GEM FROM THE ARCHIVE
A football club’s programme, 1924
Dominic Bliss of the Corinthian-Casuals Football Club archive shares a programme from a match the team played in 1924
Over the course of the 19th century, football in England went from being a game for amateurs with roots in public schools to one played by working-class professionals. Corinthian-
Casuals Football Club, which was formed in 1939 and still plays today, is the amalgamation of two amateur clubs, Corinthian FC and Casuals FC. The club’s archive includes a programme from a match in 1924, when amateur football’s importance was declining but the matches still drew huge crowds. Dominic Bliss, committee member for media and heritage at the club, tells us more.
Can You Describe The Programme?
The programme is from an exhibition game between Corinthian FC and Chelsea FC at Stamford Bridge on 29 March 1924. It was produced by Chelsea.
Tell Me About The History Of Corinthian FC.
The club was founded in 1882 and amalgamated with Casuals FC in 1939 to form the Corinthian-Casuals. From the late 1880s through to the early 1900s, the Corinthians had been capable of beating the best professional clubs in the land in exhibition matches. They handed Manchester United an 11–3 thrashing in November 1904, which remains the Red Devils’ heaviest defeat, and even beat the ‘Invincibles’ of Preston North End 2–0 at the Oval during the 1888/ 1889 season in which the Lancashire club won the Football League and the FA Cup without losing a single competitive match.
Amateur footballers who could compete with the best professionals were scarce by 1924. However, the Corinthians continued to surprise the top teams.
Shortly before this game, they had beaten top-flight Blackburn Rovers in the FA Cup and they still boasted England internationals among their number.
Why Did You Choose The Programme?
Among the Corinthian lineup listed in the programme are two players –B Howard-Baker and AG Bower – who also represented Chelsea at Wimbledon, represented the Lancashire Second XI at cricket and competed at a high level at water polo, swimming, rowing, sailing, boxing and several athletics events. Since the two teams did not compete in the same league pyramid, and the players remained amateur, they were free to represent both clubs. They therefore had a decision to make between their two clubs in this friendly game, choosing to play for the Corinthians.
The Chelsea supporters wouldn’t have taken offence, and the programme’s editor was keen to highlight the links between the two clubs.
“The revival of the famous amateurs to something closely approaching their prestige of twenty years ago, or more, is a source of gratification to every lover of football,” he wrote.
“Particularly it is welcome to all at Chelsea, for the association between the Corinthians and Chelsea has that time. Bower was the last amateur to captain the full England team, while Howard-Baker was not just an international goalkeeper, but also held the British highjump record for a quarter of a century and competed at two Olympic Games. What’s more, he played doubles at always been of the closest and most cordial character.”
Chelsea’s programme was known as The Chelsea FC Chronicle in the early decades of the club, and had a distinctive masthead. This four-page publication began with a cartoon featuring the Chelsea mascot Percy the Pensioner and his counterpart from the opposing team.
Since the Corinthians didn’t have a mascot or an obvious symbol, the team is represented by a Corinthian in full kit and with a slick side parting, reflecting the perception of amateur footballers at the time as ‘gentlemen sportsmen’ in contrast to working-class professionals.
The friendship between the two clubs is shown in the conversation between the characters – the Pensioner greets the Corinthian with “Delighted to see you dear boy!”, and the Corinthian gives him a lecture on the finer points of the game referencing the Corinthians’ travelling the country playing school teams so as to spread awareness of football.
One of the jokes centres on the Corinthians’ penchant for a shoulder barge. This was largely a thing of the past in the professional game by this point, but the amateurs continued to deploy it in order to win the ball back. The cartoon’s caption explains, “Hard knocks will be given and taken by both sides without the least sign of ill feeling. In fact the dear old ‘ref’ should have an easy time, and will be wise if he makes himself ‘comfy’.” Such was the Corinthians’ reputation for fair play.
Inside, the columns include ‘Daisy Cutters’, the name for a type of shot that hovers not far o the ground on its way to goal. This column was given over to cryptic titbits about the game. There is also a poem to the Corinthians’ renowned forward FNS Creek, who scored 10 goals in their 15–2 win against the Army the previous year.
The match against Chelsea was played in front of a crowd of 10,000 and the Corinthians won 2–0, with both goals scored by Creek.
What Other Items Do You Have In The Collection?
The archive is made up of various individual members’ collections of programmes, newsletters, photographs and other memorabilia, which we began digitising last year after winning a grant from TownsWeb Archiving. Of particular interest are the diaries and photos from the Corinthians’ trips overseas to promote football, when they travelled to Germany, Libya, Brazil and South Africa.
Visit Us
Corinthian- Casuals Football Club
King George’s Field, Queen Mary Close, Hook Rise South, Tolworth, Surrey, KT6 7NA
corinthian-casuals.com
The club’s archive can be viewed by appointment. Please email dominic.bliss@ccfcltd.co.uk at least one month in advance.