| Full name | Farningham Football Club | |
|---|---|---|
| Founded | 1872 | |
| Dissolved | 1875 | |
| Ground | Lion Hotel, 1 mile from Farningham station | |
| Secretary | George Rashleigh | |
Farningham F.C. was a short-lived English association football club from the village of Farningham in Kent.
The club played two matches in its first season (1872–73). Its first match was against the Harrow Chequers, and resulted in a win for Farningham, although that was to a large extent down to the Chequers only turning up with four players and relying on three substitutes against the ten men of Farningham. [1] For its first match outside Kent, against the Philistines of Leytonstone, the club was able to secure the services of F. E. Maddison, who scored an equalizer right at the death. [2]
The club entered the FA Cup on two occasions. In 1873–74 the club was drawn to play at home to the Trojans, but scratched. [3] In the following year, the club was drawn against the Wanderers, at the Kennington Oval, and the club decided to play the match rather than scratching. The game ended 16–0 to the home side, at the time a record score. The newspapers praised the performance of Farningham's goalkeeper W.D.O.Greig, whose play was described as "very brilliant" [4] and "excellent goalkeeping". [5] The club appears to have been handicapped for the match by only having four of its regular players available for the tie (the others being captain and club secretary Revd. George Rashleigh, and backs Burnside and English).
Greig's reward was to be chosen for the London representative side in the match against the Sheffield Football Association representative side, albeit not as a goalkeeper. [6] However, there are no further fixtures recorded for Farningham, which had been struggling in previous matches to put out a full side. On one occasion the club relied on a spectator to help fill out a 10-man side, [7] and two weeks before the Wanderers game the club only turned up with eight men for a match with South Norwood. [8]
The next season, Greig joined the Wanderers, and played in goal in their Cup Final victory. [9]
The club's colours were dark blue and white, [10] which were probably in hoops.
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.
Charles William Alcock was an English sportsman, administrator, author and editor. He was a major instigator in the development of both international football and cricket, as well as being the creator of the FA Cup.
William Dallas Ochterlony Greig was an early association football goalkeeper who represented the Wanderers, the leading football club in England during the 1870s.
The 1872 FA Cup final was a football match between Wanderers and Royal Engineers on 16 March 1872 at Kennington Oval in London. It was the final of the first staging of the Football Association Challenge Cup, which became the primary cup competition in English football and the oldest football competition in the world. Fifteen teams entered the competition in its first season and, due to the rules in place at the time, Wanderers reached the final having won only one match in the four preceding rounds. In the semi-finals, they drew with the Scottish club Queen's Park, but reached the final when the Scots withdrew from the competition as they could not afford to return to London for a replay.
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 after a replay. 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 Cup winners Oxford University.
Reginald Courtenay Welch was a key player in the early years of association football. He played for the Wanderers in the FA Cup Finals of 1872 and 1873, and also played for England in the first ever international match. During his career he appeared both in goal and as a defender.
Jarvis Kenrick was an English footballer.
The 1874–75 FA Cup was the fourth season of England's oldest football tournament, the Football Association Challenge Cup or "FA Cup". 29 teams entered, one more than the previous season, although four of the 29 never played a match. The final was contested by Royal Engineers – playing in their third final in the four seasons of the FA Cup – and Old Etonians – playing in their first final. On their way to the final, Royal Engineers knocked out Cambridge University in the Second Round and holders Oxford University in the Semi-finals, while Old Etonians only managed to score more than one goal in one match: their second replay against Swifts, which they won 3–0. The biggest win of the competition was recorded by two-time FA Cup winners Wanderers, who beat Farningham 16–0 in the First Round.
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.
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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.
Alfred Horace Thornton was an English amateur footballer who played for England in the first representative international match against Scotland in 1870. By profession, he was a banker.
Walter Boldero Paton was an English barrister who also wrote guides to emigration to the British colonies. In his youth, he was a keen footballer who played for Oxford University in the 1873 FA Cup Final and for England in 1871 in a representative match against Scotland.
Brondesbury F.C. was an English association football club based in Brondesbury, London.
Pilgrims F.C. was an English association football club based in Clapton, London. During their history they played at various grounds in Tottenham and Walthamstow, but for the most part played home games at Hackney Downs.
Gitanos Football Club was an English association football club and one of the first members of the Football Association.
Woodford Wells Football Club was an English association football club from Woodford Wells in Essex.
Trojans was an English association club based in Leyton.
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