Football in South Yorkshire

Association football is one of the most popular sports in the English county of South Yorkshire and has been played in an organised fashion for well over 150 years.

The two oldest football clubs in the world hail from the area and today there are five professional clubs as well as many other semi-professional and amateur clubs.

History

Early history

The largest city in South Yorkshire, Sheffield, played a role in developing the modern day game of football in the 1850s. For years the game had been played on an ad hoc basis with few rules, but the road to a coded version of the sport arguably began in Sheffield in 1855, when two players of Sheffield Cricket Club, Nathaniel Creswick and William Prest, decided to found Sheffield Football Club in order to keep the players fit through the winter months. The club mainly played exhibition matches amongst each other.[1]

The Sheffield Rules

The first written set of laws were produced at the club's first annual general meeting on 21 October 1858. The original draft was amended at the same meeting to produce the following set of rules for the 1858–59 season.[2]

  1. The kick off from the middle must be a place kick.
  2. Kick out must not be more than 25 yards [23 m] out of goal.
  3. A fair catch is a catch from any player provided the ball has not touched the ground or has not been thrown from touch and is entitled to a free-kick.
  4. Charging is fair in case of a place kick (with the exception of a kick off as soon as a player offers to kick) but he may always draw back unless he has actually touched the ball with his foot.
  5. Pushing with the hands is allowed but no hacking or tripping up is fair under any circumstances whatever.
  6. No player may be held or pulled over.
  7. It is not lawful to take the ball off the ground (except in touch) for any purpose whatever.
  8. The ball may be pushed or hit with the hand, but holding the ball except in the case of a free kick is altogether disallowed.
  9. A goal must be kicked but not from touch nor by a free kick from a catch.
  10. A ball in touch is dead, consequently the side that touches it down must bring it to the edge of the touch and throw it straight out from touch.
  11. Each player must provide himself with a red and dark blue flannel cap, one colour to be worn by each side.

Two major events took place in 1860. On 31 January a meeting was held where it was resolved that Law 8 should be expunged and replaced with Holding the ball (except in the case of a free kick) or knocking or pushing it on is altogether disallowed.[3] On the pitch the world’s first inter-club match between Sheffield and the newly formed Hallam F.C. took place on 26 December 1860. The match took place at Hallam's ground, Sandygate Road. It was reported that "The Sheffielders turned in their usual Scarlet and White" which suggests that club colours were already in use.[4] Despite playing with inferior numbers Sheffield F.C. beat Hallam 2–0.

Delegates from Sheffield F.C. were present at the foundation of The Football Association in 1863, joining the new organisation a month later.[5] The FA remained largely dormant after the creation of its rules but in 1866 Sheffield F.C. suggested a match between it and an FA member club.[6] This was misunderstood and they ended up playing a combined FA team on 31 March 1866 under FA rules. The game was the first ever to limit the match to 90 minutes and Sheffield F.C. adopted it as its preferred length of match.[7] The rule would make it to the FA rule book in 1877. A second match was suggested by the London FA in a letter sent in November or the same year but never took place, the reason being disputes of which rules should be used.[8] The FA introduced an 8 feet (2.4 m) cross bar used by Sheffield in the same year only for Sheffield to then decide to raise it to 9 feet (2.7 m).[9] The fair catch was also dropped by Sheffield.[10] This completed the transition to a purely kicking game. The Sheffield Rules soon became the dominant code in England.[11]

Birth of competition

In 1867 the world's first football tournament, the Youdan Cup, was played in Sheffield under Sheffield Rules.[12] The tournament involved 12 local sides and was played during February and March. The tournament committee decided on the use of an off-field referee to award free kicks for infringements. The final took place on 5 March and was only the second football match to take place at Bramall Lane. A crowd of 3,000, a world record attendance, watched Hallam claim the cup by scoring two rouges in the last five minutes to win two rouges to one.[12] The Sheffield Football Association, the first ever County Football Association, was founded following the tournament, with [13] the twelve competing teams involved in the tournament being joined by Sheffield F.C. as founder members. The association adopted the Sheffield Rules without any changes.

A second tournament, the Cromwell Cup was played a year later.[14] This time it was only open to teams under two years old. Out of the four teams that competed, The Wednesday emerged victorious. The final was a goalless draw after 90 minutes so the teams played on until a goal was scored. This was the first instance where a match involved extra time.[15]

Between 1871 and 1876 a total of 16 matches were played between the Sheffield and London associations.[16] As well as playing under both Sheffield and London rules, additional matches were played at Bramall Lane using a mixture of both sets. Aspects of the Sheffield game were also incorporated into the FA rules. The matches being played between Sheffield and London led to the two sets of rules becoming ever more similar. The corner kick was proposed by the Sheffield Association and adopted by the FA on 17 February 1872.[17] They also followed Sheffield's lead in restricting handling of the ball by the goalkeeper to his own half. The Sheffield game reverted to using an 8 feet (2.4 m) crossbar in line with the FA.

