Happy 150th Birthday, Sheffield FC

By: Bob | October 24th, 2007

In a movie version of the story about the founding of the world’s first soccer club, there would be a dramatic reason why the club was started. It was part of a peace effort to bring two warring sides together or it was part of a great cultural movement or Denzel Washington started it to feed the poor. Alas, the real life events that led to the creation of Sheffield FC, the oldest football club in the world, contain no such drama. But the story is still interesting in that arts house movie kind of way.

The story goes that Sheffield FC was founded on October 24, 1857 – that is a 150 years ago to this very day. The reason for its creation? Some cricket dudes wanted something to do during the winter months. In other words, if Netflix and stairmasters were around back then we’d be left watching nothing but cricket today. Praise Mother Nature for those cold, rainy winter months!

After the club was founded, in a potting shed no less, the game started to take the shape that is familiar to all of us today.

Sheffield FC have been behind a number of innovations over the years. Besides their rules, which initiated the use of a solid crossbar instead of rope, free-kicks, corners and overhead throw-ins, they were also fathers of the aerial game, which was unheard of in the south of the country until they travelled down to the Oval to take on a London XI. The sight of their opponents heading the ball provoked fits of hysteria from the London players, but the next time they got together they spent their time practicing the art which would become a trait of English football.

When you are the only club in the world it is kind of hard to organize games. That left the cool kids from Sheffield to come up with some creative ways to go shirts and skins.

Members organised themselves into teams for matches such as Married Men versus Unmarried Men, and Professional Occupations versus The Rest.

The modern version of this would be to have a team of players who have been outted in The Sun for cheating on their wives play a team of players who have been arrested in pub fights.

Despite their advanced start in the sport, Sheffield FC has amazingly never played in the professional league. This year they are playing in the Unibond League’s First Division South, which is seven divisions beneath the Premier League. You might think this would be an indication of hard times at the club, but in fact it is the highest position in the club’s long history.

As part of the club’s century and a half celebration, they will play a friendly next month against Inter Milan.