English public school football games
Encyclopedia
During the early modern era
students, former students and teachers at English public schools developed and wrote down the first codes of football, most notably the Eton College
(1815)
and Aldenham
school (1825) football rules. The most well-known of these is Rugby football
(1845). British public school football also directly influenced the rules of Association football.
Private schools
("public schools" in England and Wales
) are widely credited with three key achievements in the creation of modern codes of football
. First, the evidence suggests that, during the 16th century, they transformed the violent and chaotic, but popular "mob football" into organised team sports that were beneficial to schoolboys. Second, many early references to football in literature were recorded by people who had studied at these schools, showing they were familiar with the game. Finally, in the 19th century, former English
public school students were the first to write down formal codes of rules in order to enable matches to be played between different schools. These versions of football rules were the basis of both the Cambridge Rules and subsequent rules of association football.
, a student of Oxford University, found his brother Adam dead, and it was alleged that he was killed by Irish students, whilst playing the ball in the High Street towards Eastgate". The earliest specific reference to football (pila pedalis) at university comes in 1555 when it was outlawed at St John's College
, Oxford
. Similar decrees followed shortly after at Cambridge University.
in 1519. Horman had been headmaster at Eton
(1485/6–1494/5) and Winchester College
. His Latin
textbook includes a translation exercise with the phrase "We wyll playe with a ball full of wynde". This is a rather misleading translation of the original latin "Lusui erit follis pugillari spiritu tumens", which Francis Peabody Magoun
translated as "In sport we shall have a ball inflated with air to kick" Even as early as 1519, Horman shows us that he was well aware of the value of sports to children's education and the need to temper their enthusiasm in order not to affect their studies: "There muste be a measure in gyuynge of remedies or sportynge to chyldren,
leste they be wery of goynge to theyr boke if they haue none, or waxe slacke if they haue to many".
This conflict was discussed further by Christopher Johnson who was headmaster at Winchester in the 1560s, but clearly remained a dilemma for public school masters right up to modern times. Christopher Johnson mentions the activities which he enjoyed when a scholar at Winchester himself between 1549 and 1553. He says that he: `cared much more for balls, quoits and tops than he did for books and school".
Sir Henry Wotton who was at Winchester in the 1560s under Christopher Johnson makes reference to the English word "football" in one of his poems.
Richard Mulcaster
, a former student at Eton College
and later headmaster at Merchant Taylors' School
(1561) and St Paul's School (1596) has been described as "the greatest sixteenth Century advocate of football". He tells us that towards the end of the sixteenth century football in England
had grown to "greatnes. .. [and was] much used ... in all places". Mulcaster's unique contribution is not only referring to "footeball" by its correct English name but also providing the earliest evidence of organised team football. Mulcaster confirms that his was a game closer to modern football by differentiating it from games involving other parts of the body, namely "the hand ball" and "the armeball". He referred to the many benefits of his "footeball" in his personal publication of 1581 in English entitled ‘Positions Wherein Those Primitive Circumstances Be Examined, Which Are Necessarie for the Training up of Children’. He states that football had positive educational value and it promoted health and strength. Mulcaster's discussion on the merits of football was the first to refer to teams ("sides" and "parties"), positions ("standings"), the benefits of a referee ("judge over the parties") and a coach "(trayning maister)". Although it is not explicitly mentioned, passing of the ball is strongly implied by the reference to different positions on the field. Mulcaster describes a game for small teams that is organised under the auspices of a referee (and is therefore clear evidence that his game had evolved from disordered and violent "mob" football): "Some smaller number with such overlooking, sorted into sides and standings, not meeting with their bodies so boisterously to trie their strength: nor shouldring or shuffing one another so barbarously ... may use footeball for as much good to the body, by the chiefe use of the legges". As a result of his enthusiasm for the sport and his accurate description of the modern game Richard Mulcaster is considered the father of early modern football.
In 1591 it is clear that ball games were being played at Lyon's Free Grammar School in Harrow'. He says that "...upon Thursday only sometimes when the weather is fine, and upon Saturday, or half-holidays after evening prayer. And their play shall be to drive a top, to toss a handball, to run, or to shoot"
, mentioned elements of football games in a short Latin textbook called the "Vocabula". Wedderburn cites phrases that school boys might use during their game. The text below is given in two forms: Francis Peabody Magoun
's 1938 original (and more literal) translation and then Marples 1956 version. It is noteworthy that Magoun does not use the word to "pass".
(The original Latin is cited by Magoun (1938): Sortiamur partes; tu primum socium dilige; Qui sunt nostrarum partium huc se recipient; Quot nobis adversantur; Excute pilam ut ineamus certamen; Age, huc percute; Tu tuere metum; Praeripe illi pilam si possis agere; Age objice te illi; Occurre illi; Repercute pilam; Egregie. Nihil agis; Transmittere metum pila; Hic primus est transmissus. Hic secundus, hic tertius est transmissus; Repelle eum, alioqui, adversarii evadunt superiores; Nisi cavesjam occupabit metam; Ni melius a nobis ludatur, de nobis actum est. Eia penes vos victoria est; Io triumphe. Est pilae doctissimus; Asque eo fuisset, reportassimus vicoriam; Age, subservi mihi; Adhuc potiores habemus, scilicet partes)
Wedderburn's Latin book is an early reference to what has been rendered in the second version of the translation as "passing" the ball. The word "passing" is not used explicitly: the original Latin states "huc percute" (strike it here) and "repercute pilam" (strike it back - or again). The original word translated as "goal" is "metum", literally meaning the "pillar at each end of the circus course" in a Roman
chariot race. The sentence given as "intercept him" in the second translation above is translated in the original as "Throw yourself against him" (Age, objice te illi). There is a reference to "get hold of the ball before [another player] does" or to "snatch" it (Praeripe illi pilam si possis agere) suggesting that handling of the ball was allowed. It is clear that the tackles allowed included the "charging" and pushing/holding of opposing players ("Keep him out" above, "drive that man back" in the original, "repelle eum" in original Latin). This game is likely to have been similar to rugby football. Contrary to press reports in 2006 there is no reference to game rules, marking players, team formations, or forward passing. This text was described in 2006 as "an amazing new discovery" but has actually been well documented in football history literature since the early twentieth century and available on the internet since at least 2000. It confirms that organised football games in the seventeenth century were not confined to English Schools. (An earlier description of goals, defending goals and passing the ball comes from Carew's account of Cornish Hurling
).
