Clapham Rovers was from its foundation in 1869 a leading
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
sports organisation in the two dominant codes of football,
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 ...
and
rugby union
Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...
.
It was a prominent club in the late 19th century but is now defunct. The club played variously on
Clapham Common,
Tooting Bec Common
The Tooting Commons consist of two adjacent areas of common land lying between Balham, Streatham and Tooting, in south west London: Tooting Bec Common and Tooting Graveney Common.
Since 1996, they have been wholly within the London Borough o ...
and
Wandsworth Common
Wandsworth Common is a public common in Wandsworth, in the London Borough of Wandsworth, south London. It is and is maintained and regulated by Wandsworth Council. It is also a Ward of the London Borough of Wandsworth. The population of the ward ...
and wore a cerise and French-grey kit.
History
The club was formed on 10 August 1869 by a meeting arranged by W. E. Rawlinson, who, on the formation of the club, was elected honorary secretary. At this very first meeting it was agreed to play under both codes, with association rules to be played one week, and rugby the next. This peculiar feature in the constitution of the club obtained for the club the sobriquet of the "Hybrid Club".
The first match was played on 25 September 1869, against the
Wanderers, at that time arguably the strongest association club. Despite the prowess of their opponents the Rovers won 1–0. The Rovers were equally successful under rugby rules, and such was their gathering reputation by January 1870, they had sufficient membership to enable the club to play two matches every Saturday, one under each code. At the close of the 1870 season only two matches had been lost, one under each rules, and in both instances the return match was won, (under rugby rules, with the
Marlborough Nomads
The Marlborough Nomads was a 19th-century English rugby union club that was notable for being one of the twenty-one founding members of the Rugby Football Union. They also supplied a number of players for the sport's early international fixtures. ...
; under association, with
Charterhouse School
(God having given, I gave)
, established =
, closed =
, type = Public school Independent day and boarding school
, religion = Church of England
, president ...
).
Clapham Rovers were one of the fifteen teams to play in the very first edition of the
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...
, in
1871–72. The first ever FA Cup goal was scored by Clapham Rovers'
Jarvis Kenrick
Jarvis Kenrick (13 November 1852 – 29 January 1949) was an English footballer.
Career
Born in Chichester, Sussex, Kenrick scored the first ever goal in the FA Cup, for Clapham Rovers in a 3–0 victory over Upton Park on 11 November 1871. K ...
, in a 3–0 victory over
Upton Park on 11 November 1871.
Association football
Rovers' greatest achievement was winning the
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...
in
1879–80 with a 1–0 win over
Oxford University
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
at
Kennington Oval. Their team in the
1880 FA Cup Final was:
:
Reginald Birkett
Reginald Halsey Birkett (28 March 1849 – 30 June 1898) was an English footballer who played for Clapham Rovers, as well as the English national side. He also played international rugby union for England in 1871, in the first international rug ...
,
Robert Ogilvie
Robert Andrew Muter Macindoe Ogilvie (20 October 1852 – 7 March 1938) was an English footballer who made one appearance as a defender for England in 1874, and was a member of the Clapham Rovers team that won the 1880 FA Cup Final.
Football c ...
,
Edgar Field,
Vincent Weston,
Norman Bailey,
Arthur Stanley Arthur Stanley may refer to:
*Arthur Stanley (politician) (1869–1947), British Conservative politician
*Arthur Stanley, 5th Baron Stanley of Alderley (1875–1931), English nobleman and Governor of Victoria
* Arthur Jehu Stanley Jr. (1901–2001), ...
,
Harold Brougham
Harold may refer to:
People
* Harold (given name), including a list of persons and fictional characters with the name
* Harold (surname), surname in the English language
* András Arató, known in meme culture as "Hide the Pain Harold"
Arts a ...
,
Francis Sparks
Francis John Sparks (4 July 1855 – 13 February 1934) was an English amateur footballer, who played as a forward. He won the FA Cup in 1880 with Clapham Rovers and made three appearances for England, scoring three goals and being appointed capt ...
