionalism held up its head - with almost reckless daring.
This is no place in which to discuss the morals of the case. It is
true that hundreds must have knowingly broken the rules to - which
the; by membership subscribed and were in honour bound, and it
-vas very likely the utter disregard of a fine sense of honour on the
part; of a few, that led the many to follow- suit, in almost a sort of
feeling either of desperation, carelessness, or self-preservation. Even
then in Lancashire a club of purely local men, and without money,
had no chance -with the clubs that drew big gates and paid their
players, and the Preston club saw- that to come out on top they
must do as others did. The alternative was relegation to or retention
in the second class. At anyrate Mr. Sudell and his colleagues rent
in for no half measures. To the two or three local men who seemed to
be apt at the game they quickly added a string of Scotch importations.
J. Belger from Glasgow came into the torn and was soon followed
by that great back, .J. Ross, the captain of the Heart of Midlothian
club. Such fine placers as G. Drummond, A. S. Robertson, Davie
Russell, John Graham, "Jimmy" Ross, and Sam Thompson came to
Preston and - were found "employment," and when R. H. Howarth
and Robert Holmes, two local youths, shoved - wonderful ability the
side -was "created " almost in one season. Other clubs tried to follow
suit. and the Bolton Wanderers at one stage only possessed a single
English player in the first. eleven.

EXPELLED FOR PROFESSIONALISM

It -vas perfectly --ell known in Lancashire that the men -were paid.
It -va,s indeed the common talk of the mill and foundry hands, though
the more responsible club officials denied the fact in public. The
ciations in Birmingham and Lancashire held inquiries from time-to time,
but might as easily have found the proverbial pin in the proverbial
haystack as definite proof. They did ; on extra suspicion, punish some
of the offenders. The Association itself on the same day that Accring-
ton beat Park Road by - to ? in the Cup, expelled that club from
membership. In the first round of the second series, Preston _-N-orth
End dre- w with Upton Park, and on a protest by the latter - were dis-
qualified. The match was on January 19, 1884, at Preston, and over
12,000 spectators watched the game. On the matter coming before the
 Crusade against Professionals 77

Association Mr. Sudell admitted the payment of players, but urged

that the practice was common. The frankness of the admission must
have been asurprise to the legislators, and it certainly led to a quicken-
ing of the campaign for or against legalisation. So far a committee,
which comprised the Hon. A. F. Kinnaird, Alessrs. J. H. Cofield,
T. Hindle, J. R. Harvey, N. L.
Jackson, Al. P. Betts, and C. AV.
Alcock, had somewhat leisurely
been investigating the subject
of importation and payments
without direct result. The
Birmingham Association had
been more vigorous, and had
disqualified A. Jones of AVal-
sall, and Dennis Hodgetts and
Green of St. George's. But
now there was the open and
candid admission of the leading
official of a leading club that
rule-breaking was widespread.
After disqualifying the club the
Committee felt that they could
not deal with the larger ques-
tion, though at a subsequent
meeting a resolution moved by
Mr. Alcock and seconded by
Dr. Morley was carried, "That
the time has come for the lega- J. S. FRYER
Captain, Fulham F.C.
lisation of professionalism ";
and it came before the Feb-
ruary Annual General Meeting in the shape of a proposal which,
as it emanated from the Honorary Secretary of the Association, Mr.
C. 117.Alcock, is worthy of record. It was, "That professionalism
be legalised ; the details to be submitted to a subsequent Special
General Aleeting of the Association." In support of this important III
break with the traditions of the past Alr. Alcock did no violence
to that broad-minded view of the game which had always dis-
tinguished him. He felt that the subject would have to be met in
a broader spirit than most of the footballers had yet manifested,
78 Association Football
and that, it -would be a short-sighted policy to attempt to repress
asystem -which would help to remove some of the impurities that --ere
likely to injure the game. He laid down in the Football Annuctl the
view that it was clearly right that the distinction between profes-
sionals and amateurs should be clearly marked, and that an amateur
ought to be one who did not receive more than his bare expenses. He
advocated at first confining the Cup Competition to amateurs, but
nevertheless evidently felt that professional football -would have to
be legislated for and admitted =and the sooner it was done and
legislated upon the better it -would be for the game. Doubtless Mr.
-A-Icock had in his mind the happy relations existing in cricket under
one roof between "gentlemen and players," and hoped to apply the
same to football. lte -was alwaj s aiming at the Football Association
being the paramount authority,over the "game," and to his far-seeing
brain the question of the distinction of players was a smaller matter as
compared with the disintegration of the -work he had helped to build
up. It is worth note that that famous amateur International, _Mr. N. C.
Bailey, seconded his proposal. The General Meeting, however, swayed
by the still strong views of the Sheffield and Birmingham Associations
that the "evil "could be scotched, declined to accept the proposal, and in
its place passed an amendment -which styled the existence of veiled pro-
fessionalism as aserious evil, and urged the appointment of asubcom-
mittee to inquire into the subject and make areport with suggestions
for alterations in the rules to meet the case. Those two doyens of foot-
ball, whose spare time is perhaps to-day taken up mainly in investigating
matters relating to professional football—the irony of fate—Mr. J. C.
Clegg of Sheffield and _Mr. C. Crump of Birmingham, both held the
view that it -would be inadvisable to legalise the paid player. Mr.
C"legg, -who had been a famous amateur runner, had doubtless some
Imowledge of the depths of wickedness into -which the "professional
ped" plunged, but he had not reflected possibly on the fact that the
amateur athletes by disassociating themselves from the professionals,
had allowed the latter to run riot. The evil was not professionalism
in itself but in the -want of proper control. The resolution was carried,
and at the annual conference one was passed asking all Associations to
unite in stamping out professionalism. One is irresistibly reminded of
the stork- of Mother Partington's attempt to sweep back the Atlantic
with a broom!
 "A Northern Horde" 79

TIGHTENING THE SCREW

In the meantime the Association strengthened its repressive rules,

including the power to suspend aclub or player guilty of serious mis-
conduct, and requiring clubs to get and retain for production if neces-
sary the receipts given them by players for out-of-pocket and travelling
expenses. The committee were also empowered to call on clubs charged
with offences to prove their innocence, and failing such proof the clubs
were to be adjudged guilty of the offence. Training expenses not paid
by the player were ruled out of court, and the committee took the
power to call on players and clubs to produce books, letters, and
documents, &c., that might be asked for.
IIow many clubs were professional of the four that this season
reached the semi-final of the Cup it would be as well, perhaps, to offer
no comment upon, but no single Southern team survived the previous
round. Of the last eight clubs, Upton Park, Old Westminsters, and the
Swifts were the only representatives of the old bri gade. In the semi-
final Blackburn furnished two competitors, the famed Olympic and the
equally prominent Rovers; one, the Olympic, "was taken" by Queen's
Park, whose attempts to win the Cup were revived, and the other, the
Rovers, was left to beat the Scotchmen in the final. It was almost
Scotland that the Rovers defeated, for of the eleven players in Queen's
Park all but one were Internationals. It was agreat game that at the
Oval in March 29, 1884, witnessed by i2,000 spectators, agreat number
of whom had followed the fortunes of the Rovers from far-off Lancashire,
and whose rough and ready advent in "Cockney town "led the Pall
Mall Gazette to utter the now proverbial jibe about a "northern
horde of uncouth garb and strange oaths," and likened them to a tribe
of Soudanese Arabs let loose. Horde or not, these faithful excur-
sionists saw the triumph of their "pets." "Jimmy "Brown, the Rovers'
Captain, alocal man of undeniable Lancashire birth and parentage, and
one of the cleverest assimilators of the dribbling and passing methods of
play, deftly dodged the famed Scottish backs Campbell and Gow, and
beat goalkeeper Gillespie of happy memory by a clever manoeuvre.
'faking the ball from his comrade Sourbutts at the right moment, that
worthy lialf-back, one of the best the county has ever produced, Jimmy
Forrest, scored the second goal with alon g centre under the bar; and
the Queen's were unable to draw level in time, though Christie scored
So Association Football
a fine goal. -Ii Ia. or Marindin --as the referee, and in the match he may
not have been the first, and he certainly was not the last, to be accused
of unfairness. Such a charge was of course ridiculous, but four goals
-were disallowed, two on each side :and the Scotchmen were still not
altogether enamoured -with, nor did the; clearly appreciate, the offside
rule, as their own - National Association bad agreed to it.
The home-coming of the Cup was again a triumphal one. Black-
burn had not het got used to such things, and this time not only- the
Cup but the ball that the match was --on -with were held aloft by Mr.
James Brown from the decorated waggonette. At this distance of time
one cannot but feel sympathy with the gallant Queen's Park, who came
so far and so near to the coveted trophy vet again to fail.
PAa`o : Russell e-° Sons
FINAL TIE CROWD AT THE CRYSTAL
AL PALACE

Photo: Russell 6 Smis

THE CORINTHIANS
 I

CHAPTER VII

THE FIGHT FOR LEGALISED PROFESSIONALISM

THE open avowal of the Preston North End management had one satis-
factory effect. It cleared the air. No longer had the opponents of
professionalism any need to indulge in generalities, for the thing they
dreaded and hoped could be stamped out was admittedly rampant.
And yet it was hard for the authorities to realise how widespread the
evasion of the rules really had become. So rapid had been the growth
of the system, owing it must now be agreed to the want of determina-
tion and prompt action on the part of the amateurs, that by the time
the Association was ready to deal with it severely—on paper at any
rate—so many clubs and officials were compromised that a determined
stand was practically too late. As was shown in the season now under
review, 1884-5, these clubs were so deeply committed to professional
methods that the signal for repression meant the signal for revolt.
But this was the direction in which things were tending in the latter
part of 1884. There were several committee meetings held, and a
Special General Meeting met in June at which the burning question
was discussed in almost all its bearings save that of legalisation of the
paid player. The legislators were not without warning as to the extent
of the "evil," but were hardening their hearts; and they added to the
rules for the season that the lost wages clause should not apply to more
than one day in any week, and forbade any imported player or any but
Englishmen to play with English Clubs in the Association Cup Ties.
Coupled with this the Association required returns to be made by club
secretaries as to imported players, their occupation and wages prior to
and after removal, and the reasons for their "change of air." Had these
documents been accurately filled in and been on record they would have
thrown aflood of light upon a chapter in the story of the game which
to this day is hidden under a bushel. The professional of those clays
was paid largely in secret and devious ways, and the negotiations that
preceded the numerous importations were asealed book. Perhaps it is
as well that this phase of the game has been hidden from the prying
VOL. I. 81 F

1
 S? Associa tion Football
eyes and ears of the historian. for iu would not be creditable reading to
many who were otherwise good players and enthusiastic disciples of the
Association game. and whose great fault was in their excess of zeal,
though nothing can of course gild their underhand proceeding:. The
returns were not made. Instead a strong feeling of open defiance was
manifested.

THE THREATENED REVOLT

Within a reek or so after the issue of the circulars nineteen clubs.

chiefly Lancastrian, held a meeting in Blackburn. This was on i,3th
October r884. when the incipient spirit of revolt '-as fanned by the
discussion than took- place. Another meeting -
was held at which it was
decided to form a new Association to be called the British Football
_ssociation ; rather than give up the importations and the payments and
fall in line with the viers of the parent body. conference a:s also held
at A' anchester at which thirty-one clubs --ere represented, and counsel's
opinion that the Association had exceeded its powers was read. Steps
were taken to form a constitution for the new body and to set it going.
But the Lancashire Association. which 'would have been the first to suffer
from the open rupture, agitated for some less drastic methods of dealing
With the situ at ion, and Mr. R. P. Gregson, the secretary, --as most
outspoken on the matter. It has never been his style to call aspade by
any other name, and he made it plain to the committee that any hope
of driven" " out professionalism might be considered at an end. The
Birmingham Association --ere just as hot the other wav and gave for the
moment amost uncompromising opposition to any half measures. But it
stands to the credit of the Southern amateur representatives that they took
no narrow vier of the situation. Aspecially appointed sub-committee ;
which
- was representative in its character. held a long and serious meet-
ing at Manche-ster in -November 1 884 and it --as Mr. C. W .Alcock w ho
proposed and :•Ir. --\-. L. Jackson who seconded a resolution :"That it is
expedient to legalise professionalism under stringent conditions, but that
no paid player shall take part in the Association Cup Competition."
The Association Committee considered this report at length and adopted
it by thirteen votes to five, and ten of the thirteen were Southerners.
The resolutions formed --ere nine in number, but the point of them
was that professionals -were allowed to play under the auspices of the
Association so long as they had abirth qualification within twelve miles
of the club: headquarters, or two years' residence. Professionals were
.
I
 Wavering in the Balance 83

debarred from any active part in legislation, and competitions for prizes
not offered by aclub or Association were forbidden unless the proceeds I
went to some club or charity. It is rather curious that provincial
Associations, which have since made such strides in professionalism, should
have been so bitter against it, but the chances are that if it had-not been
for the Southern clubs, who by their action incidentally s'igned the
death-warrant of their supremacy—nay of their equality—with the "new
school," things would have taken a far different turn. The Scottish
Association brought all the pressure they could to bear on the Football
Association, and acted vigorously in declaring some half score of Scotch
players who had gone to English clubs to be professionals, and barring
them from football in their old country.

THE ASSOCIATION STILL OBSTINATE

The Committee's proposals went before a Special General Meeting

held on i 9th January 1885, at the Freemasons' Tavern, and were knocked
out by around vote. Mr. Alcock then moved the legalisation of profes-
sionals under stringent conditions. An amendment moved by 11r. C.
Crump of the 11irmingham Association, "That the introduction of pro-
fessionalism will be the ruin of the pastime, and it is most unwise to
permit it," was seconded by Mr. Chambers of the Sheffield Association.
This time Mr. Sudell threw down the gauntlet to both the Birmingham
and Sheffield representatives in declaring that lie could prove pro-
fessionalism existed there to an extent that probably its opponents were
not aware. That was very likely, so far as the leaders were concerned,
but there were many at the meeting who must have voted in the full
knowledge of laws broken, and let it be charitably thought in the hope,
however vain, of putting astop to it. Mr. Gregson was emphatic in his
warning and Mr. W. McGregor, of the Aston Villa Club, who comes
upon the public football stage at this meeting, was as ever bluntly
honest in voting as his convictions lay. He favoured legalisation, but it
was lost by II3votes to io8 ;amajority "counting heads," but aminority
under the "two-thirds majority "required to alter arule. Nothing was tl!
carried, not even repressive proposals, and the result may be described as
adraw.
In the meantime the footballers in the provinces, and especially in
Lancashire, hardly knew where they were. Pending the final settlement of
the question the recalcitrant section kept their rival Association as amove
 r

84 Association Football
ready to be made, and the threat, though so far not more than implied,
surely had an effect upon some. The matter lay quiescent until the Annual
General Meeting in March, when Mr. Gregson again came to the front
with the same motion for legalisation under stringent conditions, which
was lost. For it voted io6 against 69, and again the requisite two-
thirds majority failed to be obtained.
The cause of the professional was a rising one, however. The

FULHA•4I FOOTBALL TEAM TRAINING

publicity that the controversy had attained aroused in favour of the paid
player alarge amount of sympathy in quarters where opinions had been
perhaps alittle against him. Without question there were agood many
football officials who, being compromised by their dabbling with pro-
fessionalism "under the rose," were anxious to see it openly acknow-
ledged, and their efforts were naturally vigorously directed to that end..
There were also many who, without being openly hostile to the new
phase of the game, though they would gladly have seen it come to a
peaceful end, must have felt that the tendency of the more important
provincial centres in which they moved was too strong in favour of the paid
 Dr. Morley's Proposal 85

player to be easily checked, and they drifted accordingly with the stream.
And there was a large section who, disliking the new aspect that was
coming over the game, nevertheless made up their mind to the change
in the expectation that afirm hold could be kept on the professional side,
that it would follow on the lines of professionalism in cricket, and that
its undue spread could be checked by residential clauses. And some were
tired of the continuous bickerings and the almost endless discussions,
for on more than one occasion the legislators had sat until the morn-
ing hours in fruitless efforts to arrive at a satisfactory conclusion. So
that despite the adverse vote last recorded steps were taken by the
Association to obtain afurther report by a sub-committee. The result
of this report was in favour of legalisation under restrictions, and a
Special General Meeting held at Anderton's Hotel, London, on July 20,
1885, was called to receive the Committee's report.

PROFESSIONALISM LEGALISED AT LAST

Seeing the revolution that this Special General Meeting effected it is

surprising that the attendance was so small. There were less than fifty
present, and the recommendation of the Committee was adopted on the
proposal of Dr. Morley, 35 voting for it and 5 against, a small number
remaining neutral.
In accordance with this vote the following rules were added at the

opening of the season

"Professionals ofallowed
shall be 1885--86
to compete in all Cups, County and Inter-

Association matches, provided they be qualified as follows:—

(a) In Cup matches by birth or residence for two (2) years last past within six (6)
miles of the ground or headquarters of the Club for which they play.
(b) In County matches as defined in Rule XI., which applies equally to all players
whether amateur or professional.
(c) In Inter-Association matches by bon4 fide membership for the two (2) years last
past of some Club belonging to one of the competing Associations.
No professional shall be allowed to serve on any Association Committee or represent
his own or any other Club at any meeting of the Football Association,
No professional shall be allowed to play for more than one Club in any one season
without special permission of the Committee of the Football Association.
All professionals shall be annually registered in a book to be kept by the Committee
of the Football Association, and no professional shall be allowed to play unless he
has been so registered."

The lines on which the Association laid the employment of pro-

fessionals were somewhat similar to those that applied to County
86 Association Football
Cricket. Thus Clause B refers to Rule XI., and that rule stated
that in County matches the qualifications required be those recognised
by the leading County Cricket Clubs." Whether the advocates of
professionalism, and the Club officials - who had been drawn or driven
into it, -
were, satisfied with the restrictions or not, they v-ere evidently
satisfied for the time with its le galisation, and the growing football
family became aunited one again, and the idea of a rival Association
was put on one side. But the new state of things by no means found
general favour, even in such large centres as Sheffield, Birmingham, and
Nottingham which were for the moment even more bitter against the
paid player than the Southern amateurs were. But this feeling did
not last long. In Scotland the course of events across the Border had
been followed with engrossing interest. Mr. 31`Killop, the President,
used every effort to prevent professionalism spreading, and acommittee
investigated several cases, suspended several players for two years,
and expelled a guilty Club. But palliating circumstances caused a
remission of the severity of the sentences. Nevertheless the Scottish
Association, takin g formal notice of the fact that sixty--eight Scotcbmen
had gone to play with English Clubs, prohibited them by name—a
goodly list—from playing in the land of their birth without special
permission. The report of the Scottish Association for the year con-
tained these v-ords :' -Taken altogether a good work has begun ; agood

foundation laid, and if the matter is properly followed up the evil will
be kept out of the Association."

THE BITTERNESS OF SCOTLAND

Well, it is rather a commentary on the facts of the period that

while the Scottish football "Professor"' or showman bad actually been
the cause of the introduction of professionalism into England, his
compatriots who were on the legislative side of the game in Scot-
land were his strongest denouncers. He v-as received at first with
admiring diffidence, and afterwards with open arms, by the sport-
loving cotton operatives ; miners, and ironworkers of Lancashire,
and «-as a popular "hero " in the land of his adoption, and at the
came time an outlaw from. his "ain countree." But it is to the
Loves, the Suters. the Lanus, and the 11Intyres that the changed
aspect of football was due, and if there be anv credit to be attached
to the fact, or any historic notoriety to be connected with any one
 Inspired by "Bawbees " 87
in particular, these early adventurers must largely take the credit
and the notoriety.
Before the opening of the season of 1885-6, the Association had
already begun to strengthen its hold on all players of the game. The
professionals were kept in the fold by the special regulations referred
to, and it was enacted that the Committee should have power to forbid
any club belonging to it to play matches with any club not attached
to some recognised Association. Thus, instead of there being in Eng-
land a number of isolated Associations and combinations of clubs,
playing under rules that, while they were in the main on the same
lines, were divergent in many respects, some of them independent and
others acknowledging the "parent Association," the followers of the
game were all drawn in under similar regulatio ns and one central
control. County Associations had been formed in Essex, Sussex,
Derbyshire, Hampshire, Dorset, Middlesex, Oxfordshire, Wiltshire,
and Northamptonshire, all of which became affiliated. The Cup had
again gone to the Blackburn Rovers, whose final with Queen's Park
proved to be the last occasion on which the latter redoubtable club
took any very active part in the English competition. As showing
the extent of the change that came over the respective playing strength
of the North and South, only two Southern teams reached the third
round of the second series, the Old Etonians and the Old Carthusians, i
The Old Carthusians reached the semi-final, and fell before the prowess
of the Blackburn team by no less than five goals to one. There had
arrived a new school of cup-hunters, men who were able to give all
their time and attention to both the theory and practice of the game,
who trained assiduously, and were by their worshippers given every
opportunity of bringing to bear on the kicking about of a football
mental and physical talents in many cases of no low order. Much as
some might object to the amalgamation of the old and the new types
of footballer, and of the grafting of the lusty growth inspired by the
"bawbees," as Dr. John Smith, the pre-eminent Scotch International, 0
aptly put it in a letter he wrote on the subject, upon the sturdy stem
of the parent tree, it could not be said that the professional player in
and by himself, and of malice prepense so to say, degraded the pastime. p•!
For many of the troublesome offshoots of the revolutionary act of 1885,
the misguided enthusiasm of the sport-loving and hard-working toilers
in the big cities has been to blame. The professional has always more
or less played to the orders given him, and moulded his conduct and
88 Association Football
methods on those of his superiors. Where he has been honestly and
wisely controlled and guided he has proved to be the best of fellows.
And, by the very fact that he was able to specialise the subject, his
advent led to great improvements in scientific and skilful play. From
the verb- first, from the days when he skulked across the Border and
took the Saxon's gold, he gave value for the money received_ The
old style of play was quite altered by him ;and if he imported into the
name some tricks and practices that it is to this day difficult to eradicate,
he also made afine art of the good old English sport that he seemed
fitted for from his birth. And, moreover, he inspired by his example
the planers be found himself domiciled among, and many an English-
man who has risen to high honour and distinction on the Cup and
International fields owes it to the Scotch "Professors."

THE "WOLF` BECOMES THE "LAMB"

When the ball was set rolling in September 1885, the professional
had come into his own. -No longer was there any need for secrecy-,
and no longer did he feel himself to be a wolf in the fold. He was
paid his due—often more than it—openly, and man' aClub committee-
man must have felt relieved at the wholesale "whitewashing that
marked the advent of the new era_ In one respect at any rate the pro-
fessional was superior to one section of the players, that which might
be called, as it has been styled so often, the "Shamateur." Though it
has now for twenty years been made lawful in football for players to
receive payment. for their services, and though the highest honours
have been showered upon the ablest of them, there still exists a certain
amount of pseudo-amateurism which perhaps owes its existence mainly
to false ideas of the social inferiority of a man who is known and
registered as a professional, and partly- to the persistence with which
in some quarters the "'Act. of 1885 has been refused local sanction.
In this season only four amateur clubs qualified for the second
series of Cup ties, viz., the Swifts, Old Carthusians, Brentwood, and
Old Westminsters. In the next round -West Bromwich Albion beat
the Old W estminsters by no less than 6-o. Brentwood after a
Gallant fight were defeated by Blackburn Rovers. and the Swifts sur-
vived to be beaten in the semi-final by the Rovers, who went on and
won the Cup for the third time in succession. a feat which hitherto
only the Wanderers had accomplished. The second of the matches
 Scotland's Long Season
in the final tie was played at Derby, this being the first occasion
in which the Cup had not been fought for and won in London.
The legalisation of the paid player led to agrowing series of special
rules to check his tendency to go to extremes. It was found that he
was not averse to playing all the year round if he were only paid, and
that clubs, in order to obtain
gates to clear their expenses,
were inclined to encroach upon
the summer months, which had
hitherto, without enactment to
the contrary, been devoted to x4,
Y

other sports. Hence the Asso-y

elation had.to define what the U x_tf
playing•season was and incor- -'
porated in the rules the order
that it lasted from the Ist of i
ru '
September until the 3oth of
April of the following year,
and that period has remained'
the statutory one to this day. 1
Attempts have been made at .
one time or another to shorten
it, but the exigencies of profes-
sional football always blocked
. i
the way, though no effort has `_
been seriously made by the t-
clubs to lengthen the season . Photo: Geo. Newnes, Ltd.

This has at times been con- A. TAIT

sidered, and in Scotland the Tottenham Hotspur

period is longer at both ends

than in En gland ;but it is to be hoped that the Scottish Association
will be able to make their season co-terminous with that in England,
and that areasonable common sense will not in the latter country ever
lead to an extension which would in many quarters injure the kindred
sport of cricket. Besides which football in May and August is some-
what of an absurdity, and eight months is long enough for the football
player, his summer wages being generally secure.
The right of appeal from a punishment inflicted by the Committee
of the Association to the Special General Meeting was now introduced
9° Association Football
into the riles, and though Scotland still—on the surface viewed the
professional as an outcast, his right to a place in the English team was
admitted. The keenness of the Cup Competition also made some
changes necessary. Clubs were required to schedule a complete alpha-
betical list of their playing members on entering for the Cup ; and as
the failure of a club to carry out its fixture led to heavy loss on its
opponent—the loss of a match and share of gate it was ordered that
aclub intending to scratch should give fire clays' notice. In the easy -
going days clubs were content -with awalk over, and did not view the
failure of amatch v-ith much concern. To them one fame was as good
as another so long as they fixed up sides in some manner. But with
the new era wages had to be paid ; and the Cup ties were important aids
towards this peremptory requirement. With the rapid spread of the
game and its increasing rigour ;it was found necessary for the Association
to issue explanatory notes on some of the more doubtful or little under-
stood laws, in order at any rate to guide the umpires and referees in
their duty. Most of these regulations dealt. with the problem of when
aplayer was off-side and when he v-as not ; but referees were urged to
fe,arlessly use their posers in the case of ungentlemanly conduct. The
practice which the professionals had inaugurated of rearing studs and
bars on the soles of their boots—for these gentry very quickly discovered
that there - were conditions of play which required special attention on
their part—led to stipulations as to projecting and conical aids to the
maintenance of equilibrium on mudd y grounds.

DISARMING SCOT'T'ISH CRITICISM

In their heart of hearts the scotch legislators viewed probably with

more disfavour the deportation of so many fine players than the actual
legalisation of professionalism. It must have been gall and wormwood
to their leading clubs to have their ranks depleted of their best. But
the Football Association, which had always shoNvn awise policy, in deal-
ing with International affairs, dealt with this -wholesale importation of
men, or tried to deal -with it. in a manner that disarmed Scottish
criticism of the venture into the "unknown regions "of professionalism.
Without doubt Scottish clubs were equally offenders, and Dr. Smith, the
amous Queen's Park player, had no compunction in openly pillorying
P

his compatriots for wilfully closing their eyes to the existence of the
paid player, and pointed out the illogical position of those members of
 Some Brilliant Amateurs 91
the Scottish Association who objected to meeting England because the
latter chose to elect a professional in her team, while the Scottish
Eleven contained more than one player who was in receipt of wages in
an underhand manner. At any rate, whether Scotland was pacified by
the English efforts to stop importation, or shamed by Dr. Smith's out-
spoken views, there were no International differences over the annual
encounter. In the English team only one professional took part—
"Jimmy "Forrest of Blackburn Rovers—a half-back whose fame it will
take many a generation to' forget. It is also worthy of notice that f
the South team beat the North, and that in the newly instituted
Gentlemen v. Players match the amateurs won. With the brilliant
brothers Walters at full-back, the safe and reliable N. C. Bailey at half,
and such grand forwards, fast and forceful and skilful, as E. C Bam-
bridge and W. N. Cobbold, the amateurs had at this time always
the nucleus of a powerful side, for which the wiles and the trained con-
dition of the professionals were hardly a match. The Walters have ; in
the opinion of many good judges, never been excelled as a pair in the
back division. N. C. Bailey was afixture as England's captain, and at
half was almost impassable, while in the use of the head as an adjunct
to defence he was one of the most advanced players of the day. E. C.
Rambridge was awonderful winger, and W. N. Cobbold's great dribbling
powers, coupled with an extraordinary expertness in getting goals, has
made his name a synonym for excellence in the front rank. And the
"Players," too, had at this period some remarkably powerful and finished
exponents of the game in their ranks, and than ``Nick" Ross of Preston
North End football has prob ably never produced a superior back. He
had the honour at the Gentlemen v. Players match of being introduced
i
to the Prince of Wales, and it is recorded of this uncrowned "Prince of
Backs " that his bearing before Royalty was in keeping w ith hi s st
rong

and resolute and yet almost chivalrous nature. He gave hard knocks
did Nick," but he received the same with imperturbability, and his
end was as gallant as his football career, for if any man gave up his
life for that of astranger, surely Nicholas John Ross did.

•Il
THE INTERNATIONAL BOARD IS CREATED

The Association in the summer of 1885 arrived finally at an under-

standing with the other three national Associations on the various
points of difference, and, with aview to prevent future complications,

•f! •'•.:a'. mow:) . •xv :. ...r-:.-:

u .
•.r
i ";z? '•cj•'• • s. ••d'r ;••`;. •>.• r.•e'vs:. y•,. :,≥.;,•:..: '. •
`i3::.: 3s ..: :,r:... ,_;•:.
._st-: aY, 4:;`:',s'.v`, :'.,.. ti' ." •6'•:k•'
ra° •_ ,.:•• e ta- z .. M2; +.S' •
„•„ e. ... `a.i
^.;•'''•i-Ls.. 11•u - •a'' .i•:.,• . ^ n'•
92 Association Football
Scotland, Wales, and Ireland joined in establishing an International
Board to which all differences of opinion should be referred, and by
which only,the Laws of the Game should be altered. It may perhaps
seem somewhat of an anomaly that equal powers should be vested in
Associations of vastly varying importance, but it speaks well for the
conciliatory and wise manner in which the Board has ever conducted
its work, that it certainly achieved the objects for which it was founded.
Though some of the sections of English and Scottish football are
stronger in most respects than more than one of the National Associa-
tions, all parts of the football body politic bow to the will of the
International Board, which on its part exercises a broad-minded, com-
mon-sense, and judicious attitude towards the game as awhole.

THE PROPHETIC SOUL OF MR. BUDD

In this season Mr. C. Crump was honoured with election as vice-

president of the Association, and the names of llr. J. C. Clegg of
Sheffield, Mr. R. Y. Gregson of the Lancashire Association, and _Mr.
R. E. Lythgoe of the Liverpool Association first appear upon the list of
the Committee, which consisted of apresident. three vice-presidents, bon.
treasurer, bon. secretary, sixteen elected committee-men, and a repre-
sentative from each affiliated Association. Looking at the list of
names it was evident that the power was passing out of the hands of
the Southern clubs rapidly, as out of the twenty-two elected members
a. dozen came from either the -North or the Midlands. It must not be
forgotten that the Southern majority could, if they bad willed it, have
outvoted the professional element, and kept the Association as amateur
—in name at least—as its great rival organisation the Rugby Union.
But the difference between the manner in which the Rugby Union and
the Association amateurs viewed the subject was marked. Mr. Arthur
Budd wrote in 1886: "Mark the progress of the sister game. The
Associationists sanctioned professionalism because they had no alterna-
tive. When they took the problem in hand professionalism was too big
achild to be got rid of. Note this instructive and significant fact. Only
six months after legitimisation of the bastard, we see two professional
clubs left to fight out the final tie. To what does all this tend ?
Why this—Gentlemen who play once a week as a pastime will find
themselves no match for men who give up their whole time and abilities to
it. How should they ? One by one, as they find themselves outclassed,
 A False Prophet 93

they will desert the game and leave the field to professionals. And what
sport, we would ask, has thriven when supported by professionals only ?
Why none. The Rugby Union Committee, finding themselves face to face
with the hydra, have determined to throttle it before it is big enough
to throttle them.... Let there be no doubt about it, the committee are
thoroughly in earnest. ...No mercy but iron rigour will be dealt out."
This shows the attitude that the Rugby Union displayed as con-

I!iota :Bowden Bros.

ENGLISH CUP
Tottenham Hotspur v. West Bromwich Albion

"A
A H EADER

trasted with that of the Association. Things have not quite turned out as
Mr. Budd anticipated, and in the same article he admitted the veiled
professionalism among some Rugby clubs, and deplored the "loss of a
sense of honour that is the foundation of all true sport." Possibly the
position of affairs to-day may carry its own commentary; and whether
the firm adherence to the "iron rigour " of the Rugby men, or the
"legitimisation of the bastard " by the Association, was ultimately the
best policy is aquestion that may be left to the reader acquainted with
the history and position of the respective codes to decide for himself.
 Cli PTER VIII

PROFESSION I
LLIS_
M BECO -
MES FREED FROM "STRI\GE\T
CONDITION S"

IT was early, of course, for prophecies as to the effects of the new order
of things. But the affiliated _-associations, whose Cup competitions and
county matches had so far provided the most attractive of the season's
fixtures, speedily began to make the discovery that the clubs with grow-
ing rage bills to pay found it inconvenient either to play semi-final or
final Cup ties in which they drew ablank as regards receipts, or to spare
their men for the Inter-Association matches, the proceeds of which rent
into other pockets. This early and natural tendency of the times was,
a little later, partly met by the allocation of a. share of the Cup tie
"spoils " to the clubs which produced the money, but the County and
Association games showed atendency to falling off .both in interest and
support. The Birmingbam Association recorded at this time that
Aston Villa had entered their reserve team for the local cup, and there
was not quite the same enthusiasm shown by the leading organisations
in anything that did not brim grist to the mill.
The Scottish clubs had not yet given up hopes of capturing the
"English Cup," which was ostensibly open to all comers: The famous
Queen's Park, after having gone so far on several occasions and failed,
must by now have been inclined to give up the attempt, but in the
season iSS6-- they, appeared again in the entries -with several other
ambitious teams from Scotland in the field, Third Lanark, Heart of
Midlothian ; Renton, Glasgow Rangers, Cowlairs, and Partick Thistle.
while an Irish club, Cliftonville (Belfast), also competed and several
Welsh teams. Four of them survived to the third round of their
divisions, Renton knocking out the holders by 2-o after a draw. In
the next round Preston orth End, who were probably at their best as
a fighting machine," retrieved the honour of Lancashire by a defeat
of Renton. Glasgow Rangers ran into the sixth round and defeated
the Old -Westminsters, only to succumb to Aston ATilla in the semi-
final. In the same round West Bromwich Albion created a surprise
94
 Legislative Changes 95
by ousting Preston North End, who were the favourites, and the Final
Tie was, for the first and not the last time, a Birmingham rivalry.
After adesperate game the Villa inscribed their names on the Cup for
the first time.
An incident that does not redound to the credit of the Midland
football "enthusiasts of that year occurred in connection with the
North v. South match at the Aston Villa ground. In the Football
Annual Mr. Alcock states that the action of the Association Committee
in another matter had given offence to a portion of the Birmingham
public, and one of the leading papers in the town openly urged that
the match should be boycotted. ,In spite of the efforts of the directorate
of the local Association, this policy was carried out, and as aconsequence
the match was a financial failure. This was indeed a novel feature in
the history of the game, but that it may be put down to the discredit of
the professional. is not quite so accurate a diagnosis of the case as that
it showed how persons, who would perhaps have felt it to be lowering to.
their social standing to play for money themselves, could be led into
disreputable actions by the very keenness of their enthusiasm. In
recording from time to time the blots that have been made on the fair
page of the game, the misdeeds of the professionals themselves must be
disassociated from those of their leaders and backers, for whose lapse
from the true sporting instincts of the Briton there can be no excuse.