The next specific mention of football at public schools can be found in a Latin poem by Robert Matthew, a Winchester
scholar from 1643 to 1647. He describes how "...we may play quoits, or hand-ball, or bat-and-ball, or football; these games are innocent and lawful. ..". That football at winchester was "innocent and lawful" at this time is very noteworthy. This is strongly supportive of the fact that by the mid-seventeenth century football and other ball games in English public schools had been tamed. Nugae Etonenses (1766) by T. Frankland also mentions the "Football Fields" at Eton.
A more detailed description of football is given in Francis Willughby
's Book of Sports, written in about 1660. This account is particularly noteworthy as he refers to football by its correct name and is the first to describe the following: goals and a pitch ("a close that has a gate at either end. The gates are called Goals"), tactics ("leaving some of their best players to guard the goal"), scoring ("they that can strike the ball through their opponents' goal first win") and the way teams were selected ("the players being equally divided according to their strength and nimbleness"). He is the first to describe a law of football: "They often break one another's shins when two meet and strike both together against the ball, and therefore there is a law that they must not strike higher than the ball". His account of the ball itself is also very informative: "They blow a strong bladder and tie the neck of it as fast as they can, and then put it into the skin of a bull's cod and sew it fast in". He adds: "The harder the ball is blown, the better it flies. They used to put quicksilver into it sometimes to keep it from lying still". His book includes the first (basic) diagram illustrating a football pitch. Willughby's link with the public school system was that he had studied at sutton coldfield school, was a student at Cambridge university and frequented the Bodleian library
at Oxford university.
(1815)
and Aldenham
school (1825).
By the early 19th century, (before the Factory Act of 1850), most working class
people in Britain
had to work six days a week, often for more than twelve hours a day. They had neither the time nor the inclination to engage in sport for recreation and, at the time, many children were part of the labour force. Feast day football on the public highway was at an end. Thus the public school boys, who were free from constant toil, became the inventors of organised football games with formal codes of rules. These gradually evolved into the modern football and rugby games that we know today.
The boom in rail transport in Britain
during the 1840s meant that people were able to travel further and with less inconvenience than they ever had before. Inter-school sporting competitions became possible. While local rules for athletics could be easily understood by visiting schools, it was nearly impossible for schools to play each other at football, as each school played by its own rules.
, a pupil at Rugby school
, is said to have "showed a fine disregard for the rules of football, as played in his time" by picking up the ball and running to the opponents' goal in 1823. This act is popularly said to be the beginnings of Rugby football, but the evidence for this bold act does not stand up to close examination and most sports historians believe the story to be apocrypha
l. In older forms of football, handling the ball was allowed, or even compulsory; for example, the English writer William Hone
, writing in 1825 or 1826, quotes the social commentator Sir Frederick Morton Eden
, regarding "Foot-Ball", as played at Scone, Scotland
:
In 1845, three boys at Rugby school were tasked with codifying the rules then being used at the school. These were the first set of written rules (or code) for any form of football. This further assisted the spread of the Rugby game.
During the early nineteenth century the Rugby school rules appear to have spread at least as far, perhaps further, than the other schools' games. For example, two clubs which claim to be the world's first and/or oldest football club, in the sense of one which is not part of a school or university, are both strongholds of rugby football: the Barnes Club
, said to have been founded in 1839, and Guy's Hospital Football Club, reportedly founded in 1843. Neither date nor the variety of football played is well documented, but such claims nevertheless allude to the popularity of rugby before other modern codes emerged.
The first inter-school match was played between Cheltenham College
and Rugby school,
surprisingly the victors being Cheltenham College
, still a prolific rugby school.
First played in 1864 the Clifton v Marlborough game lays claim to being the first inter-school Rugby fixture. The fixture continues today and the winning side is presented with the Governor's Cup. The Cup was once a polo trophy of the Governor of Jamaica.
The great majority of public schools now play rugby football as a major sport
and Cheltenham).
Others preferred a game where dribbling the ball was promoted (in particular Eton College and Harrow
). This kind of dribbling foot ball with a tight off-side rule is still played today as the Eton field game
. A third group including Westminster
and Charterhouse
pursued a game that excluded handling the ball. There is some evidence that this also became a passing game which importantly allowed the forward pass known as "passing on".
The division into these camps was partly the result of circumstances in which the games were played. At Charterhouse and Westminster, both schools at the time played on restricted sites in London, the boys were confined to playing their ball game within the cloisters making the rough and tumble of the handling game difficult. Most of the founding members of The Football Association
in 1863 were former schoolboys at these public schools. Punch referred to them as "Public School professors of the art [of football]"
This led to a conflict in the way that Association Football should be played. Some committee members favoured the rules of Charterhouse and Westminster School and pushed for a passing game, in particular rules that allowed forward passing ("passing on"). Other schools (in particular Eton College
and Harrow
) favoured a dribbling game with a tight off-side rule (such that all players must remain behind the ball). By 1867 the Football Association
had chosen in favour of the Charterhouse and Westminster game and adopted an off-side rule that permitted forward passing. The modern forward-passing soccer game was thus born, as a direct consequence of Charterhouse and Westminster Football.
The first ever inter-school soccer match was between Charterhouse and Westminster in 1863.
Between the Wars a substantial number of independent schools switched codes from soccer to rugby, but this trend did not continue, and at least one, City of London School
, switched from rugby to soccer a few years ago. In addition, many independent schools now offer both codes, and in some schools, including Eton, Winchester, Charterhouse and Westminster, association football is a major sport.
Three schools maintain their own football games: the Field Game and the Wall Game at Eton; Harrow Football
; and Winchester Football
.
School Football games also had a substantial influence on the origins of Australian rules football
. The earliest recorded football matches in Australia
were English school football matches and the Cordner-Eggleston Cup
(first played in 1858) is officially acknowledged as the first game of Australian rules football
.
"A player is considered 'sneaking' when only three or less than three of the opposite side are before him and the ball behind him, and in such a case, he may not kick the ball."
This is noteworthy as it allowed players to receive a forward pass if more than three opponents were between them and the opponents' goal line.
during the establishment of the Football Association rules in the 1860s. These features of modern soccer had been integrated into the Football Association rules by 1867 and were the consequence of English public school games.
In 1856 Lancing College
created its own code of football which was regarded as a means of fostering teamwork
"Scientific" football is first described in 1862 at Rugby School
: here one could see "scientific play, magnificent "drops" and "gallant run ins" It is uncertain if the drops and run-ins constituted what the author meant by "scientific", however it is made clear that this playing style was distinctly less "vicious" than in the past. Clearly there was something systematic about scientific rugby. Further references to scientific play come in match accounts in the 1860s, including to games under the Association rules.
