- First England dismissal
Alan Mullery of Spurs was the first England player to be shown the red card in an international when he was dismissed against Yugoslavia in Florence on 5 June 1968. - Changing Sides
Alexander Morten, the England goalkeeper when they beat Scotland 4-2 in England’s second official international at the Kennington Oval on 8 March 1873, appeared for Scotland in the first unofficial international between the two counties, the 1-1 drawn on 5 March 1870. - First All-Foreign International
The first football international played without involving a British side was between the United States and Canada, played in Newark, New Jersey, USA on 28 November 1885. The Canadians won 1-0. - First 0-0 Draw in Almost a Century
When England drew 0-0 with Scotland at Hampden Park in the British Home International Championships on 25 April 1970, it was the first time they had played out a scoreless draw since their first ever official meeting in 1872. - Names on Shirts
England players first wore their names on the back of their shirts during the 1992 European Championships in Sweden. - Name Change
Frederick Patey Chappell, who was born in England, changed his name to Frederick Brunning Maddison in 1873, having played for England in the first international in 1872 against Scotland. However, he had already played for Scotland in the 1-1 draw on 25 February 1871, the third unofficial international involving England and Scotland.
------------------------------------What’s In a Name? ----------------------------------------
- Manchester United
Manchester United began life as Newton Heath L & YR in 1878 when a group of workers from the Lancashire & Yorkshire Railways formed a football team. The club entered the Football League in 1892 and began to sever its links with the rail depot, becoming an independent company, appointing a club secretary and dropping the "L&YR" from their name to become simply Newton Heath F.C. In 1902, only a sizeable donation from J.H. Davies, the managing director of Manchester Breweries, saved the club from bankruptcy. It was decided at one of the early board meetings that the club required a change of name to reflect the fresh start they had been afforded. Manchester Central and Manchester Celtic before Manchester United was officially adopted on 26 April 1902. - Southampton
Southampton F.C began life as St Mary’s YMA. The club was founded in 1885 by members of St Mary’s Church of England Young Men’s Association. The club occupied The Dell for over 100 years before moving to its existing St Mary’s Stadium, close to the church where it all began, in 2001. - Aston Villa
Aston Villa Football Club were formed in March, 1874, by members of the Villa Cross Wesleyan Chapel in Aston which is now part of Birmingham. Villa quickly became one of the best teams in the Midlands, winning their first honour, the Birmingham Senior Cup in 1880. - Manchester City
Manchester City F.C. was founded as St. Marks (West Gorton) in 1880 by Anna Connell and two wardens of St. Mark's Church, who also worked in the nearby iron factory, in Gorton, a district in east Manchester. In 1887, they moved to a new ground at Hyde Road in Ardwick just to the east of the city centre, and were renamed Ardwick A.F.C. to reflect their new location. Ardwick joined the Football League as founding members of the Second Division in 1892. Financial troubles in the 1893-94 season led to a reorganisation within the club, and Ardwick were reformed as Manchester City F.C. - Arsenal
Arsenal were founded as Dial Square in 1886 by workers at the Royal Arsenal in Woolwich, but were renamed Royal Arsenal shortly afterwards. They renamed themselves again to Woolwich Arsenal after turning professional in 1891. The club joined the Football League in 1893 and won promotion to the First Division in 1904. However, the club's geographic isolation resulted in lower attendances than those of other clubs, which led to the club becoming mired in financial problems and effectively bankrupt by 1910, when they were taken over by Henry Norris. Norris sought to move the club elsewhere, and in 1913, soon after relegation back to the Second Division, Arsenal moved to the new Arsenal Stadium in Highbury, North London; they dropped "Woolwich" from their name the following year. - Tottenham
In 1882 the Hotspur Football Club was formed by grammar school boys from the bible class at All Hallows Church. They were also members of Hotspur Cricket Club and it is thought that the name Hotspur was associated with Sir Henry Percy who was "Harry Hotspur" of Shakespeare's Henry IV, part 1, and who lived locally during in the 14th century and whose descendants owned land in the neighbourhood. In 1884 the club was renamed Tottenham Hotspur Football and Athletic Club to distinguish itself from another team called London Hotspur.
Interesting Facts...
When dense smog threatened their match against Bolton in November 1951, Arsenal erected fluorescent green sightscreens at both ends of the pitch to make the goals more visible.
Charlie Tully scored direct from a corner for Celtic against Falkirk in the Cup during the 1952-53 season. The kick had to be taken because the crowd had come on to the pitch, so Tully repeated the feat.
Floodlights, pioneered by several clubs in friendly matches, were first used in the FA Cup on 28 November 1955 for a second round replay between Carlisle and Darlington at Newcastle. The first League match to be played under lights was between Portsmouth and Newcastle on 22 February 1956. The game was held up for 30 minutes when the fuses failed. The first floodlight League came in Scotland was on 7 March at Ibrox, when Rangers beat Queen of the South 8-0.
Denis Law, at Huddersfield, was the youngest person to play for Scotland at the age of 18. He scored a goal on his debut, a 3-0 win against Wales in October 1958.
Jeff Hall, the Birmingham and England defender, died of polio a fortnight after being taken ill in March 1958. The publicity surrounding the death of the 29-year-old left-back, who had never lost a game while playing for England, was instrumental in persuading the public to participate in a mass inoculation scheme to combat the disease.
Joe Baker of Hibs became the first player at a Scottish club to represent England. He scored in his debut as England beat Northern Ireland 2-1 on 18 November 1959.
Denis Law’s move from Huddersfield to Manchester City in March 1960 was the first transfer between British clubs to exceed £50,000.
Borough United, of the Northern Welsh League, and the Welsh Cup holders were the first non-League team to win a European tie when they eliminated Sliema Wanderers in the first round of the European Cup Winners Cup. They drew the home game 0-0 and then won 2-0 in Malta.
