England has been playing football for quite a while. Much like the history of any professional athletic leagues, some teams predate the formation of the league itself and were formed by friends playing together. Join us as we review some of the oldest clubs in the Football League and discuss the history of their founding and successes.
One of the longest-time members of the English Football League started its club in 1863. Stoke City’s team consisted of men working as apprentices for the North Staffordshire Railway in Stoke. After a few years of playing local matches, Stoke City decided to compete in the recently established Football Association Cup in 1883. While Stoke City had been playing football together for a few years, they hadn’t played enough games against skilled teams to know how they compared. Stoke City lost the first game against Manchester with a 2-1 score and withdrew the following year after learning they were facing another team on this list, Queen’s Park.
Stoke City would become a founding member of the European Football League when the organisation was founded in 1888. They’ve been around for a long time!
Queen’s Park was dominant in the 1880s, with a dynasty established as they won the Scottish Cup ten times in 19 years. Stoke City even dropped out of the FA Cup in the late 19th century when they learned they would have to play against a superior Queen’s Park squad.
Their matches occur at a relatively impressive home in Hampden Park, considering that Queen’s Park hasn’t played against the toughest competition in Scotland or the UK since 1958. Queen’s Park still played a very important role in the modern game, as they were among the first to adopt the modern game of football with more passing and ball control than the more individualistic, long ball style played before. The game has evolved considerably since then, with teams nowadays working with a wide range of sponsors, including gambling sites like BonusFinder.co.uk.
Sheffield Wednesday earned some early success after forming in 1867 as a side sport to the Wednesday Cricket Club. They were one of the first members of the English Football League, as they joined in 1892. Since then, they scored three cup victories before World War II but haven’t won anything significant.
Some have been curious as to why they are called Wednesday, and the answer stems from many of the club members having Wednesday afternoons off, enabling them to be available for cricket and soccer games at Darnall New Ground or Hyde Park. Since roughly 1899, Sheffield Wednesday has played their matches at Hillsborough Stadium, with a 40,000 capacity. That’s a bit of an upgrade.
Nottingham Forest was formed in 1865, though they weren’t initially a football club. Instead, they played a sport called shinny and met on Shakespeare Street in Clinton Arms. As they became more locally competitive, they scheduled their first game against another old team, Notts County, in 1866. Nottingham had plenty of success early on, as they repeatedly competed in the semi-finals of the FA Cup, only to finally break through and earn the title in 1898.
The team also brought about a couple of firsts to English football. Nottingham Forest is said to be among the first teams to use shin guards in 1874 and played in the first match where the referee signalled using a whistle. Nottingham, like many other teams on this list, are old enough to have been around when basic equipment was first introduced.
There is some debate about which team is the oldest professional football club in the world. This is in part because, in some cases, like Stoke City and others, there isn’t much evidence of the team competitively playing against other teams. Some claim that Notts County is the oldest team, as they claim to have started just before Stoke City in 1862.
Much like the other teams on this list of the oldest, Notts County had some success early on when the Football League wasn’t as competitive. Notts County went to the FA Cup final in 1891 and lost but returned in 1894 to win it all. Since then, they have straddled the line between second, third, and fourth divisions for decades.
Wrexham is said to have been founded in 1864. Since then, they have played in multiple leagues, including the English Football League and the Welsh Premier League. One of Wrexham’s biggest achievements is making the most FA Cup appearances, 28, as a non-league team. Today, they might be better known for their current ownership by celebrities Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, which has brought them into the spotlight a bit more.
England loves football. As the favoured sport of the United Kingdom, some teams have some deep roots going back to the 19th century, right around when football became the sport it is today. It’s no wonder it’s this popular!