Certain football historians correctly point out that the forward pass is not permitted in rugby football and therefore see the emergence of the forward pass as a critical development in the evolution of Soccer (and for this reason do not acknowledge the role of the public school games). They forget, however, that passing the ball forward by kicking is not only completely legal in Rugby but also is a regular tactic employed in most matches—particularly in open, running play. For this reason the public school games can claim to be origin of the forward-passing game. Passing the ball continues to this day in surviving traditional public school football games. Even in Harrow Football, which is essentially a dribbling game, the ball may be chipped into the hands of a teammate
Passing the ball continues in to this day in at least one of the traditional public school football games. Harrow football is a dribbling game in which the ball may be chipped into the hands of a teammate.
Most notably the "Combination game" (the predecessor of the modern style of football involving a lot of player to player passing) is believed to have been invented by the Royal Engineers A.F.C.
in the early 1870s. Nearly all of these players were from English public schools.
In a chapter entitled "Eton Scenes and Eton Men" the seasonal sports cycle is described thus:
"Tamer boys play at cricket in the Summer and Hockey in the Winter; but the manlier youths pull in the boats during the Summer and play at Football in the winter". See also the quotation below which confirms that the football season began in Autumn. This is noteworthy because traditionally football had been played in England during Shrovetide.
The earliest evidence of coloured shirts used to identify football teams comes from early English public school football games, for example an image of Winchester football from before 1840 is entitled "The commoners have red and the college boys blue jerseys". House sporting colours are mentioned in Rugby football
(rule XXI) as early as 1845: "No player may wear cap or jersey without leave from the head of his house". Similaly, in 1848 it was noted at Rugby that "Considerable improvement has taken place in the last few years, in the appearance of a match... in the use of peculiar dress consisting of velvet caps and jerseys" The use of coloured shirts at Winchester college are confirmed again in 1859: "Precisely at twelve o'clock, according to good old custom, the blue jerseys of college and the red of commoners mingled in the grand commencing "hot"
At soccer, Winchester wear dark blue shirts to signify their connection with Oxford University, specifically New College
, and Eton light blue, since they are linked to King's College, Cambridge
.
, Sheffield, Winchester. Other schools changed every time that side scored (Cheltenham, FA, Harrow, Marlborough, Rugby, Shrewsbury, Uppingham schools)
eleven played a match in cloisters against some old Carthusians
but in consequence of the non-appearance of some of those who were expected it was necessary to provide three substitutes. The subsitution of absent players happened as early as the 1850s, for example from Eton College
where the term "emergencies" is used Numerous references to players acting as a "substitute" occur in soccer matches in the mid 1860s where it is not indicated whether these were replacements of absent players or of players injured during the match.
football rules. Like the modern throw-in the direction was not specified. The Sheffield rules
instigated the throw in of the ball at right angles by the opposite side to the one that played it into touch The two handed throw in is part of rugby union football - see "line out". That the first side reaching the ball must throw it out (at right angles, in this case) was part of the Football Association rules and the Rossall rules. The 1863 Cambridge Rules state that "In a match when half the time agreed upon has elapsed, the side shall change goals when the ball is next out of play".
Early modern Europe
Early modern Europe is the term used by historians to refer to a period in the history of Europe which spanned the centuries between the end of the Middle Ages and the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, roughly the late 15th century to the late 18th century...
students, former students and teachers at English public schools developed and wrote down the first codes of football, most notably the Eton College
Eton College
Eton College, often referred to simply as Eton, is a British independent school for boys aged 13 to 18. It was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor"....
(1815)
and Aldenham
Aldenham
This article is about the village in Hertfordshire. For the London Transport Bus Overhaul Works, see Aldenham Works.Aldenham is a village and civil parish in Hertfordshire, approx. three miles north-east of Watford and two miles from Radlett. It was mentioned in the Domesday Book and is one of...
school (1825) football rules. The most well-known of these is Rugby football
Rugby football
Rugby football is a style of football named after Rugby School in the United Kingdom. It is seen most prominently in two current sports, rugby league and rugby union.-History:...
(1845). British public school football also directly influenced the rules of Association football.
Private schools
Independent school (UK)
An independent school is a school that is not financed through the taxation system by local or national government and is instead funded by private sources, predominantly in the form of tuition charges, gifts and long-term charitable endowments, and so is not subject to the conditions imposed by...
("public schools" in England and Wales
England and Wales
England and Wales is a jurisdiction within the United Kingdom. It consists of England and Wales, two of the four countries of the United Kingdom...
) are widely credited with three key achievements in the creation of modern codes of football
Football
Football may refer to one of a number of team sports which all involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball with the foot to score a goal. The most popular of these sports worldwide is association football, more commonly known as just "football" or "soccer"...
. First, the evidence suggests that, during the 16th century, they transformed the violent and chaotic, but popular "mob football" into organised team sports that were beneficial to schoolboys. Second, many early references to football in literature were recorded by people who had studied at these schools, showing they were familiar with the game. Finally, in the 19th century, former English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
public school students were the first to write down formal codes of rules in order to enable matches to be played between different schools. These versions of football rules were the basis of both the Cambridge Rules and subsequent rules of association football.
14th century
That ball games were probably played at English public schools from earliest times is suggested by early references to such games being played by students at University. In later centuries there is no doubt that football games played at school were taken by former students to university. The earliest reference to ball games at English Universities comes from 1303 when "Thomas of SalisburySalisbury
Salisbury is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England and the only city in the county. It is the second largest settlement in the county...
, a student of Oxford University, found his brother Adam dead, and it was alleged that he was killed by Irish students, whilst playing the ball in the High Street towards Eastgate". The earliest specific reference to football (pila pedalis) at university comes in 1555 when it was outlawed at St John's College
St John's College, Oxford
__FORCETOC__St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford, one of the larger Oxford colleges with approximately 390 undergraduates, 200 postgraduates and over 100 academic staff. It was founded by Sir Thomas White, a merchant, in 1555, whose heart is buried in the chapel of...
, Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
. Similar decrees followed shortly after at Cambridge University.
15th and 16th centuries
The first direct evidence that games probably resembling football were being played at English public schools—mainly attended by boys from the upper, upper-middle and professional classes—comes from the Vulgaria by William HormanWilliam Horman
William Horman was a headmaster at Eton and Winchester in the early Tudor period of English history.He is best known for his Latin grammar textbook the Vulgaria, which created controversy at the time due to its unconventional approach in first giving examples of translations of English writings on...
in 1519. Horman had been headmaster at Eton
Eton College
Eton College, often referred to simply as Eton, is a British independent school for boys aged 13 to 18. It was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor"....
