Sheffield FC - last updated on 1 April 2009
(Courtesy of Johnny Beaufays)
Club name: Sheffield Football Club
Foundation: October 24th 1857
City: Sheffield
Colours: Red and black
Website: www.sheffieldfc.com
Honours:
FA Amateur Cup - 1 (1903-04)
Yorkshire League Division Two - 1 (1976-77)
Yorkshire Cup - 1 (1976-77)
Northern Countries East League Division One - 2 (1988-89, 1990-91)
Northern Countries East League Cup - 2 (2001-02, 2004-05)
Sheffield and Hallamshire Senior Cup - 4 (1993-94, 2004-05, 2005-06, 2007-08)
Whitbread Trophy - 1 (1987-88)
A bit of history:
In 1855, members of a Sheffield cricket club organised informal kick-abouts without any official rules. Nathaniel Creswick and William Prest formed the Sheffield Football Club.
The inaugural meeting of Sheffield F.C. took place on 24 October 1857 at Parkfield House in the suburb of Highfield. The original headquarters was a greenhouse on East Bank Road lent by Thomas Asline Ward, father of the first club president Frederick Ward, and the adjacent field was used as their first playing ground. Initially, Sheffield FC games were played among club members themselves and took the format of "Married v Singles" or "Professionals v the Rest". The Sheffield club is officially recognised by FIFA as the oldest football club in the world.
Creswick and Prest were responsible for drawing up the club's rules of play, which decided upon at the clubs AGM on 21 October 1858. They were referred to as the Sheffield Rules. At the time, before the formation of the Football Association (FA), many different kinds of football were popular in England. For example, each of the various public schools played football according to their own individual rules, and these varied widely.
The first rules were distinctive. There was no offside rule and was the first to introduce free kicks for foul play. Australian rules football, which began to develop the following year, resembles the original Sheffield code in various respects.
Sheffield's near neighbour, Hallam, was formed in 1860 and in the same year the two clubs first played each other in a local derby which is still contested today. By 1862 there were 15 clubs in the Sheffield area. These rules were later adopted by the Sheffield Football Association when it was formed in 1867. By this time the club had decided only to play teams outside Sheffield in order to seek a bigger challenge.
They became members of the The Football Association in 30 November 1863 but continued to use their own set of rules.
On 2 January 1865, the club played its first fixture outside Sheffield against Nottingham, playing eighteen aside under Nottingham Rules. The rest of the season also saw them visit Nottingham Forest and Lincoln City.
On 31 March 1866, there was a match between a team representing Sheffield and one representing London clubs, at Battersea Park. Rules that differed only slightly from the FA rules were used. The game, played as an eleven aside, was won by London by 2 goals and four touchdowns to nil.
However the matter of rules remained a problem with Sheffield continuing to play by their own rules. A number of rule proposals by the club were rejected by the FA in February 1867 and the London Committee were reluctant to commit to further fixtures over Sheffield's refusal to play strictly to FA rules. Sheffield finally adopted the FA rules in 1878.
Two players represented England whilst on the books of Sheffield F.C. - John Owen played once in 1874 and John Hudson made one appearance in 1883. The most eminent player for Sheffield was Charles Clegg who became both chairman and president of the Football Association.
Thursday Wanderers were a team founded by Sheffield F.C. players who wished to play in the Sheffield Challenge Cup. Sheffield Club had decided not to play in any local matches, so many of their players started playing on Thursdays. The team operated each season from 1876-77 until 1878-79, winning the Cup in their final year. The side was briefly revived in the early 1880s.
Its decline from the top echelon of football began with the introduction of professionalism in July 1885, with the amateurs of Sheffield failing to compete with professional teams, losing heavily that year to Aston Villa, Nottingham Forest and Notts County.
After the legalisation of professionalism Sheffield Club suggested to the FA the creation of a cup exclusively for amateur clubs. This would become the FA Amateur Cup and gave Sheffield their first ever cup success in 1904.
Sheffield joined the Yorkshire League in 1949, remaining in that competition until it merged with the Midland League to form the Northern Counties East League in 1982. During their 33-year stay in the Yorkshire League, their only divisional title was the Division Two crown in 1975-76. After joining the new league, initially in the lower divisions, they twice won the Division One title in 1988-89 and 1990-91, and held Premier Division status continuously from 1991 to 2007. In 2006-07, they finished second in the Premier Division, their highest position ever, and due to the latest round of restructuring of the National League System were accepted into the Northern Premier League Division One for 2007-08.
Sheffield F.C. are now based at the Coach and Horses Ground in Dronfield, Derbyshire, the first ground they have owned themselves. They play in the Northern Premier League Division One South, which is directly below the Northern Premier League Premier Division in the National League System. There are now 2 senior teams, 9 junior teams, 1 women's team (formed by a merger with Norton FC) and 1 disability team.
They have recently started a membership drive, notable members are Sven-Göran Eriksson, Sepp Blatter and Michael Vaughan. They have also enjoyed links with Real Madrid since both clubs received the FIFA Order of Merit and there were plans to play a match against them to celebrate their 150th Anniversary.
Sheffield FC's opponents for the 150th anniversary match in November 2007 were Italian Serie A side Inter Milan; Brazilian legend Pelé was guest of honour and was introduced to the teams and the fans before the game. The match ended 5-2 to Inter, with 18,741 supporters attending the match at Bramall Lane, Inter's side included World Cup winner Marco Materazzi. The day of the anniversary was marked with a church service and gala dinner attended by Geoff Thompson and Geoff Hurst among other major figures in the sport. Continuing their celebrations, Sheffield played Ajax on 13 April 2008, celebrating a historic 2-0 win. The match was again played at Bramall lane in front of a crowd of 5,000, with the Premier League's Uriah Rennie refereeing the match.
Club crests: (roll on the crest to get more informations)
Sheffield FC - Founded in 1857
