davieG Posted 28 February 2013 Posted 28 February 2013 OS Football League founder William McGregorImage by: The Football League, the world’s original league football competition, is to celebrate its 125th anniversary during 2013. The anniversary period will begin this Saturday 2 March which marks 125 years since League founder, William McGregor, sent his letter to clubs suggesting ‘that ten or twelve of the most prominent clubs in England combine to arrange home-and-away fixtures each season.’ McGregor’s letter was the catalyst for the beginning of league football, which 125 years later still dominates the sporting landscape in countries throughout the world. Following the decision to permit professionalism in 1885, the game’s development was becoming stifled by the lack of a coherent and organised fixture list. The predominance of cup football meant that clubs could easily lose fixtures at relatively short notice and it was even common for clubs to cancel matches (or alternatively field scratch teams) because they had been offered more lucrative fixtures elsewhere. Perthshire-born McGregor, the Secretary of Aston Villa, felt that immediate action was needed and he wrote the following letter to Aston Villa, Blackburn Rovers, Bolton Wanderers, Preston North End and West Bromwich Albion: “Every year it is becoming more and more difficult for football clubs of any standing to meet their friendly engagements and even arrange friendly matches. The consequence is that at the last moment, through cup-tie interference, clubs are compelled to take on teams who will not attract the public. “I beg to tender the following suggestion as a means of getting over the difficulty: that ten or twelve of the most prominent clubs in England combine to arrange home-and-away fixtures each season, the said fixtures to be arranged at a friendly conference about the same time as the International Conference. “This combination might be known as the Association Football Union, and could be managed by representative from each club. Of course, this is in no way to interfere with the National Association; even the suggested matches might be played under cup-tie rules. However, this is a detail. “My object in writing to you at present is merely to draw your attention to the subject, and to suggest a friendly conference to discuss the matter more fully. I would take it as a favour if you would kindly think the matter over, and make whatever suggestions you deem necessary. “I am only writing to the following – Blackburn Rovers, Bolton Wanderers, Preston North End, West Bromwich Albion, and Aston Villa, and would like to hear what other clubs you would suggest.†The Football League will celebrate its 125th anniversary with its clubs and their supporters at the beginning of the 2013/14 season and its Head of Communications, John Nagle, said: "The McGregor letter is the start of Saturday at 3pm as we know it today, it’s the point at which professional football decides it has to get organised or be strangled at birth. "You only have to look through fixture lists from the previous season to see the problem clubs faced. Fixtures were sporadic with clubs sometimes going weeks between matches when they needed the certainty, as they still do today, of regular matches and regular income. "Looking back now it may seem such an obvious thing to do, but you have to remember it had been 25 years since the formation of the FA and yet nobody else had come up with anything as visionary. McGregor’s idea perfectly met the needs of clubs and the paying public, whilst being utterly simple in its inception. “The fact that 125 years later The Football League continues to thrive and that league football has become a sporting phenomenon across the globe is the greatest possible tribute to McGregor's foresight.†Three weeks after McGregor sent his letter (March 22) clubs met at Anderton’s Hotel on Fleet Street in London to discuss McGregor’s idea. This was followed by a further meeting on April 17 at the Royal Hotel, Manchester at which the name The Football League was agreed (despite McGregor’s preference for the word ‘union’ to be used instead). The first season of The Football League kicked-off on September 8, 1888 with McGregor as its first Chairman. The 12 founder members of The Football League were Accrington, Aston Villa, Blackburn Rovers, Bolton Wanderers, Burnley, Derby County, Everton, Notts County, Preston North End, Stoke, West Bromwich Albion, and Wolverhampton Wanderers. The first champions were Preston’s ‘invincibles’ who won 18 and drew 4 of their 22 league matches. To find out more about William McGregor, the Father of The Football League,click here. To read about 125 years of The Football League in numbers, click here. It all started on a bright sunny afternoon in September 1888 with 12 Founder Clubs from the North-West and Midlands. Today, The Football League features 72 clubs in three divisions playing 1,656 matches every season. As The League kicks off the celebrations of its 125th anniversary, we dusted down the record books to tell the story of 125 years in numbers. Matches: • There have been 177,164 matches played in The Football League since its inception in 1888 • The most played Football League fixtures are between: - Aston Villa and Everton (154 times) - Arsenal and Manchester United (146 times) - Everton and Liverpool (146 times) • The most played match amongst current members of The Football League is between Hartlepool United and Rochdale (136 times) Results: • 52% of games have been home wins (91,223 games) • 23% have been away wins (41,470 games) • 