THE COMMITTEE BECOMES A COUNCIL

At this stage the. government of the game underwent a radical

change. The area of the Association was, thanks to a wise scheme
devised by Mr. D. B. Woolfall, divided into ten divisions, and
each division was represented by a delegate elected by the clubs.
In addition each Association that had fifty clubs attached to it had the
right of sending a representative. 'thus the executive for the season
188 7-8 comprised seven representatives from London and district, four
others from the South, and sixteen from the North and Midlands.
Mr. N. C. Bailey was elected a vice-president in the place of Mr. J
J. H. Clark, whose death was lamented by a wide circle of admirers ;
and among the new legislators whom the innovation placed upon the 11
Committee were Mr. C. J. Hughes, the Cheshire Association bon.
secretary ;Mr. Woolfall ;Mr. G. S. Sherrington, who represented the
combined Associations of Kent, Norfolk, and Suffolk; Mr. W. Sudell of

sir„"'h.'k: 0':.'I .:L'a•r.• _ r r:' _.. ...+rv±.aG

•?^,tYa•. ,t,?a` f"e% i,
96 Association Football
Preston -North End: and Mr. David Haigh, the hon. secretary of the
Amalgamated Associations of Sheffield and Hallamshire. Mr. Sudell did
not long remain in office, but the other four gentlemen all rendered long
and valuable service to the game. llr. Haigh retired in I904 owing to
ill health, and Messrs. Hughes and Sherrington are now - vice-presidents.
Another change came about in regard to the position of Mr. Alcock
as hon. secretary. The work had been abnormally increasing, and an
office had been taken at 5r Holborn Viaduct for the headquarters of
the Association, whose requirements had got beyond the inadequate
resources of a private room. After having filled the post for twenty
years on an entirely honorary basis, Mr. Alcock found himself unable to
continue to do so, and resigned ;but his valuable assistance - was retained
to the body with which he had so long and honourably been associated
by the creation of apaid secretaryship, which he accepted, having at the
same time accorded him the rights of an ordinary member of the body,
-which was now for the first time called "The Football Association Council.'
There were some minor alterations made in the Lars of the Game by
the International Board in 1887, one providing for the difficulty which
bad often arisen as to whether the ball was out of play if it passed over
the boundary line when in the air. Obviously the only construction
that could be placed on this was that the imaginary boundary line was
as necessary- as the whitewashed touch or goal line. Settled in this
sensible --ay ,the custom of some umpires and referees that allowed a
ball to be in play if it dropped within the playing area, though it had
gone over the line in the air, was at an end, The Board also settled
another matter on which referees had been acting in different ways, and
the "throw-up" to re-start a. game after a temporary suspension was
introduced. Otherwise the laws and regulations were little altered
until the rapid spread of the mania—for it can be called little else—for
professionalism made changes necessary. The use of the word mania
is justified by the lengths to which the idea of payment for football
playing went in some quarters, lengths that were quite unjustified by
the prospects of remunerative fixtures, and unwarranted by the position
and standing of hundreds of junior clubs, whose meddling with the
"fire" led to a good proportion of them being "burnt." But in the
larger sphere of football the popularity of the spectacular football, which
the professional founded, increased by leaps and bounds. It was no
uncommon thing to find audiences exceeding twenty thousand in
number witnessing some of the rival games between leading clubs, and
Photo: Thiele 6-Co., London

N. L. JACKSON

Founder of the Corinthian F. C.

in the season's contest for the Cup the professionals carried all before
them. The Old Carthusians and Old Foresters alone of the amateur
clubs reached the fifth round of the Cup. The Old Carthusians survived
to the next round, being alone in the company of seven clubs that were
exploiters of the paid player. No Scottish team competed this time.

THE "TWO-FOOT RULE" EPISODE

During the competition a protest arose out of the tie between Crewe
Alexandra and the Swifts that at the time gave rise to much acrimonious
criticism of what was termed
the "win, tie, or wrangle "
methods of some professional'` Y"
clubs and players. The Swifts
won the match at Kensington X31

by 3-2, and at the conclusion'

of the game a protest was -X `
lodged by the losers quite un- 4 i
known to the Swifts, that the.
bar at one end was two inches r
F.

below the height required by >

;`
the laws. It transpired in the F .:
inquiry that followed that the y
:
k + F
V ,,
error was known to at least one
of the Crewe Alexandra officials k

before the g
game started •and .
X.
i
he admitted having gone over•
the posts and bars with a two-
foot rule. The Committee were <;:• , •"••;r s
bound to enforce the strict
reading of the law and
the match to be re-played , but Photo: Geo. Newnes, Ltd.

added avote of censure on the J. BREARLEY

action of the Crewe Club in Tottenham Hotspur

acting so unworthily as to keep

a defect that might tell to their gain in the case of defeat "up their
sleeves." This episode was justly condemned by amateurs and profes-
sionals alike, but it has gone down in football history as the "two-foot
rule protest," and has been made unjustly the text for many denunciations
VOL. I. G
 98 Association Football
of professional football. In the final tie Preston North End and West
Bromwich Albion met, and the interest was shown by an attendance that
was described as "enormous," though it would in these days be considered
a poor "gate "for a final. The match was a replica of the semi-final
of the previous season. Preston North End were confident of success.
They had been the runners-up for two seasons and were already known,
though they had not attained to the .full measure of their triumphs as
the "Invincibles." .They were all, or almost all, highly paid "pro-
fessors "of the art, and of Scotch extraction, whereas the wage bill of
their opponents, who were popularly known as the "Throstles," nick-
names having come in strongly with the professional era, received all
told less than / 1o aweek, and they were all Staffordshire lads. If it
be permissible to use the word hero in connection with the playing of a
game at football, that since famous forward, W. I. Bassett, a mere
youth at the time, was the hero of this match. The North End played
the regulation methods, short passing and combination, but, inspired
by Bassett, the Albion went in for a policy of long passing and dashing
runs that quite upset the more calculating moves of the Preston men
and wore them down. The game was one of the most exciting of Cup
ties, and the victory of the little "Throstles "was everywhere received
with delight, largely due to the fact of their trifling professional
dealings and their local character. They had quite a triumphal recep-
tion in their own streets, recalling the ebullitions of excitement that
marked the victories of Blackburn Olympic and Rovers in previous
,seasons.
Several new naives came upon the Council for the season 1888-9.
Among them may be mentioned those of Mr. J. J. Bentley, who had
hitherto been connected with the management of the Lancashire
Association and the Bolton Wanderers Club, and he was elected as a
divisional representative; Mr. S. W. AA%iddowson of Nottingham, and
j• Air. W. Pickford, who represented the allied Associations of Hampshire
and Sussex. Mr. AViddowson, who was afamous amateur player in his
day, did not long remain amember, but the other two have maintained
their connection with the Association since, and done excellent service
for the game. Mr. Bentley, who has occupied the post of president of
the Football League for many years, was in 19o5 elected avice-president
of the Association.
The exigencies of the Cup Competition, the entries for which now
chiefly concerned professional clubs, in its later stages, demanded con-
 Preston's Great Year 99
siderable revision. In order to meet the difficulty of the leading
organisations, that in the earlier rounds they were set to meet small
clubs in beating whom neither cash nor glory was to be had, the
•l
competition was divided into two sections, and the four semi-finalists
of the previous season, together with eighteen selected teams, were
exempted until the rest of the entrants had been whittled down to ten.
The earlier matches were therefore for the most part of little interest,
save locally, and the closing games were marked by a great accession of
popularity. Few of the amateur clubs were exempted, even at the
beginning of this new scheme, and their numbers quickly diminished to
zero. Four of the amateur clubs figured in the first round of the 'I!
competition proper—the Swifts, Old Carthusians, Old Brightonians, and
Old Westminsters ;but only one pulled through, the Swifts, who gave
Blackburn Rovers a walk-over in the next round. This time Preston
North End made no mistake in their almost inevitable meeting with
Nest Bromwich Albion, though the game was an exceedingly close
struggle, and in the final met a comparatively weak opposition in
Wolverhampton Wanderers and won by 3-0. In the rounds this
great combination had won every match without losing agoal, and as in
the same season they were returned the first champions of the newly is
formed Football League without losing a game, they deserve the credit
of being one of the best, if not the best, team that ever took the field.

FORMATION OF THE FOOTBALL LEAGUE

Up to this season the leading professional clubs had been compelled

to carry on a programme of what are known as "friendly matches," but
it was evident that this class of game, with its uncertainties and its lack
of excitement, was not a sufficiently strong pabulum for the multitude.
Further than this even a reliable set of interesting "friendlies " was
liable to be upset by national and local Cup ties, a few rounds of which
could hardly alone provide funds for meeting the salary list. As long
I.
as aclub did well in Cup ties there was not so very much to grumble at,
but adisaster in these games practically meant the loss of local support
and activity. The action of the Association in fixing the date of the
AI
Cup ties definitely, and not allowing them to be varied by mutual
agreement of the clubs drawn together, certainly modified one grievance;
but the other, that of the want of attractive matches between whiles,
-vas agrowing one. It is largely due to Mr. AT. McGregor of Birming-

Tyy
.4 1?1•
I00 Association Football
ham that the Football League - was founded in 1888. Something of the
kind had been talked of in ageneral way, and the idea of adapting the
tournament system that prevailed among the baseball clubs in America
-vas not novel, but the initiative was lackin g. This -was supplied by
Mr. McGregor, a Scotsman - who settled in Birmingham about the year
18 7o. He had been dram by the football lodestone into the committee
of the Aston Villa Club, of wLh he - was afterwards made alife member,
and his mind had turned about this period to the method which the
cricket counties used of playing a regular list of competition matches.
In 31arch 1888 he circularised a number of the leading clubs, and
receiving favourable replies, ameeting was held on the night before the
final tie at Anderton's Hotel, London, followed by another at 3lanchester
on April 17, when it was decided to form aLeague of twelve clubs on
the principles that are now so well known. Mr. McGregor was elected
the first president, an honour that he richly deserved, and is now alife
member of the committee. The new idea took quick root and the
result was that it has been followed, and Leagues multiplied to an
almost inconceivable extent. The following table of the first year's
positions of the League clubs gives at once the names of the historic
tweIN-eand their early records :—

won. Lo. Drawn. Points.

Preston -North End . is O 4 i 40

Aston Villa 12 5 3 1 29

Wolverhampton Wanderers 12 6 4 28
Blackburn Rovers 10 6 6 6
Bolton Wanderers 10 IO 2 22
Vest Bromwich Albion Io 10 2 -„

Accrinuton _ 6 8 8 20
Everton 9 11 2 20
Burnle`- i 1 '- J 1%

Derby Count- . 7 ij 2 16
Notts Counts 5 Ij 2 12
Stoke 4 1? 4 12

The League inaugurated a new era in Association football. Sub-

scribing loyally to the parent Association, the clubs yet bound them-
selves together to let nothing interfere in the playing of matches
arranged. They also agreed to play their full strength in all matches,
which was an important item. They adopted the principle of each
club taking its own gate receipts, but in the beginning allowed
a sum of -12 t o th e vi
siting clubs. The four lowest clubs had to,
retire and were eligible for re-election, and the referee being held to,
 Referees Receive a Fee r
or a
be worthy of his hire was allowed a fee of Z i, is. plus his third-class
railway fare. This was another marked year in the history of the
game. With the advent of the League a new factor was introduced
into the game. Though many amateurs -took part in the games, and
the aid of a talented player of this stamp has always been welcomed,
i
the League was pre-eminently a body that had to do with the pro-
fessional side of football. As it grew in power and influence it became
acombination on the business side of football that had at any time a
good deal to say in regard to legislation with which the rule-book of
the Association teems on that subject. Though never openly inimical
to the national body its narrower bounds necessarily led it on the line
of self-protection, and in opposition to its expressed views no enact-
ments of arestrictive tendency have been possible. In the one or two
instances in which the relations between the two have been strained the
League has, by virtue of its inherent strength and prominent position,
quietly and stolidly had its way. In regard to the Laws of the Game,
the discipline of the game, and the general regulations as to the conduct
of affairs the League has invariably admitted the right of the Association
to control, but in regard to its internal machinery it has always cried
"hands off." Thanks, however, to the broad spirit in which the leaders
on both sides have dealt with debateable matters, the relations between
the Association and the League have been maintained on a friendly
basis, and there is no reason why it should ever be otherwise.

DISAPPEARANCE OF THE "STRINGENT CONDITIONS"

One of the first effects of the formation of this powerful coterie of

clubs was the removal of all the residential and similarly restrictive
qualifications of professionals. Their strong advocacy of the "open
door" turned the tables, and at the general meeting of May 1889 the
last of the "stringent restrictions" on which professionalism was per-
mitted vanished. A flood of Scottish players filled up the ranks of
the League clubs, needless to say to the further exasperation of the
Scottish Association, whose clubs were depleted of their best.
departure led to the resignation of Major Marindin from the presi-
This
0
dency. He had asked to be relieved of the cares of office a year
before, but consented to retain the post for a year to assist the Council.
His resignation was inevitable by the refusal of the General Meeting
to accept the report of a sub-committee that had conferred with

i lS • • .'-
25
•lxd'iNt..
IO2 Association Football
Scottish delegates on the subject of imported players, and in hint
the Association lost at the same moment one of its earliest standard-
bearers, and agentleman whose advice was always capable and reliable.
But he was unable to go to the lengths that the younger generation
saw were inevitable unless a split occurred, and at the same time
the Council lost the valuable services of Mr. --\-. C. Bailey as one of
the vice-presidents. The Major's place --as filled by the election
of Lord Ttinnaircl, --ho remained faithful to the flame -with which
he had so long been prominently and honourably attached. Mr.
C. E. Hart filled the post thus vacant of treasurer, -which he held
until his death. Mr. -AT. P. Betts --as elected Vice-president in the
place of Mr. Bailey, and llr. J. C. Clegg -
was honoured by the creation
of a fourth Vice-presidency to give him a deserved seat among the
elect, and --as appointed Chairman of the Council, a position which
he has since held with accumulating credit to his own abilities and
personality.
 CHAPTER IX

THE PROFESSIONAL INVASION OF THE SOUTH

So far the legalisation of the "bastard" had only affected the North
and Midlands. The South was, as it had been from the first, amateur
if not to the core, yet most distinctly on the surface. After the rise
of the professional clubs of Lancashire and Birmingham, and the sweep-
ing away of the amateur rivalry in the Cup, many of the old-boy clubs
which alone could be hoped to furnish suitable competitors against the
trained exponent began to drop out of the competition, and, in the
absence of town clubs of a similar type to the older organisations in
Sheffield, Nottingham, and the like, the playing strength of the South
was put quite in the sliade. Beaten out of all knowledge by the
Northern and Midland professionals, the Southern players gave up the
struggle as apparently hopeless. The only way to have succeeded
would have been by copying the methods of the conquerors, but at that
time amateurism held so powerful a sway in the South that it was
years before the idea of professionalism gained sufficient force to do
any good. When the English League was formed there were no
Southern clubs of sufficient standing willing to join, and it was com-
posed of North and Midland organisations, and soon there was no
room for any other. The success of the League was so marked that it
accentuated still more the apparent superiority of the North, and made
it all the more improbable that there would ever be a brighter day in
store. Year after year the League clubs and their doings formed the
chief football topic not only in their own towns, but in the South. To
have paid avisit North and seen an occasional match was amemorable
event to the average Southerners who assembled annually at the Oval
to see two outside teams fi gh tfor the Cup.

THE SOLACE OF THE SOUTH

They were dark days, and almost the only solace of the South was
the fact that the famous Corinthian Club managed to maintain its own
against the pick of the land. Air. N. L. Jackson, as founder, deserves
I0+ Association Football
credit for the formation and management of that celebrated band of
amateurs who showed that the South was not entirely swept out of
existence. Nothing would have created a greater storm of enthusiasm
than the entry of the Corinthians for the English Cup, but whether
well or ill advised, it was a rule of the club not to compete. To a
country side occupying a position of absolute nonentity in the great
events of the football world, the frequent victories of the Corinthians
over the best of the professionals came as balm and honey to the weary,
as water to adried-up land. They kept hope alive, and possibly with-
out intending to be so, were a great encouragement to Southern
professional clubs.
Without for a. moment desiring to give offence to any chivalrous
and conscientious believers in the necessity for out-and-out amateurism,
the attitude of London towards professionalism is apart of the history
of Southern football that cannot properly be omitted. Assuming and
believing that to ever reach aposition of playing equality with the North
the paid player was necessary, it follows that the stubbornness of the
Metropolis delayed the day. From aplaying point of view, the London
amateur legislators succeeded in keeping the clock back for many years,
for this reason. The influence of London was very strong in the South
at this time, and, being throe .a heavily in the scales against pro-
fessionalism, it made the movement unpopular and difficult. However
much one might follow, with delight the career of the big professional
clubs, it was with a sort of feeling that it was- something low and
debasing, and that professionalism once introduced into the -South
would ruin the game, and the idea was pretty general.

THE THIN END OF THE WEDGE

Those who can read between the lines may draw a connection
between the fact that the first professional registered in the South
was by a Hampshire club at Winchester. The first Southern pro-
fessional club to reach the semi-final of the English Cup was another
Hampshire club. Southampton. Somehow or other, Hampshire never
subscribed to the "professionals barred" theory, and though the pro-
fessional was not encouraged, the growth of the game was not hampered
by any sitting on the safety-valve. Although this --as the case, it was
some years before anything like professionalism spread. In the mean-
time, the Royal Arsenal "took the plunge," as it was termed. In
September 1891 the club turned entirely, professional, and must be
accorded the title of the pioneers of professionalism in the South. Why
it is that an organisation so early in the field has not made an earlier
position for itself in the football world one cannot say, except, perhaps,
that it was handicapped by public opinion, some want of thoroughness,
and a little bad management.
The deeds of the Arsenal did f -

not rescue the South from

mediocrity. They only began
the change.
It shows how deeply in-
grained was the Southern anti-
pathy to the professional when
we find that it took two years
longer before the second club
followed the lead of the
Arsenal, and that was either
11lillwall or Southampton, a
very close thing in point of
time. In the case of 1\1etro-
politan clubs, the sign of pro-
fessionalismwas the resignation
of membership of the London
F. A. In the case of South-
ampton, their change was
merely recognised by the
County Association as an ex- Photo: Geo. Newnes, Ltd.

pected and inevitable one. In ALFRED GIBSON (" ROVER ")

fact, in spite of there being Joint-Author of "Association Football "

no hindrance put in the way,

the clubs in Hampshire hesitated a long time. Much of the same
sort of thing had been going on in Dent and Hampshire as happened
ten years before in Lancashire. It was only history repeating itself.
All the old tricks and dodges and subterfuges were unearthed and
some new ones added. Some of the early balance-sheets were so
palpably cooked that it became apparent that the only honest course
was open payment. In 1893 the Southampton St. Mary's Club adver-
tised for new men. What were they to do ? In spite of everything,
they bad been giving most disappointing displays. They had been
Io6 Association Football
beaten by a local team—Freemantle—for the Hampshire Cup, and the
club -was going back. Nothing else could have saved it. In Bent,
early,in 1894, the County Association raised the question ;and Mr. P.
Leckie, the Hon. Sec., though agreat believer in amateurism, supported
aresolution in favour of recognising professionalism on the ground that
players were already being paid by secret means. Tke action of these
two Associations had an important bearing on football in the South.
In the North they -were inclined to look upon the early attempts of
the South in professionalism with a good deal of amusement and con-
tempt. One occasion when Janes, a Berkshire player, signed a pro-
fessional form for Southampton in 1892, and played for his club,
Maidenhead, on the following Saturday, the matter came before the
notice of the Football Association, it being an offence for a signed
player to play for any but the club he has signed for. 3Ir. Tom
Watson, - who was then the manager of the Sunderland club, pleaded
-with the Council not to be hard on Janes and the club, on the ground
that Southern clubs could not be expected to know the professional
rules !

A TOURING GROUND FOR THE LEAGUE

The South -was during this time a pleasant holiday touring ground
for First League clubs. The announcement of the promise of a visit
from Stoke or Bolton Wanderers filled many aSouthern torn and its
surrounding country side with tremulous delight, to such a height had
the North soared. The two clubs named were the earliest to begin
taking trips outside the Metropolis, where, of course, they were often
seen. It was quite the usual thing for aLeague club with a fixture at
Plumstead to make a week of it, and enjoy a starring trip along the
South Coast. So highly were these friendly exhibitions valued, that in a
Hampshire newspaper of iS9- the visit of the Bolton Wanderers was
alluded to as "a red-letter day in the history of local football."
Not to anticipate too much, and to return to the sequence of events,
the season of iS89- iS90 provided but little subject for comment.
Blackburn Rovers won the Cup for the fourth time, and Preston North
End for the second time secured the championship of the League,
thou ghEverton ran them very close. In the Laws of the Game astandard
-weight of ball v-as agreed upon for International matches, and the
referee was given greater powers, including that of giving free kicks for
foul play without waiting for an appeal. He was still an arbitrator
 b

A Five Minutes' Interval I07

between the umpires, and all three officials were in the main hampered
by the requirement that their decisions were not called upon unless a
side appealed, which often led to the curious result that by an astute
reticence in appealing teams gained an advantage that a strict regard
to the laws would have been denied them. The Council undertook to
supply the referees and umpires for all Cup ties in the competition
proper; a wise move, as it took from the interested clubs at a keen
stage of the contest any idea of having conferred a privilege on the
J
referee by submitting his name for the match. 1lluch might be written
for the entire appointment of all referees by the parent body, and so
leading to the enfranchisement of the arbiter from the trammels that to
some degree shackle him. So long as by club influence referees gain
employment and fees, it cannot be said with absolute justice that he is a 1
1

perfectly free agent. To meet alittle habit of professional teams taking

along pause at half-time for the purpose of a bath, a nip, a change of
clothes, and a rub down, to the annoyance oftentimes of a waiting
crowd on a cold day, it was enacted that the interval should not exceed
five minutes without the special consent of the referee. The regulation
which still is in force is not altogether honoured in the observance, but
the long waits that the professional "heroes " were wont to impose on
the public who paid to see them play were -happily curtailed. Another
little custom that had arisen, of a club entering a protest with all due
form and ceremony, only to let it drop in case they won, was knocked
on the head by the order that protests once lodged could not be with-
drawn without leave of the Council. Yet another serious departure was
made from the relics of amateur regulations that still were to be found
in the rules, for two-thirds of the half of the semi-final tie proceeds were
given to the four competing clubs, and a third to the clubs who
survived to the final. Hitherto the profitable character of the Cup
Competition, as far as the clubs were concerned, ceased with the third
round of the ties. But now the Association had gained exceedingly in
monetary w ealth, thanks to the popularity of the International games

and the great accumulation of cash that the semi-final and final ties
created, and this application of the spoils to the victors on the principle
of a half of the semi-final takings was the logical outcome of the new
order of things. The Association still took the final tie receipts, and
still added hugely to its investments in Consols.

'•.#i%•'•-`['?p
si:: s•;:•..+s. ``7'•'.•e-.. •,6•.•r:_.. .7?:i f•• /.4._. •C•"'•:: sf•.•t;.:::ai.'a,.:
I

108 Association Football

INTRODUCTION OF THE PENALTY KICK "

In the season of i8go-91 the penalty 1,-ick " was introduced.

Though its introduction has been made the text for a- vast number of
,sermons upon the evil tendencies of professional football, the fact
remains that it oriori in the brain of Mr. J. Reed ;the Hon. Secretary
of the Irish association. But the English Council took it up readily as
a help, so it - was anticipated, to referees in checking the practice to
-which some players, amateurs as --ell as professionals, stooped, that of
sa-ving a goal at any costs. The attempt made previously to achieve
this desirable object by giving the referee the power to allow agoal that
had been saved by unfair means had not proved successful. It was
found that referees shrunk both from the odium and the ordeal of
making presents of goals to -visiting teams in the sight and sound and
Nmhiri the touch of a hostile local following, and this Irish invention
seemed to supply agreat need, insomuch as it put in the hands of the
referee the power to give ateam the fair chance of scoring in the event
of certain evil practices on the part of the other side coming under
his notice. It is a debated point whether this law --as meant
only to check rough and foul play, or to make up to a team for the
robbery of a goal literally "under arms." But it is really immaterial
-which, though the limitation of the imposition to offences committed
within twelve yards of the goal line by adefending player give point to
the assumption that the latter was mostly in the minds of the Inter-
national Board.
The idea introduced anovel feature into the football of that winter.
It at first applied only to tripping, or holding an opponent, or delibe-
rately handling the ball, and considerable exception -was taken to it at
the outset by the better class "of players, who felt it somewhat of an
insult to their dignity to have to play under such a rule. A larger
number of sensible fellows -;ho ],-new that to err --as human, and that
angels' -wings did not grow on the football field, took the new regulation
at its face value, and held it to be ablot on the escutcheons of their clubs
to have apenalty 1;-ick a-warded against them. It is recorded that an
officer of a military team --ho --as the playing captain of his side,
notified in the regulations at the barracks on football days that if the
₹e.am had apenalty b-ick given against them it would be considered a
disgrace to the regiment, and that the offender - would "catch it hot."
 Spectators and Players
Had the rule been taken and acted on everywhere in this spirit it mi ght
have had a more salutary effect, but the manner in which many of the
paid experts viewed it soon robbed it of its sting. Their policy was to
win if possible by fair methods; but when it came to losing, rules were
looked at as things to be broken, and the referee to be defied just so far

Photo: Bowden Bros., London

QUEEN'S PARK RANGERS v. SOUTHAMPTON

"TAKING A PASS"

as it was safe to do this. It is not just perhaps for the average reader
to cast stones at the professional. There was a good deal of human
nature in his actions, and he was egged on by an unthinking and
partisan and exceedingly "patriotic " crowd of his supporters, who by
adjudging the lucky saving of apenalty kick to be amatter for applause,
gave it unstintingly, and this confirmed the offenders in their astute
private ideas that the means justified the end in football. Had the
public taken ajust and honest line, and cried down ill deeds, the players
would not dare to commit them.

./M• •NM.rI•R OIrIllYrllr Wlrlrr.. -• - - --_ `

+• -x •• t• -- - - Z
IIo Association Football

RISE OF THE "AUTOCRAT"

At this period also the umpires, who had been a most unsatisfactory
feature of the came, and ahindrance to the referee, were abolished. In
their place linesmen were authorised, kith the main duty of declarino,
when the ball had cone into touch and over the coal line, and which
side was entitled to the throes-in or coal hick, and so on. The referee
had the power alone to decide on all points, and the opinions of the
linesmen were made subject to his decision—a fact which the rule-book
emphasised in capital letters in the law on the subject for many ayear
afterwards. Thus the referee had become the autocrat that has often
been described both by the pencil of the artist and the pen of the
imaginative writer.
This time the Cup did not change hands, for the Blackburn Rovers
by a fifth victory equalled the record of the Wanderers in cold print,
though their feat was decidedly amore lustrous one. In commemora-
tion of the performance a special silver shield - was presented to the
club by the Association. Preston ---\- orth End had shown the natural
disintegration of ateam as it aces, and were displaced in the League
premiership by EvertoD.
The question had naturally arisen in connection with the legalisation
of the paid player as to his return to the amateur fold. It might
perhaps have been as well if from the first -the principle had
been laid down and maintained, "Once a professional always a pro-
fessional." But in the first sv-ina of the pendulum. from underhand
payments ₹o open recognition alarce number of utterly unsuitable and
comparatively innocent players were induced to join in the race for the
"bawbees." The result was that the Council, in a broad spirit and
without for the moment attaching much importance to the matter.
readily "whitewashed "the penitent player. Without doubt there are
many cases of real disability and hardship which deserve consideration,
but the way was made too easy both for a bolt into the ranks of
professionalism and aretirement from them.
The use of coal nets was first introduced in IS9 r in the 'North r.
South Match, and the innovation has proved to be one of the most
valuable aids to the referee that could have been designed. It was no
longer possible for aside to protest with all its might that the ball had
not passed between the posts or dropped under the bar when it bad
 Best Days of the Albion III

done so, for with goal nets there the ball was patent to all eyes, and
even the most audacious and metal-cheeked prevaricator could hardly
wriggle out of that fact.
There was another case of boycotting in 1891 at Blackburn, where an
International match was played and no local performer had been selected
for England. It is apaltry and unsportsmanlike action to have to record
in cold print, and it is to be hoped that neither Lancashire nor Birming-
ham will ever so disgrace themselves again.

WHAT IS "CUP-TIE FOOTBALL"?

Nest Bromwich Albion won the Cup in 1902, beating Aston Villa
in the final. It was the case of the non-favourites winning. The
relative forms of the two clubs had been widely divergent, and on paper
the Villa appeared to have only to walk on to the ground and win.
Their work throughout the season had been reliable and regular,
whereas the Albion had proved a most erratic side. But nevertheless,
as the Villa subsequently discovered and absorbed with success,
there is such a thing as "Cup-tie football" that throws most of the
accepted axioms of play to the winds, and rises with vigour and
undaunted dash to the occasion. Such football the near neighbours of
the Villa showed, and with the luck to score a goal right at the start
there was no holding them. The receipts of the match were over
Z1800, which was then a record in England. Sunderland won the
League, which had now several powerful imitators, as there had been
formed the Football Alliance, the Midland League, the Northern League,
the Lancashire League, and the Scottish League.
The Council of the Association—which was now rapidly growing in
numbers, so quickly did the County Associations qualify for representa-
tion—began to compile a series of decisions that, while they had the
effect of explaining the rules and at the same time being to all intents
and purposes rules themselves, were not given place in the orthodox list.
They were mostly due to questions that arose out of Cup ties. Thus
the referee was empowered to decide as to the fitness of grounds, and .a
club was allowed to erect a temporary stand for a tie, and unless the
MI
visitors chose to share the expense, they were debarred from sharing the
profits—if any. An attempt was made to put acheck on the growth of
betting in some quarters at matches. The annual meeting in 1902
began with prohibiting the referee, linesmen, or players making any bets
 I12 Association Football
on any match in which they were playing, which wise start has been
followed up by ageneral prohibition of betting at matches. There was
and is probably not much to grumble at in this direction, and it is
possible that the prompt action of the Association checked an evil that
might have ruined the game while in its birth. The work of the
Council had with the spread of the game, the growth of Leagues and
Associations, and the wonderful vitality of the sport, tremendously
increased.

WHO WOULD BE A COUNCILLOR?

The following comments, -written by one of the members in 1892,

speaks eloquently of the change that had come over the face of things in
the new offices, 61 Chancery Lane:—
Those who imagine that to have a seat on the Football Association Council is to
enjoy an occasional pleasure trip to London, a sort of holiday in fact, just to meet and
pass a few resolutions and then off to the theatre, and so on, should try it for ayear.
Monday's meeting lasted from 5.45 P.m. until nearly ii o'clock! Most of the members
of the Council, who come from the -North, Midlands, or West, spend the biggest part
of the day in travelling, rush to 61 Chancery Lane, worry through appeals, pro-
tests, resolutions, reports, claims, suspensions, complaints, and applications, leave
hurriedly to catch the mail, spend the night in travelling home, and land at various
damp and chilly stations in the still small hours sleepy and tired. That is the other
side of the picture. 1'owadays the meetings of the F. A. are carried out under rules
t of procedure, and with the utmost despatch, and yet the pressure of work is almost
despairing to look at. On Monday there were over forty items on the agenda,
including seven or eight protests and claims, and examination of -witnesses, the Cup
draw and appointment of referees, long discussions on the control of the Leagues,
players claiming wages from their clubs, clubs demanding the punishment of recal-
citrant players, clubs suing other clubs for damages—and getting tbem—in fact, if you
were to grind up a police court, a county court, a law court, a court of appeal, an
arbitration court, all into one, and throw in afew town councils, boards of guardians,
local boards, highway authorities, burial boards, vestry meetings, and so on, it would
give you agood idea of the Football Council. One, thing you will never, never see at
the head office, and that is—a football."

With so much work to get through in a short time, the Council

I divided some of it up among various newly formed committees, and put
astop to one source of protracted meetings—the employment by clubs
of barristers or solicitors to conduct their cases before the tribunal.
It was becoming quite a thing for clubs to eke out their own supply of
eloquence in this way, and as the methods adopted by the legal profes-
sion, however valuable and useful they may be in their proper sphere, led
P384'O THIELE & Co.

F. T. AV-ALL.
Secretary o: the Football -A-ssociation.
 The Fallowfield Fiasco 113

to great waste of the Council's time, the latter now revolted, and declined
in future to hear any barrister or solicitor unless he were the secretary
of the club concerned, and appeared so in the printed list of secretaries
in the official rule-book. It might almost seem to be aslur on auseful
profession, and an assumption of wonderful acumen on the part of a
haphazard collection of ordinary football supporters, but in most cases a
seat upon the Council now presupposed a considerable acquisition of
brain power and common sense on the part of the holder, for even in
football men do not rise to the lead in their own circles without some
cogent reasons for it. Taking a common-sense view of the subject was
quite sufficient for the delegates whose interest in the game drew them
hundreds of miles in the winter-time to meet in a stuffy chamber and
travel home again by night, and they did not want to be either cajoled
by the flatteries or mystified by the sophistry of the barrister-at-law.

