Soccer
Trivia
|
Soccer
Trivia |
If you love soccer trivia, put your knowledge to use and make some money with online sports betting
|
Football League
On 31 September 2008 Schoolboy Reuben Noble-Lazarus claimed the record as the Football League's youngest ever player after the Barnsley striker came off the bench at Ipswich, aged just 15 years and 45 days. He beat the record by 113 days set by Bradford Park Avenue's Albert Geldard in 1929 and equalled by Wrexham's Ken Roberts. His manager Simon Davey said the youngster, who was back at school today, was too young to be paid. Sheffield
Football Club, founded in 1857 in Sheffield by Nathaniel Creswick and William
Prest, is now recognized as the world's oldest club playing association
football. However, the club initially played its own code of football: the Sheffield
rules. There were some similarities to the Cambridge rules, but players were
allowed to push or hit the ball with their hands, and there was no offside
rule at all, so that players known as kick throughs could be permanently
positioned near the opponents' goal. The code spread to a number of clubs in the
area and was popular until the 1870s. Sheffield
currently play in the Northern Premier League Division One South. The
corner kick was first devised in Sheffield under the Sheffield Rules in1867. It
was adopted by the Football Association in 1872. The
invention of the penalty kick is credited to the goalkeeper and businessman
William McCrum in 1890 in Milford, County Armagh, Northern Ireland. The Irish
Football Association presented the idea to the International Football
Association Board and finally after much debate, the board approved the idea on
2 June 1891. It was introduced in
the 1891-92 season. The first ever penalty kick was awarded to Wolverhampton
Wanderers in their game against Accrington Stanley at Molineux on 14 September
1891. The penalty was taken and scored by John Heath as Wolves went
on to win the game 5-0. The two handed throw in was made compulsory in 1883. Goal nets were first used in 1891. Numbered shirts were first worn in the 1933 FA Cup Final between Everton & Man City. Substitutions
during English league matches were first permitted in the 1965-66 season. During
the first two seasons after the law was introduced, each side was permitted only
one substitution during a game. Moreover the substitute could only replace an
injured player. From the 1967-68 season, this rule was relaxed to allow
substitutions for tactical reasons. 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. The first football team to war shin guards was Nottingham Forest, in 1874. They were invented by their centre forward Sam Widdowson, who wore them outside his socks. 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. 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. 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 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. 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. Sheffield
Football Club, founded in 1857 in Sheffield by Nathaniel Creswick and William
Prest, is now recognized as the world's oldest club playing association
football. However, the club initially played its own code of football: the Sheffield
rules. There were some similarities to the Cambridge rules, but players were
allowed to push or hit the ball with their hands, and there was no offside
rule at all, so that players known as kick throughs could be permanently
positioned near the opponents' goal. The code spread to a number of clubs in the
area and was popular until the 1870s. Sheffield
currently play in the Northern Premier League Division One South. 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. The first
live televised match in England was played between Blackpool and Bolton at
Bloomfield Park on 9 September 1960. Bolton
won 1-0. 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. 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. When
Liverpool won the League in 1906, they became the first team to secure the
Championship having been promoted the year before. The first live televised match in England was played between Blackpool and Bolton at Bloomfield Park on 9 September 1960. Bolton won 1-0. 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. Albert Tennant signed on for Chelsea in November
1934, and made his League debut in May 1947. 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. 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. Denis
Law’s move from Huddersfield to Manchester City in March 1960 was the first
transfer between British clubs to exceed £50,000. Everton bought Alan Ball from Blackpool in August 1966 in the first six-figure transfer between English clubs. The first football team to war shin guards was Nottingham Forest, in 1874. They were invented by their centre forward Sam Widdowson, who wore them outside his socks. Eric Nixon set a record
by becoming the first, and so far only, player to play in all four divisions in
one season. He played for
Manchester City and Southampton in the First Division, Bradford in Division Two,
Carlisle in Division Three and Wolves in Division Four. There have been only two
instances of father and son playing in the same League side. Alec and David Herd
played for Stockport County at Hartlepool in Division Three (North) match on 5
May 1951. Ian and Gary Bowyer
matched that record by playing for Hereford United against Scunthorpe in a
Division Four match on 21 April, 1990. Only three of the
original twelve Football League clubs were founder members of the Carling
Premiership: Aston Villa, Blackburn Rovers and Everton. The most penalties to be
awarded in any Football League match came in March 1989, when Crystal Palace
were given four spot-kicks to Brighton’s one. Palace missed three of their
four but still managed to win 2-1. The Football League
introduced he play-off system at the end of the 1987-88 season. The Oldest Football
League Club is Notts County, who were formed in 1862. Three
clubs tie in the record of winning sequences in the League.