(1485/6–1494/5) and Winchester College
Winchester College
Winchester College is an independent school for boys in the British public school tradition, situated in Winchester, Hampshire, the former capital of England. It has existed in its present location for over 600 years and claims the longest unbroken history of any school in England...
. His Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
textbook includes a translation exercise with the phrase "We wyll playe with a ball full of wynde". This is a rather misleading translation of the original latin "Lusui erit follis pugillari spiritu tumens", which Francis Peabody Magoun
Francis Peabody Magoun
Francis Peabody Magoun, Jr. MC was one of the seminal figures in the study of medieval and English literature in the 20th century, a scholar of subjects as varied as football and ancient Germanic naming practices, and translator of numerous important texts...
translated as "In sport we shall have a ball inflated with air to kick" Even as early as 1519, Horman shows us that he was well aware of the value of sports to children's education and the need to temper their enthusiasm in order not to affect their studies: "There muste be a measure in gyuynge of remedies or sportynge to chyldren,
leste they be wery of goynge to theyr boke if they haue none, or waxe slacke if they haue to many".
This conflict was discussed further by Christopher Johnson who was headmaster at Winchester in the 1560s, but clearly remained a dilemma for public school masters right up to modern times. Christopher Johnson mentions the activities which he enjoyed when a scholar at Winchester himself between 1549 and 1553. He says that he: `cared much more for balls, quoits and tops than he did for books and school".
Sir Henry Wotton who was at Winchester in the 1560s under Christopher Johnson makes reference to the English word "football" in one of his poems.
Richard Mulcaster
Richard Mulcaster
Richard Mulcaster , is known best for his headmasterships and pedagogic writings. He is often regarded as the founder of English language lexicography.-Educational achievements:...
, a former student at Eton College
Eton College
Eton College, often referred to simply as Eton, is a British independent school for boys aged 13 to 18. It was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor"....
and later headmaster at Merchant Taylors' School
Merchant Taylors' School, Northwood
Merchant Taylors' School is a British independent day school for boys, originally located in the City of London. Since 1933 it has been located at Sandy Lodge in the Three Rivers district of Hertfordshire ....
(1561) and St Paul's School (1596) has been described as "the greatest sixteenth Century advocate of football". He tells us that towards the end of the sixteenth century football in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
had grown to "greatnes. .. [and was] much used ... in all places". Mulcaster's unique contribution is not only referring to "footeball" by its correct English name but also providing the earliest evidence of organised team football. Mulcaster confirms that his was a game closer to modern football by differentiating it from games involving other parts of the body, namely "the hand ball" and "the armeball". He referred to the many benefits of his "footeball" in his personal publication of 1581 in English entitled ‘Positions Wherein Those Primitive Circumstances Be Examined, Which Are Necessarie for the Training up of Children’. He states that football had positive educational value and it promoted health and strength. Mulcaster's discussion on the merits of football was the first to refer to teams ("sides" and "parties"), positions ("standings"), the benefits of a referee ("judge over the parties") and a coach "(trayning maister)". Although it is not explicitly mentioned, passing of the ball is strongly implied by the reference to different positions on the field. Mulcaster describes a game for small teams that is organised under the auspices of a referee (and is therefore clear evidence that his game had evolved from disordered and violent "mob" football): "Some smaller number with such overlooking, sorted into sides and standings, not meeting with their bodies so boisterously to trie their strength: nor shouldring or shuffing one another so barbarously ... may use footeball for as much good to the body, by the chiefe use of the legges". As a result of his enthusiasm for the sport and his accurate description of the modern game Richard Mulcaster is considered the father of early modern football.
In 1591 it is clear that ball games were being played at Lyon's Free Grammar School in Harrow'. He says that "...upon Thursday only sometimes when the weather is fine, and upon Saturday, or half-holidays after evening prayer. And their play shall be to drive a top, to toss a handball, to run, or to shoot"
17th century
There is evidence that team kicking games were being played in schools in other parts of Britain by the mid 17th century. In 1633 (cited in other references as 1636) David Wedderburn, a teacher from AberdeenAberdeen
Aberdeen is Scotland's third most populous city, one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas and the United Kingdom's 25th most populous city, with an official population estimate of ....
, mentioned elements of football games in a short Latin textbook called the "Vocabula". Wedderburn cites phrases that school boys might use during their game. The text below is given in two forms: Francis Peabody Magoun
Francis Peabody Magoun
Francis Peabody Magoun, Jr. MC was one of the seminal figures in the study of medieval and English literature in the 20th century, a scholar of subjects as varied as football and ancient Germanic naming practices, and translator of numerous important texts...
's 1938 original (and more literal) translation and then Marples 1956 version. It is noteworthy that Magoun does not use the word to "pass".
- Let us choose sides//Let’s pick sides.
- pick your man first//You have first choice.
- Those on our side come here//Those who are on our side, come over here.
- How many are against us?/How many are there in the other team?
- Kick out the ball so that we may begin the game/Kick off, so that we can begin the match.
- Come, kick it here/Pass it here.
- You keep the goal/You keep goal.
- Snatch the ball from that fellow if you can/Get hold of the ball before he does, if you can manage it.
- Come, throw yourself against him/Go on, intercept him.
- Run at him/Charge him.
- Kick the ball back/Pass the ball back.
- Well done. You aren't doing anything/Well done! You’re slacking.
- To make a goal/To score a goal.
- This is the first goal, this the second, this the third/This is the second, this the third goal.
- Drive that man back/Keep him out, otherwise the other side wins.
- The opponents are, moreover, coming out on top, If you don't look out, he will make a goal/If you’re not careful, he’ll score in a minute.
- Unless we play better, we'll be done for/If we don’t play better, we’re done for.
- Ah, victory is in your hands/Hi! You’re the winners.
- Ha, hurrah. He is a very skilled ball player/Hurrah! He’s a very good player.
- Had it not been for him, we should have brought back the victory/If it has been for him we should have won.
- Come, help me. We still have the better chance/Come on, help me. We still have a better side?"