66 GOOD-BYE" TO THE OVAL

The season 1892-93 saw an important change in the venue of the

Cup final. The tremendous concourse that followed the fortunes of
the tie had so begun to frighten the Surrey Cricket Club as to the pitch
at the historic I'.ennington Oval, that they refused to again permit it
to be used. The International Match with Scotland was played at the H
ground of the Athletic Association at Richmond, but choice was made
of the Manchester Athletic Club ground at Fallowfield for the closing
Cup match. Sunderland Club, by consistent good form, secured the
championship of the League, but failed in a generally anticipated :,:
landing by them of the double-first in Association. No one would have
anticipated from the uneven play of the Wolverhampton Wanderers
that they would have even reached the final. Everton were the I
favourites, having had a tremendous triple tussle with Preston North
End. The scene at Fallowfield will long live in the memory of those
who saw it. Over 45,000 people paid for admission, and many were 4
refused. The stren gth of the barriers was insufficient, and by the
time the game began the reserved seats were invaded, and the crowd
stood on the touch and goal lines from start to finish. Everton lost by
a goal, but whether the conditions of the match affected the result or I
not is hard to say. At first they protested, but withdrew, and
accepted the verdict. On the day's play as such they were "whipped "
by the incessant hustling tactics of the "Wolves," whose methods were
VOL. I. H
 11 4 Association Football
such as for the limited duration of amatch to demoralise the close com-
bination of the Everton team. The Alliance had been absorbed into
the League, and aSecond Division formed.
There were no sweeping alterations in the regulations, but the
Council, finding it impossible to deal with the -work that the marvellous
multiplication of clubs involved, gave the power to divisional com-
mittees to decide on reports of misconduct and so relieve the head
office. The Council also attempted to get at cases of misconduct that
were not officially reported by the referees, and ordered those gentle-
men, also its own members and all officials of clubs, to bring to
its notice anything that was likely to get the game into disrepute.
This resolution was almost adead-letter, and perhaps the only instance
in which it was acted on unfortunately went against the councillors
who made the report, and so even more disinclined others.
The season 1893-94, while it still saw. the Cup go to one of the
"great guns "of the League, Notts County beating Bolton AVanderers
in the final, saw several important movements begin. In order to meet
the case of the amateur clubs who had been utterly outclassed by the
pre-eminence of the professional teams, the Council founded the Amateur
Cup. It --as in the first season only partially successful, as it was
instituted rather late. The Old Carthusians -were the first winners.
Any idea, however, that this competition was likely to be a gift for the
I old boy clubs was soon dispelled, as the Cup attracted the ambition of
a class of clubs composed of amateurs without doubt, but of the same
type of men as figured in the professional ranks. Middlesbrough, for
instance, -who afterwards took high rank in the League, beat the Old
Carthusians next season ; and by adopting professional methods of
training and play the middle-class teams were generally more than
a match for the sides which took the field, inspired, it is true, by old
school traditions, but -without that thoroughness in "getting fit "which
is so great afactor in football success.

A REFEREES' COMBINE

The Referees' Association was also formed now, the leading spirit
being Mr. F. J. Nall, Hon. Sec. of the Middlesex Association, who soon
afterwards became the Secretary of the Football Association. The latter
body had done very little so far in the directions of giving the referee
a suitable status and of elucidating troublesome points that arose from
 His Majesty's Patronage 115

the Laws of the Game, which were not well worded and were also
incomplete. So far as it went the action of the Referees' Association
banded together a considerable number of referees, and branches were
quickly formed in various parts of the country. Mr. A. Roston Bourke, a
member of the London Football Association Council, was the Hon. Secre-
tary. The Association undertook the task of ascertaining the qualifications
of persons for the position of referees, and in this way undoubtedly did
an excellent work in improving a section of the football body politic
that had, in the consideration of weightier matters, been neglected.
Into this work Mr. W. Pickford, the Hampshire delegate on the Council,
also threw himself with ardour, and compiled for the Referees' Asso-
ciation first a list of interpretations of the laws to guide the examining
committee, and then a chart giving the latest decisions of the Council
and International Board, and advice to referees, secretaries of clubs,
and players. It may be sufficient to say that the exertions of this
Association after a time led to the Football Association taking over,
as a part of its own work, the qualifying and organising of referees
and the issue of the "Referees' Chart "under official supervision. The
researches and criticisms of the Referees' Association led to a general
overhauling of the Laws of the Game, to the addition of some new
regulations, and the simplification of others. It was made an offence
to charge the goal-keeper save when he was actually playing the ball or
obstructing an opponent, an order that had asalutary effect, as several
cases of serious injury and two of death had occurred owing to the
custom of one or more players "laying the goal-keeper out," so as to
prepare the way for a successful attack on the goal. The throw-in rule
was more stringently drawn.
This season the name of M.R.H. Prince of Wales appeared at
the head of the Council as the Patron of the Association, and on his
accession to the Throne the Icing, who had on two occasions honoured
football matches with his presence, graciously renewed his patronage.
Gradually the Association began to delegate some of its powers to
its affiliated bodies, and the right to punish offenders for misconduct or
breaches of the laws and rules was given to the latter. The innovation
worked well, for by now there were some thirty or so more or less
powerful county Associations attached to the parent body, and for the
most part they were excellently organised and fully equal to a con-
siderable amount of Home Rule. But a further step was taken in
devolution as the Council appointed a Consultative Committee to deal
116 Association Football
at alternate meetings with the full body with all questions save
matters of principle which the Council held the right to decide upon.
The formation of this important committee was opposed by many,
including some of those who were first appointed upon it, on the
ground that it was an interference with the privilege of members
elected by clubs and associations of doing the work of the Association.
It was, however, really almost necessary that the frequent meetings
and the expense of so numerous a body as it then was, comprising
forty-four members, should in some way be reduced, and the innova-
tion once introduced has proved a very useful one. The names of
those first appointed were:—Lord Kinnaird, President; J. C. Clegg,
C. Crump, T. Gunning, and Dr. Morley, Vice-Presidents ;C. E. Hart,
Treasurer; C. W. Alcock, Secretary; J. J. Bentley, R. P. Gregson, L.
Ford, D. Haigh, J, Howeroft, C. J. Hughes, N. L. Jackson, W.
McGregor, D. B. Woolfall, W. Pickford, Morgan T. Roberts, and G. S.
Sherrington. In another direction, that of an Emergency Committee,
consisting of Messrs. Clegg, Crump, and Alcock, who are still in
harness, the Council was relieved of some of the pressure of work.

THE OLD CUP VANISHES

Aston Villa again won the Cup in the season 18 94 -95 ;but while
the trophy was on view in a tradesman's window in Birmingham in
1895 it was stolen by some despicable burglar or burglars, and has
never since been seen. The melting-pot value of the Cup, which only
cost X20, must have been but a trifling gain to the robbers, while the
loss to the football world of aprize round which the glamour of history
and the sentiment of many a hard-fought field had centred was a
heavy blow. Gone was the little bauble that had been the inspiration
of the Association game :vanished the "pot " that had roused all
Lancashire to fever heat. Truly, when the Blackburn Olympic in
their waggonette made that triumphal march through the streets of
their smoky town in the spring of 1883, that grimy spectator who
called out to Alf Warburton as he held it aloft, "Look at th' COOP;
whoy, it's loike a copper kettle ;it'll naar go back to Lunnon," was
indeed a true prophet. That "Coop "never did go back to London,
save to be on view for a few fleeting moments, and then off back again
North, and it never will again now, unless it is still in existence in
some forgotten lumber-room, and turn up at some later period to
 Birth of the Southern League 11 7

the astonishment and delight of a new generation that will know

nothing save by repute of the kind of men that fought for and won
it. The Football Association were asked to take the opportunity that
the loss of the Cup seemed to offer to provide out of their funds a
more lustrous and magnificent trophy of gold; but a wise sentiment
prevailed, and an exact replica
of the "tin idol "was made from
the original designs, and so far
as the interest in the competi-
tion was affected the incident
made no difference. Sheffield
Wednesday were the first win-
ners of the new Cup, on which,
however, the names of the
earlier holders were perpetuated.
Aston Villa hold the record of
being the only club to win and
lose the Cup in the same year.
In the meantime the
Southern League came upon
the scene. After some delay,
caused by the fact that Wool-
wich Arsenal, who had taken
the first move, had been elected
to the Second Division of the
premier League, the actual
realisation of the Southern Photo: Geo. Nezvnes,.Ltd.

League took place early in PHIL KELSO

1894, when Millwall Club Woolwich Arsenal

called a meeting, and, by elect-

ing Mr. R. I I. Clark, the adhesion of Clapton was secured, also of
-

Ilford, their chief rivals at that time. The first clubs elected were, in
addition to the three named, the Royal Ordnance Factories (since
defunct, Swindon Town, Reading, Chatham, Southampton St. Mary's,
and Luton Town. Mr. Henderson, the Millwall Secretary, was ap-
pointed to the Secretaryship of the League, .and a Second Division I
was formed, including Maidenhead, Chesham, Uxbridge, Woodford,
Old St. Stephen's, New Brompton, and Sheppey United. Mr. Hender=
son only held office for three months, and was succeeded by Mr. N.

S
 I

11s Association Football

-Whittaker, an old Accrington player domiciled in London ; and -with
ATr. Colin Gordon as Treasurer, the new body passed though its novitiate
safely. The original circular -which the Arsenal issued in i893 ran
as follows
-My directors are of opinion that the time has arrived zchen some effort should
be made to improve the game of football in the South of England, so that southern
clubs might approach the standard of efficiency attained by many of those in the
-Northern and Midland counties.
They think this can be done by the strongest clubs in the South forming them-
selves into a combination or League, and feel sure this joint action would give agreat
impetus to the game, and at the same time cause the public to take a keener interest
in the matches played.
"'We intend calling a meeting of representatives of Southern clubs interested in
the movement to discuss the matter. Should your committee take a favourable view
of it, --e shall be pleased if they will appoint arepresentative to attend the meeting.
The clubs I have -written to are Chatham, Millwall, Old Westminsters, Ca,-uals,
Crusaders, London Caledonians, Old Carthusians, Old Etonians, and Clapton."

This League is now and has been for many years as entirely
professional as the Football League itself;but it began mildly enough.

i
 CHAPTER X

TOUCHING ON RECENT LEGISLATION

DURING the past few seasons many new faces were seen upon the
Council. In a number of cases the membership was of a fleeting
character, but among those who have "stuck to the work "and been of
great service to the cause there might be mentioned the names of Mr.
Morgan Roberts of Derbyshire (i 89o), Mr. J. Howeroft of Cleveland
and Mr. F. J. Wall (1891), Mr. R. Cook of Essex and Mr. A. G. Hines
of Nottingham (1892), Mr. E. W. Everest of Sussex and Mr. A. Davis
of Berks and Bucks (1893), and Mr. A. Kingscott of Derby and Mr. W.
Heath of Staffordshire in 1894.. The Army Football Association, which
has done valuable work in organising and controlling the game among
the soldiers, was affiliated in 1894., being first represented by Captain
Pulteney, then by Captain Simpson and Captain Curtis.
The resignation of Mr. C. W. Alcock, who had been Hon. Secretary
of the Association for over twenty years and Secretary for nearly eight,
came in 1895. It was accepted by the Council with the deepest regret;
but the "old warrior" did not sever his connection with the body he
had so long and faithfully served, as he remained as Consulting Secretary
for another season, and then found a richly deserved place among the
Vice-Presidents, an addition being made by his name, bringing the list
up to five. In his place Mr. F. J. Wall was appointed, and has more
than fulfilled the brightest anticipation of his usefulness, being known
among all his friends in football as amodel secretary.
Several subjects of a contentious character gave scope to much
discussion and consideration about this period. One was due to the
"transfer fee," which, by the rules of the Football League, opposed
those of the Association, in that while the latter held a professional to
be bound to the club that had engaged him for one season only, the
League held a player signed by aclub on aLeague form to be aplayer
of that club until the club chose to release him or the League Committee
intervened. The result of this was that players who were free agents
according to the rules of the Association which controlled th em an dheld
 I20 Association Football
their professional signatures, found themselves tied to one club in the
League, unless a sufficient transfer fee -were paid over their heads for
their League signature. As the League at this time contained the bulk
of the clubs with -whom service - was profitable to a player, considerable
friction arose. This -was accentuated -Then the League prepared to
boycott clubs outside its jurisdiction v-ho signed on players "belonging
to "its clubs ;but -while the boycott was -withdrawn at the instance of
the Association, the League - was strong enough at the annual general
meeting to defeat a proposal to abolish transfer fees. And at a later
period the Association, forced to either allow- the validity of the transfer
fee or provoke the hostility of an important section of its clubs, legalised
it as between the clubs of any, League, and have latterly placed a
maximum figure, large enough one vrould think for any case that might
arise for the transfer.

"THE SCRATCH TEAM" DIFFICULTY

The Association also found itself engaged in acontroversy,`with some I

of its members representing the old boy clubs, owing to its action in
prohibiting the playing of scratch matches. There - was certainly suffi-
cient ground for the resolution, but in thus peremptorily stopping a
groom;ing evil, it being reported that scratch .team; were being got up
I for private profit, which led at the same time to considerable pseudo-
amateurism and to considerable friction, the Association had not con-
sidered that many scratch games were played -without money being
taken or paid, and especially among the old public school boys. When
this -was made clear, the rule v-as so far relaxed to meet the case of the
match in - which no money was taken, and the momentary irritation
caused at the time has since died down.
The sad state of inter-county matches was made -worse by the absorp-
tion of public interest in the Southern League. The process that had
ended this interesting kind of competition in the -North and Midlands
had begun in the South. But here - with a laudable object of keeping
up the interest a county championship v-as founded with a limitation
as to amateur players only competing. The interest it aroused was not
maintained, at least so far as the general public -ere concerned, though
some of the Southern counties that are not professional areas still play
these matches. An effort to extend the scheme to achampionship among
all the counties failed, and will at any time be very difficult to accomplish.
 Notts Forest Win the Cup I2I

In 1896 -97 Aston Villa won both the League and the Cup.
Their double success had only one parallel, that of Preston North End
in 1889, and in the light of the greater strenuousness of the competi-
tion the Villa's brilliant performances well bore out a comparison with
the record of the "Invincibles." At the International Trial Match,
Amateurs v. Professionals, the proceeds were devoted to the Indian
Famine Fund, not the first time nor the last on which the Association
has set the example of benevolence. There was also formed, at the
suggestion of Mr. Clegg, a benevolent fund for the relief of injured_
players and those who had rendered service to the game and were in-
need of it, which fund has been instrumental unostentatiously and-
quietly in assisting many a deserving case due to mishap and of desti--
tution. The scope of the penalty kick was enlarged, and owing to a.
vigorous reconstruction and revision of the rules and regulations of the.
Association and the Laws of the Game, the rule-book began to assume.
much larger proportions. Amateurs were allowed the privilege of receiv-
ing repayment of their doctor's bills in case of football injury, and the
growth of the transformation of ordinary football clubs into companies
under the Joint Stock Companies Act led to the Association taping
steps to limit the payment of dividends to five per cent., and to placing
restrictions on the operations of such bodies so as to ensure that the
playing of football should be the first reason for the formation and 1
carrying on of a club. A number of valuable diagrams explanatory of
the offside law had been added to the rule-book.
Very little disturbed the even tenor of the Association in 18 97 -
98. The threatened rupture between the leading old boy amateurs
and the Council, due to the careless manner in which it must be
admitted the latter had drafted the original veto on scratch teams,
vanished, and the judicious interposition of Lord Kinnaird, the Presi-
dent, himself adoyen of the public school amateur section, and at the
same time aconsistent supporter of the Association, restored diplomatic
relations. Notts Forest won the Cup, but the season was notable for
the fact that for the first time for many years a Southern club reached
the semi-final tie. To attain such a position in the face of the might
of League professional talent was practically impossible to any club but u
one that was run on the same lines. No amateur organisation save one
had the least chance in battle al'outrance with such dou ghty opponents,
and that club, the Corinthians, which many people believed could and
would prove Cup winners on occasion, debarred itself from such a
12? Association Football
prospect. It is much to be regretted, for a Corinthian ,vin -would be
hailed -with astorm of enthusiasm all the country over.

SOUTHERN BID FOR VICTORY

But the Corinthians keepin g in their tents, it was left to the

Southampton Club to show Southerners the way to the Crystal Palace,
which had now become the regular venue for the final ties. With a
team good enough for the purpose, and every chance of success, the
Saints "met with the -worst of ill luck in having to face the last few
minutes of a hard Game 'with L\ otts Forest" on the Palace around in a
--

blinding snowstorm. It was a distinct error of judgment on the part

of the referee that the game v; as allowed to proceed, and the Foresters
pressing home the advantage -von. In the final tie the game with
Derby County --as all in favour of -Notts Forest, who fully deserved
their victory.
A new and valuable addition was made to the list of trophies in the
fonndi7ig of the Sheriff of London's Charity Cup Competition, -which is
competed for by the best professional and amateur sides of the year—
in the judgment of the Committee. The Corinthians and Sheffield united
shared the honours in the first year, though it is to be recorded that the
latter in the second match, the first being drawn, declined to finish the
game with the same referee—a very unsportsmanlike action.
The following season, 1895-99, Sheffield united - won the Cup; but
the example set by the Southampton Club led to a vigorous attack
on the supremacy of the League teams by Southern clubs, - which
aroused keen excitement in the South, -where football, largely, it must
be admitted, by the importation of players from the North and ATidlands,
had Gained apowerful hold on the public. An incident that occurred
in the Amateur Cup, -whereby the Portsmouth Royal artillery - were dis-
qualified because its team had been sent away for a week's training
at the club's expense, created some interest, as the severity of the dis-
qualification of the club - was hardly commensurate -with the com-
paratively trivial breach of the rules, if breach there really -was of the
regulation in its then form. An appeal to a special general meeting
went against the Artillery, but that there was some doubt as to the
illegality of the club's action the introduction of a rule to meet such a
case as that for -which they were disqualified seems to show. This also
led to the decision of the Association that general meetings were not in
 Glorifying the Referee 123 I

future to be called to consider such appeals, as the Council was obviously,

abody strong and numerous enough for the purpose.
The time-honoured word "hacking "now disappeared from the laws.
It had been the bone of contention that primarily led to the split of the
Rugby section aquarter of a century before, and was almost the only
relic of the ancient days when to chip an enemy's shins was a part of
the game of the amateurs. With professionals doing the same thing,
perhaps more skilfully and with fewer after apologies, hacking lost its
early glamour, and in the ignoble name of "kicking "to which it was
now altered its glory departed. The referee had become by this time
the "autocrat of the football field," and the tendency of legislation was
to back him up with all the might of its tremendous power, in which
direction the employment in important matches of neutral linesmen was u
an added source of power to the referee. The position of the paid
player had become rosier than ever. With the greedy South bidding
high for men of fame wherewith to make first-class teams in one season,
and Scottish fields being harder to forage in, wages rose to ahigh level,
and already some of the clubs had begun to talk about a maximum
salary. The legalisation of professionalism in Scotland put a greater
check on the drain of talent southward.

THE PLAYERS' UNION

One feature of 1899 was the formation of the National Union of

Association Players, commonly described as the "Players' Union."
The new body came to life with aflourish of trumpets, but its prospectus
was looked on with cold eyes by the powers that were, especially the
clubs that had to pay the piper. The clubs did not at first take any
action, but the Association Council, finding that the rules of the Union
contained a clause, among others, that its objects were to protect its
members against adverse legislation by the Association and League,
promptly set its heel on the same. The Association held, and holds
I
more than ever, the view that it is strong enough to deal with any
difficulty that might arise in football, and that the invocation of the
law to settle disputes should be a last resort, and it speaks highly of
the confidence shown in it that the lawyers get very little out of foot-
ball differences. The Players' Union, at loggerheads in its inception
with the Council, had to give way and draft its scheme. It was then
found that one of its main reasons for existence had disappeared, and

i
124 Association Football
little progress was made. Indeed. there never seems to have been any
real bond of union among the players, and while football might have
gained by the existence of a strong body of opinion in the professional
ranks themselves, the latter were too disunited, and the value of a
powerful Players' Union has not been put to the test. The Army
Association persuaded the Council to give them some protection against
"poaching," as army clubs had been a happy hunting-ground for the
League teams, both -North and South, but "Tommy Atkins " has since
furnished many abrilliant player, and found aglorious if fleeting career
of roses and cash in ministering to the demand of the populous towns
for spectacular football.
The season i899—i 9oo was marked by the presence of a Southern
club—Southampton—in the final. The opening of the war in South
Africa was the first time that the winter game had been interfered with
by the "clash of arm." and some of the clubs had to part -with their
men for the front. In the troublous days of disaster gates fell off. It
was, however, only for the moment, but it threes- a shadow over the
football fields. The Association and clubs made a really magnificent
response to the -War Relief Fund that had been established. In the
South the enthusiasm for professional football blazed out with the Cup
competition, in spite of the heavy forebodings in many minds as to the
efficiency of the British soldier. Portsmouth Club, an entirely- new
creation, were only beaten by Blackburn Rovers after a trio of con-
tests. Queen's Park Ranaers, almost a new club, beat Wolverhampton
Wanderers after adraw. Millwall Club, after a triple battle - with that
most famous side, Aston Villa, qualified for the semi-final. Reading
gave N,ewcastle United aclose game, Tottenham Hotspur lost at Preston
by anarrow-margin, Southampton, with the luck of the drams- in their
favour, defeated Newcastle United, Everton, and `Vest Brom--ich .--lbion,
and reached the final tie after a drawn name with Reading. For the
first time for eighteen years a Southern club stood at that altitude in
the Cup competition, but the result of the match with Bury was a
severe blew. This Lancashire club turned out on the day "as fit as
fiddles," and in spite of asweltering sun, which told its tale on some of
the Southampton players, showed brilliant form, and won by 4 to 0-
A striking feature in the League tournament, won by Aston Villa, was
the falling off in the prowess of the Lancashire clubs. Of the seven
clubs in° the League from the County Palatine., only one was in the
upper half of the table. The victorious days of Blackburn and Preston.
 Popularising the League
had vanished, and the pioneers of the professional had been "beaten at
their own game."
The price of popularising the League system had proved to be
the impoverishment of the local Associations, many of which were
languishing for funds. There was in many parts a complete disregard
by the leading clubs of the Cup
competitions of these Associa-
tions, which had made the clubs
possible in the first instance.
The Council had the question
up on more than one occasion,
but it was too late to grapple
with the difficulty. But the
Association were able to make
it a rule that all clubs should
be attached to their local
Associations, and in many cases
it has been found that by a
little consideration on both
sides, the Leagues and Associa-
tion can work harmoniously
to mutual advantage.
Having successfully got
over the trouble with the
ultra-amateur clubs over the
scratch team case, and nego-
tiated difficulties that had
arisen by a somewhat hurried JOHN DICK
and undigested decision to Woolwich Arsenal

abolish six-a-side tournaments,

to the impoverishment of some of the counties, the Association began
to meet with a problem that bade fair to cause serious embarrass-
ment. The London Association and some of the other Southern
Associations that had never subscribed to the professional "shibboleth,''
and desired, as far as possible, to have nothino, to do with that branch
of the game, were faced with the rapid spread of the paid player within
their ranks. In the meantime many such clubs had arisen of importance
in the playing fields, and the Council had either to insist on the amateur
Associations admitting them to membership, or prov id e f or their control.
126 Association Football
This time the Council considered the subject fully, and did not pass any
hasty and ill-digested resolution, and, acting on the policy that time
-would probably solve the problem, decided not to use force, but to
permit of the affiliation of professional clubs -within an amateur area
direct to itself. The difficulty has not yet been got over owing to the
determined stand made by the London Association, but after 'waiting
for some seasons the Association have now gone astep further, and are
pressing the amateur Associations to make regulations for the admission
of professional clubs, though this would not impose any obligation to
allow the .lame to compete in the local Cup competitions.
By this time the financial position of the Association was astrong
one. A balance bad been attained of over 6i o;000, in spite of the fact
that the plan of distributing part of the Cup-tie gates among the clubs
in the semi-final and final ties had undergone acomplete change. The
method adopted by the Association v-as to take all the receipts from
every source, to retain the International 3latch and investments income,
to pay out of the rest of the season's receipts the cost of -working the
Association, and to divide the balance among the clubs. In 1599 over
-[5000 -was so divided.

AN INTERNATIONAL PROBLEM

An effort v-as made by the Scottish Association at the International

Board of i9oo to have the penalty,kick altered so that the kick should
be taken from the place --here the offence occurred, but it was defeated,
as was also a proposal that each - National Association should have the
right to the services of any player playing for a club under the juris-
diction of another Association. In case the latter proposal had been
carried it vas the English clubs -who would have suffered, for -whereas
the Association had not called on, and had indeed no need to call on,
any English player in Scotland, Wales, or Ireland to play for England ;
the Irish, Welsh, and Scottish teams were incomplete without the help
of men attached to League clubs in England. It vas to those League
clubs avery serious matter ; and their strong opposition was used suc-
cessfully to avert the drain on their resources. In theory the principle
is unassailable, but in practice it was untenable from the point of view
of the English clubs; though it may be said that, save in very few cases.
players selected by the other National Associations have been allowed
by their clubs to accept the invitations.
 How the "Spurs" won I27

THE CUP RETURNS SOUTH

The first year of the new century was marked by the ultimate
success of a Southern professional club in the Cup. Tottenham Hotspur,
after a drawn game with Sheffield United, which drew the record crowd
Of 114. ,000persons to the Crystal Palace, and produced the then record
final tie gate of X3998, won the re-play at Bolton. The occasion was
one of anatural ebullition of enthusiasm in London and the South, and
many of the leading legislators and representatives of rival clubs all
over the country sent their hearty congratulations, and attended in
person the banquet held to commemorate the break in the long sequence
of Northern and Midland successes. Without in any way detracting
from the merits of the performance, it is just to point out that the
bulk of the players in the winning team, and indeed in most of the
prominent Southern teams, were not of local extraction. Such feats as
those of west Bromwich Albion with their eleven sturdy Staffordshire
youths were incomparably more gratifying. But by then the local
player was arare bird in leading football clubs. He is now more sought
after owing to a recent enactment of the Association, by which a club
has the right to retain the services of any of its players, provided such
players are offered a certain wage. Perhaps in time a team of London
youths, born within the sound of Bow bells, may triumph at the Crystal 1
Palace.
The spread of the Association game on the Continent and the
formation of National Associations then began to introduce into the
minutes of the Council requests from these Associations for conferences
and the establishment of some International Cup Competition. The
Association, feeling doubtless that it would be unwise to join in any
such schemes, nevertheless agreed to send a team to Germany and
.Austria, which played several matches there with conspicuous results in
adding to the growing enthusiasm for the game, and in the scoring of
I
goals by the Englishmen. A couple of return games were played in
i90 i, with heavy defeats of the German team by both the amateur
and professional sides, that inflicted by the amateurs being, curiously
enough, the heavier. But beyond this no steps had been taken to
join forces in any legislative direction with the Continental Association,
and the problem is one that is left to the future to work out. An
informal conference was held at the Crystal Palace on the occasion

, J•
I

I
z28 Association Football
.of the International Match in 1905, which a number of Continental
-representatives attended. Resolutions -w ere passed as to the desirability,
of the -
National Association of the countries of Europe associating in
a union to promote and control the game, each Association reserving
the right to jurisdiction -within its own area ; and that an International
competition might be arranged to which entry was optional. -" Nether
this rill lead to the participation of the Contineutal Associations in the
making of the laws or not is a matter that calls for serious considera-
tion, and the point will no doubt not be hastil y conceded.

THE MAXIMUM WAGE

In the meantime another of the problems arising out of the profe sional
-rules, 'hich --ere so fruitful of --orb and anxiety to the Council, had
arisen. At the annual meeting in 19oo a resolution --as passed, on the
motion of )Fr. W. Peath (Sta ffordshire Football Association), that the
maximum rages that might be paid to anj- player should be -/4 per
week. This rule -vas timed to come into force at the end of that season,
but at the following annual meeting in i90 i, notice had been given by
the Aston Villa and Liverpool clubs to delete it. The amendment was
ably moved by •Ir. Rinder of the Villa, but --as not carried. Though
the actual number of votes given at the meeting shoved a majority
in its favour, the two-thirds majority was not reached. The new rule
then became the law. Pages could be -written for and *against it, but
it -vas a subject upon -which the League clubs themselves could not
agree. The -wealthier clubs -
were naturally in favour of an open market,
but the majority -
were and are not wealthy ;and one of the strongest
and most telling arguments in favour of the maximum --age was made
by Mr. Sidney, of Wolverhampton Wanderers, who gave a general
meeting acomparative statement of the financial results of the innova-
tion as it concerned that club, and declared that it was the salvation
of organisations such as that he represented, which were otherwise unable,
to retain or compete for the services of players in rivalry with clubs
of the position of Aston I-illa. Again and again the -wealthier clubs
have tried to secure the necessary majority in favour of higher wages,
and the Council of the Association in 19o; —T passed aresolution that
the position of affairs --as unsatisfactory, and authorised the Rules
Revision Committee to report as to an improvement. The Committee,
after carefully considering the subject, reported in favour of a sliding
'r i-•t•:i::

3`
 Southampton in the Final Tie 129

scale of wages to players who remained in the clubs, but the Council
with charming inconsistency quietly defeated the report. The Football
League in 1904 discussed the matter, and decided by a considerable
majority in favour of the retention of the wage limit, and the attempt
to rescind the rule was again defeated.
Southampton Club again came to the front in 1902 and reached the
final tie amid demonstrations of delight from the South, but again
failed, being beaten by Sheffield United. For a club that had made
such bold bids for the Cup, and set such a gallant example to the
Southern towns, the Southampton Club was singularly unfortunate.
Bury won the Cup in the following year, and the last sentence written
may with equal pertinence be applied to the Derby County, whose third
appearance it was in the final.

THE IBROX DISASTER

Tl)e serious disaster that occurred at Ibrox Park, Glasgow, at the

International Match of April 5, 1902, marked the close of the season
in avery sad manner. The match was concluded in spite of the fact
that injured people were being attended to in the pavilion and carried
into the city on ambulances, for the fact of the fall of a part of one
of the stands was not generally known, and in order to prevent any
panic the game was gone on with as though nothing had happened.
This decision was arrived at by the members of the various National
Associations who were present, and though it formed the subject for
more than one hysterical shriek in some of the periodicals that had
no love for the people's pastime, and the incident was compared to a
barbarian gladiatorial contest, one writer declaring that "not even the
cries of the dying sufferers nor the sight of broken limbs could attract
this football maddened crowd from gazing upon their beloved sport" (!•,
the decision was awise and sensible one and generally approved. The
manner in which the Football Association and its clubs and affiliated
bodies came to the help of the Scottish Association in its time of trouble
redounds to their credit. A sum of considerably over X4000 was
subscribed, and the proceeds of the replayed match at Birmingham were
given to the hound ; and the season was extended for three days in
order that clubs might play matches for its benefit. One cannot indeed
too highly commend the quiet and dignified manner in which the
assembled football legislators faced the problem on the occasion of the
A,0T.. T. I
130 Association Football
match, and the calmness and resolution of the players who, fully aware
of what had happened, helped the, authorities under most difficult
conditions in averting afar more serious disaster.

THE F. A. "LIMITED" AT LAST

The year 19o- saw the Football Association blossom out as alimited
liability company. This was done purely as a means of protecting the
interests at stake, and placing it in astronger position. The transfer of
the business of the Association to the new company was very simply
and quietly effected on 17th of August 1903. The statutory report
under the Companies Act stated that the total amount of cash received
by the Association, in respect of the transfer and shares issued, was nil.
The articles of Association provided that the share capital should
consist of ; 6ioo divided into 2000 shares of 1s. each, and that the
members should not be entitled to any dividend, bonus or profit. There
could therefore be no ground for any other view than that the new
scheme was adopted purely with a view to the carrying on more con-
veniently of the affairs of the Association, which had now grown into
quite ahuge business. Each officer of the Association and each elected
member of the Council becomes automatically a shareholder, and his
share is cancelled on giving up his office. Each club which is a
member of the Association is entitled to ashareholder, and each affiliated
Association to one share for every fifty clubs under its jurisdiction.
The change, like the Cardinal's curse, had not the slightest effect on
anybody or on any of the work or ramifications of the Association, and
"nobody seemed one penny the worse," while a great deal of heavy
responsibility on the shoulders of a set of amiable and zealous en-
thusiasts, who give so much valuable time and so much trouble to the
welfare of the Association game, has been atrifle relaxed.
With that season the referee was given the power to refrain from
awarding a penalty kick, if it was his opinion that the unoffending
side would benefit by allowing the play to continue. This was ablow
at the astute and unprincipled player, who had managed to twist even
a law specially imposed to deter him from unfair play to his ad-
vantage, for rather than run the risk of losing a goal he preferred to
take the chance of a penalty kick, which experience had shown him
failed in scoring a goal in a large percentage of cases. It was felt
that if the players knew that the unfair act would not be certain to
 it

Manchester City Win the Cup 131

give the desired option he would give up committing it, but not
much seems to have been gained, and now the Association have
followed the point up still further, and by ordering the goal-keeper
not to advance beyond his goal line until a penalty kick had been
taken, hope to make the consequences of unfair play so deadly that
it may be diminished. With the same object the Association ordered
that a free kick for a certain set of scheduled offences should also
be able to score agoal direct. It seems a pity that it should be so i
necessary to legislate against foul play in such an excellent game,
but the authorities have to take human nature as they find it. If
clubs were to zealously back the Association up by sternly dis-
countenancing rough and foul play on the part of their members, the
evil that prevails would be speedily rooted out. Now, as ever, the
player, whether professional or amateur, who is not above unfair
tactics, goes just as far as those who have the direct control over him
permit. Once it were known that foul play would mean the loss of
employment by the former and of games by the latter, and that no
club would retain or accept the services of players who demeaned
themselves by it, both the referees and the Association would begin to
have a much easier time, and our playing fields would be rid of one
of the greatest drawbacks to their proper appreciation by all classes.
Manchester City won the Cup after a closer game. with Bolton
Wanderers than had been anticipated. Southampton and Fulham
were the only clubs to make any show in the competition proper, and
both had been badly beaten by League clubs in the third round.

DRAWING CLOSER TO THE AMATEUR

At the annual general meeting in May 1904 the suggestion of the

Council to admit the Oxford and Cambridge Universities and the
public schools as separate Associations, and to give them individual
membership on the Council, was unanimously adopted in the hope
that familiarity with the work of that body might help to dispel any
lingering dissatisfaction in the higher circles of amateurism. An effort
to legalise again the payment of bonuses dependent on the result of a
match Was defeated, and a new rule was passed that the knicker-
bockers worn by players should be long enough to cover the knees.
This rule, though introduced for excellent reasons, it being the practice
of many players to wear extremely abbreviated "pants " to the dis-
 As soc i
atio n Football
credit of the game, went a little too far, and though several clubs
--ere fined for not seeing that it --as enforced, it was in the next year
relaxed so that knickerbockers need only reach to "the knees.
An Association - was formed to embrace the clubs of the Ro y al
NaN,y, -which it is expected will be of great benefit in controlling a
section of the football community that has hitherto been under some
disabilities, and the new body was sanctioned and affiliated.

PAefo : Bo cden Bros.