Demise of the Sheffield Rules

The FA Cup was inaugurated in 1871, but Sheffield clubs declined to enter the competition as it was being played under FA rules.[18] The first team from the area to enter was Sheffield F.C., in the 1873–74 season. This was after an attempt to enter a Sheffield FA team was refused by the organisers. They reached the quarter-finals before being knocked out by Clapham Rovers.

The Sheffield FA instituted their own Challenge Cup in 1876.[19] The cup was open to all the members of the SFA that now included many clubs outside the local area. The first final attracted a crowd of 8,000, twice as much as the FA Cup final in the same season. It was a record crowd for a cup match that would be held until the FA Cup of 1883.[19] The match was between Heeley and Wednesday, and resulted in a 2–0 win for the latter.

By 1877 it was clear that the situation concerning different associations using different rules had become impractical. After letters were published in The Field magazine deriding the state of affairs it was decided to unite the kicking game under one set of laws.[20] By this time the FA Cup had helped the FA gain a dominant position within the game.[21] The FA accepted the Sheffield rule allowing throw-ins to be thrown in any direction, as opposed to right angles only as prevails in rugby lineouts. In return the FA's use of a three-man offside was adopted.

By the 1880s the influence of the Sheffield FA started to wane, and in 1887 its famous chairman, Charles Clegg,[22] had to accept a merger with a rival organisation, the Hallamshire F.A., forming the Sheffield & Hallamshire F.A.

Clubs

South Yorkshire had the following clubs playing senior football for the 2015-16 season.

League clubs

These clubs play in fully professional leagues, at levels 1–4 of the English football league system. They also compete in the following cup competitions -

Club League Home Ground Borough Post code
Level 2
Rotherham UnitedFootball League ChampionshipNew York StadiumRotherhamS60 1AH
Sheffield WednesdayFootball League ChampionshipHillsboroughSheffieldS6 1SW
Level 3
BarnsleyFootball League OneOakwellBarnsleyS71 1ET
Doncaster RoversFootball League OneKeepmoat StadiumDoncasterDN4 5JW
Sheffield UnitedFootball League OneBramall LaneSheffieldS2 4SU
Location of the Football League clubs in South Yorkshire
Blue: Level 2
Red: Level 3

Non-league clubs

These clubs play in semi-professional and amateur leagues, at levels 5–14 of the English football league system. The list does not include reserve teams of clubs that may play further down the pyramid. They also compete in the following national cup competitions -

Non-league clubs that are affiliated to the Sheffield & Hallamshire County FA compete in the following county cup competitions -

Clubs in South Yorkshire that are affiliated to the West Riding County FA compete in the following county cup competitions -