,
Felix Barry
Felix may refer to:
* Felix (name), people and fictional characters with the name
Places
* Arabia Felix is the ancient Latin name of Yemen
* Felix, Spain, a municipality of the province Almería, in the autonomous community of Andalusia, S ...
,
Edward Ram
Edward Albert Ram (24 April 1858 – 27 January 1946) was an English footballer for Clapham Rovers F.C., Clapham Rovers and prominent architect in Hong Kong during his days in early 20th century. He helped Clapham Rovers to win the 1880 FA Cup Fi ...
,
Clopton Lloyd-Jones
Clopton Allen Lloyd-Jones (12 November 1858 – 7 March 1918) was an English businessman and amateur sportsman, best known for football and cricket. He played for the Clapham Rovers when they won the FA Cup in 1880 and was selected, but did not ...
.
Lloyd-Jones scored the only goal of the game.
The previous year, Clapham Rovers had also reached
the final
Final, Finals or The Final may refer to:
*Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event
** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...
, but lost 1–0 to
Old Etonians
Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, C ...
. In this match, Clapham Rovers'
James Prinsep
James Prinsep FRS (20 August 1799 – 22 April 1840) was an English scholar, orientalist and antiquary. He was the founding editor of the ''Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal'' and is best remembered for deciphering the Kharosthi and B ...
set a record for being the youngest player in an FA Cup Final, at 17 years and 245 days, a record that held until 2004 when it was broken by
Millwall's
Curtis Weston
Curtis James Weston (born 24 January 1987) is an English professional footballer who plays for AFC Fylde.
Playing career
Born in Greenwich, London, Weston attended Erith Secondary School, and was spotted by a Millwall scout when playing for ...
.
Clapham Rovers were also one of ten founder members of the
Surrey County Football Association, in 1877.
Rugby union
The club's strength in rugby was borne out by their record: from 1870 to 1881 the club played 151 Rugby games, winning 80, losing 30, and drawing 41. During the 1870s they fielded a team that had four internationals:
R. H. Birkett (who was captain), his brother, L. Birkett, and the Bryden brothers. Additionally Crampton, and Walker were well regarded forwards and Clapham was known to have "the strongest combination of the time behind the scrummage".
On 26 January 1871, 32 members representing twenty-one London and suburban football clubs that followed
Rugby School
Rugby School is a public school (English independent boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) in Rugby, Warwickshire, England.
Founded in 1567 as a free grammar school for local boys, it is one of the oldest independent schools in Britain. Up ...
rules (Wasps were invited but failed to attend) assembled at the
Pall Mall Restaurant in
Regent Street
Regent Street is a major shopping street in the West End of London. It is named after George, the Prince Regent (later George IV) and was laid out under the direction of the architect John Nash and James Burton. It runs from Waterloo Place ...
. E.C. Holmes, captain of the
Richmond Club assumed the presidency. It was resolved unanimously that the formation of a Rugby Football Society was desirable and thus the
Rugby Football Union
The Rugby Football Union (RFU) is the Sports governing body, national governing body for rugby union in England. It was founded in 1871, and was the sport's international governing body prior to the formation of what is now known as World Rugby ...
was formed. A president, a secretary and treasurer, and a committee of thirteen were elected, to whom was entrusted the drawing-up of the laws of the game upon the basis of the code in use at Rugby School. R. H. Birkett represented The Rovers and was one of the thirteen original committee members.
![EnglandRugby1871Rovers](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5e/EnglandRugby1871Rovers.jpg)
The first international rugby match was played between Scotland and England in 1871 and The Rovers provided R. H. Birkett. In this match he scored England's first ever try.
When the club played one of the strongest and most well established clubs, Richmond, for the first time on 21 October 1871, they won the match by 1 goal and 2 tries. At the end of the 1870–71 season the club moved from Clapham Common, to a field at Balham, where they continued to play till 1876, when they moved to Wandsworth, where they were still playing in 1892.