QLTEEti"S PARK RANGERS SOLTHA•IPTO\

"A hot shot in the comer of the net "

During the winter several severe punishments were dealt out to

clubs and officials who had been found to be breaking the professional
regulations as to the rages of players and of bonuses. It is im-
possible for any one having the true interests of the game at heart
to view such discreditable actions as -
were brought to light without
deep regret. It may be that the maximum w age makes it difficult
for clubs possessing ample means to build up their teams as they
would like. but the callous disregard for rules and -
what should be
an honourable acceptance of them by gentlemen in the position of
directors of important clubs cannot be condoned by any specious
 R. C. HAMILTON-

Glasgow Rangers and Scotland

 International Trial Games 133

arguments. There are bound to be professional players of small

moral fibre who might not be expected to possess avery high standard
of the ethics of the game, but no excuse whatever can be found for
those who are presuined to be their betters." The incidents were
alike a discredit to the game, to the clubs, and to the offenders. A
practice that had lately begun of referees and players reporting
matches in which they took part was promptly checked both by the
Association and the leading Leagues as open to considerable abuse
of the discipline of the game. In order to better discover what
amateurs were worthy of places in the International teams, which
latterly had been almost entirely professional, the Association
authorised a new trial match between the Amateurs and Pro-
fessionals of the South. The day was most unsuitable for the proper
playing of football, but it is hoped that the efforts of the Inter-
national Selection Committee to find successors to the mantles of
such famous amateurs as Mr. G. 0. Smith will be successful. The
Corinthian Club, by a wonderful record of wins in the early part of
the season, showed that amateur talent of the best type was not
played out.
The great advance of professional clubs of a high standard of
play in the South led the Council to consider the reorganisation of
the Cup Competition proper. Hitherto the difficulty had been partly
met by the creation of an intermediate round, but it was finally
decided to increase the number of clubs in the competition proper
from thirty-two to sixty-four, making an additional round, and by a
larger scheme of exemptions to relieve many of the prominent clubs
of new standing of the disabilities of having to work their way towards
the Cup in non-paying matches with clubs of insignificant merit.
The new scheme came into operation in the season of i 9o5-6.

STEPHEN BLOOMER'S RECORD

In the International Match against Scotland at the Crystal Palace,

Stephen Bloomer, a noted professional of the Derby County Club, pl
gained his twenty-first International cap, and thus passed Mr. G. 0.
Smith's honourable record. A special recognition of this extra-
ordinary performance is being made. On many occasions Bloomer
has been the turning-point in his country's success against its
 134 Association Football
national rivals, and in his special position in the field, that of inside
rig ht, he has probably never had asuperior.

The question of the marvellous growth of Leagues and their need

of proper control had been for a long time agitating some of the
Associations, especially those in the metropolitan area, where the over-
lapping of jurisdiction created many difficulties. In other parts of
the country a good mutual understanding between Associations
under somewhat similar conditions had obviated any trouble, but, in
order at the same time to relieve the overburdened Council of the
trouble of looking into the numerous applications for sanction and
to alleviate the situation, it was decided that the duty of sanctioning
and supervising such leagues and combinations sliould be delegated
to the affiliated Associations. The regulations under -which the transfer
of authority were effected were mainly on the lines of the unwritten
but well understood methods adopted by most of the provincial
bodies, and it is hoped that this further act of decentralisation will be
productive of good results.
Aston Villa won the Cup again in 1905, and the annual general meet-
ing of the Association is remarkable for the fact that under the new
arrangements made with the Crystal Palace Company no less asum than
-64 789 was the share of the Association in the final tie, which, added to
the proceeds of the semi-finals, amounting to 64i 10, placed the Association
in such aposition that no less a sum than802• li••ided among
as c
the four clubs that competed in the semi-final ties, and the holders of
the Cup received /'3362. And even these enormous sums left the
Association with abank balance in 'lay 1905 of ,' i;,181. These are
figures that would make the survivors of the pioneers of the Association
I
in 1863 indeed rub their eyes and wonder what the game was coming to.
After along record of -work in connection with the Association, the
Football League. and in the interests of the flame generally, a sixth
place was created in the Vice-President's circle for -
Air.
, J. J. Bentley,
an honour which has been richly deserved. Among others who in
V
recent years have rendered good service in the cause of football and
are still members of the Council may be mentioned the names of
Mr. J. Albert, the Hon. Sec. of the Kent Association (i896),
1Tr. H. S. Radford of Nottingham (18 97), M r. H. Walker of the
North Riding of Yorkshire (1898), -Air. T. Whittaker, Secretary of
the Southern League 0898). and Air. F. Styles, Hon. Sec. of the
Northamptonshire Association (1898).
 Football Association Supreme 135

The organisation of Association Football of to-day is a matter in

which those who are enthusiasts in the game feel considerable pride, and
even those who are not enthusiastic cannot but admit though it be a
grudging admiration. Those who are outside the pale, who do not
understand the magnitude of the operations controlled by this body,
but who occasionally come into contact with it at some point, or for a
moment catch a glimpse of the system, are usually astonished at its
wonderful power of vitality, at its adaptability to changing conditions,
and at its widespread authority. The arms of the Association are long
enough to reach to the farthest corners of England, and its sway is
acknowledged in the remotest country village as in the capital city
itself. There is nothing too big for it to deal with, and nothing too
small for it to see. With the football community who are in the state
of pupilage it professes no concern, believing that the schoolmaster is
the proper person to look after the school games, but its patronage of
school football is often sought and seldom refused. But when the
scholar leaves his schooldays behind and enters the open arena of foot-
ball, he at once comes under the system, and his way is ordered for him
by strict rule and method. Wherever two or three gather together and
form aclub, the first requirement that faces them is that they must do
it in abona-fide manner, and subscribe to the authority,of the Associa-
tion. There is no escape, for the penalty is an ignoring of their existence,
which, in the marvellous precision to which the government of the game
has reached, means that there is no scope for their playing other than
games among themselves, or with similarly ostracised clubs whose
existence is ignored and whose doings are insignificant. At one time
the Association did actually seek to compel every club to be affiliated,
but this illogical action was not persisted in, and the same end has been
attained by the remarkable way in which practically every club of any
standing has been brought within the fold owing to the mere pressure of
circumstances. Clubs and players neglecting to come within the system
may not be allowed to play or take any part with clubs and players who
are members. The misdeeds of the former are mostly noted by the
authorities, and when the time comes that they voluntarily seek the fold,
it is remembered against them with interest. It may be said that for
all practical purposes all who play according to the Association rules are
under direct responsibility in some form or other, and that those who do
not go in fear and trembling though they be but anegligible quantity.
From the Council downwards there is provided ameans by which the
136 Association Football
clubs and players of any grade can be brought under control, and the
%-hole of the variations of organisation are completely ramified. The
obviously best form for the government to take would be that the Foot-
ball Association should be an Association of Associations. But this idea
is impossible from the fact that it was in the first place an Association
of Clubs, because there were no other Associations. It is now too late to
remove the clubs from a direct share in the management. So that the
Football Association is an Association of a growing, list of county and
district Associations and of alimited numbe r of cl ub s. No special bar is

placed upon the clubs, which number about 170, the only requirement
being that any club elected amember must be so elected by the Council,
who judge of the importance of its status. The elected clubs have a
personal representation at ageneral meeting, but are represented on the
Council by ten representatives, for which purpose they are grouped into
divisions, each of which annually returns some approved person. With
regard to the Associations, each of them which is admitted to member-
ship is entitled to be represented on the Council by one member, pro-
vided it has attached to it fifty approved clubs. And at a general
meeting each Association is entitled to arepresentative for each complete
fifty clubs under its jurisdiction. There are some three dozen county and
important district Associations directly represented, and one of these, the
London Association, alone has over a thousand clubs on its roll. The
Council has aPresident, six Nice-Presidents, and aTreasurer in addition.
So that with the divisional representatives and the Association repre-
sentatives a full meeting consists of upwards of fifty members. The
full Council meets on eight or nine occasions, and aConsultative Com-
mittee selected by the officers meets at intervals. The Emergency
Committee, consisting of three members, is in constant activity, and con-
siderable work is done and submitted to the Council, which retains the
decision in all questions of principle before committees. Most of these are
invested with considerable powers. Thus the International Selection
Committee carries out entirely the duty of selecting teams for Interna-
tional Matches. and all the Council settles is the grounds for matches
and other details. The Finance Committea is seldom subjected to
criticism, and the Emergency Committee, Amateur Cup Committee, and
Divisional Committees are endowed with the powers of the Council.
The Rules Revision Committee, Reinstatement of Professionals Com-
mittee, and other committees' report, and the findings generally are
rarely,reversed. During each season it is found necessary to appoint
 The International Board 137

commissions whose findings are almost invariably honoured in the

acceptance, and in fact great confidence is felt in the committees
generally. The work of the Council and its committees is mainly with
matters affecting the welfare of the game in principle, and in governing
the clubs and Associations that are directly members of the body. A
vast amount of work in connection with the clubs that are not directly
members of the Association and of the minor organisations is delegated
to the affiliated Associations, whose powers are practically absolute within
their own borders, and not open to appeal save under a heavy fee, and
if their decisions and acts appear to be contrary to the principles and
practice of the parent body. Each affiliated Association has its own
internal management and more or less well-organised ramifications, and
controls the leagues, referees, linesmen, and players within its borders.
In such awidespread organisation very little is left to chance,- and the
closest discipline on the game is maintained. A network of on the
whole efficient administration encloses the world of Association Football
in England.

Each of the other three national Associations of Scotland, Wales, and

Ireland has its own absolute supremacy within its own area, but by a
wise mutual agreement an International Board fixes each year the main
regulations for a common basis of playing and legislating for the game.
Hitherto the Colonial and Foreign Associations have not complicated the •I
long standing authority of the four l:'>ritish Associations, but the spread
of football abroad is so great that the question is one that will have to
be considered in the future. It may, however, be left for the present in
the sure belief that, when the time ever comes, the common sense of the
football community will be able to find asolution of all difficulties.
I

SECTION II

HOW TO KEEP GOAL

BY J. W .ROBINSON

GOAL-KEEPERS do not grow on trees. That is a truism, no doubt,

yet many people imagine that custodians of the sticks are as plentiful
as berries in autumn. I, concede at once that there are th ousan ds
of players who consider themselves goal-keepers, but you must
remember that there are thousands upon thousands of men who
consider themselves poets. Just as there are poets and poets,
so there are goal-keepers and goal-keepers. I hate to drag in
here that hackneyed dictum, "the poet is born not made," but it
serves my purpose. The saying is true, too, of goal-keepers; but
just as the innate power of the poet must be perfected by practice,
so must it be with the man beneath the bar. There are certain
natural qualifications necessary in each case, and in each the develop-
ment of these natural qualifications must proceed along certain well-
recognised lines. I shall treat of these two necessities, but, before
doing so, it may be well to consider whether goal-keeping is an over-
crowded branch of football sport.
Whether I consider it from the professional standpoint or from
that, of the amateur, I most unhesitatingly say "No," Consider the
professional teams of to-day—How many really first-class goal-keepers
have we got ? We have middling, and fair, and pretty good, and
good, but the Macaulays and Doigs are to be counted on the fingers
of one hand. And in the amateur ranks matters are much worse.
Yes, there is room and to spare for good goal-keepers. In passing,
I might say that the men who play the other positions on the foot-
ball field—the forwards and half-backs and backs—considered gener-
ally, have in the past decade improved, and are improving.. I do
not mean that we are more rich in "brilliant " talent, but I contend
that the players generally and the, play have materially improved.
138
 Big Men and Little Men 139

Not so with the goal-keepers, and yet they are called upon to do so
in view of the improvement of attacking forces.
These are the days of specialisation. We have specialists in art
and specialists in medicine; we have the specialist on the .Press and
the specialist even in the sister game of cricket. And specialisation
is needed in football. Here I speak to the beginner., You are
anxious to excel on the football field? Then there is no use think-
ing that you can play back to-day and forward to-morrow, that you
can be an outside left on one Saturday and keep goal the next. You
will be a Jack-of-all-positions and master of none. Find out by a
thoroughly unbiassed consideration of your own ability, of your speed,
of your stamina, of your build, and so forth, the position you are
best adapted by nature to fill, and then specialise. Cultivate your
talent and train it in its proper direction. Do not let it be acreeper,
twisting and turning hither and thither. The creeper is of little
value.
Let us assume, then, that you desire to become a goal-keeper.
What are your natural qualifications ? what are the powers you have
been born with which need development along the lines of practice?
They say that a good big horse is better than a good little horse. A
lot of these sayings are only half true. The one I have quoted does
not hold good in football. I know several good big goal-keepers at
the present time who, in my opinion, would have to yield the palm
to the good little goal-keeper of Middlesbrough, Williamson. Never-
theless, the old Latin saying, "In medio scat virtus," sums up my
views as to the height of the good custodian. It goes without saying
that the little man is at a big disadvantage in dealing with high
shots. On the other hand, the over-tall man finds great difficulty in
stopping the "daisy croppers." I know one goal-keeper who is
positively brilliant in dealing with shots sent in at any height above
his knees, yet he has given away as many as five goals in a match
because the opposing forwards had for their motto, "Keep them low."
The ideal height to my mind for a goal-keeper is five feet nine to
five feet eleven inches.
Your first natural qualification, then, is that you should be over
the average height, and, with this stature, I assume that you have
length of arm in proportion. You must, in addition, be robust. I
know from only too painful personal experience that the man in goal
must be acompound of steel and gutta-percha. You may be aweak-
 zoo Association Football
ling in other positions on the field and yet dodge damage, but in goal
you are waiting for it and expecting it all the tinge—and you get
it not infrequently.
Is your eyesight good ? If it is not, then goal-keeping is not for
you. I concede that a half-blind person can see the ball coming, but
that is not sufficient. You must be abl e t o judge ,w hen th e ball is

twenty yards out, the spin and twist that is on it, to note when it
is deflected from its natural course by a puff of wind, and to take
action accordingly. The eye is the mirror of your judgment. On
the mirror is the image which the brain accepts, and if the mirror
is concave or convex, so will your judgment be. So we may conclude
that good eyesight is anatural essential to agood goal-keeper.
Writing of judgment, the man who is slow in grasping the sig-
nificance of things in his everyday life is not likely to be a success
where quickness of perception and action are so much demanded. A
person may not be dull of intellect, in fact, he may be a Herbert
Spencer or a Darwin, and yet be slow in assimilating the meaning
of the most ordinary happenings. The clever brain is not necessar ily
the quick brain. If you are possessed of both, so much the better
for you as a goal-keeper; but the latter, with its speedy calculation
and speedy judgment, is necessary for your success.
If there is a natural qualification absolutely essential to a goal-
keeper, it is courage and pluck. Only the goal-keeper knows what
risks must be run in the course of his _career. If he has a faint heart
he is useless. The irony of it is that it is not the big risks which
win the most applause. I have in my time received more cheers
for saving a simple shot, which to the crowd looked difficult, than
for running the risk of the loss of an eye in s aving a certain goal

right on the toe of an opponent. Courage you must have; and

when you have been battered and bruised and wounded in the fray
to your courage you must add pluck, and stand up for the next round.
Do not, however, be disheartened and think that you are destitute
of courage because the thought of kicks and bruises is not soul-
soothing. Have you never noticed a man who had to be absolutely
pushed into afight, and yet, being in, to paraphrase Shakespeare, so
bore it that the opposed did beware of him. No man would willingly
court trouble. I assure you that when I take the field I have no
overwhelmin g desire to have my shins barked or m y eye bl ac kene d.
if you are going to keep goal, do not meditate on thoughts of disaster.
Photo: Thiele &- Co., London
 His Satanic Majesty 141

Once the fight is started its bustle and excitement will give you little
i;J
time to think of your wounds.
Do you understand what is meant by intuition ? It is the direct
understanding or knowledge without the process of reasoning or in-
ference. It is the faculty of at once discerning or apprehending the
true nature of an object, person, motive, action, &c., and is akin to

Photo: Bowden Bros., London

ENGLAND v. SCOTLAND

LINACRE, ENGLAND's GOAL-KEEPER

instinct in the lower animals. This intuition or instinct is invaluable

in any position on the football field, but particularly so in that of the
goal-keeper. In my own experience the player most endowed with
this valuable acquisition was G. 0. Smith. He, more than any one
against whom I have ever kept goal, could divine my intention, my
object, my motive, or my action, and would then proceed to outwit me.
1remember saying to him, "Mr. Smith, I'd sooner keep goal against

I his Satauic Majesty than against you ";and he paid me a lavish and
undeserved compliment when he replied, "And I would sooner. shoot
against the same gentleman in goal than against you." I mention
1 42
Association Football
this little episode not out of any spirit of vainglory, but rather to
show that intuition plays a very great part in the goal-keeping art.
This gift of intuition or instinct is cultivated by the study of human
nature. Perhaps I ought to have treated of it in the paragraph con-
cerning judgment, but let that go. Whilst you are not actually
defending, do not mope about like a sore-footed bear. Regard your
opponents and study them. You note the tricks that the two left
wingers or the right -wingers play, the tactics they adopt to beat your
halves, to which man does the centre forward mostly play, and the
hundred and one little happenings which the game produces. Your
judgment pieces these things together, and forms averdict as to what
the result of a certain set of contingencies would be. But all this
judgment and piecing together of things is simply the building up,
unconsciously, of intuition, and intuition comes to your rescue when
judgment would be slow-footed. You read of goal-keepers hypnotising
the opposing forwards; in fact, I have myself been credited with a
certain mesmeric influence in that direction. The forward is blamed
for shooting, as if spell-bound, right into the hands of the goal-keeper.
Do not blame hypnotism for such a result. It was only intuitive
knowledge on the part of the custodian. He knew that the ball would
come in a certain way, and he. was there to meet it. So if you would
be agood goal-keeper, cultivate judgment. Judgment on its part will
beget intuition.
In goal-keeping you cannot study too closely the characteristics and
methods of your opponents. No two are alike, and your treatment of
them must naturally be dissimilar. A fine exhibition of this discrimina-
tion has been shown in cricket by our friends the Australians. They
weighed their antagonists up to a nicety, and oh, how they -worked on
the special weaknesses of each ! In goal-keeping you have not to tackle
the weaknesses, it is true, but it is of as great importance to discover
your enemy's strong point.
Ihave treated somewhat fully, in so short an article, of the natural
qualifications for a good goal-keeper ;still you must remember that it
is the natural qualifications which are essential. If you have got them,
even though some of them be latent, practical experience will do the
rest. In goal-keeping, if you are to maintain even amoderate standard
of excellence, you must practise. Do not trust to the hour bringing
forth the save. Consider those who would excel in other lines. A
Paderewski daily plays his exercises, a Calve practises her scales,
 Moderation in all Things 143
Roberts regularly experiments with the cue, as does Fry with the bat; and
so, to be trustworthy between the posts, you must practise and practise
and again practise. I have the highest admiration for Cartledge of
Bristol Rovers as a goal-keeper. He is excellent in the position. Once
when playin g against the Rovers Isaved agoal by a particular kind of
punch. It was simple enough in itself, but apparently it was new to
Cartledge. After the game he asked me to explain it to him. Ishowed
him how Idid it, and there and then he practised until he was perfect in
it. There, then, is the secret. Practise the various methods of saving;
and when you see a good stroke effected by another, do not rest until
you have learned it.
But you will not practise and you cannot play unless you are fit, and
1 the secret of fitness is moderation in all things. It is not essential for a
man to become teetotal, nor to give up his pipe, nor to deny himself the
ordinary pleasures of life that he may become fit. The ordinary plea-
sures are all right, but avoid the extraordinary ones. It is in extrava-
gance that the danger lies. If a goal-keeper observes moderation in his
living and has alittle practice work from time to time, he will not need
much training.
During the summer the goal-keeper occasionally needs some form of
exercise to keep him fit. When Iwas at Derby Iplayed baseball, and I
know of no better game to suit the football player in the summer. Since
i
Icame to the South, Ihave played cricket, but practically any healthy
exercise will keep a man in fettle. I
In bringing this article to a conclusion let me commend three
maxims to the budding goal-keeper :—

i. Remember you are the last line of defence. A forward may err
and retrieve his error. A half-back or back may make amistake and
yet recover himself, but if the goal-keeper fails his failure is irretriev-
able.
2. Deep cool.
3. Never on any account use your feet if it is possible to use your
hands.

Much more could Iwrite, but space forbids. This, however, I must
say: I would far rather keep goal than try to explain in writing how to

I do it. If Ihave interested you, I am satisfied ;if I have bored you,

please accept my sympathy.

:•.::;,
 SECTION III

T HE FORWARD GAME

By STEPHEN BLOOMER

THERE will always be a division of opinion, I suppose, as to whether

we of to-day are playing as effective football as the line of brilliant
exponents of former years, such, for instance, as in the palmy days
of Preston North End. Some of us, perhaps, are hardly qualified to
make comparisons; but we shall all be prepared to admit that there has
come over thescience of forward play a change which has had a direct
influence upon the style of our present-day backs. In the past we had a
sudden transference of strictly individual football amongst the forwards
to asystem in which combination reached aver y high standard. There
can be little doubt, I think, that the complete understanding which
marked the best clays of the old North End forwards, followed by the
i Aston Villa team, when carrying all before it afew years ago, has had
some modification in recent years. What this modification has been
will be sufficiently indicated in the course of this article. It may, how-
ever, be summarised here as a reasonable blending of individualism and
collectivism on the part of the forward players.
Let me at the outset, however, urge that a natural inclination
towards the game, and an inbred desire to excel in it, is often the secret
of real success. From the earliest days, when Icommenced to play in a
schoolboy team named the Derby Swifts. Iwas literally boiling over with
enthusiasm for the fame. Here, then, was agood beginning. My heart
was in the game, and it - was not long before Ilearned the glorious art
of kicking goals, which has, Iam glad to say, remained with me in some
measure ever since. Probably because Ihave seldom aspired to any but
the one position I now fill, at inside right, I am of opinion that the
examples of men who can play well in several positions are few- and
far between. It is true that a centre forward may be able to play
an effective inside game. or an inside forward take the centre with
=4Y
.. .,....... ...,A..... ...o•
Phv o: R. P. Grcason, RlczckbuA--

STEPHEN BLOOMER

Derby County and England

 I

Howl to Score Goals 145

a fair amount of success ;but you will find, as a rule, that it is the
player who has filled one position, and brought out. all his energies
and intelli gence to the end of playing the game as it is generally
understood it should be played by one filling that particular place, who
will do best. Specialisation is a great factor in .success. IVhatever
may be said by the small minority of people against the subjection
of everything to the scoring of goals, it is clear that the requirements
of the spectators -are that every player should be imbued with the
all-important factor in football, namely, the obtaining of the one dis-
tinctive and tangible advantage—goals. Hardly anything will com-
pensate for this. The football may have been, very attractive to watch,
there may have been many very interesting touches of combination and
sparkling examples of individual play, but if it all ends in the other
side claiming the goals, it will not count much to the vanquished, and
there will be no illuminated certificates issued to the team . by the
club managers. Whether we like it or no, we have got into the groove
that goals are everything; and it is extremely improbable that it will
ever be otherwise. At the outset I remarked upon the position of
i
individualism in forward play, but Iwish to at once disabuse the minds
of any who might suggest that I ant undervaluing. the .importance
of combination. A pretty lengthy, and certainly most pleasurable
association with International football, -ought . in itself to make it
unnecessary to intervene with this passing explanation. An exclusive
individual attack, in any of the classic games played during the season,
would at once demonstrate the futility. The Scottish backs, for in-
stance, have such a happy knack of summing up the intentions of
a forward, that he might almost throw himself at a stone wall as
endeavour to beat down opposition from that quarter single-handed.
Again, if proof were needed to show the - value of combination in
forward play in these big games, it is one of the accepted drawbacks i
of both teams that, whereas the ordinary club team will have an
admirable understanding through playing together week by week,
the players selected for International work may possibly have never
played with each other previously. The result is often seen in adis-
jointed attack, and -in the football shown all round being rather below
what would be witnessed between two of the best clubs of the respective
countries. This is so much the case, that it has been more than once
suggested that we should do better if we had the whole forward line
of our best season's club selected en bloc for Internationals, though
VOL. I. K
z:}6 .Association' Football
the exigencies of League football would, of course, make this course
impracticable. Deali„g as I am with forward play, it is not the
function of this article to say much of the defence; but I would like
to say here that we hardly, in my opinion, estimate at its full value
always the effective combination between the backs and halves and
the front line. Yet a great amount of unnecessary -work may be
saved the forwards by skilful placing of the ball on the part of the
backs. There is no doubt that our half-backs of to-day are more
skilful in this respect than they used to be, for their purpose was, only
a few years ago, popularly understood to be the mere breaking up of
an attack, and little more. Now, it is not simply amatter of stopping
a forward, but of doing something with the ball afterwards which
shall lead to a change from the defensive to the aggressive, and this
is best understood as accurate passing to the best-placed forward in
front of them, or even, when such openings occur, of actually shoot-
ing at goal. It would not at all surprise me if, in a very few years,
we did not drop some of our conservatism in football and blend the
halves to some extent, or at least more than is done at the present
time, with the forwards. The value of ahalf-back line which can grasp
the position of a game, and at a time when the forwards are pressing
give them close and immediate support, is incalculable. Half-lacks
who think they are in asort of compound, and must not on any account
assist in an attack, have not grasped, as they should do, one of the
chief objects of their position on the field. The fact that the forward
is almost continually on the move, suggests at once that be will be
greatly helped by anything which will enable him to obtain possession
of the ball by a minimum amount of exertion, thus enabling him
to put greater energy into the essence of the attack, and shooting
with greater force than it would be possible to do if prior to starting
his movement he had to come along way up to his own goal and fight
for possession of the ball. It is unnecessary to say, that no matter
-what may be the position filled by the player in the forward line,
there should be no doubt of his being possessed with the first elements
of good shooting. Nor ought this to be so exclusively confined to
the three inside men. True, the latter will always have greater
opportunities, and therefore be expected to score alarger proportion
of the goals; but there is nothing so attractive from a spectator's
point of view, than a finely judged shot from the wing. Moreover, it
frequently happens that the wing man has a chance of cutting in at
 Do not Hesitate to Shoot 1
47

close range, so that the importance of accuracy in shooting will be at

once apparent.
And, in the matter of shooting, let it be remarked that self-possession,
and an absolute control of oneself, is one of the first principles of ob-
taining that possession and control of the ball upon which all successful
shooting depends. One cannot conceive of aplayer of nervous tempera-
ment being asuccess in any position upon the football field, and much
less at shooting goals. Instantaneous decision and action ,is also
to be cultivated. A fraction of asecond may make all the difference
I between having a clear sight of goal and being obstructed by two
or three players; and in football, as in other things, he who hesitates
is lost. Nothing can be said by way of tuition, for everything depends
upon the position of the ball and the placing of the men. Goalkeepers,
Imay note here, almost universally adopt the system of coming as near
as possible to the forward who is about to shoot, that is to say, he will
leave a big space open to his right if the ball is at an acute angle
to his left. The forward, therefore, requires to cultivate the practice
of driving in the ball at as fine an angle as possible. The position
of the inside wing man has always been looked upon as one which
invites the greater amount of skill in the manipulation of the ball.
The defence in concentrating itself here will explain why this should be •E
so. A large proportion of shooting has to be made from positions all
requiring thinking out, and that, too, without a moment's delay. And
this will have had to be led up to by a series of accurate manoeuvres,
subtle subterfuge, and ability to evolve checkmating problems devised
by the opposition, which, in its own department of the game, is just as
good as his own.
Inoted that a little time ago there was an opinion expressed that
there was agrowing hesitancy to shoot on the part -of forwards generally,
and it was asserted that the falling goal average was largely clue to this
cause. There may or may not have been something in this, for players
may well display such hesitancy when they are' subjected to the keen
criticism which follows an inability to score. It will have to be more
freely recognised yet, Ithink, that it is better to make the effort and
fail than to throw away the opportunity by refusing to shoot for fear of
missing. A score of things may possibly intervene for making a shot
of no effect, and it is the failure of the onlooker to realise what are the
difficulties of the man who shoots that causes the unsuccessful forward
to almost shrink at times from mak ing the effort. What, it seems to me,
148 Association Football
is required more than anything else is an ability on the part of every,
fore and to constantly study how best he can work out ameans of out-
ivitting the opposing half-back or back. The forward who has only one
particular turn to make, one set of tricks to present, -
will soon find that
they have quickly been learned by others. The principle of adaptability
to changing conditions and
positions is everything to a
forward who has to encounter
a brainy and intelligent de-
fence, and he will best succeed
whose ingenuity and close com-
mand over the ball are equal
to adapting themselves to the
position of things as they de-
velop, and change, with every
passing movement of the game.
I can of course speak best
upon the position of inside
right, for the reason that it
has been the one position I
have cared to fill, and it seems
to me that this may with profit
be regarded, on occasions as
the position of the players
may dictate, as a subsidiary
centre forward. Indeed, both
Pro'o: Russell, London the inside wing men might
JACK ROBERTSON well be regarded as such by
Scotland and Chehea
the centre and outside men
with advantage. AVe have, I
fear, as I have hinted early, in this article, come to regard the
players too much as fixtures. The arrangement of the present field
of play may be all right, indeed the best that we know, but we should
not play the game by rule of thumb, but rather by intelligent adaptation
of what is best for the time being. The idea of athree-man attack, the
inside player being for the moment the centre forward, and the possi-
bility of this being changed to either side of the field, suggests the
strength of six forwards, and whenever it is tried it has been found
to work well. Iam convinced that unless our forwards think out these
W.
i1i

Photo: Thiele &- Co., London

R. WALKER

Heart of Midlothian and Scotland

 A Precious Commodity 149

little problems, 'indicated by the one given above, we shall see astill
further diminution in the goals scored, for the reason that we have a
better defence than previously, and to be successful the forwards must
be equal to evolving effective and increasingly dangerous reprisals to
the end of scoring.
It is of course unreasonable to expect that every forward in the
front line should possess equal goal-getting merits. It has come to be
demonstrated that every team has some one who is generally regarded
as more likely to score than others, and hence we have alot of the play
falling upon that particular wing or position. After all, this is only
to be expected, but it should also be remembered that these men are
marked in more senses than one.
Imay conclude this little effort, which claims no literary merit other
than that which was learned at an elementary school, by asserting again
that goals are what players are on the field for, and only so far as their
movements and actions contribute to this end can they be regarded as
successful. Football will not lose its hold, or forfeit its attractiveness,
so long as the players realise that time is a precious commodity, that
the hour and ahalf allowed for play to be in progress does not permit
of asingle minute to be wasted, and that everything else should give
way to the purpose of the play, namely—the scoring of goals.
 SECTION IV

GIANTS -OF THE GAME

STEPHEN BLOOMER

PICTURE to yourself a slight, pale-faced, indolent-looking lad, strolling

on to the field in a casual manner, and you have a fair impression of
Stephen Bloomer, one of the greatest for-wards that ever played for
En gland. A more unlikely-looking athlete one -would scarce select as
agreat football player. Of physique, in its general sense, he has none.
He looks more like a man who -would break down in the first ten
minutes than one --ho -would last the full hour and ahalf in a scorching
Cup tie or an International match. He is not the sort of man --hose
life any doctor would insure at sight, although if the truth were known
he is as sound as a bell, possessed of a blacksmiths lungs and afour-
cylinder heart - warranted to -work in any climate.
In his style of play he is also unlike any great for-ward of our time.
He can play inside two either wing, and yet he does not play the ortho-
dox insider's game. He does not, as a rule, consider it his business to
"feed" his wing, nor does he think it imperative to play to his centre.
Bloomer may do either, or both, or neither, just as it suits him, and
vet one never hears his partner complain. Combination is the essence
of successful football, and vet the great Derby County for-Yard does not
make himself sub-zervient to the "machine." He can combine to any
one --hen he thinks it necessarv, and yet he rarely, shows his great
powers in this manner.
He regards combination as one means to-wards an end. The aim
and end of football is to get goals, and Bloomer --ill not be aparty to
mere finesse. Embroidery and fancy -work he leaves to the artists that
like that sort of thin g. -I eis possessed -with the one grand idea—to get
goals, and to get them -with the least possible expenditure of time and
energy-. Strictly speaking, he is an opportunist; he is also in a le ser
degree an individualist. He rarely depends for his success upon his
partner. No man can create an opportunity like Bloomer.
.1::o
 Bloomer's Hurricane Rush 151

He does all his effective work in aflash. It is this that makes him so
dangerous. One moment he is apparently doing nothing, seeing nothing,
but out of the corner of his eye he watches the game; his brain is busy
formulating aplan, and when the supreme moment comes he pounces
upon the ball like agreyhound, darts past his opponent, swerves towards
open ground, and, almost before flurried backs and astounded goal-keeper
know what has happened, the ball is in the net. Bloomer does most of
his best work by inspiration. When his eyes are half-closed then is be.
most widely awake. Just after aquiet interval he is most to be feared.
It is the unexpectedness of his attack that renders it so dangerous.
Just when a back thinks he has got Stephen "set "is the time to look
out for squalls. Lulled into afalse security a defender leaves his side
for a moment ; then comes the hurricane rush and the cannon shot.
Most goal-keepers seem to mesmerise the on-coming forward ;Bloomer,
on the contrary, seems to mesmerise the goal-keeper.
A well-known custodian once said: "When Isee Bloomer coming at
me with the ball at his toe Ifeel powerless to stop him." He is one of those
players who are seen to greater advantage in big games than in small
ones. Even if he has not been doing anything brilliant in League foot-
ball, it is always safe to play him in an International snatch. The
greater the occasion the better he plays. He has gained more Inter-
national caps than any man living. His great forte is goal-getting.
Although an opportunist he does not, like 1llicawber, always wait for
something to turn up. He creates most of his chances; by a feint or a
dodge or adouble he slips his opponent, who usually has afine back view
of the flying Stephen.
Although slightly built he is full of wire and whipcord, and he is
usually as hard as nails. He is second perhaps only to W. N. Cobbold
as adribbler, but second to no man as a shot at goal. Strange to say,
no man playing can make or take a pass better than Bloomer. He
knows instinctively where to place the ball, and he knows equally well
where to receive it. Some of his runs down the wing with Bassett
or Athersmith for partner have never been excelled. When within
shooting radius he is the most dangerous forward ever seen. Most of
his shots are fast and low, but occasionally they are oblique from the
wing to the corner of the net, or high and lightning-like just under the
bar. He can use his head finely close in from acorner kick, and no one
can get out of adifficulty with the same ease and certitude.
He has no sense of fear, and will dash up to the biggest back in the
 •...lR. WAOW ANEW

Ij2 Association Football

world, if not to brush him aside at least to hustle him off the ball or
divert his kick. His association with the other prince of forwards, John
Goodall, in the ranks of Derby County was of infinite benefit to the
younger player. No forward of intelligence could play alongside the
elder Goodall without learning much. Yet Bloomer is by no means a
copyist ;he is no imitator of Goodall or any other man. There is only
one Bloomer, and his methods are his own; his style is unique.
To watch him on the field in repose one could hardly imagine or
guess at the gifts and graces of this man, but to see him in action is to
see afigure full of fire and the brimming vitality that stamps personality
on every action. He does nothing like any one else. That clash for
the goal line is aBloomer dash; that single-handed dribble a Bloomer
dribble ;that fierce rattling shot is aBloomer shot; that superb forward
and pass is aBloomer pass ;that glorious bid for victory in the eleventh
hour is the consummation of Bloomer's art. He has made himself the
power he is and has been by reason of an irrepressible audacity, an
irresistible desire to conquer, which intense vitality often brings with it.
This triumph of the strong will, those ruling passions have made
Bloomer so great afootballer. He is a strange compound of the stoic
and the philosopher. He gives the spectator the impression of being
unnaturally calm. As he stands hand on--hip one might imagine be had
no interest in the game. If the ball is not in his vicinity he looks on in
languid inter: st. But -see him "on the ball,'' and his whole attitude and
features become transformed. He is then aman of action, aliving force,
astrong, relentless, destroying angel. Last year the Football Association,
by virtue of his record number of International caps, presented Bloomer
with his portrait—a unique honour .to a football player. He is still
young enough to gain many more caps for his country, and when he
retires from the game, full of honours, he will have the satisfaction of
knowing that no man has better served his club or his country.

