Eminent Victorians

Before professionalism was recognised by the Football Association in 1885, the game was dominated by amateur teams from the south of England, largely drawn from the public schools where the game had originated. This gallery features some of these early pioneers, who were later eclipsed by the rise of the professional sides.


Royal Engineers Formed in 1862 under the captaincy of Major F Marindin, the army club were beaten FA Cup finalists in 1872, 1874 and 1878, winners in 1875. They were the first to adopt a team approach to the game.	Queen's Park Scotland's oldest club, formed in 1867 competed in the English FA Cup 1872 to 1885. They provided all 11 players for the first Scotland England international in 1872. Scotland still wear navy, white and red, Queen's Park's original colours.	Oxford University Formed in 1872, the club won the FA Cup in 1874 and were runners up in 1873, 1877 and 1880, the last year they competed. No fewer than 29 players were capped for England.	Old Etonians Formed by former pupils of Eton College, the club appeared in six FA Cup Finals, winning the cup in 1879 and 1882. In 1883 they were beaten by Blackburn Olympic in the final. They also played in halved jerseys	Wanderers Based in Battersea, Wanderers won five FA Cup finals in seven years including the first in 1872. Players were selected from the various former public school clubs but as these began to enter the FA Cup, Wanderers were wound up in 1883.	Crystal Palace Not to be confused with the modern club, the original Palace was formed in 1861 and competed in the FA Cup between 1872 and 1876 after which they seem to have disbanded. Peter Manning

Old Carthusians Established in 1875, the club comprised former pupils of Charterhouse School. They won the FA Cup in 1881 and the FA Amateur Cup in 1894 and 1897. The club still exists and plays in the Amateur Football Alliance.	Blackburn Olympic Formed in 1877, the team was made up of young factory workers. In 1883, Olympic became the first northern club to win the FA Cup, breaking the monopoly of the southern ex-public school teams.	Sheffield On October 24th 1857 the world's oldest football club was born. The members organised matches between themselves and were instrumental in forming the Football Association in 1862. Sheffield continues to thrive to this day.	Clapham Rovers Formed in 1869, Rovers were runners-up in the 1879 FA Cup and winners the following year. Shortly afterwards the club was wound up. A new club was formed in 1996 and currently plays Sunday League football.	Druids Wales' oldest club played in Cefn Mawr, near Wrexham and won the Welsh FA Cup eight times in thirteen appearances between 1879 and 1904. They were eclipsed by the rise of professional teams but play to this day.	Hitchin Formed in 1865, Hitchin played in the first FA Cup. They later turned professional but were wound up during the First World War. Their successor, Hitchin Town, formed in 1928 plays in the Southern League.

Reigate Priory Priory were formed in 1870 and entered the first FA Cup in 1871-72. They still exist as an amateur side in the Redhill and District Saturday League and have a thriving junior section.	Harrow School Association football emerged from the various early forms of the game played in English public schools during the mid-18th century. Harrow continue to play their unique version of the game today.	Cambridge University Recent research has revealed that the first attempt to draw up a universal set of rules took place at Cambridge in 1848. The football club entered the FA Cup several times during the late 19th century.	Excelsior FC The success of this Kent club in local competition led to the formation of New Brompton, one of the first professional clubs in the south in 1893. New Brompton became Gillingham in 1913.	Corinthians Formed in 1881 to challenge the supremacy of Queen's Park, Corinthians would have won the FA Cup several times but their constitution forbad entering any competition. In 1939 they merged with Casuals FC.	Leyton Formed in 1868, Leyton are one of London's oldest football club. In 1910 they folded having briefly turned professional. Reformed in 1919, Leyton still exists as an amateur club.

Chirk Founded in 1876, the Colliers are one of the oldest clubs in North Wales. Between 1886 and 1894 they won the Welsh Senior Cup five times but never reached the final again.	Earlestown This side, from Newton-le-Willows, reached three successive Liverpool & District Challenge Cup finals in the 1880s, beating Everton 1-0 in 1884 to win the trophy. Steve Flanagan	Blackheath Founder members of the FA, Blackheath later withdrew in protest over the banning of "hacking" (ie kicking opponents' shins). They helped from the Rugby Football Association and still compete at national level.	Upton Park Formed in 1866, Upton Park played in the first FA Cup. In 1884 they lodged a complaint against Preston NE over payments to players after the northern club had beaten them in the Cup. A year later professionalism was officially recognised. Peter Ferrette	Civil Service Founder members of the FA and participants in the first FA Cup, CSFC regularly toured Europe while former players posted as diplomats did much to foster the game around the world. They still play as an amateur side. Peter Ferrette	Barnes Some claim that Barnes Club can trace their history back to 1838 but there are no records of any matches until 1862, when they played Richmond. Founder members of the FA, they played in the FA Cup until 1879 before adopting rugby union. Peter Ferrette

Forest Not to be confused with Nottingham Forest, this club was formed in 1859 in Leytonstone. In 1864 they fetched up in Battersea Park and changed their name to Wanderers. Their scarlet jerseys were black on the reverse. Peter Ferrette	1st Surrey Rifles Association football started out as a pastime for gentlemen, which included Army officers who organised a number of teams. This team competed in the FA Cup between 1872 and 1878. Peter Ferrette	Gitanos There is not a lot I can tell you about this team. Based in Battersea Park, they played and lost to Uxbridge in the first ever FA Cup and were never heard of again. Peter Ferrette	Wey-side Aside from description of their harlequin jerseys from 1870, no other records appear to have survived of this club who were probably based in Surrey. They were one of the first clubs formed in the Home Counties. Peter Ferrette	Marlow Also known as Great Marlow FC, the club was formed in 1870 and holds the unique distinction of having entered every single FA Cup competition since its inception (although they had to withdraw on one occasion). Peter Ferrette	Malvern College One of the many public schools that played their own version of football before the FA drew up the first unified rules in 1863, Malvern's halved jerseys inspired the founders of Blackburn Rovers to adopt a similar design.

Hertfordshire Rangers Formed around 1865, Rangers featured in the FA Cup between 1875 and 1881. In 1898 they merged with Watford St Peters to form the modern Watford FC. A club bearing the same name was formed in 2001.	Pilgrims This club first entered the FA Cup in 1873 and appeared every season until 1880 but I can find no trace of them after that.	Uppingham School In 1862, a teacher at Uppingham School in Rutland, drew up a set of rules that banned hacking and charging players in offside positions. This less violent form found favour with several other public schools at the time.	Sheffield Zulus Formed in 1879, this team played exhibition games in Sheffield to raise money for widows of the Zulu Wars. Players blacked up and paraded with Zulu regalia before games. They were ordered to disband in 1882 for infringing the amateur rules of the time.	Turton Formed in Chapeltown, a district of Turton in Bolton, this club dropped the Harrow Rules in 1874 in favour of London Rules, thus becoming one of the first association football clubs in Lancashire. They still exist. Peter Ferrette	Burnley Rovers Formed in 1881 as a Rugby Union team, the club disbanded after one season and reformed as Burnley FC, adopting association rules. The Maltese Cross worn on their shirts was a popular motif at the time.

Manningham In South Yorkshire rugby was more popular than the association game in the late 19th century. Manningham RFC, formed in 1880, later fell on hard times and became Bradford City AFC in 1903.