Dissolution
The club survived until 1914 and their last recorded match was a 2–1 win over the
Royal Military College at Sandhurst
The Royal Military College (RMC), founded in 1801 and established in 1802 at Great Marlow and High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire, England, but moved in October 1812 to Sandhurst, Berkshire, was a British Army military academy for training infantry a ...
on 14 February 1914. The club announced that it was ceasing activities for the duration of
World War One and never re-emerged when hostilities ended in 1918. The club lost three players during the war and Captain Begg who was the driving force behind the club was injured.
International players
Association football
Eight Clapham Rovers players played for
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
between 1874 and 1887, who were as follows (caps in brackets):
*
Norman Bailey (19 caps)
*
Reginald Birkett
Reginald Halsey Birkett (28 March 1849 – 30 June 1898) was an English footballer who played for Clapham Rovers, as well as the English national side. He also played international rugby union for England in 1871, in the first international rug ...
(1 cap)
*
Walter Buchanan (1 cap)
*
Edgar Field (2 caps)
*
Richard Geaves (1 cap)
*
Robert Ogilvie
Robert Andrew Muter Macindoe Ogilvie (20 October 1852 – 7 March 1938) was an English footballer who made one appearance as a defender for England in 1874, and was a member of the Clapham Rovers team that won the 1880 FA Cup Final.
Football c ...
(1 cap)
*
James Prinsep
James Prinsep FRS (20 August 1799 – 22 April 1840) was an English scholar, orientalist and antiquary. He was the founding editor of the ''Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal'' and is best remembered for deciphering the Kharosthi and B ...
(1 cap)
*
Francis Sparks
Francis John Sparks (4 July 1855 – 13 February 1934) was an English amateur footballer, who played as a forward. He won the FA Cup in 1880 with Clapham Rovers and made three appearances for England, scoring three goals and being appointed capt ...
(2 caps)
The following players represented "England" in the
representative matches played between 1870 and 1872:
*
T.S. Baker (1 match)
*
Jarvis Kenrick
Jarvis Kenrick (13 November 1852 – 29 January 1949) was an English footballer.
Career
Born in Chichester, Sussex, Kenrick scored the first ever goal in the FA Cup, for Clapham Rovers in a 3–0 victory over Upton Park on 11 November 1871. K ...
(1 match)
*
Alexander Nash (1 match)
*
R.S.F. Walker (3 matches, 4 goals)
Rugby football
*
R. H. Birkett (first capped 1871)
*
Henry Bryden
Henry Anderson Bryden (3 May 1854 – 23 September 1937) was an English solicitor, athlete and sportsman, playing rugby for England in 1874. He was a keen hunter and naturalist and travelled widely. He then became a professional author writing a ...
(first capped 1874)
*
L. H. Birkett (first capped 1875)
*C. C. Bryden (first capped 1875)
Modern-day team
Since 1996 a
Sunday league team has operated under the name "Clapham Rovers" which wears a cerise and French grey kit, displaying in its badge the legend "FA Cup winners 1880". They play in the Southern Sunday Football League - Winning the League in the 2021/2022 season.
"Clapham Rovers" on Twitter
/ref>
See also
* Clapham Common Club (C.C.C.)
* Football in London
*List of football clubs in England
This is a list of football clubs that compete within the leagues and divisions of the (English football league system) as far down as Level 10, that is to say, six divisions below the English Football League. Also included are clubs from outside ...
*Rugby union in London Rugby union is one of the most popular sports, in terms of both participants and spectators in London. London has several of England's leading rugby union clubs, and the city is home to 13 teams playing in national leagues, and many regional amateur ...
* List of rugby union clubs in England
References
External links
*
Clapham Rovers modern team website
{{Football in London
Association football clubs established in 1869
Defunct football clubs in England
FA Cup winners
Defunct English rugby union teams
Rugby union clubs in London
Defunct football clubs in London
Sport in the London Borough of Wandsworth
1869 establishments in England
Association football clubs disestablished in 1914