(The original Latin is cited by Magoun (1938): Sortiamur partes; tu primum socium dilige; Qui sunt nostrarum partium huc se recipient; Quot nobis adversantur; Excute pilam ut ineamus certamen; Age, huc percute; Tu tuere metum; Praeripe illi pilam si possis agere; Age objice te illi; Occurre illi; Repercute pilam; Egregie. Nihil agis; Transmittere metum pila; Hic primus est transmissus. Hic secundus, hic tertius est transmissus; Repelle eum, alioqui, adversarii evadunt superiores; Nisi cavesjam occupabit metam; Ni melius a nobis ludatur, de nobis actum est. Eia penes vos victoria est; Io triumphe. Est pilae doctissimus; Asque eo fuisset, reportassimus vicoriam; Age, subservi mihi; Adhuc potiores habemus, scilicet partes)
Wedderburn's Latin book is an early reference to what has been rendered in the second version of the translation as "passing" the ball. The word "passing" is not used explicitly: the original Latin states "huc percute" (strike it here) and "repercute pilam" (strike it back - or again). The original word translated as "goal" is "metum", literally meaning the "pillar at each end of the circus course" in a Roman
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
chariot race. The sentence given as "intercept him" in the second translation above is translated in the original as "Throw yourself against him" (Age, objice te illi). There is a reference to "get hold of the ball before [another player] does" or to "snatch" it (Praeripe illi pilam si possis agere) suggesting that handling of the ball was allowed. It is clear that the tackles allowed included the "charging" and pushing/holding of opposing players ("Keep him out" above, "drive that man back" in the original, "repelle eum" in original Latin). This game is likely to have been similar to rugby football. Contrary to press reports in 2006 there is no reference to game rules, marking players, team formations, or forward passing. This text was described in 2006 as "an amazing new discovery" but has actually been well documented in football history literature since the early twentieth century and available on the internet since at least 2000. It confirms that organised football games in the seventeenth century were not confined to English Schools. (An earlier description of goals, defending goals and passing the ball comes from Carew's account of Cornish Hurling
Cornish Hurling
Cornish Hurling or Hurling the Silver Ball , is an outdoor team game of Celtic origin played only in Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is played with a small silver ball...
).
The next specific mention of football at public schools can be found in a Latin poem by Robert Matthew, a Winchester
Winchester
Winchester is a historic cathedral city and former capital city of England. It is the county town of Hampshire, in South East England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government district, and is located at the western end of the South Downs, along the course of...
scholar from 1643 to 1647. He describes how "...we may play quoits, or hand-ball, or bat-and-ball, or football; these games are innocent and lawful. ..". That football at winchester was "innocent and lawful" at this time is very noteworthy. This is strongly supportive of the fact that by the mid-seventeenth century football and other ball games in English public schools had been tamed. Nugae Etonenses (1766) by T. Frankland also mentions the "Football Fields" at Eton.
A more detailed description of football is given in Francis Willughby
Francis Willughby
thumbnail|200px|right|A page from the Ornithologia, showing [[Jackdaw]], [[Chough]], [[European Magpie|Magpie]] and [[Eurasian Jay|Jay]], all [[Corvidae|crows]]....
's Book of Sports, written in about 1660. This account is particularly noteworthy as he refers to football by its correct name and is the first to describe the following: goals and a pitch ("a close that has a gate at either end. The gates are called Goals"), tactics ("leaving some of their best players to guard the goal"), scoring ("they that can strike the ball through their opponents' goal first win") and the way teams were selected ("the players being equally divided according to their strength and nimbleness"). He is the first to describe a law of football: "They often break one another's shins when two meet and strike both together against the ball, and therefore there is a law that they must not strike higher than the ball". His account of the ball itself is also very informative: "They blow a strong bladder and tie the neck of it as fast as they can, and then put it into the skin of a bull's cod and sew it fast in". He adds: "The harder the ball is blown, the better it flies. They used to put quicksilver into it sometimes to keep it from lying still". His book includes the first (basic) diagram illustrating a football pitch. Willughby's link with the public school system was that he had studied at sutton coldfield school, was a student at Cambridge university and frequented the Bodleian library
Bodleian Library
The Bodleian Library , the main research library of the University of Oxford, is one of the oldest libraries in Europe, and in Britain is second in size only to the British Library...
at Oxford university.
18th century
In 1710 football was recorded as being played on the green at Westminster schoolWestminster School
The Royal College of St. Peter in Westminster, almost always known as Westminster School, is one of Britain's leading independent schools, with the highest Oxford and Cambridge acceptance rate of any secondary school or college in Britain...
19th century
The earliest versions of any football code rules were written down in the early nineteenth century, most notably by Eton CollegeEton College
Eton College, often referred to simply as Eton, is a British independent school for boys aged 13 to 18. It was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor"....
(1815)
and Aldenham
Aldenham
This article is about the village in Hertfordshire. For the London Transport Bus Overhaul Works, see Aldenham Works.Aldenham is a village and civil parish in Hertfordshire, approx. three miles north-east of Watford and two miles from Radlett. It was mentioned in the Domesday Book and is one of...
school (1825).
By the early 19th century, (before the Factory Act of 1850), most working class
Working class
Working class is a term used in the social sciences and in ordinary conversation to describe those employed in lower tier jobs , often extending to those in unemployment or otherwise possessing below-average incomes...
people in Britain
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name of the United Kingdom during the period when what is now the Republic of Ireland formed a part of it....
had to work six days a week, often for more than twelve hours a day. They had neither the time nor the inclination to engage in sport for recreation and, at the time, many children were part of the labour force. Feast day football on the public highway was at an end. Thus the public school boys, who were free from constant toil, became the inventors of organised football games with formal codes of rules. These gradually evolved into the modern football and rugby games that we know today.
The boom in rail transport in Britain
Railway Mania
The Railway Mania was an instance of speculative frenzy in Britain in the 1840s. It followed a common pattern: as the price of railway shares increased, more and more money was poured in by speculators, until the inevitable collapse...
during the 1840s meant that people were able to travel further and with less inconvenience than they ever had before. Inter-school sporting competitions became possible. While local rules for athletics could be easily understood by visiting schools, it was nearly impossible for schools to play each other at football, as each school played by its own rules.
Rugby football
William Webb EllisWilliam Webb Ellis
Rev. William Webb Ellis was an Anglican clergyman who is famous for allegedly being the inventor of Rugby football whilst a pupil at Rugby School....
, a pupil at Rugby school
Rugby School
Rugby School is a co-educational day and boarding school located in the town of Rugby, Warwickshire, England. It is one of the oldest independent schools in Britain.-History:...
