Leicester City and The Royal Funeral

[kushiro]

To play or not to play?

 

It's a question that has arisen repeatedly. Our club was formed 138 years ago, and Charles is the seventh king or queen in that time.

 

Let's have a look at how the monarch's death has affected football in general, and Leicester in particular.

 

 

1) Tuesday January 22nd,1901     Queen Victoria dies, aged 81. 

 

Leicester Fosse were preparing for their biggest match in years - away at Forest in the Cup. Forest were sitting proudly at the top of the League, we were midway in Division Two. We had only ever won one match in the FA Cup 'Proper' - having been knocked out repeatedly in the Qualifying Rounds.

 

Five days before the game, Victoria died. She had been on the throne for almost 64 years, and there was no precedent for how professional team sports should respond.  The FA's three man 'Emergency Committee' quickly decided to call off all that weekend's fixtures.

 

The Football League, whose relations with the FA had always been strained, refused to accept the decision. President J.J. Bentley sent a telegram to all League clubs:

 

Have wired Management Committee advising League clubs should play Cup ties on Saturday. Theatres are open, and the Emergency Committee have no right to interfere without consulting first.

 

The leading football paper of the day, Athletic News, had this to say: The Emergency gentlemen who so lightly demonstrated a loyalty that was never in question, are ignorant of the serious nature of the step they took - the dislocation of fixtures and the heavy monetary loss - and if they did know, their conduct is even more surprising.

 

As Victoria's coffin was being conveyed from the Isle of Wight to the mainland, it looked like a serious rupture between the two footballing authorities was brewing. The headlines said, 'Football Crisis'.

 

In the end, the League accepted the postponement of the Cup ties, but insisted that League fixtures be allowed to go ahead. So we had the absurd situation of Woolwich Arsenal, for example, being unable to play their Cup game at home to Blackburn, and instead traveling to Lincoln for a League game. 

 

With the tie at Forest off, Leicester Fosse arranged a practice match between the first team and the reserves. 

 

The funeral took place the following Saturday, and on that day, all football fixtures were called off. So still we waited for the Cup tie. It eventually went ahead two weeks late - on Saturday February 9th.  Coming almost three weeks after Victoria passed away, there was no minute's silence, no national anthem, no ceremony at all. It was time to get on with regular life.

 

There was to be no upset. Forest scored after three minutes, and only 20 minutes later they were 4-0 up. The Nottingham sports paper said, 'The scoring of goal after goal was becoming monotonous and was not at all to the liking of the spectators'.  

 

How humiliating. This had been a feature of many of Fosse's early Cup ties at Filbert Street - us chalking up huge scores against village sides, with Leicester fans getting bored and cheering for the plucky opposition. Now, we were receiving the same treatment.  Which was worse? Being hammered by our rivals or being treated not like rivals at all but as minnows?

 

In the second half, 'recognising that they had the verdict in perfectly safe keeping, the Reds relaxed and the game was as dull and lifeless as could possibly be'. It finished 5-1.

 

 

2)  Friday May 6th,1910    Edward VII dies, aged 68.

 

Had the FA Cup Final been played in early May, as in later years, the FA really would have had a dilemma. But that year it was April 23rd, with the final League games the following Saturday. So the death, a week after that, had no impact on the football calendar, though cricket matches were postponed.

 

Leicester Fosse had nearly reached that Final - going out in the quarter final to Newcastle - our best Cup run so far.

 

 

3)  Monday January 20th,1935     George V dies, aged 70.

 

George's death came at exactly the same stage of the season as his grandmother's - with 32 clubs, including Leicester City, preparing for FA Cup ties. What would the FA do this time? They issued a statement saying 'Clubs may carry out their fixtures if they so wish, with the exception of Tuesday January 28th, the date of His Majesty's funeral'. All rugby union games were postponed. Also off were horse racing, greyhound racing, and even the India v Australia cricket match in Delhi.

 

Stanley Rous, new head of the FA, was the man behind the decision. 

 

Having beaten Brentford in Round Three, Leicester were due to play Watford at Filbert Street on the Saturday. Unlike the Forest tie in 1901, this game doubled as a remembrance of the sovereign passed away.

 

The Reverend A. E. Kempton, a well-known amateur footballer in Leicester, led the pre-match service as Jesu, Lover of My Soul was sung (the line 'While the near waters roll' no doubt being especially evocative, with the River Soar flowing by just yards away). That was followed by a minute's silence. 

 

 

But then:

 

Extraordinary scenes marked the closing of the impressive service. The silence was shattered by shouts from hundreds of people jammed at one corner of the popular side. The crowd surged forward and scores were crushed by the press of the people behind. 

 

Leicester beat Watford 6-3, after the Hornets had twice gone ahead. The hero was Sep Smith, whose 'genius was directly responsible for his side’s transformation into a virile attacking force'. 