JOHN GOODALL

Two nations claim this famous player for a son. He was un-
doubtedly born in the South of England, but his parents were Scots,
and he passed his younger days in Kilmarnock, where he also learned
more than the rudiments of the game in which he afterwards became
so distinguished an ornament. Goodall played in fourteen Inter-
nationals for England on his birth qualification, and curiously enough

l
i
 Artistic and Intellectual 153
his brother Archie has on a similar qualification played for Ireland.
John Goodall is atype of man that would be an honour to any nation.
Not only is he an artist in his profession,
;-that of Association football
player—but he is a gentleman in all the best senses of the word.
I well remember the type of football played by Kilmarnock when
Goodall was a member of the team. It was football of the best and
purest kind, football that was both artistic and intellectual.
I have seen nothing exactly like it since, but Preston North End
approximated to it, plus a certain vigour that was practically unknown
in the old Ayrshire club. John Goodall did not migrate directly to
Preston. He spent ashort time with Great Lever, a club which in its
day was one of the lights of the land. Goodall was recognised at once
as aman of merit, but it was not till he had been with Preston North
End for some time that he established his right to be considered one
of the greatest centre forwards of all time. He grafted the subtle
Kilmarnock style of football into the North End forward play with
results known and admired of all men.
John Goodall was never a sprinter, nor did his methods require
exceptional speed. It was a combination of dribbling and passing—
swift, short passing—that won the fame of the team that became
known to fame as "Proud Preston." Exactly how much of North
End's cleverness was due to the inspiration of the pale Kilmarnock
boy one cannot, of course, dogmatise upon, but there is little doubt
that the miraculous passing of the Preston forwards was largely due
to Goodall's initiative. He carried on the tradition to Derby County,
a club lie joined in 1889, and as late as 19o5 he was inculcating his
delightful methods by precept and example in the town of Watford.
Althou g h Goodall is essentially a centre forward and made his
name in that position, lie has played with almost equal success in
almost every position on the field. He has the genius of the game
in his nature, and he seems to know instinctively things that take other
men months to learn. His methods as aforward represent the triumph
of mind over matter. Let others play the game of human skittles if
they please, Goodall would always try the effect of strategy. To the
frontal attacks of the unskilled heavy-weights he would oppose the
flanking movements of the true strategist. He was the General
Roberts of the football field.
Not only was he a brilliant individual player, capable of seizing
every opportunity to secure a score for his side, but lie also had the

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 Association Football
power of instilling the same kind of ability into his comrades, and
making them players almost equal to himself. The team with John
Goodall and the team in his absence was quite a different side. He
v-as the inspirer, the initiator, the key, the mainspring of the -
whole
team. It is astonishing the difference that one man may, make to a
team. Goodall was the brain of every combination he played in. He
alone seemed to know the exact moment to dribble, the exact moment
to pass, the exact moment to shoot. he possessed the powers of draw-
ing the defence on to himself only to make a clear opening for a
comrade.
He had not the rigour of a Johnnie Campbell, he had not the
dash of a John Southworth, he had not the scientific precision of a
G. 0. Smith, but he had something that all these great play ers lacked—
the power of getting the best out of all the other members of the team.
His dribbling was as close and clever as that of W. - N. Cobbold, but
instead of shouldering his v-ay to the front like the great Cantab, he
"wormed '' his •vay through the opposition with the gliding motion
of a serpent. Above all, John Goodall was a sportsman. He could
fight as hard and as strenuously as any man, but if victory did not
come his -way he did not fret and fume and shoes- resentment to his
opponents. On the contrary, he --as always the first to congratulate
aside that had beaten him honestly.
His invariable good humour made him popular amongst his brother
professionals, popular amongst amateurs, and popular -with the spectators
every -
where. He was and is alover of clean, pure football. His skill
was so great that he never required to stoop to some of the subterfuges
that, if not against the letter of the game, certainly infringe its spirit.
It can never be said of John Goodall that he was guilty of a mean
action or a dirty trick. he had too much self-respect to do anything
that -would demean him in his own eyes or the eyes of the public he
served so loyally and so long. He received •';oo as a benefit during
his stay with the Derby County Club, and it -vas always a regret with
him that Derby never quite managed to win the Association Cup.
There is no doubt that he taught Bloomer a good deal of the game,
although the styles of the two men are so dissimilar.
He is, however, too modest to suggest that Bloomer owes any-
thing to his tuition. He has been in many a hard-fought fight in
League battles ; Cup ties, and International games, but in the hottest of
the fray he has never been known to commit an unfair act or to lose his
 Needham on Half-back Play ss
I
temper. Of few men can this be said. The playing days of Goodall
are now practically over, but he is still an invaluable "coach" and
agood friend to young professionals who have yet their spurs to win.
He might well receive the name of "Honest John," for his conduct
on and off the field has been as straightforward as that of the best
of our amateurs,and in long years to come no name will be more
honoured in football story than that of John Goodall, a prince of
good fellows and a prince of players. Dark, soft-eyed, with a fine
open face, his character was as an open book that those who run
might read, and if his name were not already Goodall he might be
truly named John All Good.

ERNEST NEEDHAM

There are few footballers better worth watching than the little man
who for so many years has acted as captain of the Sheffield United
team, and who incidentally has had so much to do with the building up
of its fortunes. The name of Ernest Needham, cricketer as well as
footballer, and genuine sportsman in everything that he does, is a
household word amongst those who take any sort of interest in the
great winter pastime. To see him on the field is to see a veritable
puzzle ;to see him off it is to discover the most modest of men, and
one who is especially hard to draw with regard to his own deeds. Few
men have amightier career to look back upon, few are more disinclined
to talk about it than he.
But one day I was fortunate enough to catch the half-back in
kindly humour, and he readily acquiesced when I asked him a question
or two. His opinion on the relative difficulties of centre and wing half-
back's position ? On that point he simply wished to point out that,
whereas the centre half must always be running about pretty hard, the
wing halves are necessarily kept on full strength, and are called upon
for a far greater turn of speed, for the simple reason that they are
opposed to the speedy men in the opposing attack. "Inever cared for
playing centre half," he said, "though I have had to play there more
than once. illy preference is clearly for the position in which I have
almost always played, left half." Yet, singularly enough, it was a
centre half-back who first set Needham on the way to his present
fame. That was AV,illy Hendry, the volatile Scotsman, who acted as
captain to Sheffield United prior to Needham's succession, and who

•,Q
 iAW iii *AV" 9".00 l SIR r wi. w

156 Association Football

subsequently migrated to Brighton, and who died down south some
few years ago.
Hendry was not only agreat half-back himself, but he was the cause
of others becoming great as well. Those who knew both men in their
prime have often seen in the little Staveley man glimpses of Hendry;
touches which were part and parcel of the Scotsman's tricks, and bits of
eminently brilliant footwork which Needham learned from his mentor.
But Hendry, fine half-back as he was, never rose to the level of his pupil.
Needham cut out for himself a career which few in his position have
equalled, certainly no one has surpassed. Ihad the satisfaction of seeing
him take part in his first International against Scotland at Glasgow,
--hen the crowd behaved itself so badly,as to sweep away the tables on
which the press men were supposed to be sitting, and cause an exodus
to the opposite side of the ground. Few of all those press men saw
much of the game save myself, for, hoisted on a table top which was in
turn held in place by my colleagues against the surging crowd's encroach-
ments, I saw sufficient of the game to be able to dictate something of
its progress to those beneath, and who wrote for clear life under supreme
difficulties.
Needham hardly did as well as those of us had expected who knew
him best on that occasion, though one shot, agenuine curling shot, which
barely cleared the bar, bad the custodian beaten all the way. Since
then he has played many a great game in Internationals; nor shall I
ever forget the perfectly brilliant combination which subsisted between
him as half-back and Spikesley and Fred AYbeldon as the wing at Glasgow
in 1898. Nothing in International football has been finer than that.
The three men fitted into one another's methods like hands into their
proper gloves, and all the brilliance of the Scottish defence was dum-
founded and beaten. England won that game by 3 goals to i. How
much of the victory belonged to the magnificence of the left wing cannot
now be properly appreciated. But I never saw a finer exposition of
complete confidence and understanding as the three men went up the
field in abrilliant triangle time and time again.
Needham's terse summing up of ahalf-back's duties is, "Beep an eye
on your wing man, and lend ghat help you can to the centre half now
and then. But it is the outside man who must be your first considera-
tion." How Needham effects his purpose in this way is not to follow
the example of other halves of lesser fame. He does not necessarily lie
on to the winger, he prefers to hover parallel with him in his flight
Photo: Geo. Nevunes, Ltd.

A. LEAIiE

Aston Villa and England

,•l.•r;:;a:•• ;''.'.'r.•'.v•:E'.h:;R'•'.'.•S:.tl6SiX.q:n_t
 Doing Three Men's Work I
se

down the wing midway between him and his partner, knowing right
well that the pass is almost certain to come, and then, in case the winger
in despair makes a final dash for the corner flag for a centre into goal-
mouth, Needham is ever near enough to join in the rush, and defeat him
in his new-found object. It is calculation all through, the nicest know-
ledge of what his winger is going to do, coupled with such a turn of
speed as enables him also to change his methods so soon as his quarry
has done so.
A winger weakens with the ever present sight of the lithe little
figure hovering betwixt himself and his partner; many atime he makes
the pass despairingly, only to find a foot outstretched and the ball's

Photo: Russell. London

FOULKE
Chelsea Goal-keeper

progress stayed, and in turn given to the half-back's own forwards.

There is one thing which has made Ernest Needhain stand out of the
i
common run of halves: he is neither a constructive nor a destructive
half-back alone; he is both at once. One moment you will see him
falling back to the defence of his own goal, or checking the speedy rush
of his wing; the next, and almost before the possibilities of such a
speedy change has dawned, he is up with his own forwards, feeding
them to anicety, and always making the best of every opening. Where
he gets his pace from is a mystery. He never seems to be racing, yet
lie must be moving at racing pace; he never seems to be exhausted, yet
in abig game he is practically doing three men's work. And therein
lies another attribute which he claims for himself. It has often been
urged that he is too prone to wander from his proper place. His answer
to that is the number of times that he has contrived to save his goal by
I58 Association Football
falling back -well out of his real place to the relief of his backs. How
often in days that are past Needham was able to relieve Peter Boyle,
--hen that full-back had rushed out to stop an advance and was unable
to get back it is impossible to say, but many atime --hen the full-back
-as yards away up the Held Needham seemed to come from no-here,
and head or kick the threatening ball away.
It is not easy to accurately sum up the measure of his usefulness.
He is afine shot, takin g the ball in any position, al-ways getting plenty
of pace on it, sending in agreater proportion of those awkward curling
shots which, in any kind of -wind, are so supremely difficult to judge;
he dribbles like a for- ward, keeping the ball -wonderfully close, and yet
never at aloss for the pass when the time comes; he seems to have no
need to watch the ball at his feet, his very feet seem to control it with-
out any other help, and thus his eyes are free to watch the movements
of those -who seek to rob him. This, in reality, is one of the secrets of
his greatness, for very seldom when he has the ball is he deprived of
it, -whilst the accuracy of his -wing passes, and the telling force of his
punches straight across the field to an unprotected wing, spell danger to
any kind of defence. The very closeness with which he dribbles adds
to the possibility of accident, and -Needham has often come down badly,
one toe being so badly mauled by repeated injuries as to make him
particularly careful -with it. But with all his accidents, - with all his
stress of big matches, he remains what he has ever been, the most modest
and unassuming man who ever grew into the first rank, and -ill be
remembered for years, in Sheffield at all events, as the finest left half-
back that En glish football has known.

NICHOLAS J. ROSS

If one were asked to name three of the greatest full-backs that ever
graced the Association game, one would be compelled to include the
late Nicholas J. Ross as one of the illustrious three. Falter Arnott
of Queen's Park, Glasgow, would be my second selection, and -AI.
N1'alters, the old Charterhouse boy, the third. I don't profess to place
them in their order of merit. On his special days each man would be
unapproachable. There are others whose names will go down to history
as amongst the greatest of full-backs, who on certain occasions or
during certain years quite equalled the prowess of my noble trio.
John Forbes of the Vale of Leven and Blackburn Rovers, P. _-T. Falters,
 Nick Ross the Terrible 159

brother of "A. M." and his habitual partner in the Corinthian team,
A. H. Harrison of Oxford University and the Corinthians, L. V.
Lodge of Cambridge University and Corinthians, "Nick " Smith of
Glasgow Rangers, and Dan Doyle of Glasgow Celtic—these men were
all giants of the game, and yet they hardly came into the category of
my dauntless three. It is doubtful if we have any full-back of modern
times quite equal to the men I have mentioned. I know the universal
tendency is to glorify the past at the expense of the present, but after
making every conceivable allowance I doubt whether we could give
one name in the present day of a man who played the game with the
success that these heroes of old played it. And when Itake my daunt-
less three and make a selection Ican only say that though Nick Ross
was probably no better back than the other two, he was the man above
all else that ever kicked afootball that Iwould have on my side. No
one, Itake it, ever kicked quite so artistically as Walter Arnott ;no one
ever " placed " the ball so well to his forwards as the auburn-haired
Scot. No one ever tackled quite so sturdily as A. M. Walters; no man
came off so victoriously in a strenuous charge. Nick Ross could kick
artistically—and otherwise; he could "place " the ball beautifully to
his comrades; he could take care of himself in a charge; he rarely
carne second best out of a scrimmage, but it was not all nor any of
these qualities that made him a man in a million. Ross was probably
the best full-back that ever lived, because he not only could do every-
thing in perfection that afull-back ought to do, not merely because he
knew everything that a back ought to know, but because he had the
faculty of winning matches. He possessed the indefinable something,
that magic quality which, for lack of a better word, we call genius. I
only know of two other footballers who have possessed the same quality
in the same degree. These are Ernest Needham of Sheffield United
and G. 0. Smith of the Corinthians. In actual play the eye of Ross
seemed to range over all the field. He was able to take in at a glance
the strength and the weakness of the opposition. After a time the
whole team seemed to become absorbed in. his personality, and Preston
North End, the team with which he will forever be identified, seemed
to be dominated by the spirit of one man, and that man N. J. Ross.
He had not such a power of mesmerism as Walter Arnott, but he had
something about him equally effective, equally terrible. The wing
forwards opposed to Ross often seemed to lose their courage, their skill,
their knowledge of the game. If the outside man tried adash past him

2•
 16o Association Football
he would lose the ball, or be gently persuaded into touch. If he tried
to pass, -Nick -would anticipate the movement, intercept, and send the
ball sailing gaily in an opposite direction. When Nick had thoroughly
beaten or cowed" his own wing, he would find time, if need be,. to
assist his partner. If the half-backs were shaky, Ross would stiffen
them up by generous example. If the forwards were grown weary, he
would suddenly nip in amongst them.; and, by some startling offensive
movement, turn the -Thole tide of battle. This was frequently seen in
his later days when he took over the captaincy of Everton, which was
then one of the younger of the League clubs. He was supposed to play
back—and he did—but as amatter of fact he played practically every-
where. He was quick to discern not only the weaknesses of his own
side, but also the weaknesses of his opponents. He kept "playing on "
to the weakness of the opposition, while he carefully nursed and safe-
guarded the weakness of his own team. In actual play, especially in a
Cup tie, he seemed like aman possessed, yet in spite of all his fire, all
his dash, all his activity, he always remained cool in an emergency,
collected in ascrimmage, calm in the wild whirl that often sends twenty-
two strenuous men crazy with excitement. lie had the dual tempera-
ment of fire and water. His flame never danced and flickered; it
glowed steadily and lit up all the scene. He seemed to see everything
before it happened. He could tell if the rush of the opposing forwards
spelt danger or was only aruse. He possessed the instinct of knowing
when agoal was about to be scored, and yet he was no magician ! He
could not tell whence came those inspired periods when he did every-
thin g right and could do no wrong. He was in the hurly-burly of the
game, and whether it lasted moments or hours he scarce could tell.
He owed little or nothing to superior physical gifts. He was neither very
big, nor very strong, but be was - very fast. As an athlete many aman
has surpassed him ;as a footballer only a few have quite touched the
same transeendant note. It was in instinct and intuition that he
differed from most men. He knew the psychological moment to win a
game. For pressing home an advantage he had no equal. For stop-
ping amovement that means agoal he had no rival. Once in afatuous
Cup tie against the Old Carthusians an opposing forward found himself
at an open goal. Ross, racin g across from the wing, bore down upon
his enemy. The fatal kick was being taken when the great back
swooped down upon the forward who was about to immortalise himself.
Exactly what happened no one ever knew. Perhaps Ross himself could

0
Photo: Thiele 6- Co., London

Glasgow Rangers and Scotland

 Foundation of Scientific Football 161

not have told you. Unkind critics, after the match, tried to explain
the incident by saying that the North Ender trod on his adversary's
heel. The fact remains that the forward never made the kick forward
which would have settled the match, and the ball rolled harmlessly
away. He was always a picturesque figure in the field. Although
neither very tall nor very thin, he gave one the appearance of both., and
his sharp, clean-cut features gave him amake-up almost ll ephistophelian.
In a crowd he was the cynosure of all beholders. He held a high
opinion of his own abilities, but never expressed it egotistically. When
the brothers Walters were commonly spoken of as a couple of ideal
backs, Ross expressed his dissent. He thought A. 11I. much better
than his brother P. M. "There is only one better back than A. 2M.,"
he once observed to that player. "Indeed," said A. TAI., "and who is
he? " "Why, N. J. Ross, of course," said Nick, with a grin. Strange
to say, Ross was not amember of the Preston North End Club during
the year of its greatest triumphs, but it was Nick and his stalwart men
that laid the foundation of modern scientific football, a game which
will last so long as England is a nation, and so long as England is a
nation the name of Nicholas J. Ross will endure. Ross was born in
Scotland in 1862, and it was in 1874 that he was one of the chief
promoters of the Edinburgh Rovers. He afterwards played for the
Hibernians and Heart of Midlothian. When twenty years of age he
was made captain of the Hearts. Wherever he went his powerful
personality always came to the front. It was not till 1883 that he
visited England. He obtained work in Preston, and afterwards he
joined and became captain of the club he was about to make famous.
Up till then he had played as a forward, but he soon found his true
vocation as back. We have seen many great footballers iii our day,
but, take him all in all, we may not look upon his like again.

ALEXANDER SMITH

If one were to ask any small boy in Scotland if he knew Alec

Smith he would smile and say: "Every one knows Alec Smith. He's
the outside left of the Rangers." It is possible even amongst adults
in Scotland the flying forward of Glasgow bangers is even better known
than his illustrious countryman, Adam Smith. For while the latter was
apolitical economist and wrote about the "Wealth of Nations," Alec of
VOL. I. Le
162 Association Football
the Rangers is afootball player who has done much to stimulate the
Health of:Nations.
Scotland has several national idols, and Alec Smith is one of them.
Every youth with club or international aspirations is adevout worshipper
of the genial Alec, and the person who would dare to say in broad day-
light, out Ibrox way, that his equal existed on the south side of the
Border would be in danger of being "accidentally " pushed into the
Clyde. The Scots are a race much stronger in national feelings than
the common or garden En glishman, and the idols of the Scot once
established in his heart none need try to pluck out.
In Smith's case there is some cause for lovin g him—this side idolatry
—for he has been as abeacon light in the kingdom of Scottish football for
many years, and, what is of greater importance, he has been a thorn
in the flesh of the haughty Sa.ssenach in many a hard-fought Inter-
national match. Smith is not merely the player of aday, amonth, or
aseason. Consistency is written all over him, and after many years he
still remains in the forefront of Scottish football. For years he was
termed Scotland's one and only outside left, and well does he deserve
the honour, for looking back one finds that from 1898 to i9o; Alec has
been chosen to represent his country, against England. To his credit,
be it said, he has never failed to come up to expectations. His name is
as much respected in England as it is in his own country. Without
being conceited Smith has never been struck with "stage fr ig ht " in
International matches, and he is one of those players who never know
when they are beaten and who last from end to end of the game. No
matter who his partner may be Smith has the faculty of adapting his
play to his comrade, and falling into line with him from the start.
Bold, original, often daring in his methods, he never forgets the supreme
duty of subordinating self to combination. He plays for his team and
not for Alec Smith. Much of his success has been due to this all-
important element in his character. He is aplayer -who can think on
his legs, think quickly, accurately, and wisely. Like others he may
make an occasional mistake, commit a slight error in tactics, but in
nine cases out of ten -,when he makes a dash for goal and glory he is
successful. As a rule he plays the orthodox wing game as known and
understood in Scotland, but he never confines himself to the "wing
game.'' He remembers that there is acentre, and that there is another
win g to whom the occasional long pass carries confusion to the ranks of
his opponents.
 Glasgow Rangers' Great Era 163

Although rather under than over medium height, and weighing

barely eleven stone, he can take his own part in the hurly-burly of the
football field—no back is big enough to frighten him—and when he
makes a bee-line for goal with his teeth set some one or something has
to go. Yet Smith has met with comparatively few accidents. He has
the faculty of going straight up to an opponent as if to charge, slip
round him at the last moment, and show him aclean pair of heels.
If Smith were apoet of the romantic order, and could write about
the great football fights in which he has taken part, we would possess
an epic to vie with the best of classic lore. But like most others of his
class he is mightier with his foot than with his pen. Those who have
been fortunate enough to see Smith at his best are to be envied. If he
does not quite possess the poetry of motion, he is at least one of the
most graceful exponents to touch-line play of his generation. His
dashes up the wing have electrified thousands, and many aclever half,
and many askilful full-back, has been driven to distraction by Smith's
bewildering tactics.
His play is so uniformly good that he ought to have as his
telegraphic address, "Consistency, Glasgow." Born at Darvel in 187/7,
he there learned the rudiments of the game, and soon gave such
exceptional promise of ability that before he got to manhood's full estate
his fame had preceded him, and the Ibrox officials were on his track,
with the result that Smith became a member of the famous Glasgow
Rangers team. He received his first International cap in 1897, when
he played against the Irish League. The season following he took part
in all the International games, and since then he has virtually held the
field against all-comers in his position. He has taken part in no fewer
than twenty-one great representative games. In the great era when the
Ilangers were pre-eminent in the Scottish League—from 1898 to I902— i
the club had only two other players as consistent in skill and as regular I
in attendance. These were Dickie and Hamilton. In the seasons
1898, 1899, and i 90o Smith took part in sixty-nine out of a possible
seventy-four matches.
Ili
G. O. SMITH

A first-class centre forward is as rare to find as awhite blackbird.

Yet there is almost as great a difference between a mere first-class
centre and acentre of the highest class as there is between acab-horse

vWit. 1421
164 Association Football
and a race-horse. One can count the great centre forwards of the
past decade on the fingers of one hand. Since the days of Archie
Hunter whom have we had? only five J. Campbell of Sunderland,
J. Goodall of Derby County and Watford, R. S. M'Coll, now of Glasgow
Rangers, and G. 0. Smith. The greatest of these is G. 0. Smith.
One day we may probably have to add the name of Vivian Woodward
to the illustrious list, but for the present those men are almost in a
class by themselves.
With the possible exception of Goodall none of these men stood
the test of time equal to the great amateur, G. 0., who now is the
principal of afine school in the London district. Smith has practically
retired from the game, but he still teaches the young idea how to
shoot at Barnet, and on charitable occasions he sometimes emerges
into the public gaze.
There -will al-rays be differences of opinion about favourite players,
but universal testimony agrees that never in the history of the
game has there been a centre, for consistency over a number of
years, who has equalled G. 0. Smith. For at least ten years the old
Charterhouse boy stood without a rival in England. For a single
season he may have been equalled by J. Campbell, or Goodall, or
-MIColl, but for sheer consistency he stands alone in the history of
English football. Now, G. 0. did not develop quickly. He is not
what people call a born footballer. He undoubtedly had the genius
of football in him, but it took time and trouble to make him the great
player he ultimately became.
As a junior at Charterhouse he played outside right. The official
School Report of him read: "Improved towards end of season. Dribbles
and passes -Tell, but is rather slo -
w."
From this laconic, and lukewarm description of Smith in 1888 one
would scarce recognise the man who became a terror to every great
back and goal-keeper in England. At Charterhouse about the same
time were several great players, amongst them -M. H. Stanbrough,
one of the most brilliant outside forwards who ever kicked a ball.
Doubtless young Smith derived much inspiration, if not instruction,
from Stanbrough, with -Thom he afterwards played frequently in the
ranks of the Corinthian Club.
But Smith modelled his style on no man. No doubt he watched
and studied Tinsley Lindley, his predecessor in the Corinthian ranks,
and he could not have had a better exemplar ;but G. 0. was destined
Photo GEO. \ EwsF-s LTD.
 ,wi.,.:p-.

Deadly Shooting of G. O. Smith 165

to make a bigger mark on the page of football history than any of

his own time.
If one were asked to say in aword the strong point of G. 0. Smith's
play, one would have to say, "Passing." Great in all the qualities
which go to make up the man who is the keystone of the arch of a
team, it was in making and receiving passes that he excelled all

Photo: Bowden Bros.

SEi\II-FINAL ENGLISH CUP

Millwall v. Derby County, at Birmingham

"A THROW IN BY DERBY"

others. And it was in making the pass that he was most deadly.
No defender, however experienced, could anticipate what he was
going to do. He had an instinct for throwing the enemy off his
guard, and at the same time of doing the right thing in the right
way at the right moment. He was such a deadly shot himself that
lie could not be allowed to dribble too close to goal. If one back
went for him he would pass to the undefended wing with unfailing
accuracy and promptitude.
166 Association Football
If he could not draw the defence his parting shot was of such a
character that if it did not actually score it frightened the defence from
allowing the like to happen again. He knew exactly when to pass and
when to stick to the ball. When he did pass he would invariably make
an opening for the wing men that made scoring comparatively easy.
In the wettest, muddiest day, when the ball was heavy with clay, or
greasy as a Christmas pudding, his passes never went astray. His
control of the ball was no less remarkable than his ability to part with
it to the best advantage.
Some men have been able to shoot as well—none better. A few
other centres have been more resolute in making asingle-handed dash
for goal, but no man that ever took the field garnered as large acrop
of goals directly or indirectly as G. 0. Smith. He studied the game
as few men have done. He brought a fine intellect to bear upon it
in its every aspect, and the fruit of his study is represented by many
victories for his club—the Corinthians—and his country.
G. 0. had not the physique to play ahard, dashing game had lie
desired to do so. His gentler methods bore better fruit. He opposed
subtlety to force; intellect to mere strength. Slightly over middle
height, with awinsome face that bore traces of the pale cast of thought,
Smith fought his way to the front by sheer diplomacy. If he could
not win by fair means he would not win by foul. Nor did he mind
a "charge," provided it was fairly delivered. He did not belong to the
drawing-room order of player.
He knew that football is amanly game, calling for qualities of pluck,
grit, and endurance, and when he got hurt—as all men do—he never
whined or grumbled. He took his courage in both hands, and never
funked the biggest back that ever bore down on him. If not exactly
asprinter few men could run faster with the ball at their toe, and one
wondered where he acquired the power that sent the ball whizzing into
the net like ashot from agun. To see him walk quietly on to the field
with his hands in his pockets, and watch the fine lines of an intellectual
face, one wondered why the student ventured into the arena of football.
But watch him on the ball with opposing professionals—maybe the
best in the land--in full cry after him, and you saw averitable king
amongst athletes.
Smith was not merely a great footballer. Had he given the time
and attention to it he would have become an equally great cricketer.
As it was he scored over a century for Oxford University at Lords,
 "There Stands a Man! " 167

and assisted his Alma Mater to win a sensational match. He was

beloved of all professional players with whom he came in contact, and
when he captained English International teams no man found the
paid- players try harder. By his own particular chums he was adored.
Iremember him as avery young man before he had made aworld-wide
reputation, saying that even if he were amillionaire he would still play
football. The Association game has never had a greater ornament, and
I venture to think that so long as the game is played the name and
fame of G. 0. Smith will endure.

HERBERT SMITH

In watching the figure of Herbert Smith on a football field one

is tempted to exclaim, "There stands a man!" As a specimen of
English manhood one might search far and wide for his equal. It may
be that in these days purely physical qualities are extolled too much,
but afine man, aperfect human animal, will always command respect.
To watch Smith at play, to see him run, to witness the play of his
muscles, makes one feel proud of one's kind. He is a type of perfectly
developed manhood. So cleverly has nature contrived to build him,
lie does not look anything like his actual weight—some thirteen stone
—when in hard training. In his ordinary clothes, one might pass him
on the street without remarking his superb physique, but to see him .in
football costume is to see agiant in stature, agiant in girth, a giant in
muscular development, agiant in strength. Add to all the lightness of
foot of adancing-master and the fleetness of the deer, and one will get
avery fair impression of the outward appearance of the Captain of the
Reading Club.
Herbert Smith plays football for the sheer love of the game. He
was first known in connection with the Oxford City Club, but the play
of ordinary amateurs did not satisfy him. He was fain to measure his
strength and skill against the best professionals in the land. Like
the brothers Walters, he dearly loved to rough it in a manly charge

I.
with the best and cleverest exponents of the game extant. His ambi-
tion led him to leave the scholarly shades of Oxford City for the battle
and the breeze of Reading, and its robust experiences in the Southern
League tournament and many a hard-fought Cup tie. It is not too
much to say that for two years or more Smith has been not merely the
t68 Association Football
mainstay but the life and soul of the Reading team. Without its gal-
lant amateur captain Reading has been mainly,a collection of medio-
crities, with Sinith it is agalaxy of brilliant players. Smith is one of
those great players who have the faculty of inspiring their men to play
above their normal form. On one or two occasions when Smith was
lame and unable to do much himself, his mere presence on the field
made the other members of the team exert themselves to do their own
share of the work and his also.
end how much and how Great the work that Smith invariably does
for his side must be seen to be believed. In many of the critical
League games, and in many of the Cup ties of 1905, Smith did the work-
of any three men on the field. One moment he would be dribbling into
position for the forwards, another assisting the half-backs, and asecond
later coming to the rescue of his fellow-back, and even heading the ball
out of the mouth of goal. His speed is such that he can stray far from
his natural position -with impunity. -With him it is the work of a
moment to get where there is most danger. His Iona sweeping strides
seem to carry him from end to end of the field -while other men are
thinking about it. The better the game the better he plays. Put him
in a Cup tie match and be plays better than in an ordinary match.
Put him in an International, and he plays better than in aCup tie. In
the match against Scotland in 1905 at the Crystal Palace, it was thought
by some that his lack of experience in representative matches would
tell against him. -othing of the kind. He has the Gift of estimating
correctly the strong and the weak points of the opposition, and he
marks, out his plan of campaign accordingly. He possesses experience
like a second nature. Great minds do not require to buy all their
experience. Given a certain variety of work against a certain variety
of opponents a really great player can adapt himself to every new
condition as it crops up. In the International match at the Palace,
Smith played with the coolness and resource of a veteran. Not even
Howard Spencer, the veteran Villa back and hero of ahundred bi ; fights,
could anticipate the tactics of the opposition better than the stalwart
Oxford amateur.
In style Smith is robust rather than subtle. He goes out to meet
his men with aGrim smile and aheart for any fate.
As atackler he is unique. He has the power of brushin g his oppo-
nents aside without makin ff arough charge, and with his eye glued on
the ball lie rarely fails to get his toe to the leather. I have seen hint
time after time stop a rush of two, three, and even four opposing
forwards. Such a thing ought not to be possible where skilful for-
wards are concerned, but Smith frequently does it. How is it done?
Chiefly by anticipating the pass, and sometimes by making the ball
his one and only object, going for it whole-heartedly, and not being
happy till he gets it. Surprising it is what one strong, clever, deter-
mined man can do in the way of stopping rushes and beating back
the opposition.
The man who, like Herbert Smith, disbelieves in the impossible, can
occasionally accomplish miracles. He has frequently saved agoal single-
handed when all hope seemed gone. His tackling is his strong point,
but he is also a powerful kick. I Dave seen other men place the
ball better to their forwards, but few men kick with such power and
precision. No doubt the very sight of the man—big, bold, strenuous
all in his favour;
C) but even when opposing forwards have no fear Smith's
powerful personality dominates the situation. I would not say that
Smith is magnetic, but his very presence at times seems to paralyse his
opponents and render his task the easier. Such is the advantage of a
big frame and amighty kick. It is not every forward that cares to go
right up to aback who can use his foot like a steam-hammer. Yet by •
nature Smith is surely the kindest and most sportsmanlike of men.
Without asemblance of fear for himself he yet fears to hurt an oppo-
nent, and he very rarely does. He is the gentle giant of the football
field.
His courage is as notable as his consideration for others. With him
no game, however adversely the fates seem to run, is lost till the final f

whistle blows. By his superb pluck he has turned many an impending

defeat into anarrow victory, In the hour of defeat he is even more a
hero than in the hour of victory. His honest congratulations to the
victors inspire the deepest respect and admiration, while his winsome
manner in sympathising with the vanquished makes him one of the
most popular men at present playing football. Smith is still compara-
tively young, and the chances are that many and greater honours are in j

store for him.

