FOOTBALL IN LONDON.

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXIII, 4 June 1926, Page 10

FOOTBALL IN LONDON.

2000 YEARS OLD. “YE OLDE GAME OF DALLE.” Under the picturesque caption of “'lnc Lights o Loudon, ’ “me Lumplignteiy in tlie "Sunday Times'' .sols out to answer luo question: "now long lias lootoaU been played in London '{'■ The answer, lie says, is: “Erobaoly about two tiiuusr.nd years,” and it is also jirouable—lhougii tins’ would surprise many of ins good friends in Uio Eortli, wncro tliey think that they know more about football, and are greater enthusiasts than in the South —that the lirst football in. this country was played in Tendon. In fact, lie thinks he might attempt to show, with a very good chance of being right, the very .spot where the first football was played in Britain, and that within about a mile of this office.

When we talk of football, ho says, wo are going very far back m history.The impulse to kick a ball when you see it was a very early one in the human mind. Looking back we see ball games being played by nation and tribe till the first games are lost. in the mists of time. The ancient Greeks and Homans played some such game as football, the Homans carrying and throwing the bail, which suggests that the Rugby code is much older than we suppose, and may he even older than “Soccer.” At any rate, it is generally supposed that the Homans, who brought so many good things to this country, introduced football to us, and it'may bo that the first games were played’ by '.men of the Legions between lines or goalposts set beside their parade ground oil Tower Hill, then the most important piece of dry and level ground amid the broad marshes of the Thames, where the Homans built their fort, and began to lay out their'city of Augusta. it is too much to hope that the men of Augusta (London) used to play Cup Finals there with the men of Verultiniuf (St. Albans). But when, in a few months’ time, enthusiasts pour into London to see the 1926 Cup Final, and spend the morning before the match in sightseeing, some may care to remember, as they go towards the Tower of London, that they arc very likely on the ground where the first football was played in this country'. However that may he, no reports of these matches have been handed down to us, and there were no newspapers to let tho people know the results. The first mention of football, so far as I know, is in a famous description of London written by William Fitzstephen in 1175. In this he said : “After dinner (on Shrove Tuesday) til the young men of the city go out

into the fields to play at the wellknown game of football. The scholars belonging to the several schools have each their bull; and the eitv tradesmen, according to their respective crafts, have theirs. The more aged men, the lathers of the players and the wealthy citizens, come on horseback to soo the contests of tiio young men, with whom, after their manner, they partieipate, their natural heat seeming to bo aroused by the sight of so much agility, and by their participation in the amusements of unrestrained youth.”-

In early days football was frowned upon, by tlie authorities, and there wore many attempts to put it down. in f 134, Edward N. issued a proclamation forbidding tlie populace to “hustle over the largo balls” in the streets of London, on account of the evils that might arise. There- was also an idea that, apart from leading to _ breaches of the peace, through the rivalry ot opposing schools and trades, the game would divert attention from archery, which was at once a sport and the backbone of the army of the day.

The game had to face much discouragement for hundreds of years. Edward Hi., in 1349, made a statute in which the city .sheriffs were ordered to ■suppress football. Similar measures were taken against the game in 1401 hv Henrv IV., and later by Henry VIII., while during the reign of Elizabeth it was forbidden under pain of imprisonment. Indeed, up to tho reign of Charles IT., football was practically an illegal game in London, as in other parts of the country, but this does pot appear to have quelled enthusiasm; perhaps, human nature being what it is, the thrill of doing something that was forbidden, added to the charm of tho game, for it was kept alive through the centuries ever since the earliest matches, which, as 1. have suggested, may have been played on Tower Hill. Then, in the last century, came- the groat athletic revival, and it became our most popular winter sport.