Manchester United (1904-05), Bristol City (1905-06) and Preston North End
(1950-51) all had 14 consecutive League victories, and all were in the Second
Division at the time. Wolves
and Burnley are the only clubs to have won the old Divisions One, Two, Three and
Four. Wolves have also won the Third Division (North). The
most League goals scored in a season by a relegated side is 89.
That record was set by Manchester City (Division One) in 1925-26. Manchester
United suffered 12 consecutive defeats at the start of the 1930-31 Division One
season – still a record. The
consecutive League defeats in a season is 18, set by First Division Darwen in
1898-99. Newport
County hold the record of the longest non-winning start to a season.
They went 25 matches without a victory in Division Four in 197071.
The run consisted of four draws and 21 losses. The
introduction of three points for a win was established in the 1981-82 season. The
highest score-draw in Football League history is 6-6. Leicester City and Arsenal
shared the score in a Division One match on 21 April 1930, and then Charlton
Athletic and Middlesbrough also shared 12 goals on 22 October 1960 in a Second
Division game. The
longest League run without a win was set by Cambridge United in 1983-84.
They went 31 matches without a victory between 8 October and 23 April,
losing 21. They finished the season
bottom of the Second Division. The
highest attendance in the English First Division was set at Manchester United
against Arsenal on 17 January 1948 when the game was watched by 83,260. The
Second Division record crowd was at Villa Park on 30 October 1937 when 68,029
watched Aston Villa v Coventry City. A
record 49,309 for the Third Division watched the Sheffield Wednesday-Sheffield
United match on Boxing Day in 1979. The
first English League side to boast an all-seater stadium was Coventry City. The
first ever hat-trick in the English Football League was scored by Walter Tait,
who on 15 September 1888 scored three of Burnley’s four goals in their 4-3
away win at Bolton – the second weekend of the League’s existence. Peter Shilton became the
first man to reach a thousand League matches when he played for Leyton Orient
against Brighton in December 1996 – he kept a clean sheet. Billy McNeill and Dave Bassett both managed two clubs that were relegated in the same season. McNeill was in charge of Manchester City and Aston Villa who were relegated to Division Two in 1986-87. Bassett managed Watford (relegated to Division Two) and Sheffield United (down to the Third Division) in 1987-88. 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. In July 1964 John White the legendry was killed by lighting 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. Doncaster
Rovers were originally formed in 1879 to play a match against the Yorkshire
Institute for the Deaf and Dumb. The
referee’s whistle, the Acme Thunderer, invented by Birmingham toolmaker Joseph
Hudson in 1884, is still used to this day. Alan
Shearer scored a hat-trick on his full First Division debut at the age of 17. He
scored his three goals for Southamption in their 4-2 win over Arsenal. Jim
Stannard of Gillingham set a new goalkeeper’s record in 1995-96 when he kept
29 clean sheets in 46 matches, being Ray Clemence’s Liverpool record of
1978-79. 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. West
Ham United West
Ham United was founded in 1895 as the works’ team from the Thames Ironworks
and Shipbuilding Co. Ltd. In 1899,
the club joined the Southern League Division Two and in 1900 they became a
limited company and changed to its present name. Everton Everton were founded as St. Domingo F.C. in 1878 in order that people from the parish of St. Domingo's Church could play a sport outside of the summer months (during which time cricket was played). A year later the club were renamed Everton F.C. after the surrounding area as people outside the parish wished to participate 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. Sunderland Sunderland
