Very much "work in progress", here is a first stab at a chronological listing of the game's milestones. Let me know what else you would like me to cover!
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1855 |
Sheffield Club formed. Members play among themselves and against other local men’s organizations. |
1862 |
Notts County formed. England’s oldest professional club. Early matches are played on local cricket grounds. |
1863 |
The Football Association is formed. |
1867 |
Queen’s Park formed, Scotland’s oldest club |
1871 |
F.A. Cup introduced by the Football Association. |
1872 |
First official International game, Scotland v. England |
1873 |
Scottish F.A. formed |
1874 |
Shinguards (to protect the legs) said to have been introduced, by adapting the pads used by cricketers. As with cricket, the guards are worn outside of the stockings. |
1875 |
Crossbar introduced to replace the tape across the goal |
1876 |
Welsh F.A. formed |
1878 |
Commonly reported date for first use of referee’s whistle. However, the game was controlled by two umpires at this time. The referee was merely a time-keeper. Take this story about the whistle with a piece of salt! |
1880 |
Irish FA founded |
1882 |
Two handed throw-in introduced |
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The International Board was instituted to maintain the laws of the game |
1883 |
F..A. Cup won by a Northern team for the first time (Blackburn Olympic) |
1885 |
Professionalism legalized. Arbroath beat Bon Accord 36-0 in a Scottish Cup tie, which remains the largest score in a British ‘first-class’ game. John Petrie claimed 13 of the goals. |
1888 |
Football League founded, after an initiative by William McGregor of Aston Villa. 12 clubs participated. |
1889 |
Preston North End win the first League Championship and the F.A. Cup, to “do the double” |
1891 |
Scottish League formed. |
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Mr. Brodie of Liverpool introduces the goal net (and patents the design) |
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The penalty kick is included in the laws |
1892 |
The Football League is extended to two divisions by taking clubs from the Football Alliance. |
1893 |
The FA Amateur Cup starts. |
1895 |
The F.A. Cup is stolen from a shop window and never recovered. An exact replica is made. |
1901 |
Players are subject to a maximum wage. |
1902 |
Crowd disaster at Ibrox Park, Glasgow |
1904 |
FIFA founded |
1905 |
First £1000 transfer; Alf Common to Middlesbrough |
1907 |
Players’ Union re-introduced |
1908 |
First Charity Shield match |
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Transfer fee maximum set at £350 in January but withdrawn in April |
1909 |
Scottish Cup not awarded after a riot at the Final |
1914 |
King George V becomes the first reigning monarch to attend the FA Cup Final |
1921 |
A yellow shirt introduced for goalkeepers in International matches |
1922 |
Maximum wage in England rises to £8 during the season, £6 in summer. A benefit not exceeding £650 can be granted to a player after five year’s service. Billy Minter of St. Albans City scores all seven of his team’s goals in a cup-tie with Dulwich Hamlet but finishes on the losing side as Dulwich win 8-7. |
1923 |
First Wembley F.A. Cup Final. Not an ‘all-ticket’ game, some 200,000 people fight their way into the ground. There is no attendance record set since no-one could count them all! |
1924 |
Newcastle United incur a record fine of £750 by the Football League after playing weakened teams in seven League games. The Football League rules that the visiting team must were shirts of a different colour if there would otherwise be a clash with the home team. |
1925 |
New off-side law introduced. Only two men needed between an attacker and the goal, not three. |
1926 |
Huddersfield Town are Football League Champions for the third successive year |
1927 |
A Welsh club, Cardiff City, with the English F.A. Cup |
1928 |
The four British nations resign from UEFA |
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The first £10,000 transfer |
1930 |
Uruguay win the first World Cup |
1931 |
Goalkeepers allowed to take four steps when holding the ball, not two. |
1933 |
The Scotland v. England games sets a new world attendance record |
1935 |
Arsenal equal Huddersfield’s record of three successive League championships |
1936 |
Joe Payne of Luton scores ten goals in a League game against Bristol Rovers, which Luton win 12-0 |
1937 |
Scotland v. England sets a another record attendance; 149,547 at Hampden Park |
1938 |
Major re-write of the laws of the game |
1939 |
Extensions to Wembley Stadium allow the first 100,000 crowd at an English Cup Final (actually 99,370 attend) Numbering of player’s shirts introduced for Football League games. The Football League is cancelled after the second week because of the outbreak of World War Two. Watering of pitches is allowed in England, except for November to February |
1945 |
The F.A. Cup returns after the War. The League has to wait another year. |
1946 |
Games can be played to a finish because of the problem of arranging replays. However, darkness fell in the Third Division North Cup between Stockport County and Doncaster after 203 minutes of play (90 minutes, plus two periods of ten minutes for extra time, plus another 93 minutes of stalemate without a goal being scored) Players maximum wage rises to £12 during the season, £10 at other times. |
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