 

The King's funeral did cause a minor alteration to Cup plans. The draw for the next round was delayed for two days, and as City fans were watching us win at Forest in a League game on Thursday afternoon, word spread around the ground of our next opponents - 'It's Middlesbrough away!'  We lost that game at Ayresome Park 2-1 and our long wait for the trophy stretched to a fourth monarch's reign.

 

That was Edward VIII, who was on the throne for less than a year. His abdication on Friday December 11th had no effect on the following day's League programme.

 

 

4)  Wednesday February 6th,1952     George VI dies aged 56.

 

Mid-winter, once again. 

 

All rugby union games on the following Saturday were called off, including the England-Ireland international. But football got the OK. We were due to play at Goodison Park in a Second Division game.

 

This was how the Football Echo reported the scene at the start:

 

 

Everton won 2-0 - we lost our first game of Elizabeth's reign, just as we lost the last at Brighton, 70 years later.

 

When she passed away on September 8th, our game against Villa two days later was called off. So there was a two-week gap between the Brighton and Spurs fixtures.

 

Which brings us up to the present.

 

But that's not the end of the story. For there is one more solemn ceremony to mention

 

Back on January 26th,1901, the day it had been due to report on that Forest v Leicester tie, the Nottingham Journal was instead telling the story of the burial place of previous sovereigns, with Victoria's funeral approaching. 'Gloucester and Worcester each have a king', it said, 'and somewhere by the precinct of the Greyfriars' Church in Leicester lies the grave of Richard III. Of only this one king since the fall of the House of Lancaster is the place of sepulchre unknown'.

 

 

5)  Thursday March 26th, 2015    Richard III's reburial, 530 years after he died.

 

He'd been there all that time, no-one was sure exactly where, bearing silent witness as all those seasons passed and all those kings and queens came and went. Now he was given a fitting farewell, and Leicester City decided to mark the occasion in their own special way.

 

 

Edited 17 September 2022 by kushiro

[Gamble92]

Things haven't been right since Bernie left us

[Mr Mister]

Of course the games should be played. No funeral should get in the way of a football match.

[Fox92]

But what about "tradition" of cancelling games!?

[bovril]

The great escape started straight after the Richard III burial didn't it? So many weird coincidences related to that story.

Edited 16 September 2022 by bovril

[Fox92]

21 minutes ago, bovril said:

The great escape started straight after the Richard III burial didn't it? So many weird coincidences related to that story.

I'm pretty sure the season we won the top flight, York got relegated out of the football league too.

[bovril]

48 minutes ago, Fox92 said:

I'm pretty sure the season we won the top flight, York got relegated out of the football league too.

Yep. I'm a true believer.

[volpeazzurro]

9 hours ago, bovril said:

The great escape started straight after the Richard III burial didn't it? So many weird coincidences related to that story.

I think you may have found the answer. Bury Rodgers in a car park. Obvious when you think about it!

[Mr Weller 2]

18 hours ago, kushiro said:

To play or not to play?

 

It's a question that has arisen repeatedly. Our club was formed 138 years ago, and Charles is the seventh king or queen in that time.

 

Let's have a look at how the monarch's death has affected football in general, and Leicester in particular.

 

 

1) Tuesday January 22nd,1901     Queen Victoria dies, aged 81. 

 

Leicester Fosse were preparing for their biggest match in years - away at Forest in the Cup. Forest were sitting proudly at the top of the League, we were midway in Division Two. We had only ever won one match in the FA Cup 'Proper' - having been knocked out repeatedly in the Qualifying Rounds.

 

Five days before the game, Victoria died. She had been on the throne for almost 64 years, and there was no precedent for how professional team sports should respond.  The FA's three man 'Emergency Committee' quickly decided to call off all that weekend's fixtures.

 

The Football League, whose relations with the FA had always been strained, refused to accept the decision. President J.J. Bentley sent a telegram to all League clubs:

 

Have wired Management Committee advising League clubs should play Cup ties on Saturday. Theatres are open, and the Emergency Committee have no right to interfere without consulting first.

 

The leading football paper of the day, Athletic News, had this to say: The Emergency gentlemen who so lightly demonstrated a loyalty that was never in question, are ignorant of the serious nature of the step they took - the dislocation of fixtures and the heavy monetary loss - and if they did know, their conduct is even more surprising.

 

As Victoria's coffin was being conveyed from the Isle of Wight to the mainland, it looked like a serious rupture between the two footballing authorities was brewing. The headlines said, 'Football Crisis'.

 

In the end, the League accepted the postponement of the Cup ties, but insisted that League fixtures be allowed to go ahead. So we had the absurd situation of Woolwich Arsenal, for example, being unable to play their Cup game at home to Blackburn, and instead traveling to Lincoln for a League game. 

 

With the tie at Forest off, Leicester Fosse arranged a practice match between the first team and the reserves. 

 

The funeral took place the following Saturday, and on that day, all football fixtures were called off. So still we waited for the Cup tie. It eventually went ahead two weeks late - on Saturday February 9th.  Coming almost three weeks after Victoria passed away, there was no minute's silence, no national anthem, no ceremony at all. It was time to get on with regular life.

