Victorian Football Jokes
“Did Fred enjoy his football game yesterday?” “You bet he did! This morning he can’t see with one eye, and three f his ribs are broken!” CAUGHT It was nearly…
Leicester Hosts 1896 FA Amateur Cup Final
Leicester staged the FA Amateur Cup Final for the first time on Saturday 28 March 1896 on the Walnut Street (aka Filbert Street) ground, between Bishop Auckland overcame Sheffield, Ipswich,…
Leicestershire’s First Ladies Football Match
Suffragette Nettie Honeyball and manager Alfred Hewitt Smit founded the British Ladies’ Football Club or the Lady Footballers, who arranged tours usually as North v South or Reds v Blues…
A Bonfire Night Tragedy
On Saturday, 5 November 1892, a tragic accident occurred in Barrow, Leicestershire, resulting in the death of William Charles Palmer (36), a labourer from Woodhouse Eaves. Palmer was driving a…
Coalville FC’s First-Ever Game – February 1876
Leicester Chronicle – Saturday 26 February 1876
Football Crimes, Fines & Misdemeanours 1895-96
Leicestershire Football Association ruled football in the county with a rod of iron. Crimes and misdemeanours by players, officials and clubs were severely dealt with. A small selection of the…
Leicester Fosse 1904-05
This newspaper photograph shows the Leicester Fosse team in 1904-05, standing in front of the Manor House Hotel on Woodhouse Road in Quorn. The hotel was run by keen Quorn…
Back of the Net
The idea of using goal nets came about in the 1890s from John Brodie, an engineer from Liverpool, England. It is said that had the idea after watching a Football…
Belgrave Cricket & Cycle Ground
In 1879, the Belgrave Road Cricket and Bicycle Ground Company was established with £10,000 in share capital. By November of the same year, they secured an 8-acre plot under a…
Leicestershire Professional Footballers 1894-95
The Football Association compiled a list professional footballers registered at the start of the 1894-95 season. Leicestershire had 84 professional footballers – playing for eight clubs – Coalville Albion (6),…