170 Association Football

HUGH WILSON

There is probably no better known football player in the four kingdoms

than Hugh Wilson of Ne4%milns, Sunderland, Bristol City, and Third
Lanark, Glasgow. These are the clubs he has served, and he has been
afaithful servant to each and all. He will be known to posterity as the
greatest half-back Sunderland ever possessed. He gave the best years
of his life to the Sunderland Club ;and it was only, after many years,
when his great natural powers began to wane, that he transferred his
services to Bristol City and afterwards to Third Lanark of Glasgow.
While he was with Sunderland ;Wilson was prodigal of his strength. He
was never content with doing one man's work on the field. He always put
forth a giant's strength, and spent his energies regardless of the time
when even the most active lag superfluous on the stage of life. If ever a
i
man gave up all that he possessed in the way of his natural talents to
his employers that man - was Hugh \\'ilson. \\`hen his epitaph is written,
—let us hope in the far distant future—it ought to be, "AVell done, good
and faithful servant."
For some nine years during the halcyon days of Sunderland, when it
was virtually aScotch club with an English name, Wilson played as half-
back; but later on, when the strain began to tell on him, he played as a
forward and scored many goals for his side.
Amongst many smart and famous men in the Sunderland Club
-Wilson was always adominating personality. For one thing he was abig
man—strong, muscular—brimming over with vitality, astrenuous worker I

living laborious days, and doing all he knew for the game and the team
he loved. At throwing in from the touch-line he could throw the ball
farther than any man living: and during the days when it was not com-
pulsory to bring the ball over the head with both hands he could practi-
cally throw the ball into the goal mouth from the half-way line. A
throw-in was better for his side than afree kick, and it was probably
owing to the prodigious distance he could throw the ball that the rule
was altered. But this was a mere detail in the scheme of \\'ilson's
prowess as ahalf-back. As abreaker up of forwards he had few equals
and no superior. If an opposing forward gave him the slip once, he was
not likely to do it again. Against two or more forwards he could fre-
quently hold his own ;and such was his power of perception in anticipat-
in g an attacking movement that he has more than once single-handed
 Great Half-Back Lines 171

stopped awhole line of forwards. A pass in the air he - would frustrate

with his ubiquitous head, which always seemed to be popping up to the
discomfiture of his opponents, and his long legs would shoot out and
intercept the most dangerous-looking pass along the ground. He was a
sore thorn in the side of many of the cleverest forwards ever seen in
First League football. In smashing up combinations he employed only
fair and sportsmanlike tactics, and though many of his opponents felt sore
at the way Hughie spoiled their choicest efforts they readily forgave and
admired him. But it was not merely as an iconoclast that Wilson was
head and shoulders above most half-backs of his time. His negative
qualities were only equalled by his positive qualities. In stopping his
opponents he never forgot to put his own forwards in motion with the
ball at their toes. Wilson kept a cool head even in the most critical
moment, and where other men would relieve the attack with a mighty
blind kick to anywhere out of danger, Hugh would gracefully plant the
ball to perhaps awing man lying handy, or to the wonderful centre for-
ward J. Campbell, who could be depended upon to make the most of the
opportunity. Wilson could pass as precisely as the man who had played
aforward game all his life, and he could shoot for goal with all the force,
accuracy, and deadliness of the best forward in the land. Hugh knew
by instinct when to take the ball and when to look after the man. Man
or ball Nilson would have, and if he missed both he would hardly forgive
himself. He was one of those men to whom victory is dear, and who
feel defeat as apersonal disgrace. To win the match he was engaged in
was the first law of his being. 1llost of his old colleagues in the Sun-
derland ranks were of asimilar temperament, and it goes without saying
that their losses were few and their victories many. Wilson, Auld, and
Gibson formed ahalf-back line that has never been surpassed, and the
greatest of these was Nilson. Other great combinations of half-backs
have been known, such as Robertson, Russell, and Graham of Preston
North End; Crabtree, Cowan, and Groves of Aston Villa; Hendry, Need-
ham, and Howell of Sheffield United; but it is doubtful if any of these
illustrious trios of half-backs were for all-round effectiveness the equal of
the Sunderland three.
It is very rare indeed to find aman playing for some twelve years
as afirst-class half-back through all the vicissitudes of League life and
then suddenly become a first-class forward. I do not pretend that
Wilson was in the same class as a forward that he was as ahalf-back.
He could afford to come in on alower plane and yet be hailed as avery
172 Association Football
capable forward. It would be impossible to put Wilson into any position
on the field that he would not fill with credit. His knowledge, his expe-
rience, his natural Genius for the game, was such that he could play
almost perfectly in any position. Was a back hurt? Wilson could
take his place. Was the goal-keeper disabled ? Hugh was immediately
called upon for the vacancy. AN -as aforward injured ? Bring up Wilson,
--as the invariable cry. He was one of those versatile men life Ernest
-Needham, who could almost fill two positions at the same time. _He
would be up with the forwards in the general advance, and yet ready to fall
back to adefensive position the moment danger was in sight. In tem-
perament Wilson was always aboy. He was aman amongst men in all
that pertains to manliness, and yet he v-as in spirit always the joyous
Ayrshire laddie that loved football better than the money it brought him.
Wilson still plays the game on the slopes of Cathkin Park, and though
the years have somewhat, slowed his pace, and the fires of youth are
not burning with the fierce light of former days, his heart is still young,
buoyant, and juvenile. It is acompliment to say that he has, if possible,
more friends in England than in Scotland. Wherever he went he made
friends and knew no enemies. Isometimes think that his heart is still
on the banks of the Tyne, and that he sighs for the days of Lana Syne
and the scenes of his greatest triumphs. Althouah Wilson --as so long
and so intimately connected with England he never lost his love for his
country and his countrymen. When Captain of the Sunderland Club he
welcomed the English player as well as the Scottish. He felt no dis-
tinction, and he made none. Sport with him knew no nationality, but
in the Great trials of the nations on the one day of the year, when
Scotland met England, Wilson became a Scot of the Scots for one day
only, and all be ever knew of football was pressed into the service of his
country.

WALTER ARNOTT

NV hen the history of Association football is read in ages to come,

there is at least one name that will stand out shining like astar. I
refer to \Valter Arnott, Scotland's Greatest full-back, and perhaps the
most gifted defensive player ever known to the game. His name will
ever be associated with the Queen's Park Club of Glasgow, for the famous
team was probably at its best --hen lValter Arnott was at his best.
Thou gh essentially aScottish player, the name and fame of Arnott is as
Photo GEO. '.\ EN% -NES LTD.

VIVIAN WOODWARD.

•+! yYx+iR`E:YJI
~ .`Y3'
•...'."95A'
i SS,p•
 When Five Forwards Played 173

well known, respected, and admired in England as it is in his native

land. 11"alter Arnott was a name to conjure with in Scotland fifteen
years ago, and now that he has retired from active participation in the
game, he still keeps up aconnection by contributing articles on football
in its various modern aspects. It is, of course, as a player that Arnott
will be remembered. The first time Isaw him was at the old Hampden
Park ground, and the occasion was a match between Scotland and

Photo :Russell, Loudon

MANCHESTER CITY v. BOLTON WANDERERS AT THE PALACE

England. The date will be readily recalled when I state that on

the day England for the first time played five forwards and three
half-backs, while Scotland still retained the old formation of six
forwards and two half-backs.
Arnott's partner on that occasion was John Forbes, the old vale
of Leven player, and though the latter was justly reckoned one of the
finest full-backs ever seen, he had that day to be content with second place
to "Wattie of the auburn locks." Arnott was then in his prime, and so
was William Gunn, an opposing forward, better known as the famous
cricketer of Nottinghamshire. The duel between those two giants of
the game was a thing to be for ever remembered. I have never seen
174 Association Football
a forward play finer football than William Gunn did on that day.
Ably served by E. C. Bambridge, another famous forward, Gunn
frequently swept the field from end to end with the ball at his toe.
He dodged and feinted and ran as no man ever ran before or since. At
least, so it seemed to my young eyes. He was without doubt incom-
parably the greatest forward on the field that day, and the "field"
included the famous - Dr. Smith and Fred Shaw of Pollokshields. I
have said that Gunn frequently swept the field from end to end, but
the statement requires qualification. Gunn was irresistible until he
came within the Scottish 25, when he and Arnott between them
played the most dramatic duel ever witnessed. With his long raking
strides Gunn came tearing up the touch-line, evading -with something
like ease the Scottish furwards and half-backs. All went well until
he came within the sphere of Arnott's influence, which on this occasion
might be likened to the torrid zone. It was aduel of -Tits as well as of
physical prowess.
On that day great as Gunn was, he met his master in Walter
Arnott.. Gunn himself would be the first to acknowledge it, and he
-would do so -Without shame. To be beaten by Arnott in his prime was
something to be proud of rather than resented. I give it as a fact that
not more than twice during the ninety minutes of the game did Gunn
ever temporarily give Arnott the slip. He had either to part with the
ball to Arnott, or attempt to shoot over his head, and long shots
were simply playthings to the great _M'Aulay, who kept goal for
Scotland.
My impression of Arnott on that day as a giant amongst giants
was subsequently deepened and confirmed by many ahard-fought battle
in Scotland and in England.
Not only was he the best defender, but he was also the most artistic
back I have ever seen. I may name Oakley, Lodge, Dunn, Harrison,
the brothers Walters, Nick Ross, Forbes, Spencer, and all the best of
the moderns, but none of them ever equalled Arnott in the ease and
elegance of his methods.
Arnott, as I remember him, was about medium height, thick set,
-with a magnificent back and chest, and legs that were made to kick.
For aman of his stocky build," his pace was remarkable. He seemed
to have no difficulty in keeping pace with the fastest for-ward, and when
he made asudden rush at an opponent, he moved like awhirlwind. He
was, Ibelieve, one of the first backs to make a habit of placing the ball
 I

A Picturesque Figure 175

accurately to his forwards. I have seen him kick with such precision
with his back turned towards his objective, that he seemed to have eyes
in the back of his head.
With fair hair curling down on his forehead, a bonnie blue eye that
bore no man malice, and aface the embodiment of good-nature, Arnott
was always apleasing and apicturesque figure. He was earnest enough
at all times, but like all true amateurs, he always looked upon the game
as agame. He never allowed his fine sense of sportsmanship to make
him quixotic, but he has frequently shown a noble generosity to an
opponent whom his skill had rendered helpless. There were many
noted forwards who could make no headway at all against the famous
Queen's Park player. I remember Sandilands, the Old Westminster
and Corinthian player, once telling me that he simply could do nothing
against Arnott. This was a few days after a game between the
Corinthians at Queen's Park at Leyton, when the famous Pink forward,
then in his prime, found Arnott a terrible stumbling-block. He more
than hinted that Arnott had a mesmeric influence 'over him. It
certainly seemed so. Every time that Sandilands approached the
great Scottish back he stood still apparently petrified, and the ball
seemed to pass by some occult influence from the Londoner to the
sturdy Scot. Many another famous forward has paid Arnott a similar
compliment. 1,
Perhaps the best point about the fame of Arnott is not-his ability as
a back, supreme as it undoubtedly was, but rather was it his fair and
chivalrous behaviour to his opponents at all times. He was never
known to do amean action ;he has, on the contrary, frequently been
known to "let a man down lightly." It was not part of his plan to
make an opponent look foolish. He was ever content to win the game
for his side, and once a victory was thoroughly established, Wattie
was not averse to allowing his opponents a little rope. Possessing
a giant's strength and a lion heart he was always in the thick of
the fight ,and when the game was over his generous disposition always
gave his discomfited opponents credit for abilities which were not
always apparent even to themselves. Arnott set a noble example
for all footballers to follow, and certain it is that the game has
been rendered all the purer and cleaner by his illuminating presence.
176 Association Football

WILLIAM ISAIAH BASSETT

William Isaiah Bassett will always be recalled as one of the dozen

giants associated with the dribbling code. He was not a giant in
stature, but he was a giant at the game. He brought to bear upon it
every grain of intellect and brain power which he possessed, and a
generation hence old stagers will be speaking of him as the greatest
big-match player of their time. And in truth William. Bassett had
a special knack of shining on great occasions ; and few men were
privileged to take part in more notable encounters, for while Bassett
was in his prime West Bromwich Albion were, although not the best,
undoubtedly the most talked of team in the country. In an Inter-
national Bassett was the safest card that England had in her band.
He always rose to the occasion and played right at the top of his form.
It was Bassett's delight to get pitted against a side the defenders in
which were unfamiliar with his methods. When ahalf-back was meeting
William Bassett for the first tithe, that defender always had agreat deal
to learn ;as often as not he was literally fooled. Some halves never
mastered Bassett's trick of running outside the touch-line. He used to
delight in playing on aground --here there was plenty of room between
the touch-line and the railings. That was the reason why he never
failed to give agreat show at the Oval or the Crystal Palace, or any of
the leading grounds where International games were decided. On a
small, cramped field, where all the men were in a heap, he was at a
disadvantage, although he often rose superior to these drawbacks.
Talking of Bassett's great performances, apart from his many Inter-
national triumphs, who will ever forget the sensational runs he made
in that re-played English Cup semi-final against Notts Forest at Derby ?
The game — was played in ablinding snowstorm, but the whirling flakes
made little difference to Bassett, who raced away half the length of the
field every time the ball came to him. His centring was perfect; he
flashed the ball in while travelling at full speed, and so accurately did it
fall to the forwards on the other side of the field that the whole of the
six goals which the Albion scored came from the little man's centres.
And what ahero he was that afternoon at the Crystal Palace, when
Aston Villa and the Albion met in the Cup final on the first occasion
that a Cup final was decided upon that now historic sward! He was
leading a forlorn hope that afternoon, but with what indomitable
 In a Class by Himself 177

pluck and magnificent ability he led it ! He was constantly

breaking away, and he usually had to fight the whole of the Villa
defenders single-handed, for Bassett had indifferent support from
his colleagues that afternoon. One run he made electrified the -crowd.
He dodged man after man, and although forced by sheer weight of
numbers to take a course something like the letter S, he kept eluding
opponent after opponent, and it seemed that he might score after all.
That was the most lion-hearted effort the writer has ever seen on a
football field. But Bassett was always in his element on these great
occasions. He sprang into fame that afternoon when the Albion
defeated North End in the English Cup final of 1888. He was but a
slip of a lad at the time, but they gave him his Irish cap—the first of
a long series—on the strength of that show. But Bassett never knew
what it was to fail on amomentous occasion.
For practically a decade William Bassett was in a class by himself in
England as an outside right. There was no one to dispute his supremacy,
and he came to have a kind of prescriptive right to his cap for that
position. An almost diminutive fellow (5 ft. 51 in.), Bassett gained no
assistance from his physique. He relied for his success upon sheer skill.
Looking back upon his career now, remembering his slight frame, and
recalling the persistent way in which he was watched and indeed
shadowed, one is constrained to think more highly of his play than
even his contemporaries did. Bassett had a smart turn of speed,
although I do not know that he would have held his own with some
of his contemporaries in an ordinary sprint race. 11That served him in
such good stead was the remarkable burst of speed he had for thirty or
forty yards. He was in full gallop as soon as he started, and it was the
suddenness with which he got into his stride that enabled him to leave
the opposing half-back as though the latter were taking no part in the
game. Bassett had a mystifying trick, too, of stopping the ball while I
travelling at full speed. The half-back who was pursuing him was left
to rush on while William quietly took stock of the situation and was
able to part with the ball to real advantage.
But no man could excel Bassett in the art of centring while on
the run. He used to practise this constantly; it is doubtful if many
present-day players practise as assiduously as Bassett did. He could
halt with the ball at any time during his run. He knew how to
centre, too, so that the maximum amount of danger should accrue to
his opponents' goal. Bassett could get goals, but be never tried to be
VOL. I. li

Ar'r
•./.••
Fiiel•t.s•:k. •.. :. •
r•t•- .ri'ii '•'2-•i9 :S% •
 178 Association Football
a prolific scorer. His great speciality was a centre which dropped at
the toe of the inside left. Pearson and Wilson, and later Pearson and
N
B
Geddes, the Albion left wing pair, always knew when the ball was
coming, and they were always in position to receive it. Rarely indeed
did Bassett waste a centre. Too many forwards centre along the
ground or else keep the ball low, and the consequence is that ten times
out of twelve it either strikes or is intercepted by an opponent.
Bassett always lifted the ball well up and dropped it right past the
near back, always taking care to place it either to the centre man, the
dashing Jem Bayless, or to Pearson at inside left. And that is one of
the great arts of centring.
Neither did Bassett make for the corner before he centred. He
did not care to fight a duel with the opposing half or full back; he
preferred to get rid of the ball before they threatened danger. This is
a lesson he is always preaching to young players, but there are many
who seem slow to learn it. He believed in making ground rapidly,
and was altogether averse to the modern method of passing and re-
passing without getting forward with the ball. He and his genial
little partner, Roddy M'Leod, knew how to kick back and heel back
as well as any pair ever associated on awing, but they only resorted
to such devices in order to get a clear chance of centring. And as I
have said, Bassett's great contention is that a wing forward should
above all things learn to loose the ball, and loose it accurately and
effectively, without checking his speed in the least. He was and is
the great apostle of effective football. If he could not get along with
the ball he liked to let some one have it who could do so.
The writer has heard superficial critics dismiss the claims of
Bassett with the curt remark, "Oh, he was all right if the half-back
did not bundle into him, but he had not much heart if he met aman
who gave him his shoulder whenever he could." There are men in
the Midlands who believe that Bassett was an overrated player. Well,
they probably never saw him in a really big game. There were halves
who used to stop Bassett and almost (to use a popular phrase) bottle
him up, but they were few and far between. I have seen the late
Peter Dowds of the Celtic and Aston Villa put Bassett right off his
game; but then Peter Dowds was not an ordinary player. But the.
fact remains that Bassett never played an indifferent game on any
occasion when the reputation of his club or his country was at stake,
and in estimating his worth one has to remember that throughout his
 Concerning Roddy M ILeod 179

football career he was the most marked man the game knew. At times
he was played on in awantonly cruel manner.
"He would not have any charging," was another superficial com-
plaint levelled at Bassett. No, he would not, if he could help it, and
avery sensible fellow he was to take such a view of his possibilities.
A man of slight build is compelled to avoid unreasonable risks; in other
words, he has to take reasonable care of himself. This Bassett did; he
did not seek provocation and rush into danger unnecessarily. He would
not have had such alengthy career had he courted risks.
Just aword concerning the Bassett and Roddy M`Leod partnership.
M`Leod was undoubtedly the finest partner Bassett ever had; some say
that this wing approached more nearly to perfection in point of under-
standing 'than any ever seen. M`Leod was content to act as the foil
to Bassett's brilliancy; he simply yearned to make openings for his
comrade. Such self-effacement as M`Leod showed is rare in afootballer.

JOHN DEVEY

We have had many great footballers, and, with few exceptions, they
have gained the honours they deserved. Some have had their deserts,
some have had an excess of honour which they did not deserve. Some
few have been hard dealt with by fortune, and among that number can
be classed John Devey.
The ex-Aston Villa captain and present director never reached the
summit of his ambition. For afootballer to have the seal set upon his
fame he must play against Scotland; Iam speaking now, of course, of
English exponents of the game. In that John Devey never played
against Scotland he will not, when the history of the game comes to be
written, be classed, among the immortals. But the list of immortals
will contain the names of awhole host of men inferior in general calibre
to the leader of Aston Villa during the golden age of that illustrious
club. How many of England's 1905 Eleven deserve to rank above John
Devey as he was at his best—and he was at his best for along term of
years ? Not more than one. So you see fortune plays men some
scurvy tricks, and it is just as well to be on the right side of Anno
Domini in these matters. I always rank John Devey as asingularly
unlucky footballer.
He was unlucky in that his football career clashed with the two
greatest men that ever occupied the same position that he normally
18o Association Football
adorned. He was contemporaneous during the initial portion of his
career with John Goodall, and during the second with Stephen Bloomer.
Now that was sheer bad luck, for it meant that he had to fight against
the claims of the two greatest inside rights that England has known.
They were preferred to John Devey, and who shall say wrongly ? Still,
there are many good judges who aver that England zn would have been
stronger in several seasons had Athersmith's club partner been set to act
alongside hint in International games. The writer heard Mr. M -Laughlin
of the Celtic say one night that he regarded John Devey as a perfect
inside player, and he is no mean judge. But Devey never gained his
cap against Scotland. He played against Ireland in 1892 and 18 94,
but in a sense he left the game a disappointed man. I venture to
say, that few forwards of his skill failed to gain that most coveted
distinction.
John Devey was a born footballer. After serving in a, number o€
boys' clubs he joined the Excelsior, which then played upon the old
Aston Lower Grounds meadow. He had an experience then which is not
normal; he played in the same team as his uncles, and the fact furnished
amaximum amount of fun and banter. John was alad of sixteen then,
and there was not much of him so far as bulk went, but Irecall his deft
and pretty dribbling on the famous meadow. The Excelsior always had
agood programme; they were numbered among Birmingham's leading
teams. Next he played with Aston Unity, and later, yielding to great
pressure, he went to captain Mitchell's St. George's, formerly St.
George's, aclub which at one time was regarded as the most powerful
rival to Aston Villa in the district. For that club he exhibited brilliant
form, and was by common consent the best centre in the lTidlands.
C.
But why is he not in the Aston Villa eleven ?" was the constant cry.
There were negotiations, but they fell through time after time, and then
people began to say that the Villa would not want John Devey, as he
was getting past his best.
Fancy that being said of Devey before he began what proved to be
his real football career ? Devey was yours <r then, but he had seen a
great deal of service. He was first-class when a mere boy. But really
astute judges had no doubt as to John's fitness for another ten years'
football, and very soon it was realised that in tardily migrating to Perry
Barr he had at last found his proper sphere.
For eight years did John Devey captain Aston Villa, and no captain
has ever won atithe of the honours which fell to the old Villa leader.
.
r> •\>••
•••'•ƒ\••\•
Plwlo . Thiele c' Co., London

A. RAISBECK

Liverpool and Scotland

 A Splendid Captain 181

Five times did the Villa ivin the League Championship under his leader-
ship; twice did they carry ofd' the English Cup. They gained local
honours galore. The crowning triumph of Devey's career was when in
1897 the Villa emulated the example of Preston North End and carried
off the English Cup and the League Championship in the self-same
season. John was almost at the end of his tether then, but what

1i

Photo: Russell, Loudon

ENGLAND v. SCOTLAND, 1905

player would object to that honour coming to him on the climax of his
career?
John Devey was asplendid captain. He holds very strong ideas on
the subject of captaincy, and is of opinion that club directorates do not
attach sufficient importance to the appointment of skipper. A good man,
he says, will get amaximum amount of work out of ateam, an astute
captain will artfully flatter one man and mildly bully another, cajole a
third, and dominate a fourth. He acts as an invaluable go-between so
far as directors and players are concerned, and can either keep an eleven
in reasonable harmony or set them by the ears. And in truth Devey
knows what he is talking about, for he knew how to lead men to victory.

I
182 Association Football
The Villa. -were ahappy family,when Devey was their skipper. He had
an exceptional set of men to deal with, it may, be, but the success of the
club during the period of his leadership --ill ever remain the most con-
Nzncing testimony to the genius he had for leadership.
John Devey was a skilful individual player. At the time he was
equally at home at either inside right or centre, but the former was the
position which he made his own. Fast and clever, he could work the
ball through the defence at agreater rate than most men, and he usually
made abee-line for the goal. At his best he could dodge and dribble
adroitly,, and he had agood idea of finding where the posts stood. But
it was as a partner, as a member of a homogeneous front rank, that
John Devey --ill best be remembered. He did not aspire to do all the
work himself; he was always content to sink his identity. Ihave seen
Devey play as many matches as any one living, and I never recall an
instance in which a suspicion of selfishness manifested itself. As a
matter of fact he was unselfish to afault; he liked to make openings for
his partner and the centre man. Devey made Athersmith; no fleet
-wing man ever had a more thoughtful partner. Devey used to skip
along with the ball until the defenders were compelled to go for him, as
his progress spelled danger. But the moment that he had drawn the
opposition away from Athersmith, the ball used to fly from his (Devey's)
toe and roll gently towards the touch-line. In atwinkling Athersmith
would be on his stride ;the half --as left standing still, and often the full-
back was raced past too. Then there would be either aswinging centre
while on the run, or the ball would unexpectedly be tossed back to
Dever, and the inside man would be left in an advantageous position for
shooting. Devey had agenius for getting the ball out to his partner,
and it must be said that he had apartner who was well worth feeding.
Devey and Athersmith were made for each other; for years they were
unrivalled as aright -wing couple, and it is at least amoot point as to
whether they should not have been chosen as acouple for International
purposes. What a certainty such a pair would be for International
honours to-day!
Devey was always aworker; he did not wait for the ball to come
to him He did a lot of foraging ; indeed, he was usually working
hard for the full ninety minutes. Temperate in everything, Devey
was always in condition. His cricket kept him perfectly fit. He is
a fine all round sportsman, for he has done many big things with the
bat for Warwickshire. He was one of the few Villa men who made a
 Cowan's Animal Magnetism 18 3

study of baseball when Mr. A. G. Spalding tried to acclimatise that game

here. Devey was very fond of it, and still thinks highly of its merits.
His baseball training made him a clever outfield ;his nimbleness has
largely left him now, but when first he came into the Warwickshire
eleven he was abnormally active and safe at long and third -man.

JAMES COWAN

There have been many brilliant half-backs identified with the game
of Association football, Crabtree, Needham, and Frank Forman, in
modern times, and N. C. Bailey and J. F. M. Prinsep of old were
almost perfect exponents of the particular type of play which they
affected, but there has only been one James Cowan. He will always
be recalled as the prince of centre half-backs. We have come across
some lean years in respect of good halfs of late. England has had
a moderate intermediate line for some seasons, and Scotland cannot
claim to be in abetter position. There is not in either country acentre-
half fit to challenge comparison with the great stalwart who stood
out as the most valuable man Aston Villa bad on their side during
the term of years when they were bursting with football talent. Every
player has his value in ateam, and the greatest team of all is that in
which it is difficult to explain the precise manner in which superiority
is manifested. But Cowan, while always willing to subdue his personality
—no man ever played to the gallery less—had such a pronounced
individuality that in one sense he could not subdue it. The spectator
could not help his eye following the movements of the Villa's centre-
half; he could not resist the animal magnetism which the man
possessed.
James Cowan came to Aston Villa almost an unknown man. He
had been playing with the second string of Vale of Leven oftener than
the first when the attention of the Villa was drawn to him. Outside
Scotland, at any rate, lie had no reputation. But some one must have
known about the promise he was showing, for he was hankered after
by two Birmingham clubs. Aston Villa was one, and Warwick County
was the other. Warwick County had not alon g career. The club was
identified in a sense with the Warwickshire County Cricket Club, and
played at Edgbaston. Cowan originally came down, I believe, at the
invitation of Warwick County, but a member of the Villa directorate
happened to hear that he was in the city, and promptly took him off

I
I

184- Association Football

to the Villa quarters. Well, perhaps it was as well for football that
this happened, for Warwick County as a football organisation was soon
athing of the past.
Cowan had not been at Aston long before it was realised that the
club had secured a treasure. He fitted the centre-half position to a
nicety. There was avigour and skill about his tackling which assured
the Villa that they had in the young Vale of Leven player a recruit of
the best type. Every club that met the Villa -began to talk about the
remorseless tackling of James Cowan. Time after time did he play
ducks and drakes with the reputations of the cleverest inside men in the
country. And that is what I mean by saying that Cowan was the
I
greatest player in the Villa eleven. He had it in his power to shatter
I the combination of ateam to fragments, and as often as not he did it.
Ishall always regard James Cowan as the most expert tackler I have
r
watched. The ball seemed to have a fascination for hip,, AVherever
Cowan was, there was the ball. He had not to wander all over the field
to get it; , it literally seemed to follow him. And when he had wrested
the ball from an opponent, how well he knew what to do with it! AVith
I an easy, quiet, long pass the ball would shoot out to an inside man, or to
awaiting wing player, if the opportunity for giving to such a one arose,
and Cowan's tackle had meant not only the arrest of the other side's
attack, but an aggressive movement on the part of the Villa forwards.
There was only one thing that Cowan could not do. He was apoor shot
at goal. He often put good shots in, it is true, but oftener than not
he would send the ball flying high over the bar. People became so
accustomed to his methods that they came to expect this, and would
say good-humouredly, "There goes Cowan's sky-scraper," and sure
enough the ball would be soaring high over the cross-bar. A great
many goals were lost to the Villa in this way. It was a remarkable
thing that Cowan should have shot at goal so moderately, for in placing
the ball to his forwards he showed askill and adroitness which no half-
back of modern times has surpassed. But let him have a chance of
shooting hard and he usually failed. Sometimes he did not fail, and
there are plenty of goals to }pis credit in the Villa records. Still, the
fact remains that, considering his many strong points, Cowan was only a
moderate shot at lon g range.
And what a dour, doffged player Cowan was. There were no half
methods with him. If he went on to the field he played football, and
did not loll about or get slack because the game happened to be a
 Won the Powderhall Sprint 185

friendly, or one of merely secondary importance. Cowan regarded

football as agame which it was asin to play badly or indifferently. If
he played, he played for all that he was worth. His comrades could not
help laughing at times at his doggedness. '-If there was a s ugge stio n of

levity Cowan would get quite angry, and say, "We're playing football
now, not larking." He always took the game seriously; he always did
his best; and that tenacity of purpose he invariably showed explained
his success. Of course he had great natural gifts; all accomplished
players start with some advantages which the average man does not
possess ;but he owed much to the thoroughness with which he devoted
himself to the efficient discharge of his duties.
Yes, James Cowan was thorough in everything he did. He was
thorough when he made up his mind that he had a chance of winning
the Powderhall handicap at Edinburgh. Cowan did not look like a
sprinter, but he was avery capable one indeed. Athersmith was a fleet
man at that time, as everybody knows, but he could give Cowan only a
nominal start. Naturally Cowan had to be in strict training to repro-
duce his best form. He was not a natural sprinter like Athersmith.
Cowan made himself into a sprinter by dogged perseverance and hard
practice. Finding how fast he was, and knowing that he was not
generally regarded as a sprinter, Cowan conceived the idea that if he
entered for Powderhall he would get agood start. He entered, and the
start was one with which he was reasonably well satisfied. But the race
took place in the middle of the football season, and a spell of real
training was necessary to get Cowan to the pitch of perfection in which
arunner must be if he is to win a professional handicap. The Villa
were not likely to release him from his football engagements; he was far
too valuable aman for that to be thought of. But Cowan meant to win
the race, and although the means be adopted to hoodwink the Villa were
not exactly creditable, one can afford to laugh at them now. He com-
plained that he had aweak back, and asked for leave of absence. The
Villa rather reluctantly gave it, and Cowan went off to his home at
Jamestown, in the Vale of Leven. The Villa asked a local doctor to
examine Cowan and look after him generally. This doctor had an
interview with Cowan, but could find nothing wrong with him. Still, if
aman says his back is weak, how is amedical man to contradict him?
One day, as the medical man was on his round, he saw aman sprint at
full speed along the highway and then pull up. He thought that the
agile runner looked like his patient of the previous day, but did not get
186 Association Football
sufficiently near to identify him. It was the gentleman with the weak
back having his daily training. Cowan won the race, but it was only
his indomitable pluck and doggedness that carried him first past the
post. Several Villa men were in the secret, and Athersmith, Chatt, and
Evans were there to see the race run. The party won a lot of money
over the event, but one of the number backed Cowan with abookmaker
who was not to be found when the money was due, and he came home a
sad main. Of course the Villa suspended Cowan, but every one laughed
over the escapade, and finally the Villa officials did so too. It is not
nice to think that you have been hoodwinked, and hoodwinked in a
particularly brazen way, too, but it is sometimes best to say nothing.
The whole proceedings show that James Cowan -was not a man who
stuck at trifles when he had set his mind on following out a certain
plan. He was aregular Scot in being insensible to argument when he
had no desire to listen to it. If he had an opinion you had only to
argue with him to strengthen him in the holding of that opinion.
After sticking out for principle for many years, Scotland were com-
pelled at last to enlist the services of the Anglo-Scots, and James Cowan,
Tom Brandon, and other famous players of Scottish nationality but
associated with English clubs, appeared in the Scottish eleven at Glasgow
in 1896. Scotland had not won an International with England for six
years prior to that encounter. Thanks largely to the wonderful tackling
of Cowan, Scotland won by zgoals to i, and Cowan was selected in 1897,
when Scotland again won, and was also chosen in 1898. But the Scottish
team was apoor one that year, and England won by 3goals to 1. Some
strange allegations were made at the expense of Cowan over his display
in that game, and he was never again asked to play for Scotland. As
one who watched the match Ido not believe that the charges made were
well founded ;indeed, Cowan, while not in his normal form, was better
than some of his colleagues. But the incident created quite asensation
in Scotland, and the topic discussed more than any other for some weeks
v-as that affecting the validity or otherwise of the charges brought by
certain newspapers against the Aston Villa man. They take the Inter-
national very seriously in Scotland. If they can only beat England they
deem that the season has not been afailure.
Cowan had along and eventful career, but he was disposed to put on
flesh, and when his form began to wane he was soon done with. He has
never been replaced, either by Aston Villa or Scotland. How the Villa
did miss that wonderful tackling and backing-up of his! For atime the
 Famous in a Season 187

team seemed all out of gear without it. Men of Cowan's methods are
not easy to replace. What ahalf-back line the Villa had during Cowan's
connection with the side ! First there was Reynolds, Cowan and Groves,
and when Groves went away Crabtree followed, and Reynolds, Cowan and
Crabtree will be recalled as the most brilliant half-back line ever pos-
sessed by an individual club, save perhaps for the North End triumvirate,
Graham, Pussell, and Robertson. A trifle moody, Cowan was acapital
companion when he chose to throw off his reserve, and if you took to
singing Scottish songs in the saloon coming home, you soon had him in
agood humour. There was the look of the strong man about James
Cowan when he was singing "The bonnie, bonnie banks of Loch Lomond."
To interrupt him by means of anoise was dangerous.