, is said to have "showed a fine disregard for the rules of football, as played in his time" by picking up the ball and running to the opponents' goal in 1823. This act is popularly said to be the beginnings of Rugby football, but the evidence for this bold act does not stand up to close examination and most sports historians believe the story to be apocrypha
Apocrypha
The term apocrypha is used with various meanings, including "hidden", "esoteric", "spurious", "of questionable authenticity", ancient Chinese "revealed texts and objects" and "Christian texts that are not canonical"....
l. In older forms of football, handling the ball was allowed, or even compulsory; for example, the English writer William Hone
William Hone
William Hone was an English writer, satirist and bookseller. His victorious court battle against government censorship in 1817 marked a turning point in the fight for British press freedom.-Biography:...
, writing in 1825 or 1826, quotes the social commentator Sir Frederick Morton Eden
Frederick Morton Eden
Sir Frederick Morton Eden, 2nd Baronet, of Maryland was an English writer on poverty and pioneering social investigator.-Early life:...
, regarding "Foot-Ball", as played at Scone, Scotland
Scone, Scotland
Scone is a village in Perth and Kinross, Scotland. The medieval village of Scone, which grew up around the monastery and royal residence, was abandoned in the early 19th century when the residents were removed and a new palace was built on the site by the Earl of Mansfield...
:
- The game was this: he who at any time got the ball into his hands, run [sic] with it till overtaken by one of the opposite part; and then, if he could shake himself loose from those on the opposite side who seized him, he run on; if not, he threw the ball from him, unless it was wrested from him by the other party, but no person was allowed to kick it.
In 1845, three boys at Rugby school were tasked with codifying the rules then being used at the school. These were the first set of written rules (or code) for any form of football. This further assisted the spread of the Rugby game.
During the early nineteenth century the Rugby school rules appear to have spread at least as far, perhaps further, than the other schools' games. For example, two clubs which claim to be the world's first and/or oldest football club, in the sense of one which is not part of a school or university, are both strongholds of rugby football: the Barnes Club
Barnes R.F.C.
Barnes Rugby Football Club, formerly known simply as the Barnes Club, is a rugby union club which is claimed by some sources to be the world's first and oldest club in any code of football...
, said to have been founded in 1839, and Guy's Hospital Football Club, reportedly founded in 1843. Neither date nor the variety of football played is well documented, but such claims nevertheless allude to the popularity of rugby before other modern codes emerged.
The first inter-school match was played between Cheltenham College
Cheltenham College
Cheltenham College is a co-educational independent school, located in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England.One of the public schools of the Victorian period, it was opened in July 1841. An Anglican foundation, it is known for its classical, military and sporting traditions.The 1893 book Great...
and Rugby school,
surprisingly the victors being Cheltenham College
Cheltenham College
Cheltenham College is a co-educational independent school, located in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England.One of the public schools of the Victorian period, it was opened in July 1841. An Anglican foundation, it is known for its classical, military and sporting traditions.The 1893 book Great...
, still a prolific rugby school.
First played in 1864 the Clifton v Marlborough game lays claim to being the first inter-school Rugby fixture. The fixture continues today and the winning side is presented with the Governor's Cup. The Cup was once a polo trophy of the Governor of Jamaica.
The great majority of public schools now play rugby football as a major sport
Association football
Football had come to be adopted by a number of public schools as a way of encouraging esprit de corps, competitiveness and keeping youths fit. Each school drafted their own rules to suit the dimensions of their playing field. The rules varied widely between different schools and were changed over time with each new intake of pupils. Soon, a number of schools of thought about how football should be played emerged. Some schools favoured a game in which the ball could be carried (as at Rugby, MarlboroughMarlborough College
Marlborough College is a British co-educational independent school for day and boarding pupils, located in Marlborough, Wiltshire.Founded in 1843 for the education of the sons of Church of England clergy, the school now accepts both boys and girls of all beliefs. Currently there are just over 800...
and Cheltenham).
Others preferred a game where dribbling the ball was promoted (in particular Eton College and Harrow
Harrow School
Harrow School, commonly known simply as "Harrow", is an English independent school for boys situated in the town of Harrow, in north-west London.. The school is of worldwide renown. There is some evidence that there has been a school on the site since 1243 but the Harrow School we know today was...
). This kind of dribbling foot ball with a tight off-side rule is still played today as the Eton field game
Eton Field Game
The Field Game is one of two codes of football devised and played at Eton College. The other is the Eton Wall Game. The game is like football in some ways — the ball is round, but one size smaller than a standard football, and may not be handled — but the off-side rules — known as 'sneaking' — are...
. A third group including Westminster
Westminster School
The Royal College of St. Peter in Westminster, almost always known as Westminster School, is one of Britain's leading independent schools, with the highest Oxford and Cambridge acceptance rate of any secondary school or college in Britain...
and Charterhouse
Charterhouse School
Charterhouse School, originally The Hospital of King James and Thomas Sutton in Charterhouse, or more simply Charterhouse or House, is an English collegiate independent boarding school situated at Godalming in Surrey.Founded by Thomas Sutton in London in 1611 on the site of the old Carthusian...
pursued a game that excluded handling the ball. There is some evidence that this also became a passing game which importantly allowed the forward pass known as "passing on".
The division into these camps was partly the result of circumstances in which the games were played. At Charterhouse and Westminster, both schools at the time played on restricted sites in London, the boys were confined to playing their ball game within the cloisters making the rough and tumble of the handling game difficult. Most of the founding members of The Football Association
The Football Association
The Football Association, also known as simply The FA, is the governing body of football in England, and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. It was formed in 1863, and is the oldest national football association...
in 1863 were former schoolboys at these public schools. Punch referred to them as "Public School professors of the art [of football]"
This led to a conflict in the way that Association Football should be played. Some committee members favoured the rules of Charterhouse and Westminster School and pushed for a passing game, in particular rules that allowed forward passing ("passing on"). Other schools (in particular Eton College
Eton College
Eton College, often referred to simply as Eton, is a British independent school for boys aged 13 to 18. It was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor"....
and Harrow
Harrow School
Harrow School, commonly known simply as "Harrow", is an English independent school for boys situated in the town of Harrow, in north-west London.. The school is of worldwide renown. There is some evidence that there has been a school on the site since 1243 but the Harrow School we know today was...
) favoured a dribbling game with a tight off-side rule (such that all players must remain behind the ball). By 1867 the Football Association
The Football Association
The Football Association, also known as simply The FA, is the governing body of football in England, and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. It was formed in 1863, and is the oldest national football association...
had chosen in favour of the Charterhouse and Westminster game and adopted an off-side rule that permitted forward passing. The modern forward-passing soccer game was thus born, as a direct consequence of Charterhouse and Westminster Football.
