More on mascots
Some more information on 1920s club mascots. Nottingham Forest had a donkey as a mascot in the mid-1920s. The players had been training alongside the River Trent one day when they saw a group of workmen beating the animal to try and make it pull a barge. They saved the animal, paying a sovereign for it, and took it back to the club adopting it as a mascot. The donkey came to a rather sad demise after overindulging during the Christmas period of 1924. It had been given a large bag of carrots as a present, but ate these rather quickly and was found dead shortly afterwards.
At this time it was also common (and probably more practical) for clubs to appoint a mascot who dressed up in the club colours and entertained the fans before matches, acting as a cheerleader. This practise of course continued into the 1960s at places such as Portsmouth and Arsenal (where the late David Stacey held the role for several years).
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Tags: Football Mascots, Nottingham Forest
24 April 1909
100 years ago today was Cup Final day in England, with the two finalists, Manchester United and Bristol City, both having reached this stage for the first time in their history. The natch was played at the Crystal Palace in front of 71,000 fans with United winning with a single goal, Sandy Turnbull netting after a shot by Harold Halse had come back off the crossbar. However, the match was not a classic and one source described it as “one of the poorest games for many a long year.”
Here is part of the Daily Mail’s report on the scenes at Crystal Palace that day:
“It was a generous, orderly, good-humoured crowd, full of life and enthusiasm. Many of those who travelled to see the game had to put up with inconvenience, even positive discomfort; but they took it all as it came. The Crystal Palace was, of course, the objective for everyone, but there was plenty of time for other things, and before and after the central event of the day the tourists extracted no end of amusement out of the sights of London.
Saturday was a profitable day for the street vendors of whirling and twirling and jumping and crawling things, of flowers and favours, of souvenirs and postcards. A large number of the visitors had provided themselves with their favourite team’s colours before they left home; but this made no difference: the more the better was the idea, and the merchants who had laid in stocks of favours did a roaring trade. …
Those who lost their ways and their trains on the return journey were allowed to pass the night in the stations, stolidly sleeping the hours away upon platform and waiting-room seats, until yesterday [Sunday] when they were sent on to their various destinations by subsequent excursions and ordinary trains.
‘There were about thirty of the men, I should say, who got left behind here on Saturday,’ said an official at King’s Cross. ‘We take their names and addresses and make them promise they will send on the extra fare entailed by their travelling on an ordinary train. Last year not one single wrong name or address was given, which speaks well for the type of men who come up.’ “
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Tags: 100 Years Ago, 1909, Bristol City, Cup Final, FA Cup, Manchester United, Sandy Turnbull
Issue 22
Issue 22 has now been finalised and includes the following articles: Football and Community Singing, how Abide with me became associated with the Cup Final; the story of John Walker, the first black player to appear in the Scottish League; a statistical record of Scotland’s East Regional League in 1939-40; the professional footballer who became a conscientious objector in World War Two; how Walsall FC emerged from the Great War; a review of the News of the World Annual for 1963-64; the origins of football in Grimsby; using club minute books as a source; plus our usual comprehensive selection of obituaries and book reviews and listings. Copies will be posted to subscribers shortly after Easter. You can now order individual copies of issue 22 through our website (www.soccer-history.co.uk).
UPDATE: Copies of issue 22 were posted to subscribers during the week commencing 20 April.
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Tags: community singing, conscientious objectors, early black footballers, Grimsby, issue 22, John Walker, Soccer History Magazine, Walsall FC
6 March 1909
Saturday 6 March 1909 saw almost half the fixtures wiped out by bad weather. In fact none of the four FA Cup quarter-final ties was decided. The tie between Derby County and Nottingham Forest was postponed and other results were: Newcastle United 2, Sunderland 2 (att. 53,453); Glossop 0, Bristol City 0 (att. 4,500); Burnley 1, Manchester United 0, abandoned after 75 mins (att. 15,471). Here is an extract from the report on the Glossop game from Monday’s Daily Mail: “A piercing snowstorm beat from end to end of this primitive little field and continued with unabated flakiness until the match was over. Then as the sun went down (which is mere assumption) the blizzard subsided, as if satisfied with its day’s work … the snow remained to play havoc with the roll of the ball and intelligent anticipation. Sometimes the ball stopped dead, and the so-called dribbler would have to go back to dig the gold from the ore, so to speak.”
Elsewhere there was bad news for Brentford fans when the club’s mascot, a white goat, succumbed to the bad weather and dropped down dead. Many clubs had animals as mascots at this time including Manchester United (a billy goat), Newcastle (a Great Dane), Sunderland (a black cat), Bradford City (a bantam cock) and Sheffield Wednesday (a monkey).
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Tags: 100 Years Ago, 1909, Bristol City, Football Mascots, Glossop
This Sunday, 1 March, I will be attending the Great Lancashire Football Memorabilia and Programme Fair which is taking place at the Swallow Hotel, Preston New Road, Samlesbury, PR5 0UL. The fair opens at 10.30 am and admission is £1. I shall have copies of the latest issue of Soccer History Magazine plus all back issues available.
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Tags: Preston, Programme Fairs
13 February 1909
Gangs of young men attaching themselves to a particular football club is not just a phenomenon that emerged in the 1960s. Going back 100 years Aston Villa were affected by crowd behaviour problems, as this report from Birmingham’s Sporting Mail for 13 February 1909 explains:
By the way, I have received several complaints about the behaviour at Aston of a gang of blackguards, about twenty strong, who seem to have christened themselves “The Nuts.” They appear to have made themselves particularly obnoxious to a great many people who patronise the popular side. Their language is described as filthy. Mr G. B. Ramsay is the man to complain to. The Villa directors will soon take steps to put an end to any nuisance if they find the complaints well founded.