HARRY HAMPTON

Happy is the club that lights on agood centre .forward. Aston Villa
were a long time without one. When John Campbell decided to go
back to Scotland the Villa tried hard to fill his place, but the task was
not an easy one. Garraty once looked like proving acapable successor,
but he was not an ideal centre, and other men were tried with poor
results. Even at the beginning of last season the Villa were in a
dilemma as to who should play in the centre, and tried to make ahalf-
back named Grey into a pivot. But the attempt was a failure, and
then the directors thought they might do worse than give a trial to a
young fellow named Hampton, whom they had procured from Wellington
at the close of the previous season.
Hampton had in reality had one trial, and had not been a success,
I but it was deemed expedient to provide him with another opportunity
of showing what he could do. He gave areassuring display, and soon
there were headings in the papers, "Aston Villa with a centre at last."
Hampton was kept in the position, and showed a gratifying aptitude
for the discharge of the duties appertaining thereto. In a few weeks
every one began to realise that in the slim Wellington youth Aston Villa
really had a centre forward worth the name. In a month he had a
national reputation ;and when the Villa began to show their real form
in Cup ties, Hampton was probably the most effective centre forward in
the country. Aston Villa would not have changed him for any one in
either En gland or Scotland, and that is saying agreat deal.
188 Association Football
Hampton is aslim little fellow of twenty-,standing feet 8- inches,
and weighing under II stone. There is nothing in his physique,
therefore, to strike terror to the hearts of the big burly backs or
strapping goal-keepers, but there are man men of greater bulk that
defenders would more gladly face. hampton is one of the most
dashing forwards Ihave seen. He is not so clever with the ball as lie
might be, and indeed probably will be, for there is plenty- of time for
him to develop his football yet. He does not make sensational
dribbles, but he is always l; in in wait (and he usually keeps onside),
ready for the ball to come into the centre, and then he takes it on the
run, and goes straight for goal with it. He turns neither to the right
hand nor to the left. It is his business to get that ball between those
posts he sees in front of him, and with that end in view he goes
straight on, and if he gets a fair chance of shooting, the odds are that
he scores. He has that indescribable dash which no man seems able to
acquire unless Nature has planted the instinct in him. A man may
learn to run, to dribble, and to shoot, but if he lacks dash, he rill
scarcely acquire it. The man who lacks dash never realises that he
does not possess it, so that it is futile to argue with him. A man who
has dash has it. He may lose it, but the man who has it not will have
to shine in some other wad-. The dashing player, that is the dashing
player of the best type, is rather scarce. Hampton is all dash. He is
absolutely and unequivocally fearless. -le will dash forward with the
ball, prepared to face an d- back. and he will not shrink from charging
the burliest goal-keeper. It is a pity that Foulke and Hampton are
unlikely- to meet; it would indeed be interesting, to see the pair in
collision.
Hampton has not had an extensive experience of football. Some
cynical people will says that you can tell that by his methods. They
are insinuating, of course, that when he gets more experience he will
be more careful, and therefore less dashing. But we have to deal with
Hampton as he is, and not with him as people may expect to find him
at a later period of his career. At present he ranks as the most
dashing and dauntless centre v-e have, and may he long remain what
he is. Prior to playing with Aston Villa, -Hampton was a member of
the Wellington team, and he ranked as the most successful goal-getter
in the Birmingham League. The Villa Reserves are associated with
the Birmingham League, and they' had ample means of bearing of the
fame of this young goal-scoring centre. He had a remarkable crop of
 i

Photo: Geo. Newnes,Lid.

C. WREFORD BROWN

Corinthians and England

 The Idol of the Crowd 189

goals during the season of 1903-4, and the Villa obtained his signature
afew weeks before the season closed. But they were inclined to think
then that, although Hampton might do very well in Birmingham
League football, he would have to put on some weight before he was
similarly successful in the highest grade of the game, viz., the Football
League competition. Centre forwards are usually men of weight ; most

Photo: Bowden Tiros.

RE-PLAYED SEMI-FINAL
Aston Villa v. Everton

"A SMART PIECE OF H EAD W ORK "

of the effective ones have been so at any rate. Football opinion inclines
to the axiom that a good big one is better than agood little one.
But Hampton conquered, and when last season closed he was the idol
of the Aston crowd.
No man has ever had a more beneficial effect upon a team than
Hampton had upon the Villa vanguard. Prior to his advent the Villa
eleven had had an irritating experience, and it had irritated its
I
followers beyond measure. The forwards were clever enough, but they
would not and could not shoot. In match after match the Villa had.

I
Igo Association Football
more of the play than their opponents, but their record was poor in
the extreme. Goals alone count, and goals the Villa forwards could
not get. The men seemed impotent in the last _b enty yards; the
sight of the goal-posts looming in the distance seemed to strike terror
to their hearts. The n•en -would show all their old skill in passing, and
-would -work the ball down the field with a cleverness which compelled
admiration. But when it came to putting the finishing touch to their
labours they were like apack of schoolboys. Then Hampton came along,
and the-Villa's difficulties vanished. They played no better (in a sense)
than they had played before, but they began to score goals, and goals
brought points in the League championship.
-and goals meant success in Cup ties, and success in the English Cup
ties means much to a club nowadays. An organisation like Aston
Villa is very expensive to run. You must have an inordinately large
average League gate if you are to atone for afailure in the English Cup
competition. Dismissal in the early rounds of that competition comes
as agreat blow to most of our leading organisations. Aston Villa made
a handsome profit last season; a profit of some thousands of pounds.
That handsome profit was solely, due to the excessive amount they
obtained by reason of their career of triumph in the English Cup. Now
it is safe to sad- that Aston Villa would not have had that career of
triumph, and would not have made that huge profit, but for the
presence of Hampton in the team. A_nd yet people say that no men are
worth the heavy transfer fees now demanded for leading players. If
you were, to assess Hampton's value to Aston Villa for last season only
you would make him acheap man at atransfer fee of four figures.
It is remarkable -what a stimulating effect the introduction of a
young and dashing player such as Hampton has upon a football team
the members of which have been accustomed to rely upon pure science
for their success. By pure science, Imean those clever evolutions which
Aston Villa have brought to perfection, as opposed to the more straigbt-
forward and vigorous kind of football which enthusiastic youngsters are
disposed to favour. The Aston Villa eleven was running to seed when
Hampton came. he brought no excessive cunning to bear upon his
-work ;he simply had anatural idea of what was ranted, and he did
everything in a whole-hearted way. In afew weeks he bad completely
revolutionised the Villans' style of play-. Their close passing, -which had
long shown atendency to err on the side of over-elaboration, was sup-
plemented by asystem of swinging the ball out from the centre to the
 Hampton's Vigorous Style 191

extreme wings. No one thought of doing that before Hampton came

into the eleven, but it was his style, and by the time that the Cup final
was reached, the Villa had perfected astyle of football which those who
watched their historic match with Newcastle United will admit is
essentially apaying one. The Villa still pass closely when it is the game
to do so, but in the Cup final it was their long passing from centre to
wing, and sometimes from wing to wing, that so completely disorganised
the usually sturdy and safe Newcastle rear division.
Ido not think for a moment that Hampton sat down quietly and
thought out a complex plan of attack. He did nothing of the kind.
He simply brought an open, unrestrained, and vigorous style with him.
It infected the other members of the forward line, and soon the whole
lump was leavened. The Villa's long passing in the Cup final was the
best long passing since the palmy days of Nest Bromwich Albion, and
in a conversation the writer had with William Bassett immediately
after the game, he was glorying in the fact that at last amodern team
bad condescended to adopt the precise tactics which in the past made
Nest Bromwich Albion irresistible in Cup tie strife. The close passing
game does not pay on such an occasion.
Ido not think Hampton is likely to lose his head. He is aquiet,
sensible young fellow. Had he been less sensible he would have been
overwhelmed by the fuss made of him after the Villa came home with
the Cup. He has only to keep alevel head to remain an ornament to
the game and a source of strength to the Aston Villa Club. His is a
risky style, it is true. He might get injured, but there is a call for
men of his type in football, and we must hope that he will not have his
career unduly cut short. Some pessimists think this is sure to happen,
but threatened men often live long.

ALEXANDER TAIT

Sandy Tait learned his football "in a good school. He learned the
rudiments of the game in Ayr, "wbam ne'er atoon surpasses for honest
men and bonnie lasses." He graduated at Preston with the famous
North End Club, and he perfected his methods at Tottenham, where, as
a member of the Hotspur Club, he assisted in bringing the Association
Cup to the South of England for a brief season. He is now the only
remaining member of the old brigade who won the Cup for the Spurs.
One would hardly select Tait out of a body of players as alikely man
I

192 Association Football

for an ideal back. He is just over medium height, not very hear, not
very fast, and not very robust-looking. Black-eyed, black-brow ed,
black-haired, -with a long face and pale complexion, he might as easily
pass for an operatic tenor as for afamous full-bask in Association foot-
ball. One might state parenthetically that Tait has anice tenor voice,
and his rendering of Scottish songs has given delight to many com-
panions, and added not alittle to the gaiety of nations.
To -watch Tait in the football arena for five minutes is to dispel all
illusions about romantic operatic tenors. The fine lines of his face
become hard, a firm look takes possession of an otherwise kindly face,
the firm mouth becomes firmer still, the lips are compressed, the dark
eye takes on adarker tint, afierce energy takes possession of the - whole
man, and the picture he presents is that of aman who has made up his
mind to conquer or die. Sandy takes his football with intense serious-
ness. It is no mere pastime to him; it is the fierce business of life. He
enjoys the game as agame, but only when it is played with all its rigour
and all its rigour. Not that Tait is in any degree rough. Far from it.
He is too light aback to adopt forceful tactics. He can and does give
and receive a"charge" when necessary with the utmost good humour,
but he prefers the more persuasive methods of modern full-back play.
So keen is Tait that be has been known to "handle'' the ball and
give away a penalty in an important Cup tie, but so far as general
tactics are concerned there is no fairer player breathing. He is one of
those players who improve with age, and he has never played better
football than he did in I90 j. In the series of Cup ties that season,
especially against Middlesbrough and 'Newcastle United, he --as in-
variably the best back on the field, and did the work of any two men.
The "terrible Tait," as he has frequently been called, is never so for-
midable as in aCup tie match. He rushes in where others than angels
would fear to tread, and he usually emerges with the ball at his toe.
He is not. however, what is called a"rusbing "back. He knows the
value of the rush and also its dangers. His method is rather to go out
to aforward and intercept the pass, or force his opponent into the touch-
line. He can worry a forward till the latter hardly knows what he is
doing, and is only too glad to part with the ball. Even against a.
couple of forwards `fait is far from being a beaten man. Time after
time I have seen hirer bundle into a pair of Nving for-wards and rob
them of the ball. How it is done it Would be difficult to say. That,
is one of .Sandy's secrets.
 I

Some of Tait's Secrets 193

He has also apparently the power of mesmerising opponents so that

as they approach him they seem compelled to part with the ball. That
is another of Tait's secrets. Certain it is that for aman of his physique,
for a man of his limited speed, his powers of defence are marvellous.
There is at times something uncanny about him. To say that he can
use his head almost as deftly as he can use his feet is merely to mention
aquality common to nearly all great footballers. Tait possesses apower
that is far above mere physical explanation. That power is mental,
and while it assists him to anticipate the movements of his opponents,
it also operates on the mind of the enemy to the extent of paralysing
their efforts.
He also possesses what one may call the sense of ubiquity. Wher-
ever the battle is fiercest there is Tait, guiding, controlling, dominating
the situation. The power of being in two places, according to Sir
Richard Royle, is only given to birds. It is evident that Sir Richard
never saw Sandy in abig match. At times he seems to be all over the
place, yet he is never out of his place when wanted. The casual spec-
tator may only see Tait's leg going like apendulum with aball bounding
at the end of it, but Sandy is doing a lot of other work in between
every stroke of that piston-like leg.
In his day Tait has played games which men like Nick Ross and
Walter Arnott never bettered. His "day " is practically every day,
and the bad games he has played are not worth mentioning. Although
Tait seems to be consumed with fierce energy during agame, his head
is cool enough to see everything that is worth seeing, and to seize every
opportunity that is likely to benefit his side. He does not belong to
the class of men whose brains are "packed with ice," for aman of this
description could not act on the instant as Tait invariably does. His
resource and powers of recovery are marvellous. He does not know
when he is beaten, for the simple reason that his experience in this
direction has been strictly limited. No man playing the game is better
at covering the work of a comrade who is in trouble. Like a hawk
darting on its prey he swoops down upon an opposing ZD
forward and robs
him of the ball. He does not believe in half measures. His motto is:
"The ball, if possible, but the man in any case."
Those of his opponents who do not know Tait in private might be
surprised to learn of his kindly and generous disposition. Like the
gallant Gelert, he is a lamb at home, a lion in the chase. For aman
who has seen so many laborious days he `years remarkably well. He is
-'01., 1. N
194
Association Football
one of those players who never get hurt; this in itself is atestimony to
the fairness of his methods. Were it not that age invariably tends to
make a player too slow for the fierce strife of first-class football, one
would quite expect to see Tait playing at fifty. "Time writes no
wrinkles on his Olympian brow." He received a benefit from the
Tottenham Hotspur Club in the season 1895-96, and when he retires
from the game it is the wish of thousands of Londoners that he
should settle down in the northern heights of Tottenham, where no one
was ever more idolised as aman and as aplayer.

ROBERT TEMPLETON

This wonderful Association forward has been at once the delight and
despair of countless thousands. To watch Templeton at his best is a
sight for the gods; to watch him at his worst is to see at a glance the
frailty of things human. Templeton has two styles; but happily
one of them—the best—is generally uppermost. He is like the boy of
whom the nurse said, "When he is good, he is very, very good, and
when he is bad, he is horrid." Templeton is afflicted with alarge measure
of the eccentricity of genius. He is aman of moods. When "the afflatus "
is upon him he is awinged horse to whom aspur is useless, and whom
a curb cannot hold. It is then that the watching multitude is aflame
with mingled surprise and admiration — surprise at the wondrous
versatility of the man, admiration at the grace and beauty of his move-
ments. There is nothing of the steam-roller about his methods. He is
more like "a fawn playing with the shadows." He dances airily out
and in amongst his opponents, threading his way by devious steps,
which no one can anticipate and no one can stop. Tall, thin, gracefully
built, he has the easy action of the accomplished dancing-master, and all
the slimness of aSherlock Holmes.
There is the quality in his rush along the wing which one can only
associate with a flash of lightning. He is irresistible, not because he
bores his way through the opposition, but because he evades it. He
will never attempt to go through a man if there is away round him.
He does not overcome obstacles so much as he ignores them. If there
be astumbling-block in his path he will contrive to make stumbling-
blocks look foolish. A sort of human eel, he twists and twines his way
through all opposition without so much as touching it. With easy,
prancing step he waltzes hither and thither, while the discomfited enemy
 A Fascinating Forward 195

gazes in silent rage and admiration. No forward ever had such power
of making an opponent look foolish. A big back may rush at him,
determined to take "man or ball," but Templeton with the dark locks,
by aquick movement of the body, eludes his pursuer, who mayhap is
measuring his length on the ground, while Robert is careering up the
field in quest of goal.
Unfortunately Templeton has also the defects of his qualities. If
the afflatus be absent, if the mood be wrong, if the task be uncongenial,
if he meet with some unexpected check all his wit, all his cleverness,
all his electric flashes seem to desert him, and he becomes a hapless,
helpless spectator of agame which in happier circumstances he would
be likely to dominate. He has one quality, however, which stamps him
as aplayer of the best class. In big games, in times of real responsi-
bility,. he usually shows his best form. He has played some marvellous
games for Scotland against England. A partner who understands him,
or at least who is fairly sympathetic to his methods, is almost necessary
to his success. At times he has played some of his great games with-
out reference to apartner, or indeed to any one on the field, but, as a
rule, abad partner upsets his mental equilibrium, and he is finished for
the day. The complaint is frequently made that he is too individual—
too selfish, some say, for the needs of modern football. There is some
truth in the criticism, but one might with justice retort that Templeton
with all his faults is frequently of more service than painstaking medio-
crity. On the other hand, to find Templeton in one of his inspired
moods, when he flashes forth on his conquering career, is to find one of
the most fascinating forwards ever seeni on afootball field.
He is a man who must be "nursed," who must be led by silken
strings, who must be allowed to develop his game in his own way.
He is unlike in manner and method any other footballer of the pre-
sent day, although his partner in the Woolwich Arsenal ranks—Tom
Fitchic—is aman after his own heart. l3oth men make for subtlety
rather than for force. Both are clever dribblers, although Fitchie is
stronger on his legs. The two, however, are eminently suited for
each other, and Templeton has played some of his best games for the
Arsenal club.
The strong point of Templeton is the amount of ground he can
make, and his ability to centre the ball accurately. Playing as he
usually does at outside left, he does not score many goals himself, but
lie is the, fruitful source of scoring by others, Apart altogether, how-
 1
96 Association Football
ever, from his effectiveness as a forward, his movements on the field
afford a constant delight to all beholders. As arule he is the cynosure
of all eyes, and as he deftly weaves his way through all opposition, he.
frequently arouses the multitude to a wild burst of enthusiasm. He
possesses in amarked degree what is called the poetry of motion, and
even if he never scored a goal one would still find a pleasure in watching
him lightly tread his way regardless, if not oblivious, of all opposition.
Templeton, though still young, has served many masters. More than
r•
one senior club has claimed him in Scotland, while his services in
England have been given at various times to Aston Villa, Newcastle
United, and Woolwich Arsenal. One could wish that the days of his
wandering were over, and that he would attach himself permanently to
one organisation, but he is one of nomadic tendencies, and it may be
that the people of Woolwich, with whom he is hugely popular, are not
destined to retain for ever a football genius whose abilities are meant
for all mankind.

VIVIAN WOODWARD

Is there anything essentially different between the style of aprofes-

sional forward and an amateur forward ? One is inclined to believe that
there is. The professional is as a rule more mechanical and less indi-
vidual in his methods. He has learned his football in aschool where
experiments are frowned upon. The paid player, as a class, has learned
that certain methods are regarded with favour, and that these methods
frequently meet with success. He therefore cultivates this manner
until he arrives at astate of mechanical perfection. In theory, at least,
.11
he is master of the conventional style. It is obviously the business of
his opponents to upset his theories, and the forward who has no native
ingenuity—no resource of his own—is a pitiable object. An amateur
forward of the highest class has usually all the knowledge of the
orthodox game and also the ability to play it; but if he be afootball
genius he also possesses a style of his own, with brains enough to
improvise on the moment a new mode of attack or an original method
J of defence.
Speaking in broad and general terms one may say that the profes-
sional forward is the exponent of certain well-known methods of attack
which have become mechanical, while the amateur adopts methods which
include the professional theory, and adds an individual style of his own
creation. G. 0. Smith used what Ihave called the professional methods
Photo. Ihiele & Co., Lannon

W. J. oKLEz
Corinthians and England
 Mechanical Methods
very largely, and no one put them to better use. But these methods by
no means exhausted the repertoire of the greatest forward of modern
times. His mechanical passing was perfection in its accuracy. No
professional could have bettered it, but Smith had always something
else up his sleeve. If he and his men were checkmated by the oppo-
sition, he had always an alternative plan.
W. N. Cobbold did not adopt the modern mechanical methods,

Photo: Russell, London

ASTON VILLA v. NEWCASTLE, r9o5

Lawrence clears by a few yards a hot shot from Hall, but Hampton dashes up and scores
the second goal for the Villa

partly because in his day they had not been sufficiently developed and
partly because he was himself a man of infinite resource. He was a
powerful dribbler with a pair of shoulders like an ox and a deadly
intensity near goal that few defences knew how to cope with. How
Cobbold would have fared with a modern defence one cannot say with
any certainty, but the chances are that against. three of our strongest
half-bricks he would have had to considerably modify his methods.
 198 Association ]Football
Vivian Woodward, England's most modern centre-for- ward, is a
happy blend of G. 0. Smith and W. Cobbold. Without possessing
all the in of the one or the oth er he knows the modern pass i ng

game well enough to utilise the befit services ofhi s pro f ess i
ona lcomrad es,

-while he is sufficiently individual in style to make the final single-

handed dash on goal with a big chance of success. He is not quite
heavy enough to "shoulder oft "his opponents i n th e styl e ofC obb oid ,

but --hat he lacks in respect of weight he makes up f or i n sheer skill .

The ease and fluency w ith -which he escapes the "attentions " of
opposing forwards is hardy- less mark ed th an bi s strong single-handed
run -which frequently carries the ball half the length of the field.
Woodward is essentially a brainy player. He has no set style. An
opponent -watching 'Wood-ward can never argue that because he has
once done a certain thing he will repeat it when the same set of
circumstances recur. Because Woodward has acted in a given manner
once is a fairly good reason for thinking that he will not repeat
himself. The fact. is that tiN ood-ward has the rare power of thinking
on his legs. -Nrany a man with a mind stored full of good thin gs
straightway forgets them all wh en he ri ses t o address a pu blic meet i ng.

Wood-ward is life the t ra i

ne d ora t
or . His mind is full of ideas -which

he is constantly putting into shape, and he has the rarer power of

suddenly altering hi: mind at- will. He frequently acts on the in-
spiration of the moment -with splendid results to his side. He can
develop a plan as he runs, and while the defence is anticipating the
conventional pass out to the -wing he will swing to-wards the centre,
feint to pass to a comrade. and go sailing on with the ball at his toe.
-And then heaven help the goal-Deeper
In looking at Woodward he does not i m p ress one as acentre-fo rwar d

--ho could stand the rough wear and tear of weekly League matches, but
then his physique is not robust. He is stro ng on his legs, and can take
an honest "charge withou ywine' o,. A modern centre-for-ward of any
class is at once a marked man. It is a good many year; since Ja mes
Oswald declared th athe had to retire from - -N' of sCounty and the game
because of the almost undivided attentions ofth e opp os iti on ,--ho --ere
determined to stop him by hook or by crook. The crooks had it.
Fortunately the football of to-day, if not less strenuous than that of say-
LWelve rears ago, is less open to the charges of unfair play. At any
rate ; here is Vivian Woodward. week- after -week, playing with nothing
but profe:siouals around hint, and after aGood mangy- year; he has not
 England's Amateur Centre 199

got asurfeit of the game. It is rather curious that we har dly ever hear
a first-class amateur complain of rough play. Woodward is certainly
not built to be used as a battledore or shuttlecock, but he is quite man
enough to look after himself and take his share of the hard knocks that
invariably fall more upon the expert than upon the moderate players.
Woodward is easily recognised in a crowd. He is built rather after
the greyhound pattern, and moves with great speed and freedom on the
field. His is apleasant face to look upon. To aclear complexion are
added a firm mouth, strongly-marked eyebrows, and a keen, clear eye
that takes in the situation at a glance. One could not mistake him
for other than an amateur, and though he has now played many times
as centre-forward for England, he is not averse to assisting his old
original club, Chelmsford, nor does he object to turn out for his beloved
county of Essex. It is, of course, as centre-forward to Tottenham
Hotspur that he is best known. Week in week out, when fit and
well, he is found at his post, and when Cup ties call him for mid-
week matches he is never absent. He is by profession an architect,
and besides being agreat footballer, he is also an expert cricketer, who
can make hundreds in good company. In these days, whilst the game
11 in its most highly developed stages is passing largely into the hands of
the paid player, it is well to know that we have still an amateur of the
class and calibre of Vivian Woodward, who would scorn to do amean
action, and who is incapable of an unfair one.
 SECTION V

PHASES OF FOOTBALL

By 11T. PICK -FORD

THE CLUB SECRETARY AND HIS DUTIES

IT is not the experienced up-to-date and wary secretary of an important

club, with his wits sharpened by contact with other wits, and his re-
sources always ready for the emergency, who needs advice, though he
will listen to it -with the most exemplary air in the world, and then,
no doubt, go and do just as he feels inclined. The secretary of a really
good club is almost bound to be what we call smart and resourceful.
He would not get the job, or, if he got it, bold it long, unless be had
the ability; and his natural aptitude that brings him on the top is
fined down to an exceedingly sharp edge by the fact that it is often a
matter of business with him.
It is the ordinary junior or minor club secretary who is the most
likely to be grateful for aword of advice. In his election it is highly
probable that essential and outstanding qualifications for the task have
not been so much acause as his inability to say "no," or his ambition
to hold office. Once there, and staying there, he probably learns a lot
in time: he certainly starts with a new broom, though it is one that
is not handled by an expert. The village team meet and look upon
the work of appointing asecretary more as a disagreeable task to foist
on some unwilling member than as the proper fixing of a pivot on
which the club shall turn with ease and success. And yet one of the
most important factors in a junior club is the secretary. Tbough the
duties of the bigger club's secretary are more momentous and important,
he has many helpers. He has a directorate who are really interested,
a trainer who has -well-defined responsibilities, and plenty of advisers,
scouts, and agents. But the junior secretary, once appointed, is usually
left to his own devices, and to run the club for better or for worse, as
his native sense allows him and circumstances permit. There are other
200
 Duties should be Defined :20i

officials, of course, but for the most part they are figure-heads. There
will be apresident—some member of Parliament, who hopes the boys'
fathers will vote for him. There will be vice-presidents, whose usual
qualifications is the payment of asubscription. The parson, the squire,
and the prosperous grocer are rung in, and their share begins and ends
with areluctant postal-order or an unwilling cheque. There will be a
captain who shouts unnecessary and misleading orders on the field of
play, has the honour of tossing up in the centre are, and reclines on
his laurels, or otherwise, the rest of the week. There is sure to be a
vice-captain, who is envious of the captain, and hails his chief's occa-
sional indisposition as a joyful chance for him to show his superior
paces. He, too, is a puppet for the intervals between games. There
is sure to be atreasurer, who does nothing but hold a fictional balance
in hand, or seem to finance an equally fictitious deficit. A committee
is always elected who do odd jobs, as they think it suits their dignity
or convenience, meet as late and as seldom as they think fit at certain
periods, and with much show quarrel over trifles, and approve the
minutes—if there are any. All these people are ready to take the
front seats in the waggon when the Cup is carried round the town, or
to occupy front places at the smoker, and fight for the ,job of lines-
man, and shirk the duty of taking the gate at the gap in the hedge.
This is the usual cast of ajunior club—not entirely of the juniors either
—and they have their exits and their entrances, just as they prefer, and
their alarums and excursions, but stand for very little in the long run.
Obviously there are players ; I had almost overlooked that useful
branch of aclub, but they do not count in the general management, all
of which is placed on the shoulders of the secretary. If he is acapable
man and wise in his generation, things go as cheerily as a wedding
peal. If he is incapable, things go as grumpily as a motor-car with its
driving-wheel tyre burst. If he is happy-go-lucky, it is hit or miss
with the club.
The duties thrust upon a secretary are, as compared with a secre-
tary's duties, quite adifferent thing. His duties should be well defined,
light, and partnered by others ;but they often are indefinite, heavy,
and asolitary burden, carried with more or less endurance as the zeal
or enthusiasm of the patient ass predominate over his natural laziness.
He is, therefore, left to make out the club's programme, map out its
career, and carry out the programme, find players, make up the teams,
and bear with the resentment of some and the vaulting ambition of
202 Association Football
others, find the money and spend it, dun the debtors, milk the honorary
members, cotton to the squire, put: off the creditors, and produce out of
chaos a balance in hand. Whether he runs the shoes- as a driver his
team of horses, or the shoes- runs him as a runaway coach carries its
driver, it is often di fficult to say. As often as not the club drifts down
the stream from September to April, and things get along "somehow,"
and not so often does the engine of the club drive it against the current,
overcoming obstacles. The fact is that too many duties are thrown
upon the secretary-. and too calmly or indifferently accepted and dis-
charged by him, and the club is generally like a flock of sheep going
_%vithont any set purpose, and the shepherd himself a sheep as sheepish
as the rest. The - wonder really is that there are always plenty of men
ready to be tumbled into office, and flounder about in it after afashion.
There must be some fascination about the post that is irresistible, but
the victim could no more describe the allurement than the needle can
describe the magnet that draws it. Who -would be asecretary ? Well,
it all depends. Iam one, but not of ajunior club. Inever took that
on yet, even in my immature days, and I am now much "too fly,"
as the boys say, to undertake it. Yet it is undertaken by thousands
without any real knowledge or experience, and it is only once in a
₹en years period that: - we get a shy request from a would-be secretary
for information.
There is ; of course, the other type of secretary who monopolises the
work. Of the u%% ocases Ihardly-know which is the -worst or the best
for aclub, either for the officers to throes- all the task on the secretary-,
or for the secretary to direct the proper duties of his comrades in once
to his o`% a sphere. Possibly, as in both cases it is a "one man affair,"
it may be better that the man --ho is anxious to do everybody's
work g should
t do
a. sit with a willing hand ; than that a man originally
NN illino do ecretary's work should have the duties of every one
else bundled on to his back. "The willing horse may work," says
the proverb, which is quite true. At the same ₹ime, the Willing horse
does work.
-\o one can, of course, fully define --hat the duties of a secretary
should be, neither more nor less but just so much; but before I begin
to write about that, as Iconceive it, may I say straight off that I con-
sider asecretary is lacking in the greatest essential of all if he has not
the instinct, the capacity, and the desire to make' others co-operate -with
him? Co-operation in aclub is the keystone of success. But in order
 Be Open and Straightforward 20 3

that there may be co-operation, there must be aguiding and a master

hand to keep the machinery in order. A secretary who can readily
inspire others to work in their own spheres, and all for the interests of
the club, is rare, but he is all the same ideal. Thousands of secretaries
bear the heat and burden of the day on their leaden shoulders because
they do not or cannot set the other parts of the football machinery
smoothly to work. Here and there you find a man, sometimes even a
boy, who has the natural knack of doing it. I know one youth who
has it. You would not drag the name from me, as I should make no
more friends by disclosing it, seeing that I already count him as a
friend, and I should make a lot of other people jealous, and, perhaps,
spiteful, for of such is the kingdom of Football.
This quality of making others work is a rare one, especially when
such mistaken ideas prevail as to the amount a secretary ought to
do. But if the secretary can get his treasurer to joyfully hunt up the
subscriptions, the captain to take a mid-week interest in the teams,
and the committee to make themselves useful, he has won the battle
already. A referee's fiat may lose a cup to the club now and then, but
there will inevitably be on the note-paper of the club in course of time
the pleasing inscriptions, "Winners of the League," "Winners of
the Cup."
However, to the point more in detail. The duties of a secretary
mainly include, from my way of thinking, the following items. His
technical duty is first of all to keep the minutes of a club, its records,
and its correspondence. These are very likely matters that do not
worry many secretaries, but they are all the same very necessary. The
proper entry of the business done at meetings is required of all clubs
that are recognised in the football world. A minute-book is not only
auseful guide to a club in its future career, and an interesting record
of its ups and downs, but if well kept it is a very strong prima facie
evidence in time of need, and may save a club a lot of trouble. Some
secretaries Ihave heard declare that it is wiser not to keep minutes.
That Ido not at all agree with. The word "wiser " here may have a
double meaning, and, if the meaning put with it is "more artful," then I
object to it, and Ithink it is in the long run more likely to fail in its
purpose. The open and straightforward dealing secretary gets in time
a fill recognition of his bona fides by the authorities, but the artful
one also gets known as a man to be watched and suspicious of, and in
time of need his mere word is by no means convincing. A secretary
204 Association Football
can be quiet about the club"s goings on—indeed, he has no business to
blare its internal -work all over the place--Nvithout aetting a name for
being slv and artful. He may be wise and diplomatic without sur-
rounding 'himself N, ith an atmosphere of mystery. There is one secre-
tary I _L-now, and again I vill beep the name to myself, - who would
never ores. an inch of consideration from me on any pretext. lie has
the name o_.' beincr as artful as awag! on-load of monkeys, and Ifind
the bet way to cope - with ,such a man is a blunt, ruler-like adherence
to the letter of the rules. For the other secretary- I referred to, -who is
candid and reliable, Iam w llin to make yards of allowances..
Now, correspondence is avery important matter, and Icannot too
strongly- urge secretaries never to write at length, never to keep letters
unanswered or unacknowledged more than a day. and never to Nti rite
nasty tbing-s about other people under the coyer of anote on the back
of the envelope "private even if you are quite sure of the man von
Nw rite to. The secretary- who fill reams of paper is - worse than the
secretary --ho hardlyT writes at all. Iam aware that discursiveness is
a prevailing fault, and that conciseness i a virtue seldom met ith.
Never mind try to correct the fault if it is in you, and amain the
virtue if it is not. For the better aid to the attainment of the virtue
use postcards, or. if aletter it necessary, have a single page without a
flyleaf;and Lick to the space on it. A-void Like poison the temptation
to fill up a page of foolscap torn out of a copy-book. Come to the
point and—sit on it. Least said is often soonest mended." Delay
in replying to letters is adisgraceful laxity and anuisance. If you are
not able to give aproper answer. drop acard to acknowledge receipt: and
say when you will reply- and why you delay-. The structure of modern
football demands businesslike methods. Cultivate neatness, have this
thing in this place, that letter in that. and so on. Why- not set
aside adra- wer for the club afiairs. and not have books and papers lying
all over the place and bulging your pockets out
secretary- should be the mainspring of a club, and its manager.
He should keep up to the mark himself and prompt and inspire others
to do so. The entering for cups and leagues should not be left to the
last minute. Tire secretary should be in time. He wlio bas his house
in order is the readiest for the emergency. - Forewarned is forearmed."
The preparation of the list of players and the prompt registration of
them is avery-important matter. -Ittention should be paid to the exact
form.:. demanded, and blank spaces in such forms, which are not inserted
JOHN h. 11'DO«'ELL

Scottish Association
 V

Learn the Rules 205

at the caprice of the printer, but have their usefulness, should be filled
in. Iknow of one case where the neglect of this invalidated aform,
threw a player's registration forward two days, and in all human
probability lost the club a silver cup and medals. All the form was
filled in save the blank space for the name of the club.
Where many secretaries go astray and handicap themselves is in
not studying the regulations
of the parent Association, of
their local Association, and
of the competitions they com-
pete in. I have often heard
a secretary, when something
he had overlooked or failed to
understand, or never troubled
to think of, was pointed out
to him, begin making excuses
with the words, "Oh, I
thought." On such matters
he should not have thought,
lie should have known. A
secretary who is prepared with
the regulations at his fingers'
ends has a power over those
who "only think," and a
handle in his favour. Some
seem to imagine that rules
are stupid and not to be
bothered about, but it is not Photo: Russell, London

so. Rules are seldom drawn AITKEN

without some purpose, and he Scotland and Newcastle United
who knows the rule and its
strong points and its purpose, is also likely to know its weak points,
and if he so desires can shape the course by both and claim to
some extent the right of a correct interpretation. But in shaping
a course on a flaw in a rule the secretary may easily land his ship
on a sandbank. There is not the same slavish following of exact
wording of arule in football legislation as there is often in the courts
of law, so be careful. What the football man looks at if a rule is not
very clear is what is the custom and precedent in similar cases. So
2o6 Association Football
that these points also ought to be considered. The conduct of a com-
petition is fixed by rule and precedent more or less, so the secretary
should acquaint himself with both.
It may be idle of me to refer to the moral side of a secretary's
work, but Icannot refrain from suggesting an honest course as the one
to sail.
There should be attention to details, such as the provision of spare
balls for ahome match, seeing the ground is properly marked out and
roped off, the nets in repair, and the goal posts, Sic., in order, and corner
flags and linesmen's flags ready and fit for use. A secretary might
keep an eye on the players' footgear, and see that they are not contrary
to the rules. He should be present at matches, help to keep the spec-
tators in order, assist the referee, show hospitality to the visiting side,
prevent betting, and have bills posted warning spectators and others as
to their conduct. These are afew- of the leading duties as they occur
to me, the sort of thing Ishould aim at myself; so - go thou and do
likewise."

