BigSoccer's Players of the Season: 1878-79

Additions in blue:


Queen's Park-Vale of Leven 0-1, 28.9.1878, Glasgow, Hampden Park, Attendance: 10,000
goals: McPherson
best players:

Queen's Park-3rd Lanark 3-2, 5.10.1878, Glasgow, Hampden Park, Attendance: 3,500
goals: Weir, Fraser, Thomson (o.g.) / scramble, McAdam
best players:

Rangers-Queen's Park 0-1, 12.10.1878, Glasgow, Kinning Park, Attendance: 2,500
goals: H McNeil
best players:

Clapham Rovers-Rangers 1-5, 25.10.1878, London
goals: Sedgwick / Steel, A Marshall, M McNeil 2, D Hill
best players: Bailey / A Marshall, D Hill, M McNeil

Nottingham Forest-Rangers 0-2, 26.10.1878, Nottingham
goals: A Marshall, W Steel
best players: Goodyer, Caborn, Earp / M McNeil, W Steel, Vallance

Wanderers– Clapham Rovers 2-2, 4.11.1878, The Oval, Attendance: 4,000
goals: Wollaston, Wylie / Growse, Sparks
best players:
The first match under electric lights at the Oval, after it was introduced in Sheffield.

Queen's Park-Vale of Leven 2-0, 6.11.1878, Glasgow, Hampden Park, Attendance: ?
goals: Highet, ?
best players:
The first match for these teams under electric lights. The general view was that the electric light experiment had been a disappointing failure.

FA Cup 1st round, Wanderers–Old Etonians 2-7, 9.11.1878, The Oval
goals: Kenrick, scrimmage / Goodhart, E Lyttelton, Kenrick og, Novelli 2, Sedgwick, Calvert
best players: / Kinnaird, R Bury
Led by FA President Francis Marindin, the Old Etonians Football Club, who has failed to put a team together for the previous two seasons' competitions, is properly constituted in October, luring away alumni of Eton College from Wanderers and other amateur clubs. In the FA Cup holder Wanderers is outclassed 7-2 by Old Etonians. Only three players are missing from the Cup-winning Wanderers team from March.

Queen's Park-Notts County 4-0, 9.11.1878, Glasgow, Hampden Park, Attendance:
goals: H McNeil, Highet, Lamberton, Weir
best players: H McNeil, Lamberton, Weir / AW Cursham, C Cursham

Sheffield 1 London 1, 16.11.1878, Bramall Lane
Goals: TH Sorby / Bailey
Best Players: Stacey (gk), Mosforth, Woodcock, TH Sorby, J Tomlinson / RA Sorby (gk), Jarrett, Stanley, Wylie, Wace.

FA Cup 1st round, Notts County–Nottingham Forest 1-3, 16.11.1878, Nottingham
goals: JRB Owen / Turner, Goodyer, H Smith
best players: AW Cursham, HA Cursham, EH Greenhalgh / Earp, Goodyer, Widdowson

FA Cup 2nd round, Oxford University-Royal Engineers 4-0, 7.12.1878, Oxford?
Goals: Childs 2, Mulholland, Page
best players:

FA Cup 2nd round, Nottingham Forest-Sheffield FC 2-0, 21.12.1878, Nottingham
goals: AH Smith, Moss og
best players:

London 3 Sheffield 3, 28.12.1878, The Oval
Goals: Lowis, Wollaston, Fairclough / Hunter, Barber, Mosforth
Best Players: Bambridge, Lowis, Wollaston, Bailey, Jarrett, Warner (gk) / WE Clegg, Buttery, Mosforth, HA Cursham, Barber.

ENG-WAL 2-1, 18.1.1879, The Oval, Attendance: 200
goals: 1-0 Whitfeld 8', 2-0 Sorby 20', 2-1 Davies 47'
best players:
The ground was covered in two-three inches of snow, while a sleet fell during the greater part of the game.

Notts County-Queen’s Park 0-2, 1.2.1879, Nottingham, Attendance: 400
goals: scrimmage, Clifford
best players:
The day was extremely cold, with a biting east wind, and only about 400 spectators were present. The Trent Bridge pitch was covered with frozen snow and good play was well nigh impossible.