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Tags: 100 Years Ago, 1909, Aston Villa, Football Hooliganism
6 February 1909
100 years ago today Norwich City, then members of the Southern League, went to Anfield to play Liverpool in an FA Cup second round tie and came away with a surprise 3-2 victory in front of a crowd of around 30,000.
Here is the match report that appeared in the Daily Mail for Monday 8 February:
“Norwich City sprang a big surprise on Liverpool on Saturday, and showing cleverness in every department gained a very fine victory by 3 goals to 2.
It was not only a good win, but it was well deserved on the run of play. The Southern Leaguers never hesitated. When they got the ball the opposing goal was their objective and they never threw a chance away. Norwich played a fine open game and with the inside forwards on the look-out for opportunities the Liverpool defenders got little rest.
Add to this the fact that the home backs were none too safe – Saul, indeed, being very weak at times, and the result is easily explained.
Norwich deserved to gain the honours of the day, and their first appearance in Liverpool was altogether a pronounced success.
The only score of the first half was a penalty goal scored by Allsopp, the Leicester cricketer, after Saul had handled, and Liverpool only showed anything approaching their form in the last fifteen minutes, when Roney made some fine saves.
Liverpool did better after the change of ends, and Cox equalised in twenty-five minutes, but Norwich went right away and got ahead through Tomlinson. Liverpool drew level again through Robinson, but in the last minute a good run by Allsopp led to Smith scoring, and the visitors gained a surprise victory.”
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Tags: 100 Years Ago, 1909, Liverpool, Norwich City
29 January 1909
100 years ago today the Birmingham Gazette reported on a Commission of Inquiry held by the Football Association into incidents that took place during the Southern League game between West Ham and Plymouth over the Christmas period.
This how the Gazette reported the incident: “When Plymouth Argyle visited West Ham United to play a Southern League match on Monday, December 28, the referee appointed to act did not put in an appearance, and one of the linesmen deputised. About five minutes after the start a penalty kick was given against a Plymouth player for handling, and this was strongly objected to by some of the visiting players, who refused to allow the kick to be taken. A charge was also made against the referee by Clark, the Argyle captain, that the referee was intoxicated, and not fit to take charge of the game. Kitchen, the West Ham captain, was called up from goal, and he at once consulted his directors, who disassociated themslves from the charge and insisted on the game proceeding. Play was accordingly resumed and at half-time Messrs. G. Wagstaffe Simmons and T. H. Kirkup, members of the F.A. Council, who were present, were asked to interview the referee. They did so, and asserted there was not a shadow of justification for the charge that had been made.”
After three hours deliberation the Inquiry resolved that the referee had not been drunk and as a result suspended Clark for a period of two months. Plymouth were also instructed to pay the costs of the hearing.
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Tags: 100 Years Ago, 1909, Plymouth Argyle, West Ham United
23 January 1909
This week’s entry begins with a follow-up to last week’s news about Manchester City. This is what the much respected John Lewis had to say in Birmingham’s Sporting Mail 100 years ago:
“Only a joke! – such is the official announcement of the Manchester City directors after enquiring for a couple of hours into the ‘charge ‘against Blair of refusing to play in the Cup-tie against Tottenham Hotspur ‘because he could not have a bonus.’ The incident should serve as a timely warning for professionals that the mere suspicion that men prefer their own selfish interests to that of their clubs is sufficient to arouse popular indignation. Birmingham is not the only city in which players run the risk of ‘killing the goose that lays the golden eggs’ – as Mr. Johnstone puts it. It may be football in Birmingham is at a lower ebb than usual, simply because the men are not good enough; in which case the remedy may be found. But there can, I think, be nothing but disaster in front of clubs when their supporters get it into their heads that players are giving them less than their best in exchange for their wages. Nearly everywhere we hear the complaint that football is not nearly so well played as it was a dozen years ago, but the working man, whose nimble sixpence keeps clubs on their legs, doesn’t mind so long that his champions are ‘triers.’ When he suspects that players are ‘holding back for bets,’ or playing ‘ca’ canny’ for bonuses, the man who works 54 hours per week for less than half the wage the footballer gets for an hour and a half of more or less pleasant exercise, will kick.”
These were the Birmingham & District League results that day:
Aston Villa Reserves 10, Kidderminster Harriers 1 (att. 7,000); Burton United 2, Brierley Hill Alliance 0; Shrewsbury Town 2, West Bromwich Albion Reserves 1; Stafford Rangers 2, Worcester City 0; Stoke 3, Crewe Alexandra 4 (att. 10,000); Stourbridge 4, Dudley 0; Walsall 3, Halesowen 2; Wrexham 2, Birmingham Reserves 1; Wolverhampton Wanderers Reserves 2, Wellington Town 1. League leaders were Villa with 34 points from 20 games, with Crewe second on 25 points with three games in hand.
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Tags: 100 Years Ago, 1909, Birmingham League
I shall be attending the Stafford Rangers Programme Fair this Sunday, 18 January, with my usual selection of programmes, books and magazines. The current issue of Soccer Historywill be available along with back issues. The fair takes place in the Social Club at the Marston Road ground starting at 10.30.
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