Milestones Of Soccer (PART 1)

 

1848 First code of rules compiled at Cambridge Univ.

1857 Sheffield F.C., world’s oldest football club, formed.

1862 Notts.County (oldest League club) formed.

1863 Football Association founded – their first rules of the game agreed.

1871 F.A. Cup introduced.

1872 First official International: Scotland 0, England 0. Corner-kick introduced.

1873 Scottish F.A. formed; Scottish Cup introduced.

1874 Shinguards introduced. Oxford v Cambridge, first match.

1875 Crossbar introduced (replacing tape).

1876 F.A. of Wales formed.

1877 Welsh Cup introduced.

1878 Referee’s whistle first used.

1880 Irish F.A. founded; Irish Cup introduced.

1883 Two-handed throw-in introduced.

1885 Record first-class score (Arbroath 36, Bon Accord 0 – Scottish Cup). Professionalism legalized.

1886 International Board formed.

1887 Record F.A.Cup score (Preston N.E. 26, Hyde 0).

1888 Football League founded by Wm. McGregor. First matches on Sept.8.

1889 Preston N.E. win Cup and League (first club to complete Double).

1890 Scottish League and Irish League formed.

1891 Goal-nets introduced. Penalty-kick introduced.

1892 Inter-League games began. Football League Second Division formed.

1893 F.A. Amateur Cup launched.

1894 Southern League formed.

1895 F.A.Cup stolen from Birmingham shop window – never recovered.

1897 First Players’ Union formed. Aston Villa win Cup and League.

1898 Promotion and Relegation introduced.

1901 Maximum  wage rule in force (£4 a week). Tottenham first professional club to take F.A. Cup South. First six-figure attendance (110,802) at F.A.Cup Final.

1902 Ibrox Park disaster (25 killed). Welsh League formed.

1904 F.I.F.A. founded (7 member countries).

1905 First £1000 transfer (Alf Common, Sunderland to Middlesborough).

1907 Players’ Union revived.

1908 Transfer fee limit (£350) fixed in January and withdrawn in April.

1911 New F.A. Cup trophy in use to 1991. Transfer deadline introduced.

1914 King George V first reigning monarch to attend F.A.Cup Final.

1916 Entertainment Tax intruced.

1919 League extended to 44 clubs.

1920 Third Division (South) formed.

1921 Third Division (North) formed.

1922 Scottish League (Div II) introduced.

1923 Beginning of football pools. First Wembley Cup Final.

1924 First International at Wembley (England 1, Scotland 1). Rule change allows goals to be scored direct from corner-kicks.

1925 New offside law.

1926 Huddersfield Town complete first League Championship hat-trick.

1927 First League match broadcast (radio): Arsenal v Sheffield United (Jan 22). First radio broadcast of Cup Final (winners Cardiff City). Charles Clegg, president of F.A., becomes first knight of football.

1928 First £10000 transfer – David Jack (Bolton Wanderers to Arsenal). W.R. (‘Dixie’) Dean (Everton) creates League record – 60 goals in a season. Britain withdraws from F.I.F.A.

1930 Uruguay first winners of World Cup.

1931 W.B.A win Cup and Promotion.

1933 Players numbered for the first time in Cup Final.

1934 Sir Fred Wall retires as F.A. secretary; successor Stanley Rous. Death of Herbert Chapman (Arsenal manager).

1935 Arsenal equal Huddersfield Town’s Championship hat-trick record. Official two-referee trials.

1936 Joe Payne’s 10-goal League record (Luton Town 12, Bristol Rovers 0).

1937 British record attendance: 149,547 at Scotland v England match.

1938 First live TV transmission of F.A. Cup Final. F.A.’s 75^th anniversary. Football League 50^th Jubilee. New pitch marking – arc on edge of penalty-area. Laws of Game re-drafted by Stanley Rous. Arsenal pay record £14,500 fee for Bryn Jones (Wolves).

1939 Compulsory numbering of players in Football League. First six-figure attendance for League match (Rangers v Celtic, 118,567). All normal competitions suspended for duration of Second World War.

1944 Death of Sir Frederick Wall (84), F.A. secretary 1896-1934.

1945 Scottish League Cup introduced.

1946 British Associations rejoin F.I.F.A. Bolton Wanderers disaster (33 killed) during F.A. Cup tie with Stoke City. Walter Winterbottom appointed England’s first director of coaching.

1947 Great Britain beat Rest of Europe 6-1 at Hampden Park, Glasgow. First £20000 transfer – Tommy Lawton, Chelsea to Notts.County.

1949 Stanley Rous, secretary F.A., knighted. England’s first home defeat outside British Champ. (0-2 v Eire).

1950 Football League extended from 88 to 92 clubs. World record crowd (203,500) at World Cup Final. Brazil v Uruguay, in Rio de Janeiro. Scotland’s first home defeat by foreign team (0-1 v Austria).

1951 White ball comes into official use.

1952 Newcastle Utd. first club to win F.A. Cup at Wembley in successive seasons.

1953 England’s first Wembley defeat by foreign opponents (3-6 v Hungary).

1954 Hungary beat England 7-1 in Budapest.

1955 First F.A. Cup match under floodlights (prelim. Round replay, Sept.14): Kidderminster Harriers v Brierley Hill Alliance.

1956 First F.A. Cup ties under floodlights in competition proper (Jan. 7). First League match by floodlight (Feb.22, Portsmouth v Newcastle Utd.). Real Madrid win the first European Cup.

1957 Last full Football League programme on Christmas Day. Entertainment Tax withdrawn.

1958 Manchester Utd. Air crash at Munich (Feb.6). League re-structured into four divisions.

1959 Football League establish fixtures copyright; pools must pay for use.

1960 Record transfer fee: £55000 for Denis Law (Huddersfield Town to Manchester Utd). Wolves win Cup, miss Double and Championship hat-trick by one goal. For fifth time in ten years F.A. Cup Final team reduced to ten men by injury. F.A. recognise Sunday football. Football League Cup launched.