The following are the

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

events of the year 1885 throughout the world.

Events

During the summer of 1885, there was pressure put on

the Football Association The Football Association (also known as The FA) is the Sports governing body, governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Bailiwick of Guernsey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the ...

to accept professionalism in English football, culminating in a special meeting on 20 July, after which it was announced that it was "''in the interests of Association Football, to legalise the employment of professional football players, but only under certain restrictions''". Clubs were allowed to pay players provided that they had either been born or had lived for two years within a six-mile radius of the ground. There were also rules preventing professional players playing for more than one club in a season, without obtaining special permission, and all professional players had to be registered with the F.A. *12 September:

Arbroath F.C. Arbroath Football Club is a semi-professional Scottish football club based in the town of Arbroath, Angus. They currently play in the Scottish Championship. The club was founded in 1878 and plays home matches at Gayfield Park. They play in mar ...

beat

Bon Accord F.C. Bon Accord Football Club were a football team from Aberdeen, Scotland who suffered the worst defeat in any Scottish senior football match, losing 36–0 to Arbroath on 12 September 1885 in a first round match of the Scottish Cup. Thirteen g ...

(of Aberdeen) 36-0, a record which stands to this day. On the same day, Dundee Harp beat Aberdeen Rovers 35-0.

Clubs founded in 1885

Denmark

Aalborg BK Aalborg Boldspilklub is a Danish sports club based in the city of Aalborg. The club is also known as AaB for short (cf. logo) or Aalborg BK. Through time the club has had branches in cricket, tennis, ice hockey, handball, and basketball, but curre ...

England

Bromsgrove Rovers F.C. Bromsgrove Rovers F.C. was a non-League football club from the town of Bromsgrove in Worcestershire. The peak of the club's success was in 1993 when Rovers finished runner-up in the Football Conference. They went into administration during the ...

Bury F.C. Bury Football Club is an English association football club based in Bury, Greater Manchester, whose team last played in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of English football, in the 2018–19 season. The team are known as "The Shakers", and ...

Chester City F.C. Chester City Football Club was an association football team from Chester, England that played in a variety of leagues between 1885 and 2010. The club played its home games at Sealand Road from 1906 to 1991 and moved to the Deva Stadium in 1992 ...

Hailsham Town F.C. Hailsham Town Football Club is a football club based in Hailsham, East Sussex, England. They are currently members of the and play at the Beaconsfield. The club are known locally as 'The Stringers', a nickname which derives from traditional i ...

* Kingstonian F.C. *

Lewes F.C. Lewes Football Club is a semi-professional football club based in Lewes, East Sussex, England. The men's first team are currently members of the and play at the Dripping Pan. History The club was established in a meeting at the Royal Oak pub ...

Luton Town F.C. Luton Town Football Club () is a professional association football club based in the town of Luton, Bedfordshire, England, that competes in the EFL Championship, Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1 ...

* Millwall Rovers F.C. *

Southampton F.C. Southampton Football Club () is an English professional football club based in Southampton, Hampshire, which competes in the . Their home ground since 2001 has been St Mary's Stadium, before which they were based at The Dell. The club play in ...

Scotland

Dunfermline Athletic F.C. Dunfermline Athletic Football Club is a Scottish football club based in the city of Dunfermline, Fife. Founded in 1885, the club currently play in Scottish League One after being relegated from the 2021–22 Scottish Championship. Dunfermlin ...

* St Johnstone F.C.

Domestic cups

International tournaments

1884–85 British Home Championship The 1884–85 British Home Championship was the second football tournament between the Home Nations and was, like the previous competition, won by a Scottish team which completely dominated proceedings. The English also performed well, beginning w ...

(28 February – 11 April 1885)

Births

* 20 February –

George Wall George Wall (20 February 1885 – June 1962) was an English association football, footballer. Career Born in The Boldons, Boldon Colliery, County Durham, Wall started his career with Boldon Royal Rovers and played for Whitburn and Jarrow F.C ...

(d. 1962), England international forward in seven matches (1907–1913), scoring two goals. * 21 April – Harry Hampton (d. 1963), England international forward in four matches (1913–1914), scoring two goals. * 15 May –

Jimmy Brownlie James Brownlie (15 May 1885 – 29 December 1973) was a Scottish footballer and manager, who played as a goalkeeper. Career Brownlie was born in Blantyre, Lanarkshire, and was an outstanding personality in Scottish football over many years, ...

(d. 1973), Scotland international goalkeeper in sixteen matches (1909–1914). * 9 July –

Caius Welcker Jan Herman "Caius" Welcker (9 July 1885 – 13 February 1939) was a Dutch football (soccer) player who competed in the 1908 Summer Olympics. He was born in Alkmaar and died in Schiedam Schiedam () is a city and municipality in the wes ...

(d. 1939), Netherlands international forward in fifteen matches (c. 1908), scoring five goals. * 10 August –

George Hilsdon George Richard Hilsdon (10 August 1885 – 10 September 1941) was a footballer who began his career at West Ham United, making his debut in the 1903–04 season. His brother Jack Hilsdon also played for West Ham at this time. Hilsdon transferred ...

(d. 1941), England international forward in eight matches (1907–1909), scoring fourteen goals. * 10 September –

Albert Shepherd Albert Shepherd (10 September 1885 – 8 November 1929) was an English professional footballer who played as a forward. He began his career with amateur side Bolton Temperance before signing for First Division club Blackburn Rovers but was re ...

(d. 1929), England international forward in two matches (1906–1911), scoring two goals. * 1 October –

Bert Freeman Bertram Clewley Freeman (1 October 1885 – 11 August 1955) was an English footballer. He played as a centre forward for clubs Woolwich Arsenal, Everton, Burnley and Wigan Borough. Freeman was one of the most prolific goal-scorers of his time ...

(d. 1955), England international forward in five matches (1909–1912), scoring three goals. * 20 November –

George Holley George Holley (20 November 1885 – 27 August 1942) was an English professional footballer who spent most of his career as an inside forward with Sunderland, helping them claim the Football League title in 1913. He was also joint top scorer in t ...

(d. 1942), England international forward in ten matches (1909–1913), scoring eight goals. * 21 November –

Robert Evans Robert Evans (born Robert J. Shapera; June 29, 1930October 26, 2019) was an American film producer, studio executive, and actor, best known for his work on '' Rosemary's Baby'' (1968), '' Love Story'' (1970), ''The Godfather'' (1972), and ''Chi ...

(d. 1965), international forward for both Wales (ten matches; 1906–1910) and England (four matches; 1911–1912).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1885 In Association Football