FA Cup Quarter-final, Old Etonians–Darwen 5-5, 13.2.1879, The Oval
goals: Goodhart (3), Christian, Whitfield / Kirkham, Love 2, Marshall , scrimmage
best players:
Old Etonians needs two replays to overcome Darwen, the first team from the north to achieve a notable result. Two recently signed professional Scotsmen, Fergus Suter and James Love play in the Darwen side, composed almost entirely of working lads, marking the first significant involvement of professional players in English football.

Glasgow-Sheffield 4-1, 15.2.1879, Glasgow, Hampden Park, Attendance: 6,000
goals: 0-1 H Cursham 25, 1-1 Richmond 65, 2-1 Richmond 75, McNeil and Kerr in the closing stages
best players: Richmond, G Ker, H McNeil, Vallance, Somers / H Cursham, Mosforth

FA Cup Quarter-final, Nottingham Forest-Oxford University 2-1, 25.2.1879, The Oval ? Yes
Goals: Goodyer, Smith / Blaine
best players: Widdowson, Earp /

FA Cup Quarter-final 1st replay, Old Etonians–Darwen 2-2, 8.3.1879, The Oval
goals: Kirkham, Bury / Clerke, Whitfield
best players:

FA Cup Quarter-final, Clapham Rovers– Swifts 8-1, 8.3.1879, The Oval
goals: Bailey 2, Scott 2, Rawson, Stanley, Leaf og, scrimmage / Bain
best players:

Scottish Cup 5th round, Queen's Park-3rd Lanark 5-0, 8.3.1879, Glasgow, Hampden Park, Attendance: 10,000
goals: Highet, Ker (2), Richmond (2)
best players: H McNeil, G Ker, Weir, Richmond, Highet, W MacKinnon
Queen’s won the match surprisingly easily.

Oxford University 0 Cambridge University 1, 8.3.1879, The Oval
Goal: EJ Wild

Notts County 1 Stoke 0, 8.3.1879, Nottingham
Goal: Arthur Cursham

Nottingham Forest 5 Chesterfield 1, 8.3.1879, Nottingham
Goals: AH Smith, Widdowson, Goodyer, Earp, Turner / ?

FA Cup Quarter-final 2nd replay, Old Etonians–Darwen 6-2, 15.3.1879, The Oval
goals: Goodhart 2, Sedgwick 2, Clerke, Whitfield / Marshall, F Suter
best players:

FA Cup Semi-final, Old Etonians–Nottingham Forest 2-1, 22.3.1879, The Oval
goals: 1-0 Whitfeld, 1-1 Bishop, 2-1 Luntley (o.g.)
best players: Sedgwick, Clerke, Whitfield, Christian / Goodyer, AH Smith, Bates

Scottish Cup Quarter-final, Queen's Park-Rangers 0-1, 22.3.1879, Glasgow, Hampden Park, Attendance: 10,000
goals: Dunlop
best players: Richmond, Highet / Vallance
A crowd of 10,000 was present to see Queen’s go down to a shock 1-0 defeat. Queen’s Park had the benefit of a strong breeze in the first half but the Rangers defence managed to hold out. The position was reversed in the second half, with Rangers doing the bulk of the attacking. With five minutes to go, Rangers made the breakthrough. Vallance shot for goal and a cluster of four Rangers players forced goalkeeper William Thomson and the ball through the goal. William Dunlop was credited with the final touch. Queen’s claimed hand ball but to no avail. It was a disappointing Queen’s Park performance, and somewhat unexpectedly, it was Rangers who progressed.

FA Cup Final, Old Etonians–Clapham Rovers 1-0, 29.3.1879, The Oval, Attendance: 3,000
goals: 1-0 Clerke 59
best players: Whitfield / Bailey, Prinsep
The match is considered to be the poorest FA Cup Final to date.

Sheffield Cup Final, Thursday Wanderers 3 Heeley 1, 29.3.1879, Attendance 6,000
Goals: 2 scrimmages, Wood / Andrews
Best Players: AW Cursham, H Cursham, TH Sorby, Willey, Greenhalgh, Wood, Beardshaw / Hunter, both Tomlinsons, Moss, Scaife, Deans.