A FEW WORDS ON CAPTAINCY

In the very first place of all it is no use aman or boy trying to be

acaptain of a football team unless he has the virtue, either natural or
acquired, of self-control. Any one who cannot keep his temper within
tight bounds is not likely to make agood captain. The word implies
a leader, and he who would lead must discipline himself accordingly.
Of course, Iknow, and from my own experience, how great an ambition
it is of most football players to be appointed captain. In my younger
days I used to look up to the captain both of the team with which I
learned the game in the North and of that which first introduced me
to Hampshire football, with immense respect, and in each case the men
I would have followed anywhere almost at their bidding were fully
worthy of the confidence. I was fortunate in beginning the game
under such excellent captaincy, and I have the mixture of the two in
my mind as I write. That one's position in life does not handicap a
man for a captaincy who is fit for the post was evident in the first
of the two I played under. He was a mechanic, but the fact of his
lower social position compared with that of most of his men made no
difference, because all recognised his worth, and he had self-control in a
marked degree. It is an essential to success, and to the establishment
of that ascendency over one's comrades that is so necessary. Therefore
 A Gentleman in Word and Deed 207
Irepeat, if you want to control others you must begin by controlling
yourself.
In the next place, and of next importance, Iwould put the importance
of setting agood example. The constituents of ateam of eleven men
are varied. There will be at least eleven shades of temperament
represented, and it is certain that some of them will be inferior to
others. The good example set by the captain cannot but have asalutary
effect on even the better minded of the team, and it may be invaluable
in keeping the unruly ones in order. A captain should strive to set a
high standard of play, both in the manner of his conduct and actual
I ability on the field. It is possible to be smart and sharp, and to
snatch every legitimate opening and take advantage of an opponent's
slips, without being mean or unsportsmanlike. A good captain will
try to do his very best for his side without breaking the canons of
fair play. He will try to play the game according to the rules laid
down, and he will never do violence to his own better instincts by
claiming what he is not entitled to, or endeavouring either to hoodwink
the officials, or to conceal his own errors. A sportsman, for instance,
would not when tripped near the opponents' penalty area roll over the
mark, and then try to deceive the referee. Nor, if he knew the ball
was his opponent's for a goal kick, would he insist on a corner to his
own side. Nor would he dream of doing anything behind the back of
the referee that he would not do to his face. If, for instance, he kicked
a player and the player kicked him back, and the referee saw the
second act and not the first, he would not deny that he had given the
first blow.
When the captain is strong, self-controlled, and a gentleman in
word and deed, there is no need for another captain, and he will not
permit his authority to be defied or rivalled. Sometimes we see
matches in which, after the nominal captain has come out first with the
ball and tossed up with his rival, his duties seem to have ended, and
any of the side who happens to think it necessary acts as if he were in
authority. Such a captain may have plenty of self-control, and be
prepared to set a good example, but he is lacking in confidence and
authority, and his other good qualities are neutralised. There must be
in any set of men one who by virtue of his inherent qualities ought to
be the leader. If he fail to gravitate to his rightful place, and uphold
it, the machine runs without a guiding hand, and loses in efficiency.
In a League club a few seasons ago the experiment was tried of the
2.08 Association Football
players taking the captaincy each week in turn. `1 -hat --as the conse-
quence ? Why, that every man being a captain none of them were
captains, and the matches -were largely failure`. On the other hand,
all of us with experience can recollect teams that op-ed most of their
success to the ascendency of one good captain. It is amistake to think
that the captain's duties begin with the toss up for choice of ends, and
end with the call of time. It is apiny that it is so often the case, but
it is falling along wav below our ideal of captaincy.
It indeed, perhaps, makes less demands on a captain than the pre-
paration of it should. and the good captain works for the successes of
the Saturday afternoons during the week. A thing worth doing is
worth doing well. and the fitness of his men should occupy acaptain's
thought as well as their actual play. It is evident that ateam -which
is looked after from Afonday to Friday will be more in trim for the
Saturday afternoon than one whose captain never sees or thinks of his
men until he cycles to the match. To keep in touch -with the players,
to train alittle, to go for runs or rides -when possible, and for practices,
is likely- to produce better results at the week end. Players can be
checked in foolish acts likely to injure their physical efficiency, and
they may be trained so as to turn up fit and well, and know how
to act in certain eventualities of the play. Most captains spend the
greater part of amatch in educating, or ordering the men about. It is
the only time at which they are instructed, but is the Wrong time. -A-
match is more like an examination of a team's knowledge and ability
than arime for being trained and instructed. But by getting his men
to occasional practices at penalty kicking, goal kicking. corner kicking,
throwing the ball in, and other manoeuvres of the game, by talking
over the points of the game and so on, acaptain -Will not need to waste
so much time in instruction `when both he and his men should be
devotin gall their skill and attention to victory.
He must learn himself before he can teach, but Iam afraid that not
many captains do try to learn much. It stands to reason that the
better aman understands the game the better captain he may become.
He is bound to study his players' best points. The ordinary club
captain has to make the best of the material he has. If he has a
moderate back and a weak inside left in his side, he cannot very --ell
pay heavy- transfer fees and buy—tbat is --hat it amounts to—strong
men to fill up the weak- places. Therefore instead of doing further
injury to his club's prospects by reviling the unfortunates, he should
 Not too Vigorous 209

seek how to get them up to the mark, and so to work his team as to
make up for the deficiencies. Very likely the players only want a
little advice or training, and would do, if enthusiastically attacked by
the captain, what they would not think of doing of their own initiative.
There is no end to a captain's duties. He has to curb the rough player
and inspire the chicken-hearted with courage, to keep the active and
quick in their places, and instil life and energy into the listless. His
own deep enthusiasm should pervade the team and his own keenness :-y
put a sharper edge on it. Depend on it, there's a lot more in being
captain than the name, and to appropriate the honour without doing
something to deserve it is very mean.

ON VIGOROUS PLAY
3

Much has been said and written about rough play and heavy
charging -in football. There are some—few in number as yet, and Ihope
the membership of the coterie will always be small—who would eliminate
charging altogether. They say that it gives an unjust advantage to
the strong and weighty man over the weak and light player; that
football should be purely a game of skill, and that the players should
only touch each other in the form of tackling, hustling, and tussling
for the ball, passive obstruction, and so on. That, however, is not
i
quite the spirit in which Anglo-Saxons usually indulge in field sports.
On the other hand, it is certain that the game as played has a ten-
dency to incite men to make the full use of their bodily gifts, whether
they be gifts of quickness, alertness and activity, or gifts of avoirdupois,
strength and height. Obviously, there is a medium way. There is
in most matters, and there is in football. Without being extremists
in either direction, it is possible to allow vigorous play without undue
roughness, and to stop needless, heavy, and reckless charging. Those
who have only a short acquaintance with the game can give many
instances of the latter. Some of us whose recollections cover twenty-
aY•F

five years of football can mind the time when roughness was not only
common, but was held to be aproper and legitimate method of play.
It is only within very recent years that the word "hacking " was
omitted from Law 9, and "kicking" substituted. To the modern
converts to the Association game the word "hacking" would convey
no meaning other than kicking, but it may be a surprise to them
to know that it was just as allowable a form of play as ch arg i
ng i
s
VOL. I. 0
 2I0 Association Football
to-day. A player was allowed to hack another, but the rules laid
down that it was an offence to do so on the knee, or above the knee.
It almost seems impossible to us that such a procedure could ever
be legal, and it tends to show how vigorous the game used to be in
the days of our fathers. It is related that in amatch in the seventies,
between the Old Etonians and the Wanderers, when hacking had
begun to fall a little into disuse, the play began to get rather wild,
so that at half-time Mr. C. W. Alcock, the captain of the Wanderers,
went to Lord Kinnaird (who had at that time not come into his title)
and asked whether it was to be hacking or no hacking. To which
his lordship cheerfully replied, "Oh, let it be hacking by all means,"
and so, Mr. Alcock has stated, it was hacking!
When also we read of the way in which the American collegians
play their games, which are more of the Rugby than the Association
type, to this very day, one is surprised to find a survival of rough
play actually legalised, the like of which, if newspaper accounts be
true, this country has no parallel to. It would appear that to
disable an opponent is one of the main hopes' and intentions of
the players. Substitutes are allowed, and when a man is carried
off the field injured, a player from a group of substitutes ready
dressed throws off his wraps and takes his place.. A doctor with
surgical appliances and two assistants carrying bandages, &c., are
always on the spot. The players pad themselves, tie their heads
and ears up, and fix nose guards on. The descriptions of some of
ii 1
these matches may be a little overdrawn, but there is a little rule
of play called the science of "interference," and under cover of it
it appears to be legal for any player to bash into, sit on, kick, cuff,
or hammer any opponent on the slightest pretext. One is inclined
to wonder how the public stand that kind of thing, and I am bound
to say that our little difference of opinion as to what is legitimate
charging and what is not seems trifling in the face of the general
mel6es such as we read of in Yankee papers.
I was brought up in a rough school of football, when the full use
of weight and strength was thought nothing of. I remember one
burly back, who is now, by the way, an inoffensive and mild-mannered
poultry-yard keeper, but whose entire play consisted in heavy rushes
and reckless kicking. So much was this so, that he established a
reign of terror in all the countryside, and the rare occasions on
which he happened to be floored are talked of to this day. I also
 Don't Challenge an Opponent 211

remember a keen rivalry between a forward of one club and a half-

1I
back of another, who frequently met in club and county matches,
and who, for two seasons kept atally of the number of times on which it

each floored the other. In one match it reached a total of twelve

11
to one and fifteen to the other! The brothers Walters are often
instanced as samples of heavy chargers, and there is no doubt that
as far as honest use of sheer weight and speed went they did not
spare their opponents. Nick Ross, the Preston North End back,
bore a similar record in the North, and there are players of the day
whose names I forbear to give, whose reputations are more made
by determined and heavy rushing tactics than by really scientific
football.
One can understand the artilleryman, who, in the course of a
match, being opposed to a fleet and nimble forward, was by
reason of his slower movements unable to stop his man, and on
one occasion, when the forward tricked him, was just able to land
him one in the back with his fist. The forward, in great disgust,
stopped and appealed to the referee, but the artilleryman's defence
was so evidently ingenuous that he was let off with a caution. He
observed to the referee :"Please, sir, I'm sorry; but it's exciting."
We can also appreciate a little by-play between friends who happen
to be on opposite sides, as in the case where one player,so often dashed
into another that the referee interfered, and the accused player observed
with a laugh, "Oh, I'm only having a go at Frank." Also we can
quite understand the feelings that prompted a French player at the
close of a match to send a challenge to a rough opponent to fight
a duel. Only recently, after a somewhat lively game in Prussia, no
less than a dozen challenges were issued afterwards, with what result
Ihave not yet heard.
We claim that the laws of the game and public opinion give us
a plain answer to the question, "What is fair charging ?" Public
opinion is opposed to reckless and heavy play. Though we sometimes
hear the cry, "Knock him over, Bill," or "Get yer own back, Sammy,"
it does not voice the great mass of popular sentiment, which recoils
from brutality and revenge in football. Unfortunately one hears
more the raucous yell of the spectator urging the players to acts of
violence, while the well-disposed onlooker is silent. But go where
you will where football enthusiasts gather together, and you will find,
as I have done, that such conduct is not only deprecated, but con-

N
21? Ass ociation Football
demmned. The laws of the f ame are tolera bly plainly opposed to
rough play. La i; Ij sa ys
The rReferee shall have power to award a free kick in any case in
-which he thinks the conduct of aplater dangerous, or lil; ely to prove
danuerous, but not sufficiently so as to justify him in putting in force
The greater powers ves:ted in him."
fiat are these ureazer powers
In the event of any uncrentlemanly behaviour on the part of any
of the players, the offender or offenders .shall be cautioned, and if the
ofence is repeated, or in case of violent conduct without any previous
cauiion, the Referee shall have power to order the ofreudin a player
or players ol'i the field of play.''
The Referees' Chart Says on the point.:—
:: As regards rough play, the Referee has absolute discretion. Where
he considers the conduct of a player dangerous, or likely to be so, he
should caution the ofender, and, if the offence is repeated, order the
player ol'l the field of play. -
'With -these -weapons in his hands, I tbi nk a referee is fT1lly equipped
to baTile acramst rough play. That he must do so the laws leave no
opening' for doubt: but. exactly -where charring is legal and --here it
oversteps bounds its left much to his discretion. It ill be, I think,
fair to s2.• that to charge a. planer o the ball, to charge an opponent
who is trvinor to get to the ball, or to take a pass. or gain some advan-
tageous position, its not illegal provided that- it is not done with reckless-
ness, danuerousl'y, revengefully, spitefully. and so on. The minimum
of vigour to effect the purpose is all that a player is entitled to use. In
cases of "keeping the man off," obsLructi V an opponent, protecting
oneself, or one's goalkeeper or other comrade, a player has no right to
charge with violence. but he is entitled to hustle as much as he pleases.
And in dealiner with rough play, I hope no referee will have the sad
mis-fortune that befell a friend of mine. who --as told with a--e, after he
had sent a player oa, "Please, sir, you've ordered of a Sunday-school
teacher."

CHARGING IN THE OLD DAYS

The decision of the International Board to incorporate in the la--s the

fact that charging is permissible unle-• it is violent or dangerous is a
sensible one. Mien you can eliminate the spirit of the AD!zlo-Saxon
from the national elements and substitute the mildness and patience of
 Science Better than Weight 2 13

the Hindoo for it, we may perhaps arrive at the playing of football in a
purely scientific manner, with no more physical danger than is incurred
in a game of lawn tennis or golf. When that day arrives may Ihave
laid down my pen and rested my bones in their last pilgrimage, for I
don't want to be present. It is not against the vigour and force of
football playing that I ever
wrote a line of the volumes I
have written in my time on _
the game Ihave so dearly at
heart. I learned my Associa-
tion football in arough school,
as may be imagined, of Lanca-
shire junior football twentyY
years ago ; and prior to that, "
on the old playing field of my - z,:
old academy at Lewisham,
when Iwas a devotee to the
Rugby game, strength and
weio,ht always told if I re-
member rightly. Even in the .
early days of my Hampshire
football, science was out of e A , a
the running with the reckless '; t

use of power and weight.

Iremember that whenever
two clubs I will not name
met, there ensued personal Photo: Geo. Newnes, Ltd.

tournaments between players A. B U IC K

on either side. With one raw- Portsmouth

boned half-back I was wont

to count the times when each had the good fortune to knock
the other over. After the match we used to joke about. it at the
usual high tea that followed. In the case of another club they
possessed a burly back—two 'of them in fact; one, by the way, apro-
fessional man—and their play was formed and their prestige gained by
purely heavy rushes and reckless charging. In the case of one of this
pair, who is now, Ibelieve, a mild-mannered and inoffensive gardener,
he established quite a reign of terror for miles around, and the rare
occasions on which one happened to "grass "him are sometimes remem-
2I4 Association Football
tiered in conversation to this day by his old rivals. In one match he
hit aplayer on our side, a light and demure forward, so viciously- and
so often -with his charging, that one of our backs came forward and
punished him with alittle of his own, with the result that the pair forgot
the game, and spent most of the time watching and glaring at each
other on the look-out for a. smash. I think Imay say in passing that
these things were incidental to the game of the period, and roused no
ill-feeling that lasted any time. The old style of defence was marked
by the use of weight and strength. lien who were heavy and big were
put at back and the little men played forward. At any rate the
idea was to have weight and size in the rearguard. But there was not
the public interest in the game that there is now, nor, may I sad-,
were there such important stakes played for. Most matches were
friendlies, and the winning of them was the only reward the players
had. It was ample for us at the time, but a new state of things
prevails, and the heavy play of the eighties would not be tolerated now.
If you talk with some of the old fogeys who bore the brunt of the
battle earlier than that, they N}ill all agree—all Ihave met do—that
the rice that now enters into the use of weight and build did not
then tinge the game, and that the "bashing "indulged in was of ajoyful
and exhilarating ZD
kind, merely the fireworks so to speak of ardent spirits
letting themselves loose in an occasional delirium of vi gorous exercise.
Hackin g,it -will be remembered, used to be legal, and the rules of one body
specially forbade hacking '-above the knee." One cannot understand
that sort of thing now, and it shows how the times have changed.
-'e often read extracts from reports of games in the States that
sound most brutal. Almost anv kind of roughness seems to be legalised,
and there is no parallel to it in English sports. Substitutes are allowed
to take the place of injured players, doctors with surgical appliances,
and assistants with bandages crouch round with ropes. The players
pad themselves, tie their heads and ears up, and fix nose guards on.
In these games what is called "interference " with an opponent is
allowed, and under its protection players kick and jab and use their
fists, cuff, hammer, and fall on opponents at their sweet will. We read
something like this :"Brown of Yale slugged Thorson heavily in the
stomach, and the Pennsylvania cover crawled off the ground for repairs,"
and "when the ambulance men cleared the debris three of the easters
were found crushed into pulp. Big Samplin did this, and the Maine,
boys cheered themselves hoarse."
 Methods that are Illegal

•WHAT IS FAIR CHARGING?

The laws of the game do not say in so many words, but Law 13,
that outlines the referee's duties, is instinct with repressive orders to
the referee. It plainly tells the referee that he must award afree kick
in any case in which he thinks the conduct of a player dangerous or
likely to prove so. This drives at the use of weight which may be
dangerous. Obviously most heavy charging is likely to be that. A
player has aperfect right to stop, interfere with, or check an opponent
by interposing his body between him and where that opponent wants
to go. The point is how may it be done legally? To charge an
opponent who is trying to get into an- advantageous position to take
apass, and so on, is not illegal, provided that the player uses his power
without undue vigour, and not in a spiteful, dangerous, or revengeful
manner. The minimum of vigour is all that aplayer is entitled to use
to effect his purpose, and in keeping aman off, protecting a goalkeeper,
and so on, aplayer has no right to dash into him with violence, but
is entitled to hustle him as much as he likes. Hustling is sufficient in
the great majority of instances on which aplayer has, in doing his duty
to his side, to stop an opponent.
But I admit there are times when more than that is required,
when the opponent must not only be stopped, but removed out of the
way. In that case a player is justified in his charge, delivered with
sufficient force to knock the opponent out of his stride, but not to
knock him over or send him staggering over the ropes among the
spectators. Nor may he in charging also take dangerous flying kicks
in areckless manner. Some players rush in on aforward all arms and
legs, and at the moment of impact lash out violently with their kicking
boot. Some jump in the last stride. Some make the onslaught knees
or legs in front. These methods are illegal. The charge should be
with the shoulder against the upper part of the opponent's body. The
use of the knee should be sternly repressed, and reckless kicking at
once penalised.
The game of football naturally incites full-blooded and active
youths to make the full use of their bodily gifts. Obviously there is
ahappy medium, and referees should strive to find it, and enforce it.
"Play likely to be dangerous " gives them astrong basis for action.
But Ioften wonder that players who make a livelihood of the game,
216 Association Football
and others who stand to lose so much by injuries, do not of their OWU
generous impulses, even if expediency counts for nothing, deprecate
roughness. It seems almost as if they did not care, or they,find, as
we used to find in the old days, that the man -
who took the initiative
curiousl y enough stands the less danger.

HOW TO DEAL WITH FOUL PLAY

The bugbear of football is foul play. Rough play even to the verge
of being dangerous Ican understand, but foul play is an abomination,
and every official ought to do his very,best, in the interest of the game,
to stop it. Whether the average player of to-day is - worse than the
average player used to be ten to twenty years ago, Ican't quite decide.
Iknow-this, that in the eighties the game --as much rougher than it is
now. The reason for this, in my opinion, was that refereeing -vas a
mere formality then, and players --ere allowed to make full use of their
superior weight and size in a blunt, heavy charge. Since those early
times public sentiment has called out against the lashing game, and in
this respect the play, has -wonderfully softened down. Unfortunately,
this improvement has been nullified to a large extent by the insidious
introduction of clever and almost scientific methods of fouling an
opponent so as to obtain all the advantages of a heavy charge without
arousing public opprobrium, and often achieving far more than a man
of weight would accomplish by plain rushing.
The worst of it is that such tactics are quite unnecessary, for we see
it demonstrated over and over again how players can make names for
themselves beyond all cavil and reproach and take the highest honours
that the sport of football offers, and yet play in a gentlemanly and
aboveboard fashion. I could easily- give the names of scores of
prominent men whose style is both effective and free from reproach.
Several of the more prominent instances Neill suffice to point my mean-
ing. In the best amateur ranks foul play is almost unknown. Ihave
watched the 'Varsity and Corinthian teams, over and over again, and
seldom indeed have Iseen anything in the nature of a deliberate foul,
and what one man can do surely another may. It will be urged that
these clubs do not go in for Cup ties and matches of vital importance,
the excitement of -which leads them to forget their gentlemanly instincts;
but Idoubt if any professional match is more exciting to those who take
part in it than the Oxford v. Cambridge struggle, Corinthians v. Queen's
 Some Sportsmanlike Men 2I7

Park, or the Sheriff of London's Shield match. And it is a curious fait

that in great exhibition matches, such as International games, and the
North v. South contest, there is agreat absence of wilful fouls.
Why, then, should they be necessary in League and Southern
League matches and Cup ties?
The fact is that they are not, and it is proved by the wonderful
success of such men as Crabtree, the late Villa back; Forman, the Notts
Forest half; Needham, the Sheffield United half; Bloomer, the Derby
County inside right; John Goodall, of Watford club, and Cameron, of
Tottenham Hotspur. I pick out these as representing the various
differing sections of afootball team.
The worst fouls are often the least noticeable. Few players ever
deliberately set a back for an opponent, or put aleg out and squarely
trip him up. That is very amateurish to them, and old-fashioned.
Instead, there is a clever little kick on the instep, or a well-timed
tread on the foot, or a jab with the elbow that serves the purpose, and
is also less likely to cause notice. The experienced referee even may
be deceived, especially by the apparently open candour of the player's
face at the time, for some players are actors of high merit! Pushing is
also a "fine art." The deliberate shove, such as one would use to
eject an intruder from one's doorway, is rarely seen, but its place is
taken by several cleverly timed little touches with the hand or forearm
that send an opponent reeling just as surely as if a sandbag had
hit him on the back. Handling the ball is reduced to a science, and
it is achieved without seeming movement of the arm and in such
an innocent manner as to deceive the wariest onlooker. •+
But these things are not football as it should be played, and a
great responsibility rests upon club officials, directors, committee-
men, and others, a responsibility which many are,' unfortunately for
the good of the game, inclined to let rest on the shoulders of the
referees. This is not fair for two reasons. In the first place it is
putting too great a responsibility on the referees, and in the second
it is tacitly saying to a player, "You may play foul, only don't let the
referee catch you." When a player who is known to be guilty of
unfair tricks is not spoken to about them, and warned against them
by those in authority over him, the only people he cares twopence for—
i.e., the committee that pays him his wages—he is not at all likely to
try and alter his methods and improve his style. He is confirmed in
his evil ways, and gathers the impression that his club officials are
2I
s Association Football
winking the eye at him, and the result is bad for football. It. is easy for
aman to get into a bad style, and he needs help and advice to assist him
to get out of it. Are the club officials doing their duty in this respect'-
It is not enough to say to a man, -
when he is suspended, "It serves you
right," for bis obvious retort is, 'You inked at my doing it before."
By neglecting their duty, club officials make themselves accomplices in
foul play, and it is no usegrowling when an important match has to
be faced wiih half the team under the doctor, for it is more than
probable tbat it is a case of "chickens come home to roost."

ESPRIT DE CORPS

Put into plain English, this is what espi-tale toms means :`t along
pull, a strong pall, and a pull all together." -No football club or team
ever yet gained success without it. In the case of a professional club
here
- the "club "is one thing and the "team "another, it is possible
for the club to succeed in spite of havin abad team, for the committee
can get rid of the team and secure a new one. In the same --ay a team
determined as one man on realising an object may gain it despite the
"club." In the case of the ordinary amateur club, -where the team form
part, of the club and its management, the tNN o sections that form the
"club "must stand or fall together. -Esprit de corgis " is a military,
phrase, taken from the French, and its truth has been proved on the
field of battle a thousand times since the bi•tory of wars began. It is.
just as much an essential in football.
Strained relations between club and players have -wrecked many a.
team . •'1thOIlt mentioning names, it is not entirely beyond dispute
that in afinal tie in the nineties one of the teams sent an ultimatum
to the di rectors not many hours before the match, demanding a big
bonus all round for a -
win and extra pay in any case. I happened to
know- that the directors refused to treat the match in any different.
manner to customary, and also it is on historical record that the team
did not win the Gaup. Ido not say that the players deliberately played
to lose. That I do not believe, but I can quite understand that the
disappointment and resentment the men felt so damaged their chances
that they were all "sixes and sevens " when the test came. On the-
other hand, the thougbtlecs action of acertain club's directorate before-
a very, important and deciding League match just meant the difference
between success and failure. During the season there had been some-
 IMMIAMOM,

The Selection of Players 2I9

difficulty as to which of two players belonging to the club should play

inside right. In the end one was played pretty regularly up to the
week before this deciding match. The directors then changed the men,
notwithstanding the protest of the team, who sent adeputation to the
directors' meeting respectfully pointing out the injury the change would
do to the cohesive play of the side. The directors forced their man
to play, and the result was a failure. Annoyed at the men's attitude,
and in the belief that 'they had purposely "starved "the inside man,
the directors insisted on his being played in the big match, with
disastrous results.
Now this brings me to a very important point in connection with
professional football; that of consulting the players as to the com-
position of a team. In amateur football it is most useful to have
aselection committee, and the most important person on it is the club
captain. In every case such acommittee is composed of players and
non-players, on the generally admitted lines that while the "onlooker
sees most of the game" the players are also well able to judge of their
comrades' abilities. In this way afairer chance is given all round than
if either the players selected themselves, or acommittee of non-players
chose the teams. But in professional football the opposite principle
holds. Ido not say that the directors fail to consult with one or more
of the players, but they do not give the players' opinion equal weight
with their own. I know it is a difficult thing to do, but in most
teams there are two or three men whose places are safe, and whose
characters are high for honour and honesty and experience of the
game. I hope there are always more than two or three, but at least
there are usually some who may be depended on. Where could a
directorate look with better hope of advice than to such old and tried
servants ? Jealousy as to places in the first team is one of the most
insidious forms of straining relations between players and players and
between players and the directorate.
In all these things a right composition of the management is essen-
tial. Alen of wealth are always useful, but in their proper place. How
to manage ateam cannot be learned in aseason, and because aman has
the keys to the cash-box, he should not therefore consider that he is
qualified thereby to run a football club. Professionals are "kittle
cattle "to drive, and while the moneyed supporter has a very useful
sphere of work, the experienced directors should be given fair play.
Abney will not always win football. If it would, Aston Villa should
220 Association Football
never lose the English Cup or the Football League. -Nor, to have to
par for the finished article, to Imow a sound and coming planer --hen
he sees hi -n, to be able to place men in their best: positions on the
field, to be able to keep up a friendly feeling among the players. to
keep good men .season aster season, and to get the best work out of
Llleni, is be••er than money-. `' Knowledge is power."

and having got your men, treat them well. Plavers should be
a-iven ti me to acclimatize themselves, to shoes- their best points and
find their most useful places, to study the tactics of their comrades,
and to combine -with them. Continual changing of positions is both
harassing and anno ying. Only the -Napoleon of football directors can
do this -with success. To move a man from one place to another is
likely to damage his style of play- altogetber, for it is a knoNN u fact that
a orward's s--0e is altogether different from --hat is needed of aback.
Players should not be bnllied, nor vet unduly praised. Off the field of
play- much mar be gained by keeping an eve on their comfort. The
provision of a club, and so on, anyt-bing almost to beep them out of
the sing doors of the " 'reen Lion," is l• ely to have agood effect.
Club success is not always gained in the practice ground, important
as training cei.. Esp7-zt de, coi:psis the winner in the long run.

THE VALUE OF GOOD EXAMPLE

The game of football is on its trial. Hardly- a week goes by but

trenchant eriricis ms of latter-day- developments are to be seen in the
papers,varied by occasional and powerful attacks, and frequent and
sorrowful. comparisons. Those of us -who can see below the surface a
little, and l,-now how-the great heart of football beats generously- still,
--ho have groN• n up with the game and can account for and excuse many-
of its vagaries and changes,and can explain or palliate them, can loop
on these criticisms and attacks and comparisons with asmile. But it is
not sufficient to be supercilious in our own viers, for these continual
assaults on the sport find ears only too ready- to bear them. and then
is danger ahead. -Not than any monarch or government is likely- to
emulate the record of some of England's Bugs, who tried to make the
common people give up their love for what had been termed a "bloody
murtherine,practice," but the loss of public esteem would be asad blow
indeed. The historian of a quarter of a century hence rill have some-
 The Grandest National Game
thing to say about us and our methods, and it behoves us to keep our
loved pastime at ahigh standard.
Iam afraid that the average footballer hardly realises, or, if he some-
times does realise, hardly cares for the effect that may be caused by good
or bad play; whether the game is carried on and played as it should be
or not. He is largely concerned in winning his matches, and, beyond
that, is mostly satisfied if he can do so without coming under the ban
of the referee or the rulers of the game. No player is anxious to do

Photo: hops, Ltd.

PRESTON NORTH END TEAT, 1904-5

that, and the very strenuousness with which, when such does happen,
every nerve is strained and every effort made to palliate the offence, or
escape the consequences, shows it. What the player fails to realise is
that by introducing fouls and despicable actions into his play he will in
the long run certainly lower it in public estimation, and bring disgrace
on what we all desire to see retain its place as our grandest national
game. If footballers, and especially those who take part in the most
important matches, would pause for a moment and consider the effect
caused by the exhihition they give before such large audiences, Ifeel
sure that they would see that by playing the game in the way in which it
222 Association Football
should be played, ₹hey- are doing an incalculable amount of good ;whereas
by stooping to shad e and nnsair actions they- are doing asari. amount of
harm. Football appeals so much to the masses that there is a great
dander of the latter absorbing their ideas of the game, and hoc it ,should
be played, from --hat they see. It is painful to me to sometimes hear,
hen v-alkulg among the -crowd at a match, dirty- play applauded. It
would not be so if the players set a higher standard to the onlooker.
The ordinary- Englishman does like fair play.. he prefers the fist to the
knife, and objects to three attacking one. His sy-mpatbies naturally
side with the weaker. But he may be educated to approve of foul play,
and become callous in his views as to what is fair play.
Take first, the effects of good plan ;say, for example, in an Inter-
national match—England r. Scotland. You urge that that is too high a
standard, but Idon't. see - why, for in such amatch there is more at stake
-than in any other game of the season. In such agame the contestants
play for their country-, for the honour of their clubs, and their own
reputations. To put it on no higher ground, a professional who gains
his cap in such amatch improves in market value, and he knows it, while
for an amateur to be preferred is nom- an honour worth far more than
it once was, --hen there were no trained rivals to surpass. In these
matches football is seen at its very- highest fiightS as regards at least the
fairness of the play, and the feedom from foul work. And it is evident
that if players do, under such astrain, refrain from illegal tactics, they
can do it in any match if they make up then minds. The effect caused
by agood match of this kind is wonderful. The bulk of the spectators
would be adults, many of them active in the game in some form or
other. There v-ould be alarge gathering of -he coming generation, and
acertain percentage of people who are not enthusiasts, but who like to
see any genuine open-air sports ;and are apt tO compare past and present ;
and inclined to find fault with the present
The eSects of seeing an important game, properly- played in a true
sporting spirit, are most important to the youngsters. They will pro-
bably be amixed lot, some from public schools, others from elementary
schools.. -early- all will be players just starling their career with junior
clubs, and who will help to make the teams of adecade hence. Giving
them credit, for the ordinary boy's sharpness of observation, what do
they learn, and what is the effect of good football on them? In the
first place, it, shows them how- the gam should be planed from a scien-
tific point, of vier, and the boy will gain alot of 1-nowledge from watch-
 The Pleasure of Clean Play 223

ing. They know they are seeing the men of the highest reputations,
and they will be on the keen look-out for the style on which to model
their own, and if they notice a player taking unfair advantage rather
than be beaten, what an object-lesson it must be to them. Iremember
hearing several prominent men laughing and chatting at a boys' match
that was being played prior to amore important game, and what seemed
to amuse them most was the fact that the youngsters knew all the
"tricks and dodges "that were going. A lot of these said tricks and
dodges were very shady ones, as Isaw with my own eyes ;but the pity
of it never seemed to have occurred to their elders.
Watching an International match, Ionce heard a couple of provin-
cials growling at the poor show that one of the players was making.
Evidently the player belonged either to their club or town, and they
repeatedly expressed surprise that he did not, as they called it, "play
the proper game." The fact is that the man was trying to play without
fouling, and was discovering, to his surprise, that unless he adopted the
rough and ready methods of his ordinary club match he would be made
ashow of. His comrades-,in the stand would have liked to have seen
him "let out " a bit more, and seemed actually disappointed that he
did not. That shows how unfair play, not checked, tends to make both
players and supporters callous and objectionable. To most adults, how-
ever, the watching of a really neat and clean match is a pleasure, and
they readily appreciate the moral. As for those who hold the game to
be on its trial, agood match makes them more tolerant than they would
otherwise be, whereas afoul game confirms their ideas that the sport is
going to the dogs, and the game is thus brought into disrepute. Hardly
one of us who has been engaged in football for a long period but could
compile alist of gentlemen who formerly took adeep interest in it, but
have now quite lost their love for it because of the bad play and the
abuses that they see. They don't stop to consider that the vast
majority of players are above suspicion, but judge the game from
the misconduct of the minority. These things have also a more
powerful effect, for bad football tends to make people think whether
it is worth while to have their names any longer connected with
the game, and so money and interest and enthusiasm are diverted to
other directions, for nothing is more galling to the real sportsman than
to see bad feeling and shady actions introduced.
AVe leave too much to, and expect too much from, the referee, but
club managers and committees can, after all, exercise the greatest in-
224 Association Football
fluence of all. If they would rigorously weed out the bad characters,
and slake it known that they would prefer to lose amatch than to lower
the chara4cter of the club and the game by unsportsmanlike methods, the
battle for better football -would be half won at once. Many clubs are, I
am glad to ],-now, strict in such matters, but far too great a number are
careless and forget the duty they owe to the game, and if they forget,
how- can the player be expected to remember?

END OF TOL. I.

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