Coach & Horses Ground,
Sheffield
The Welfare Ground,
Armthorpe Welfare
Sheerien Park,
Athersley Recreation
Muglet Lane,
Maltby Main
The Welfare Ground,
Askern
The Welfare Ground,
Brodsworth Welfare
Phoenix Park,
Dinnington Town
Rotherham Road,
Swallownest
Edlington Lane,
Yorkshire Main
Hard Lane,
Kiveton Park
Club League Home Ground Borough Post code
Level 8
Shaw Lane AquaforceNPL Division One SouthShaw LaneBarnsleyS70 6HZ
SheffieldNPL Division One SouthCoach & Horses GroundSheffield[lower-alpha 1]S18 2GD
Stocksbridge Park SteelsNPL Division One SouthBracken MoorSheffieldS36 2AN
Level 9
Armthorpe WelfareNCEL Premier DivisionThe Welfare GroundDoncasterDN3 3AG
Athersley RecreationNCEL Premier DivisionSheerien ParkBarnsleyS71 3DP
Handsworth ParramoreNCEL Premier DivisionSandy LaneSheffield[lower-alpha 2]S80 1UJ
Maltby MainNCEL Premier DivisionMuglet LaneRotherhamS66 7JQ
ParkgateNCEL Premier DivisionRoundwood Sports ComplexRotherhamS62 6LA
Level 10
HallamNCEL Division OneSandygate RoadSheffieldS10 5SE
Penistone ChurchNCEL Division OneChurch View RoadBarnsleyS36 6AT
Rossington MainNCEL Division OneOxford StreetDoncasterDN11 0TE
Worsbrough Bridge AthleticNCEL Division OneGrimethorpe Sports GroundBarnsleyS72 7ND
Level 11
AskernCML North DivisionThe Welfare GroundDoncasterDN6 0AJ
Brodsworth WelfareCML North DivisionWelfare GroundDoncasterDN6 7PP
Dinnington TownCML North DivisionPhoenix ParkRotherhamS25 2PP
Frecheville Community AssociationS&HCSL Premier DivisionSilkstone RoadSheffieldS12 4RJ
Houghton MainS&HCSL Premier DivisionMiddlecliffe LaneBarnsleyS72 0HT
Jubilee SportsS&HCSL Premier DivisionChaucer SchoolSheffieldS5 8NH
Millmoor JuniorsS&HCSL Premier DivisionGrange ParkRotherhamS61 2RB
North Gawber CollieryS&HCSL Premier DivisionWoolley Colliery RoadBarnsleyS75 5JA
Oughtibridge War MemorialS&HCSL Premier DivisionStation LaneSheffieldS35 0JS
PhoenixCML North DivisionPhoenix Sports & Social ClubRotherhamS60 5PA
SwallownestS&HCSL Premier DivisionRotherham RoadSheffieldS26 4UR
Swinton AthleticS&HCSL Premier DivisionHampden RoadDoncasterS64 0JL
Thorne CollieryCML North DivisionMoorendsDoncasterDN8 4NH
Thorpe HesleyS&HCSL Premier DivisionThe Rockingham CentreRotherham[lower-alpha 3]S70 5TU
WickersleyS&HCSL Premier DivisionWickersley SchoolRotherhamS66 1JL
Level 12
Armthorpe Markham MainD&DSL Premier DivisionChurch StreetDoncasterDN3 3AL
Byron HouseS&HCSL Division OneWarminster RoadSheffieldS8 8PR
Caribbean SportsS&HCSL Division OneCaribbean Sports ClubSheffieldS35 9WN
DavyS&HCSL Division OnePrince of Wales RoadSheffieldS9 4ER
Denaby MainS&HCSL Division OneTickhill SquareDoncasterDN12 4ER
Denaby UnitedS&HCSL Division OneOld RoadDoncasterDN12 3NX
Dunscroft UnitedD&DSL Premier DivisionDunscroft WelfareDoncasterDN7 4HD
Ecclesfield Red RoseS&HCSL Division OneChaucer SchoolSheffieldS5 8NH
GraceholmeD&DSL Premier DivisionAuburn RoadDoncasterDN12 1DW
High Green VillaS&HCSL Division OneMeadowhall Soccer CentreSheffieldS9 1RZ
Kingstone UnitedS&HCSL Division OneSmithies LaneBarnsleyS71 1NL
Sheffield BankersS&HCSL Division OneHillsborough CollegeSheffieldS6 2ET
Silkstone UnitedS&HCSL Division OneBarnsley RoadBarnsleyS75 4LX
Sutton RoversD&DSL Premier DivisionWelfare GroundDoncasterDN6 0AJ
Wombwell MainS&HCSL Division OneWindmill RoadBarnsleyS73 8PH
Level 13
Balby RecreationalD&DSL Division OneWeston RoadDoncasterDN4 8AD
Bawtry TownS&HCSL Division TwoKeepmoat Stadium pitch 2DoncasterDN4 5JW
Brinsworth WhitehillS&HCSL Division TwoPhoenix Sports & Social ClubRotherhamS60 5PA
Doncaster Deaf TrustD&DSL Division OneCommunication Specialist CollegeDoncasterDN2 6AY
Doncaster TownD&DSL Division OneCantley ParkDoncasterDN4 6HR
Grimethorpe SportsS&HCSL Division TwoGrimethorpe Sports GroundBarnsleyS72 7EQ
Kiveton ParkS&HCSL Division TwoHard LaneRotherhamS26 6NE
New BohemiansS&HCSL Division TwoBawtry RoadSheffieldS9 1UH
Sheffield Lane TopS&HCSL Division TwoCivil Sports GroundSheffieldS35 9WY
Treeton TerriersS&HCSL Division TwoSheffield Park AcademyRotherham[lower-alpha 4]S2 1SN
Yorkshire MainD&DSL Division OneEdlington LaneDoncasterDN12 1DA
Level 14
Dale DynamosSYALDoncaster RoadBarnsleyS70 5EF
EuroglazeSYALDorothy Hyman Athletics StadiumBarnsleyS72 8LH
Sheffield MedicsSYALWarminster RoadSheffieldS8 8PR
Sheffield West EndSYALWarminster RoadSheffieldS8 8PR
Three Feathers Prince of WalesSYALSheffield Park AcademySheffieldS2 1SN
Working WondersSYALDarton AcademyBarnsleyS75 5EF
Level 15
Royston CrossW&DL Division OneRabbit IngsBarnsleyS71 4BG
  1. ↑ Currently playing in Dronfield, Derbyshire
  2. ↑ Currently playing in Worksop, Nottinghamshire
  3. ↑ Currently playing in Hoyland, Barnsley
  4. ↑ Currently playing in Sheffield