ENG-SCO 5-4, 5.4.1879, The Oval, Attendance: 4,500
http://www.englandfootballonline.com/Seas1872-00/1878-79/M0009Sco1879.html
goals: 1-0 Mosforth ('shot' 5), 1-1 MacKinnon ('back kick' 20), 1-2 McDougall ('foot' 30), 1-3 Smith (35), 1-4 MacKinnon ('well kicked' 41), 2-4 Bambridge ("made one of the most magnificent runs we have ever witnessed", 'kicked' 48), 3-4 Goodyer ('kick' 60), 4-4 Parlane (o.g. from a Norman Bailey throw-in 75), 5-4 Bambridge ('finely kicked' 83)
best players: Mosforth, Bailey, Prinsep, Wace, Sparks, Bambridge / J Smith, Paton, H McNeil, Vallance, McPherson, Campbell.

WAL-SCO 0-3, 7.4.1879, The Racecourse Ground, Wrexham, Attendance: 2,000
goals: 0-1 Campbell (34), 0-2 Smith (60), 0-3 Smith (70)

Rangers-Nottingham Forest 3-0, 12.4.1879, Glasgow
goals: Hill 2, Struthers
best players: / T Bishop for Forest (carried off field)

Scottish Cup Final, Vale of Leven-Rangers 1-1, 19.4.1879, Glasgow, Hampden Park, Attendance: 6,000
goals: Ferguson / Struthers 12
best players:
The final is a 1-1 draw, and Vale of Leven retains the Cup when Rangers refuses to appear for the replay a week later in protest at a disallowed goal in the original match in the middle of April.

Charity Cup 1st round, Queen's Park-Vale of Leven 0-4, 10.5.1879, Glasgow, Hampden Park, Attendance: 8,000
goals: ?, Baird, scrimmage, ?
best players:
Queen’s Park’s heaviest-ever defeat. The game was very rough and Queen’s lost ‘keeper Buchanan with a head wound in the first half, with centre forward Willie Mackinnon taking over in goal. None of the Queen’s men played to form.


Newspaper sources: Bell's Life, London Daily News, London Evening Standard, Morning Post, Sporting Life, Northern Echo, Nottingham Evening Post, Nottingham Journal, Sheffield Independent, Sheffield Daily Telegraph, Yorkshire Post, Glasgow Evening Post, Glasgow Herald, The Scotsman, Northern Whig, The Referee.

Sources are from the British Newspaper Archive, managed by the British Library Board.

 

Suggested best XI 1878-79 (2-2-6):

Parlane - C Campbell, Vallance - Bailey, Prinsep - Goodyer, Wace, John Smith, H McNeil, Bambridge, Mosforth.

 

Bailey is a good choice for number one. He had double-jointed legs and could take throw-ins that reached the goal.

Reports suggest that Harry McNeil was still Scotland's best player. Mosforth could complete the Top 3. He did not play in the FA Cup this season as his two main clubs at the time, Albion and Wednesday, did not enter.

 

With the ten seasons of the decade completed, a few words of background.

The 1870s mark the birth of modern football. A final split with rugby occurs at the beginning of the decade, after which most of the elements of the handling game are phased out.

On the field the balance of power centres on London to start with, before passing to Sheffield and then on to Glasgow.

Throughout this time the London game remains tied to individualism, dribbling and the physical strength so admired by Victorians. Credit for first developing the passing game has variously been given to Royal Engineers, Queen's Park, Cambridge University and Sheffield. Newspaper reports of the time suggest it is most likely to have originated in Sheffield. Uniquely the local Sheffield Rules had no offside, making passing the logical way forward. At the start of the 1870s all teams employed seven or eight forwards. By the end there were still six.

Charles Alcock was the key administrator of the early years and one of the best dribblers. The other leading London light was rugged Arthur Kinnaird whose name is forever linked with the FA Cup. In Sheffield, Charley Clegg and Billy Mosworth were the first stars, while Queen's Park forwards Jamie Weir and Harry McNeil made perhaps the greatest impression in the west of Scotland.

Football began as a strictly amateur sport. In London it was restricted to those who had attended a leading private school or attained officer rank in the armed services. The Scottish association also valued amateur status. With increasing numbers of workers in England's industrial north being given Saturday afternoons off, football there was open to all. During the second half of the decade a few of the region's leading footballers began to receive payment for playing. Soon this development would cause the first major division within the association game.

 

I remember some years ago, a website where you can find incidents and little reports of the main matches (esp. the Final) of each season in the FA Cup.

btw, this season is in the English Game, Netflix Series