Pegasus Association Football Club was an

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 ...

amateur An amateur () is generally considered a person who pursues an avocation independent from their source of income. Amateurs and their pursuits are also described as popular, informal, autodidacticism, self-taught, user-generated, do it yourself, DI ...

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

club that ran from 1948 to 1963, based in

Oxford 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 ...

and composed of

Oxbridge Oxbridge is a portmanteau of Oxford and Cambridge, the two oldest, wealthiest, and most famous universities in the United Kingdom. The term is used to refer to them collectively, in contrast to other British universities, and more broadly to de ...

(

and

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

)

university A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

students. While the club saw success in the 1950s, they disbanded the following decade after defections to rival clubs.

History

The club was founded in 1948 as a joint venture of

Oxford University A.F.C. Oxford University Association Football Club is an English football club representing the University of Oxford. The club currently plays in the BUCS Football League, the league system of British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS). In 2020 ...

and

Cambridge University A.F.C. Cambridge University Association Football Club is an English football club representing the University of Cambridge. Official university publications have claimed that the club was formed in 1856,

, instigated by

Harold Warris Thompson Sir Harold Warris Thompson, CBE, FRS (15 February 1908 – 31 December 1983) was an English physical chemist and spectroscopist, who also served as chairman of the Football Association. Early life and education Harold Thompson was born in Wombw ...

, professor at

St. John's College, Oxford St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded as a men's college in 1555, it has been coeducational since 1979.Communication from Michael Riordan, college archivist Its founder, Sir Thomas White, intended to pro ...

and later an administrator with

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 ...

. The founding president was Kenneth Hunt, formerly of the star amateur club

Corinthian F.C. Corinthian Football Club was an English amateur football club based in London between 1882 and 1939. Above all, the club is credited with having popularised football around the world, having promoted sportsmanship and fair play, and having ch ...

The symbol

Pegasus Pegasus ( grc-gre, Πήγασος, Pḗgasos; la, Pegasus, Pegasos) is one of the best known creatures in Greek mythology. He is a winged divine stallion usually depicted as pure white in color. He was sired by Poseidon, in his role as hor ...

was chosen as containing elements from the logos of the football clubs of both Oxford University (a

centaur A centaur ( ; grc, κένταυρος, kéntauros; ), or occasionally hippocentaur, is a creature from Greek mythology with the upper body of a human and the lower body and legs of a horse. Centaurs are thought of in many Greek myths as being ...

) and Cambridge University (a

falcon Falcons () are birds of prey in the genus ''Falco'', which includes about 40 species. Falcons are widely distributed on all continents of the world except Antarctica, though closely related raptors did occur there in the Eocene. Adult falcons ...

). At first, members had to be current Oxford or Cambridge University players or to have left the previous year, but this rule was later relaxed. In the postwar years, Oxbridge students included many men in their twenties demobilised from service in World War II. Pegasus had an attractive style similar to the

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional association football, football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English footba ...

of the day, whose

Vic Buckingham Victor Frederick Buckingham (23 October 1915 – 26 January 1995) was an English association football, football player and manager. He played for the then second division side Tottenham Hotspur F.C., Tottenham Hotspur. As manager he won the 195 ...

and Bill Nicholson had previously coached Oxford and Cambridge respectively. The club had great success in the 1950s including wins at

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...

in the

FA Amateur Cup The FA Amateur Cup was an English football competition for amateur clubs. It commenced in 1893 and ended in 1974 when the Football Association abolished official amateur status. History Following the legalisation of professionalism within footba ...

in 1951, which finished 2–1 against

Bishop Auckland Bishop Auckland () is a market town and civil parish at the confluence of the River Wear and the River Gaunless in County Durham, northern England. It is northwest of Darlington and southwest of Durham. Much of the town's early history surro ...

, and 1953, which finished 6–0 against Harwich & Parkeston in front of a full house of 100,000 spectators. On both occasions, the semi-final was played at

Highbury Highbury is a district in North London and part of the London Borough of Islington in Greater London that was owned by Ranulf brother of Ilger and included all the areas north and east of Canonbury and Holloway Roads. The manor house was situ ...

and was drawn, so that a replay was necessary. In the 1951 semi-final, Pegasus's opponents,

Hendon Hendon is an urban area in the Borough of Barnet, North-West London northwest of Charing Cross. Hendon was an ancient manor and parish in the county of Middlesex and a former borough, the Municipal Borough of Hendon; it has been part of Great ...

, were awarded a penalty in the last minute, but missed it, and Pegasus won the replay at

Selhurst Park Selhurst Park is a football stadium in Selhurst in the London Borough of Croydon which is the home ground of Premier League side Crystal Palace. The stadium was designed by Archibald Leitch and opened in 1924. It has hosted international footba ...

. In 1954, Pegasus toured

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

, and supplied seven members of the England amateur international team. Changes in university culture in the 1960s and defections to Corinthian-Casuals undermined its ethos and the club folded in 1963, following an Oxfordshire Senior Cup tie against Marston United.

Colours

The club played in white shirts, navy blue shorts (in honour of Oxford), and sky blue socks (in honour of Cambridge), with a badge of a sky blue Pegasus on a dark blue patch.

Ground

The club used Iffley Road in Oxford for its home matches, as the Cambridge pitch at Grange Road was owned by the Cambridge University rugby club.

Famous coaches

Joe Mercer Joseph Mercer, OBE (9 August 1914 – 9 August 1990) was an English football player and manager. Mercer, who played as a defender for Everton and Arsenal in his footballing career, also went on to manage Aston Villa, Manchester City and Engl ...

Malcolm Allison Malcolm Alexander Allison (5 September 1927 – 14 October 2010) was an English football player and manager. Nicknamed "Big Mal", he was one of English football's most flamboyant and intriguing characters because of his panache, fedora and ...

Arthur Rowe Arthur Sydney Rowe (1 September 1906 – 5 November 1993) was an English footballer, and later manager, who played as a centre half. He was the first manager to lead Tottenham Hotspur to the First Division Championship title in 1951. He also "i ...

Famous officials

*Reverend Kenneth Hunt, founding president *Sir

Honours

**Winners 1950–51, 1952–53 *

Oxfordshire Senior Cup The Oxfordshire Senior Cup is the senior county cup of the Oxfordshire Football Association. The competition was first contested in the 1884–85 season. Winners (up to 2022/23 season inclusive) *Oxford City 36 (inc. one shared) * Headingto ...

**Winners 1949–50, 1957–58

References

External links

*{{fchd, name=Pegasus F.C., id=PEGASUS * Ken Shearwood, ''Pegasus: The Famous Oxford and Cambridge Soccer Side of the Nineteen Fifties''. With an Introduction by Geoffrey Green, and an Afterword by David Miller. (Kennedy & Boyd, 2011).

Defunct football clubs in England Association football clubs established in 1948 Association football clubs disestablished in 1963 Clubs and societies of the University of Cambridge Clubs and societies of the University of Oxford Oxbridge Defunct football clubs in Oxfordshire 1948 establishments in England 1963 disestablishments in England Defunct football clubs in Cambridgeshire University and college football clubs in England