The first ever inter-school soccer match was between Charterhouse and Westminster in 1863.
Between the Wars a substantial number of independent schools switched codes from soccer to rugby, but this trend did not continue, and at least one, City of London School
City of London School
The City of London School is a boys' independent day school on the banks of the River Thames in the City of London, England. It is the brother school of the City of London School for Girls and the co-educational City of London Freemen's School...
, switched from rugby to soccer a few years ago. In addition, many independent schools now offer both codes, and in some schools, including Eton, Winchester, Charterhouse and Westminster, association football is a major sport.
Other Codes
Harrow Football
Harrow football is a code of football played between two teams of eleven players, each attempting to win by scoring more bases than their opponent. Harrow Football is played predominantly with the feet, but players may use any part of their body including, in certain circumstances, their hands and...
; and Winchester Football
Winchester College Football
Winchester College Football, also known as Winkies, WinCoFo or simply "Our Game", is a code of football played at Winchester College. It is akin to the Eton Field and Wall Games and the Harrow Game in that it enjoys a large following from Wykehamists and old Wykehamists but is not played outside...
.
School Football games also had a substantial influence on the origins of Australian rules football
Origins of Australian rules football
The origins of Australian rules football are obscure and still the subject of much debate.The earliest accounts of "foot-ball" games in Australia date back to July 1829 and the earliest accounts of clubs formed to play football date to the late 1850s. Football in the early years was played by a...
. The earliest recorded football matches in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
were English school football matches and the Cordner-Eggleston Cup
Cordner-Eggleston Cup
The Cordner-Eggleston Cup is the current name of a historic private school Australian rules football competition which has been played annually between Melbourne Grammar School and the Scotch College since 1858....
(first played in 1858) is officially acknowledged as the first game of Australian rules football
Australian rules football
Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...
.
Offside
Each of the English public school games had its own offside rule. Many of these completely prevented forward passing. The 1847 rules of Eton College, however, were probably the first to resemble the modern game, stating:"A player is considered 'sneaking' when only three or less than three of the opposite side are before him and the ball behind him, and in such a case, he may not kick the ball."
This is noteworthy as it allowed players to receive a forward pass if more than three opponents were between them and the opponents' goal line.
Dribbling, passing, "scientific football" and the "combination game"
Dribbling and passing of the ball (including forward passing) are all parts of public school games. In addition, the introduction of the FA rules that allowed both dribbling and forward passing of the ball were instigated by former public school boys. These key elements of modern Association Football were taken from the various versions of public school football. Dribbling was a key part of the Eton game and passing, in particular forward passing ("passing on") was argued for by representatives of CharterhouseCharterhouse School
Charterhouse School, originally The Hospital of King James and Thomas Sutton in Charterhouse, or more simply Charterhouse or House, is an English collegiate independent boarding school situated at Godalming in Surrey.Founded by Thomas Sutton in London in 1611 on the site of the old Carthusian...
during the establishment of the Football Association rules in the 1860s. These features of modern soccer had been integrated into the Football Association rules by 1867 and were the consequence of English public school games.
Lancing College
Lancing College is a co-educational English independent school in the British public school tradition, founded in 1848 by Nathaniel Woodard. Woodard's aim was to provide education "based on sound principle and sound knowledge, firmly grounded in the Christian faith." Lancing was the first of a...
created its own code of football which was regarded as a means of fostering teamwork
"Scientific" football is first described in 1862 at Rugby School
Rugby School
Rugby School is a co-educational day and boarding school located in the town of Rugby, Warwickshire, England. It is one of the oldest independent schools in Britain.-History:...
: here one could see "scientific play, magnificent "drops" and "gallant run ins" It is uncertain if the drops and run-ins constituted what the author meant by "scientific", however it is made clear that this playing style was distinctly less "vicious" than in the past. Clearly there was something systematic about scientific rugby. Further references to scientific play come in match accounts in the 1860s, including to games under the Association rules.
Certain football historians correctly point out that the forward pass is not permitted in rugby football and therefore see the emergence of the forward pass as a critical development in the evolution of Soccer (and for this reason do not acknowledge the role of the public school games). They forget, however, that passing the ball forward by kicking is not only completely legal in Rugby but also is a regular tactic employed in most matches—particularly in open, running play. For this reason the public school games can claim to be origin of the forward-passing game. Passing the ball continues to this day in surviving traditional public school football games. Even in Harrow Football, which is essentially a dribbling game, the ball may be chipped into the hands of a teammate
Passing the ball continues in to this day in at least one of the traditional public school football games. Harrow football is a dribbling game in which the ball may be chipped into the hands of a teammate.
Most notably the "Combination game" (the predecessor of the modern style of football involving a lot of player to player passing) is believed to have been invented by the Royal Engineers A.F.C.
Royal Engineers A.F.C.
The Royal Engineers Association Football Club is an association football team representing the Corps of Royal Engineers, the "Sappers", of the British Army. In the 1870s it was one of the strongest sides in English football, winning the FA Cup in 1875 and being Cup Finalists in four of the first...
in the early 1870s. Nearly all of these players were from English public schools.
Goal crossbar
The cross bar to the football goal was a feature of the Eton game and was noteworthy as the ball had to pass under the bar (instead of over it, as in Rugby football). The Sheffield Rules of 1862 later included both crossbars and half time and free kicks were introduced to their code in 1866 or before. In Harrow football, however, there is no crossbar, quite literally two rugby posts without their crossbar. A base is scored when the ball is hit between the posts.The football season
Evidence for the establishment of the football season at English public schools comes in "Bentley's miscellany" (1844).In a chapter entitled "Eton Scenes and Eton Men" the seasonal sports cycle is described thus:
"Tamer boys play at cricket in the Summer and Hockey in the Winter; but the manlier youths pull in the boats during the Summer and play at Football in the winter". See also the quotation below which confirms that the football season began in Autumn. This is noteworthy because traditionally football had been played in England during Shrovetide.