A.F.C. was founded by Glaswegian school-teacher James Allan in
1879, to provide "recreational amusement" for the area's
schoolteachers, under the name of 'Sunderland & District Teachers
Association'. In 1881, in order to relax financial troubles, the name was
changed to Sunderland Association Football Club and non-teachers were allowed to
join. Birmingham
City Birmingham City was founded as an amateur club, the Small Heath Alliance, in the Small Heath area of Birmingham, in 1875. The club were successful within local amateur leagues, and in 1885 they turned professional, making their official debut as Small Heath FC. The club was one of the earliest professional teams in the UK, and it was the very first club to become a ‘limited’ company controlled by a board of directors. At that time, they played as members of the Football Alliance, which was unofficially absorbed into the Football League in 1892. Small Heath became founder members of the Second Division (of the League). The clubs growing importance necessitated a change of name: they became Birmingham City in 1905. West
Bromwich Albion The
club was founded as West Bromwich
Strollers in 1878 by workers from George Salter’s Spring Works in West
Bromwich. They were renamed West Bromwich Albion in 1880, becoming the first
team to adopt the Albion. Albion was a district of West Bromwich where some of
the players lived or worked. Middlesbrough The
football club was originally formed by Middlesbrough Cricket team players to
stay fit during the winter. Burnley Burnley
football club began life as Burnley Rovers, a Rugby Club, was switched codes in
May 1882 to play association football. They
moved to their Turf Moor home shortly afterwards at the invitation of the
town’s cricket club, which is still situated next to the stadium. Preston
North End Originally
a cricket club in the 1860s, Preston North End turned to rugby in 1875 when they
took a lease on a field at Deepdale. A
year later they switched to association football, and in May 188- the club,
impressed by the success of other Lancashire clubs who were playing soccer,
formally adopted the association code. Sheffield
Wednesday Sheffield
Wednesday began life as a cricket club when it was formed in 1920 as The
Wednesday Cricket Club (named after the day of the week that they played their
matches). A meeting on the evening
of Wednesday 4th September 1867 at the Adelphi Hotel established a
footballing side to keep the team together and fit during the winter months. In
1882 the cricket and football clubs parted company; the cricket club would later
go out of existence in 1925. The football club turned professional in 1887 after
pressure from players threatening to defect to other clubs Barnsley Barnsely
was founded in 1887 by the Reverend Tiverton Preedy, curate of St. Peters Church
on the Doncaster Road. Although a
predominately rugby area, the new club attracted support from across the town
and in 1897 the St Peters name was dropped. Blackpool In 1877 Victoria Football Club was founded under the auspicious of the Rev. James Wayman. The name was changed to Blackpool St Johns and consisted mainly of the old boys from the school. In 1887 a dispute among players led a breakaway from St John’s Football Club forming Blackpool Football Club. Blackpool Football Club was formed on 26 July 1887, after a merger with a breakaway group from the local St. John's Football Club. Bolton
Wanderers The
club was founded in 1874 by Thomas Ogden, the schoolmaster at Christ Church.
Originally called Christ Church FC, the club changed its name to Bolton
Wanderers in 1877. Stoke
City Stoke City F.C.,
considered to be the second-oldest football league club, was formed in 1863,
under the name Stoke Ramblers,
when pupils from Charterhouse School formed a football club while apprentices at
the North Staffordshire Railway works in Stoke-on-Trent. In
1878, the club merged with Stoke Victoria Cricket Club, it was at this time that
they became simply known as Stoke
Football Club.
|