 

There was to be no upset. Forest scored after three minutes, and only 20 minutes later they were 4-0 up. The Nottingham sports paper said, 'The scoring of goal after goal was becoming monotonous and was not at all to the liking of the spectators'.  

 

How humiliating. This had been a feature of many of Fosse's early Cup ties at Filbert Street - us chalking up huge scores against village sides, with Leicester fans getting bored and cheering for the plucky opposition. Now, we were receiving the same treatment.  Which was worse? Being hammered by our rivals or being treated not like rivals at all but as minnows?

 

In the second half, 'recognising that they had the verdict in perfectly safe keeping, the Reds relaxed and the game was as dull and lifeless as could possibly be'. It finished 5-1.

 

 

2)  Friday May 6th,1910    Edward VII dies, aged 68.

 

Had the FA Cup Final been played in early May, as in later years, the FA really would have had a dilemma. But that year it was April 23rd, with the final League games the following Saturday. So the death, a week after that, had no impact on the football calendar, though cricket matches were postponed.

 

Leicester Fosse had nearly reached that Final - going out in the guarter final to Newcastle - our best Cup run so far.

 

 

3)  Monday January 20th,1935     George V dies, aged 70.

 

George's death came at exactly the same stage of the season as his grandmother's - with 32 clubs, including Leicester City, preparing for FA Cup ties. What would the FA do this time? They issued a statement saying 'Clubs may carry out their fixtures if they so wish, with the exception of Tuesday January 28th, the date of His Majesty's funeral'. All rugby union games were postponed. Also off were horse racing, greyhound racing, and even the India v Australia cricket match in Delhi.

 

Stanley Rous, new head of the FA, was the man behind the decision. 

 

Having beaten Brentford in Round Three, Leicester were due to play Watford at Filbert Street on the Saturday. Unlike the Forest tie in 1901, this game doubled as a remembrance of the sovereign passed away.

 

The Reverend A. E. Kempton, a well-known amateur footballer in Leicester, led the pre-match service as Jesu, Lover of My Soul was sung (the line 'While the near waters roll' no doubt being especially evocative, with the River Soar flowing by just yards away). That was followed by a minute's silence. 

 

 

But then:

 

Extraordinary scenes marked the closing of the impressive service. The silence was shattered by shouts from hundreds of people jammed at one corner of the popular side. The crowd surged forward and scores were crushed by the press of the people behind. 

 

Leicester beat Watford 6-3, after the Hornets had twice gone ahead. The hero was Sep Smith, whose 'genius was directly responsible for his side’s transformation into a virile attacking force'. 

 

The King's funeral did cause a minor alteration to Cup plans. The draw for the next round was delayed for two days, and as City fans were watching us win at Forest in a League game on Thursday afternoon, word spread around the ground of our next opponents - 'It's Middlesbrough away!'  We lost that game at Ayresome Park 2-1 and our long wait for the trophy stretched to a fourth monarch's reign.

 

That was Edward VIII, who was on the throne for less than a year. His abdication on Friday December 11th had no effect on the following day's League programme.

 

 

4)  Wednesday February 6th,1952     George VI dies aged 56.

 

Mid-winter, once again. 

 

All rugby union games on the following Saturday were called off, including the England-Ireland international. But football got the OK. We were due to play at Goodison Park in a Second Division game.

 

This was how the Football Echo reported the scene at the start:

 

 

Everton won 2-0 - we lost our first game of Elizabeth's reign, just as we lost the last at Brighton, 70 years later.

 

When she passed away on September 8th, our game against Villa two days later was called off. So there was a two-week gap between the Brighton and Spurs fixtures.

 

Which brings us up to the present.

 

But that's not the end of the story. For there is one more solemn ceremony to mention

 

Back on January 26th,1901, the day it had been due to report on that Forest v Leicester tie, the Nottingham Journal was instead telling the story of the burial place of previous sovereigns, with Victoria's funeral approaching. 'Gloucester and Worcester each have a king', it said, 'and somewhere by the precinct of the Greyfriars' Church in Leicester lies the grave of Richard III. Of only this one king since the fall of the House of Lancaster is the place of sepulchre unknown'.

 

 

5)  Thursday March 26th, 2015    Richard III's reburial, 530 years after he died.

 

He'd been there all that time, no-one was sure exactly where, bearing silent witness as all those seasons passed and all those kings and queens came and went. Now he was given a fitting farewell, and Leicester City decided to mark the occasion in their own special way.

 

 

Superb article; one of the best I’ve ever read on here

[cruzFOX]

Not sure what to take from that super detailed well written post other than queen Liz’s passing kick starts our great escape part 2?

[kushiro]

Great to see Emile Heskey at that ceremony before the Spurs game on Saturday. It reminded me of another royal funeral. There was a minute's silence before football games after Diana died in 1997. Guess what - we were playing Spurs then too - this time at home. We hammered them 3-0, with Heskey slamming in the third (at about 6.45 in this video):