The Royal Engineers Association Football Club is an association football team representing the Corps of Royal Engineers, the 'Sappers', of the British Army and based in Chatham, Kent. In the 1870s, it was one of the strongest sides in English football, winning the FA Cup in 1875 and being Cup finalists in three of the first four seasons. The Engineers were pioneers of the combination game, where teammates passed the ball to each other rather than kicking ahead and charging after the ball. With the rise of professional teams, in 1888 the Engineers joined a newly formed Army Football Association.
Wanderers Football Club was an English association football club. It was founded as "Forest Football Club" in 1859 in Leytonstone. In 1864, it changed its name to "Wanderers", a reference to it never having a home stadium, instead playing at various locations in London and the surrounding area. Comprising mainly former pupils of the leading English public schools, Wanderers was one of the dominant teams in the early years of organised football and won the inaugural Football Association Challenge Cup in 1872. The club won the competition five times in total, including three in succession from 1876 to 1878, a feat which has been repeated only once.
The 1871–72 season was the first season of competitive association football in England. The Football Association introduced their Football Association Challenge Cup, a knockout tournament which is the world's oldest national-level football competition.
The 1871–72 Football Association Challenge Cup was the first staging of the Football Association Challenge Cup, usually known in the modern era as the FA Cup, the oldest association football competition in the world. Fifteen of the association's fifty member clubs entered the first competition, although three withdrew without playing a game. In the final, held at Kennington Oval in London on 16 March 1872, Wanderers beat the Royal Engineers by a single goal, scored by Morton Betts, who was playing under the pseudonym A. H. Chequer.
The 1873 FA Cup final was an association football match between Wanderers F.C. and Oxford University A.F.C. on 29 March 1873 at the Lillie Bridge Grounds in London. It was the second final of the world's oldest football competition, the Football Association Challenge Cup. Unusually, the final kicked-off in the morning to avoid a clash with the annual Oxford-Cambridge Boat Race which was held on the same day. The Wanderers reached the final without playing a match, as the original rules of the competition stated that the holders would receive a bye straight to the final and other teams would compete to gain the other place in the final and challenge them for the trophy. Oxford reached the final when their semi-final opponents, the Scottish club Queen's Park, withdrew from the competition
The 1874 FA Cup final was a football match between Oxford University and Royal Engineers on 14 March 1874 at Kennington Oval in London. It was the third final of the world's oldest football competition, the Football Association Challenge Cup. Both teams had previously reached the final but been defeated by Wanderers. The Engineers had reached the final with comparative ease, scoring sixteen goals and conceding only one in the four previous rounds. Oxford's opponents in the earlier rounds had included two-time former winners Wanderers.
The 1875 FA Cup final was a football match between Royal Engineers and Old Etonians on 13 March 1875 at Kennington Oval in London. It was the fourth final of the world's oldest football competition, the Football Association Challenge Cup. Heading into the final, the Royal Engineers were playing in their third final after losing the 1872 and 1874 finals while the Old Etonians were playing in their first FA Cup final.
Robert Walpole Sealy Vidal, who from 1892 was Robert Walpole Sealy was an English 19th century footballer who featured in the first three FA Cup Finals for two different clubs. In March 1870 he played in the first ever international football match, which took place at Kennington Oval, London. He represented England again in 1871.
The 1877 FA Cup final was a football match between Wanderers and Oxford University on 24 March 1877 at Kennington Oval in London. It was the sixth final of the world's oldest football competition, the Football Association Challenge Cup. Wanderers were the reigning cup-holders and had won the competition three times in total. Oxford had also previously won the tournament, making this the first FA Cup final played between two former winners. Wanderers had reached the final without conceding a goal, defeating Cambridge University in the semi-finals. Oxford had only played three matches in the five rounds prior to the final due to a combination of byes and opponents withdrawing.
The 1876 FA Cup final was an association football match between Wanderers F.C. and Old Etonians F.C. on 11 March 1876 at Kennington Oval in London. It was the fifth final of the world's oldest football competition, the Football Association Challenge Cup. The Wanderers had won the Cup on two previous occasions. The Etonians were playing in their second consecutive final, having lost in the 1875 match. Both teams had conceded only one goal in the four rounds of the competition prior to the final. In the semi-finals the Wanderers defeated the Swifts and the Etonians beat the 1874 FA Cup winners Oxford University.
The 1878 FA Cup final was an association football match between Wanderers F.C. and Royal Engineers A.F.C. on 23 March 1878 at Kennington Oval in London. It was the seventh final of the world's oldest football competition, the Football Association Challenge Cup. Wanderers had won the Cup in the previous two seasons and on four previous occasions in total, including the first FA Cup final in 1872, in which they defeated the Engineers. The Engineers had also won the Cup, having defeated Old Etonians in the 1875 final.
Shropshire Wanderers F.C. was an amateur association football club based in Shrewsbury, England. The club was active during the 1870s and once reached the FA Cup semi-finals.
Francis Hornby Birley was an English footballer who played as a half back. He won the FA Cup three times in the 1870s and made two appearances for England in 1874 and 1875.
Thomas Charles Hooman was a leading English association football player of the Victorian era. He played for Wanderers in the 1872 FA Cup Final and was also chosen to represent England on several occasions.
Edgar Lubbock LLB was an English amateur footballer who twice won the FA Cup and played first-class cricket. He later became a partner in the Whitbread Brewery, a director and Deputy Governor of the Bank of England and the Master of the Blankney Foxhounds.
Harrow Chequers Football Club was a football club from London, England in the 1860s to early 1890s. It played as the Harrow Chequers from 1865 to 1876, when it was then renamed the Old Harrovians, and continued play until at least 1891. Derived from former pupils of Harrow School, the club was involved in the formation of the FA Cup in 1871. It was slated to play in three of the first six FA Cup competitions in the 1870s, but they forfeited each time, and never contested an FA Cup match as the Chequers. One of their players, however, Morton Betts, is remembered for scoring the first goal in the first ever FA Cup Final in 1872, which is essentially all that is remembered today of the club. However, as the Old Harrovians, the team had some more success, including reaching the semifinals of the 1877–78 FA Cup.
William Parry Crake, sometimes known as William Parry, was an English amateur footballer who won the inaugural FA Cup with the Wanderers in 1872 and played for the English XI against Scotland in the representative matches between 1870 and 1872. By profession, he was a merchant in India.
Colonel William Merriman was a British officer in the Royal Engineers who played as a goalkeeper in three FA Cup Finals, winning the cup in 1875.
Col. Edmund William Creswell was a British soldier, who played for the Royal Engineers in the 1872 FA Cup Final. As a soldier, he was engaged mainly in administrative work and never saw active service.