In July 1964 John White the legendry was killed by lightinh at the age of only 27 while sheltering under a tree during a thunderstorm at Crews Hill golf course, Enfield.
Keith Peacock was the first substitute to be used in the League when he came on for Charlton Athletic during their Second Division match against Bolton on 21 August 1965. At the end of the season the League decided that it was impossible for the referee to decide when a player was genuinely injured and a substitution should be allowed. So the rules were changed to allow substitutions to be made for any reason.
Everton bought Alan Ball from Blackpool in August 1966 in the first six-figure transfer between English clubs.
Mark Lawrenson was the only English-born player in Liverpool’s F.A. Cup winning team of 1986. Lawrenson was born in Preston. Ironically he played his international football for the Republic of Ireland.
Totteham Hotspur are not only the sole non-league club to win the FA Cup since the formation of the Football League, but at the celebration dinner in 1901 they tied blue and white ribbons on the handles of the trophy, a custom which has since become a tradition.
Aston Villa played their first-ever game in March 1875 against a rugby team called Aston Brook St Mary’s. One half was played under rugby rules, the other under Association football rules.
Doncaster Rovers were originally formed in 1879 to play a match against the Yorkshire Institute for the Deaf and Dumb.
James Henry Forrest, who played for Blackburn Rovers from 1884 to 1890, was the first professional footballer to play for England against Scotland.
The referee’s whistle, the Acme Thunderer, invented by Birmingham toolmaker Joseph Hudson in 1884, is still used to this day.
The first goal in League football is generally considered to be by Jack Gordon of Preston North End – though some dispute this as their opening match of the first Football League season on 8 September 1888 started three-quarters of an hour after the other matches.
Goal nets were designed by an engineer from Liverpool called John Alexander Brodie. The first time nets were used for the goals in an FA Cup Final was 1891.
AC Milan was founded by Englishman Alfred Edwards in 1899. They still keep the English version of the name Milan rather than the Italian ‘Milano’.
When Liverpool won the League in 1906, they became the first team to secure the Championship having been promoted the year before.
Hampden Park stadium in Glasgow, which opened in 1903, was the largest stadium until 1950 when the massive Maracana was built in Rio de Janeiro.
The first live televised match in England was played between Blackpool and Bolton at Bloomfield Park on 9 September 1960. Bolton won 1-0.
Substitutes for injuries were first introduced for League matches in 1965. In August 1965 Bob Knox became the first substitute to score a league goal when he came on for Barrow against Wrexham. Later that season Knox also replaced an injured goalkeeper and became the first substitute to save a penalty.
The first substitute in an FA Cup Final was West Bromwich Albion’s Dennis Clarke who replaced team mate Tony Kaye in the Midland club’s 1-0 win over Everton in 1968.
George Best used television evidence to show why he should avoid suspension at an FA disciplinary hearing in 1971. This was the first time a player used TV footage to escape a band.
The first match to be decided on penalties in England was the semi-final of the Watney Cup between Hull City and Manchester United on 5 August 1970. The game finished 1-1 and United ended up winning 4-3 on penalties.
Former Scottish international winger Jimmy Delaney pulled off a unique treble in 1954 when he won a Cup-winners’ medal with Derry City in Northern Ireland, having already won a Scottish Cup medal with Celtic in 1937 and an FA Cup medal with Manchester United in 1948.
Northern Ireland enjoyed their first win at Wembley (3-2) on 6 November 1957.
A record crowd for a friendly match, 104,493, saw Eintracht Frankfurt beat Glasgow Rangers 3-2 at Hampton Park on 17 October 1961.
When Frank Saul was sent off against Burnley at Turf Moor on 4 December 1965, it marked the end of a proud and probably unique record for Spurs, who had not had a player dismissed in a League match since 27 October 1928.
Glasgow Rangers broke the transfer record between Scottish clubs by a massive £40,000 when they signed striker Colin Stein from Hibs for £100,000 at the end of October 1968.
Tommy Docherty managed three clubs in six weeks: he resigned from Rotherham on 6 November 1968 to take over at QPR, but walked out on them a month later after a row with the Chairman, and became Aston Villa’s manager on 18 December.
The goalless draw between Scotland and England at Hampton on 25 April 1970 was the first in the series since the very first match between the two counties in 1872.
Trevor Hockey (Aston Villa) became the first Welsh player to be sent off in an international, on 26 September 1973 in Poland.
Sunday soccer was launched in England on 6 January 1974 with four FA Cup ties, the first being Cambridge v Oldham at 11am.
The first Irish League football match to be played on a Sunday took place on 7 September 2008. The 2,500 spectators saw Glentoran beat Banger 1-0.
Albert Tennant signed on for Chelsea in November 1934, and made his League debut in May 1947.
Juventus adopted their famous black and white stripes in 1903 after one of their committee members visited England saw Notts County turn out in those colours.
In April 1908 Newcastle United fan Gladstone Adams drove down to Wembley in a 1904 Daracq-Caron motor car, to see his team play against Wolverhampton Wanderers in the FA Cup final. On the way back from the cup final, snow kept getting on the windscreen and Gladstone had to keep getting out of the car to clear it. This experience led to his invention of the windscreen wiper.
When Rangers lost 3-2 to Hibs in the Scottish Cup quarter-final in 1896, keeper John Bell took it very personally. Blaming himself for the defeat he changed without speaking to anyone, and walked away from the ground, never to return.
In 1892 Aston Villa keeper Dunning found an unique way of wasting time as Stoke, who were desperately seeking an equaliser, were awarded a penalty. Dunning kicked the ball out of the ground. By the time it was retrieved, the referee had had to blow for time. The rules were subsequently changed to permit an extension of time to allow penalties to be taken.