Key to league initials -

Location of non-league clubs in South Yorkshire at levels 5-8 of the English football league system (clubs eligible to compete in the FA Trophy)
Blue: Level 8
Houghton Main
Jubilee Sports
Millmoor Juniors
North Gawber Colliery
Oughtibridge War Memorial
Swallownest
Swinton Athletic
Thorpe Hesley
Wickersley
Location of non-league clubs in South Yorkshire at levels 9-11 of the English football league system (clubs eligible to compete in the FA Vase)
Red: Level 9
Yellow: Level 10
Green: Level 11

Organisation

The main county FA for South Yorkshire is the Sheffield & Hallamshire County FA (S&HCFA).

See also

References

  1. ↑ Young, Percy M. (1964). Football in Sheffield. S. Paul. pp. 15–17.
  2. ↑ Harvey, Adrian (2005). Football, the First Hundred Years. Routledge. pp. 95–99. ISBN 0-415-35019-0.
  3. ↑ Murphy, Brendan (2007). From Sheffield with Love. Sports Book Limited. p. 46. ISBN 978-1-899807-56-7.
  4. ↑ "Local and General Intelligence". Sheffield Daily Telegraph. 28 December 1860.
  5. ↑ Hutton, Steven; Curry, Graham; Goodman, Peter (2007). Sheffield Football Club: 150 years of Football. At Heart Limited. pp. 31–32. ISBN 978-1-84547-174-3.
  6. ↑ Harvey, Adrian (2005). Football, the First Hundred Years. Routledge. p. 116. ISBN 0-415-35019-0.
  7. ↑ Murphy, Brendan (2007). From Sheffield with Love. Sports Book Limited. p. 67. ISBN 978-1-899807-56-7.
  8. ↑ Young, Percy (1964). Football in Sheffield. S. Paul. p. 23.
  9. ↑ Murphy, Brendan (2007). From Sheffield with Love. Sports Book Limited. p. 70. ISBN 978-1-899807-56-7.
  10. ↑ Harvey, Adrian (2005). Football, the First Hundred Years. Routledge. p. 122. ISBN 0-415-35019-0.
  11. ↑ Murphy, Brendan (2007). From Sheffield with Love. Sports Book Limited. p. 66. ISBN 978-1-899807-56-7.
  12. 1 2 Murphy, Brendan (2007). From Sheffield with Love. Sports Book Limited. pp. 77–78, 117. ISBN 978-1-899807-56-7.
  13. ↑ Murphy, Brendan (2007). From Sheffield with Love. Sports Book Limited. pp. 101–102, 106. ISBN 978-1-899807-56-7.
  14. ↑ Keith, Farnsworth (1982). Wednesday!. Sheffield City Libraries. pp. 12–13. ISBN 0-900660-87-2.
  15. ↑ Murphy, Brendan (2007). From Sheffield with Love. Sports Book Limited. p. 79. ISBN 978-1-899807-56-7.
  16. ↑ Young, Percy M. (1964). Football in Sheffield. S. Paul. pp. 28–29.
  17. ↑ Young, Percy M. (1964). Football in Sheffield. S. Paul. p. 27.
  18. ↑ Hutton, Steve; Curry, Graham; Goodman, Peter (2007). Sheffield FC. At Heart Limited. pp. 35–36. ISBN 978-1-84547-174-3.
  19. 1 2 Murphy, Brendan (2007). From Sheffield with Love. SportsBooks Limited. pp. 121–122. ISBN 978-1-899807-56-7.
  20. ↑ Young, Percy M. (1964). Football in Sheffield. S. Paul. pp. 15–16.
  21. ↑ Murphy, Brendan (2007). From Sheffield with Love. SportsBooks Limited. pp. 105–106. ISBN 978-1-899807-56-7.
  22. ↑ Farnsworth, Keith (1995). Sheffield Football: A History — Volume 1 1857-1961. The Hallamshire Press. pp. 29, 50–51. ISBN 1-874718-13-X.
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