Games between clubs
School football clubs (and other sports) were a central part of life at nineteenth century English public schools. In "Five years at an English University" (1852), American Charles Bristed describes his time at Cambridge University in the 1840s. During a discussion on Eton and Rugby School (drawn upon letters from former students there) he states: "[A boy is] proud of the house he belongs to as a man of his college; though in cricket and football clubs, in regular "long boats" and aquatic sweepstakes, in running and leaping races, he competes with the whole school, yet he belongs to a football club in the autumn, which includes the twenty or thirty boys boarding in his own house and thus matches are made between houses as between colleges". Significantly this shows evidence of the first organised competitions between football teams not just within schools but between them. For competitions to take place between colleges it would clearly require some agreement over rules of the game. This necessity, combined with the availability of sufficient time and money to pursue the sport, was the driving force that led to the creation of modern football rules by people who had studied or taught at English public schools and universities. This quotation also points to the establishment in English public schools of the "football season" which to this day begins without fail in Autumn.Team colours
The tradition of wearing distinctive team strips (i.e. uniforms) was also commenced by public school teams. For example, the original image of Winchester football in about 1840 is entitled: "A 'Hot' at Foot Ball. The commoners have red and college boys blue jerseys". House sporting colours are alluded to in Rugby football (rule XXI) as early as 1845: "No player may wear cap or jersey without leave from the head of his house".The earliest evidence of coloured shirts used to identify football teams comes from early English public school football games, for example an image of Winchester football from before 1840 is entitled "The commoners have red and the college boys blue jerseys". House sporting colours are mentioned in Rugby football
Rugby football
Rugby football is a style of football named after Rugby School in the United Kingdom. It is seen most prominently in two current sports, rugby league and rugby union.-History:...
(rule XXI) as early as 1845: "No player may wear cap or jersey without leave from the head of his house". Similaly, in 1848 it was noted at Rugby that "Considerable improvement has taken place in the last few years, in the appearance of a match... in the use of peculiar dress consisting of velvet caps and jerseys" The use of coloured shirts at Winchester college are confirmed again in 1859: "Precisely at twelve o'clock, according to good old custom, the blue jerseys of college and the red of commoners mingled in the grand commencing "hot"
At soccer, Winchester wear dark blue shirts to signify their connection with Oxford University, specifically New College
New College, Oxford
New College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom.- Overview :The College's official name, College of St Mary, is the same as that of the older Oriel College; hence, it has been referred to as the "New College of St Mary", and is now almost always...
, and Eton light blue, since they are linked to King's College, Cambridge
King's College, Cambridge
King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college's full name is "The King's College of our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge", but it is usually referred to simply as "King's" within the University....
.
Half-time
The division of the game into two halves was initiated to allow games between schools. The rules of one school would be played by for the first half, and the rules of the other school in the second half. Changing ends at half time (if no goals had been scored) was part of the following schools codes: Brighton, Eton, RossallRossall School
Rossall School is a British, co-educational, independent school, between Cleveleys and Fleetwood, Lancashire. Rossall was founded in 1844 by St. Vincent Beechey as a sister school to Marlborough College which had been founded the previous year...
, Sheffield, Winchester. Other schools changed every time that side scored (Cheltenham, FA, Harrow, Marlborough, Rugby, Shrewsbury, Uppingham schools)
Substitutes
The origin of football substitutes goes back to at least the early 1860s as part of English public school football games. The original use of the term "substitute" in football was to describe the replacement of players who failed to turn up for matches. For example, in 1863, a match reports states: "The CharterhouseCharterhouse School
Charterhouse School, originally The Hospital of King James and Thomas Sutton in Charterhouse, or more simply Charterhouse or House, is an English collegiate independent boarding school situated at Godalming in Surrey.Founded by Thomas Sutton in London in 1611 on the site of the old Carthusian...
eleven played a match in cloisters against some old Carthusians
Old Carthusians F.C.
Old Carthusians Football Club is an association football club whose players are former pupils of Charterhouse School in Godalming, Surrey, England...
but in consequence of the non-appearance of some of those who were expected it was necessary to provide three substitutes. The subsitution of absent players happened as early as the 1850s, for example from Eton College
Eton College
Eton College, often referred to simply as Eton, is a British independent school for boys aged 13 to 18. It was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor"....
where the term "emergencies" is used Numerous references to players acting as a "substitute" occur in soccer matches in the mid 1860s where it is not indicated whether these were replacements of absent players or of players injured during the match.
The throw-in
The modern throw-in comes from the nineteenth century English public school football games. In these codes of football a variety of methods of returning the ball into play from touch were used. The modern throw-in draws upon various aspects of a number early English school games. For example, returning the ball by throwing it out was part of the Rugby and CheltenhamCheltenham
Cheltenham , also known as Cheltenham Spa, is a large spa town and borough in Gloucestershire, on the edge of the Cotswolds in the South-West region of England. It is the home of the flagship race of British steeplechase horse racing, the Gold Cup, the main event of the Cheltenham Festival held...
football rules. Like the modern throw-in the direction was not specified. The Sheffield rules
Sheffield Rules
The Sheffield Rules were a code of football devised and played in the English city of Sheffield between 1857 and 1877. They were devised by Nathaniel Creswick and William Prest for use by the newly founded Sheffield Football Club. The rules were subsequently adopted as the official rules of...
instigated the throw in of the ball at right angles by the opposite side to the one that played it into touch The two handed throw in is part of rugby union football - see "line out". That the first side reaching the ball must throw it out (at right angles, in this case) was part of the Football Association rules and the Rossall rules. The 1863 Cambridge Rules state that "In a match when half the time agreed upon has elapsed, the side shall change goals when the ball is next out of play".
See also
- Harrow FootballHarrow FootballHarrow football is a code of football played between two teams of eleven players, each attempting to win by scoring more bases than their opponent. Harrow Football is played predominantly with the feet, but players may use any part of their body including, in certain circumstances, their hands and...
- Eton wall gameEton Wall GameThe Eton wall game is a game similar to football and Rugby Union, that originated from and is still played at Eton College. It is played on a strip of ground 5 metres wide and 110 metres long next to a slightly curved brick wall, erected in 1717....
- Eton field gameEton Field GameThe Field Game is one of two codes of football devised and played at Eton College. The other is the Eton Wall Game. The game is like football in some ways — the ball is round, but one size smaller than a standard football, and may not be handled — but the off-side rules — known as 'sneaking' — are...
- Winchester College FootballWinchester College FootballWinchester College Football, also known as Winkies, WinCoFo or simply "Our Game", is a code of football played at Winchester College. It is akin to the Eton Field and Wall Games and the Harrow Game in that it enjoys a large following from Wykehamists and old Wykehamists but is not played outside...
- History of rugby unionHistory of rugby unionThe history of rugby union follows from various football games played long before the 19th century, but it was not until the middle of that century that rules were formulated and codified....
- History of rugby leagueHistory of rugby leagueThe history of rugby league as a separate form of rugby football goes back to 1895 in Huddersfield, Northern England when the Northern Rugby Football Union broke away from the established Rugby Football Union to administer its own separate competition. Similar schisms occurred later in Australia...