Football History Links No6

Sing Up The River End! is well established with NCFC facts, figures, and trivia, and now we also bring you more general football history information from all eras. In an occasional series we will select the best links, news stories, sites and videos available on the net for those readers whose interest in the past times of football goes, occasionally, beyond the yellow and green

The Football League first came into being in 1888-89, but had only twelve participating clubs. A rival competition was also formed that very same year for clubs that had missed out and was called The Combination. It was a poorly organised event. Twenty clubs took part but soon it was realised that this was not viable. So teams were allowed to pick eight rivals to play on a home and away basis. However arguments ensued (often from defeated clubs) as to whether or not fixtures were friendlies or should count towards the league. Nobody had the faintest idea how to compile a table amongst the confusion, and in the end the league was abandoned. Some of the clubs involved went on to have glorious histories in association football - Newton Heath (later Manchester United), Grimsby Town, Lincoln City, Crewe Alexandra, Small Heath (later Birmingham City) and Burslem Port Vale.

In 1890, organisers had a second attempt at operating a worthwhile (albeit more minor) competition - this time with a realistic number of sides. The membership was made up of Burton Swifts, Chester, Denton (Manchester), Derby St. Luke's, Gorton Villa, Hyde, Leek, Macclesfield Town, Northwich Victoria, Stafford County, Witton and Wrexham. The first champions were Gorton Villa from Manchester. The Combination remained in existence until 1911, and later included Everton Reserves who won the title seven times in the first ten years.

The competition had no connection with The Football Combination, a competition for the reserve teams of Football League clubs that has run since 1915.

Is there anyone on a football pitch that is more important to the team than the goalkeeper ? Probably not. So specialised is the position, very few outfield players could ever hope to adapt to the role. In modern day football, these masters of agility and reflex have become vital to the success of all top teams. One thing that younger fans are unlikely to know however, is that for many years, goalkeepers did not wear gloves. In the fullness of football history, they are a recent addition to the kit room. Before the 1970's, keepers had only their bare hands to rely on - to beat away a stinging shot or clutch the ball from the head of a lunging centre forward. And in the early days of course, footballs were also heavier. The pain inflicted to frozen digits on a cold afternoon can only be left to the imagination.

The exact date of goalkeeping gloves first appearing in professional football has never been established. Certainly a keeper or two would have had the foresight to add gloves to his armoury from the very early days of the game. And a patent for leather goalie gloves was taken out as early as 1885 would you believe. But the concept of them being useful to aiding a clean sheet never caught on. Instead, brave custodians weathered the storm. In the 1960's, keepers started to wear gloves in poor conditions, but it took until the next decade for the idea to really gather pace. West Germany's World Cup goalkeeper Sepp Maier was one of the first stars to have gloves made specially for him. And soon, everyone wanted a pair. Since then, it has become big business, and been the subject of much technological research.

But have a thought for the legends of yesteryear. They were bruised and hardy souls for sure.

When World War Two started in September 1939, the Football League season was abandoned after only three games. Britain entered a period known as the Phoney War - Hitler was expected to bomb the country but he held back. And so a Football League War Cup competition was organised - an equivalent in some ways to the FA Cup. A total of 137 games were crammed into a nine week period, with matches played on a home and away basis. The final took place on the 8th of June 1940 by which time the blitz had actually started. But despite the obvious dangers, a crowd of over 42,000 descended on Wembley Stadium to see West Ham United defeat Blackburn Rovers 1-0.



This short but nice piece of nostalgia was kindly uploaded by MrDangerFourpence onto YouTube together with the following description :  The 1940 Football League War Cup Final was contested by West Ham United and Blackburn Rovers. It was played on 8 June 1940 and kicked-off at 6.30pm despite fears that London would be bombed by the Luftwaffe. The wartime crowd included wounded members of the BEF recently evacuated from Dunkirk. As the match was played during wartime, no reception was held for the winning team. Some players went to the Boleyn public house on Green Street for a few pints whilst others returned immediately to their service units.

Celebrating West Ham players, from left to right, Corporal Norman Corbett, Ted Fenton, Charlie Bicknell, trophy holding Archie Macaulay (who would of course go on to manage Norwich City and take them to a FA Cup semi final in 1959) and George Foreman.
(source : Spartacus Educational)