25% have been draws (44,471 games) • The most common result has been 1-0 with 28,169 occurrences (16% of matches) - NB: this includes games finishing 1-0 and 0-1 • Other regular scores are: - 2-1 (25,653 - 14%) - 1-1 (20,415 - 12%) - 2-0 (20, 407 - 12%) - 0-0 (12,550) - 7%) Goals: • 514,333 goals have been scored • The home club has scored 317,260 goals (62%), with 197,073 (38%) scored by the away club Players: • In total, 39,532 players have appeared in Football League matches • 508 were called Smith, 384 Jones, 298 Brown, 266 Williams and 228 Taylor • 3,316 players appeared only once (2,868 of which were 'starts' and 448 substitutes) Grounds: • League games have been played on 220 different grounds • Most matches have been played at Preston North End's Deepdale (2,336), Burnley's Turf Moor (2,304) and Bury's Gigg Lane (2,281). • There are three stadiums still in use today that were used in the first season. They are Deepdale, Turf Moor and…….Anfield (which was used by Everton) - Turf Moor in 1905 Fans: • The total number of spectators through Football League turnstiles is just under 2.2 billion (2,192,000,000) Clubs: • There have been 136 clubs that have played in The Football League. Although there are numerous examples of defunct clubs reforming under new names. In such cases it is often a moot point as to whether these are a continuation of the same club or constitute an entirely separate entity. Analysis supplied by Tony Brown at www.enfa.co.uk Following the formation of The Football League in 1888, the popularity of league football spread around the world with domestic leagues being formed in the following years: 1888: England. 1890: Ireland, Scotland, Netherlands. 1891: Argentina. 1895: Belgium. 1897: Switzerland. 1900: Uruguay. 1901: Hungary. 1906: Paraguay. 1909: Romania. 1911: Austria. 1912: Peru. 1921: USA, Ireland, Tunisia, Venezuela. 1924: Sweden, Bulgaria. 1925: Czechoslovakia (then 1993: Czech Republic & Slovakia). 1927: Greece. 1929: Spain, Italy, Denmark. 1932: France. 1933: Chile. 1936: USSR. 1937: Norway, Haiti. 1938: Portugal. 1943: Mexico. 1948: Colombia. 1956: Ghana. 1957: Ecuador. 1959: Brazil, Turkey. 1960: Ivory Coast. 1962: Algeria, Zambia. 1963: Germany. 1965: Japan. 1966: Mali, Nigeria. 1977: Australia, Bolivia. 1983: South Korea. 1988: Panama. 1992: Croatia, Ukraine. 2000: Bosnia. 2001: Russia. 2006: Montenegro, Serbia.
Kitchandro Posted 28 February 2013 Posted 28 February 2013 Well done that man. One of the best ideas of all time, I'm sure many will agree Great stats there too. Although some of the years some countries first formed a league are a bit misleading, surely?
Guest MattP Posted 28 February 2013 Posted 28 February 2013 There was a fantastic supplement in the Telegraph on Tuesday about him. Aston Villa have a statue of him outside. A great man, Sunderland were actually excluded from the first league as others clubs were worried about the travel cost, bit different to today. Though I've no doubt reading about how traditional he was he would be spinning in his grave now had he known what his idea has been turned into.
davieG Posted 28 February 2013 Author Posted 28 February 2013 There was a fantastic supplement in the Telegraph on Tuesday about him. Aston Villa have a statue of him outside. A great man, Sunderland were actually excluded from the first league as others clubs were worried about the travel cost, bit different to today. Though I've no doubt reading about how traditional he was he would be spinning in his grave now had he known what his idea has been turned into. Especially this bit. The Football League will celebrate its 125th anniversary with its clubs and their supporters at the beginning of the 2013/14 season and its Head of Communications, John Nagle, said: "The McGregor letter is the start of Saturday at 3pm as we know it today, it’s the point at which professional football decides it has to get organised or be strangled at birth.
StanSP Posted 28 February 2013 Posted 28 February 2013 http://www.football-league.co.uk/footballleaguenews/20130227/125-years-of-the-football-league-in-numbers_2293334_3091148 It all started on a bright sunny afternoon in September 1888 with 12 Founder Clubs from the North-West and Midlands. Today, The Football League features 72 clubs in three divisions playing 1,656 matches every season. As The League kicks off the celebrations of its 125th anniversary, we dusted down the record books to tell the story of 125 years in numbers. Matches: • There have been 177,164 matches played in The Football League since its inception in 1888 • The most played match amongst current members of The Football League is between Hartlepool United and Rochdale (136 times) • The most played Football League fixtures are between: - Aston Villa and Everton (154 times) - Arsenal and Manchester United (146 times) - Everton and Liverpool (146 times) Results: • 52% of games have been home wins (91,223 games) • 23% have been away wins (41,470 games) • 25% have been draws (44,471 games) • The most common result has been 1-0 with 28,169 occurrences (16% of matches) - NB: this includes games finishing 1-0 and 0-1 • Other regular scores are: - 2-1 (25,653 - 14%) - 1-1 (20,415 - 12%) - 2-0 (20, 407 - 12%) - 0-0 (12,550) - 7%) Goals: • 514,333 goals have been scored • The home club has scored 317,260 goals (62%), with 197,073 (38%) scored by the away club Players: • In total, 39,532 players have appeared in Football League matches • 508 were called Smith, 384 Jones, 298 Brown, 266 Williams and 228 Taylor • 3,316 players appeared only once (2,868 of which were 'starts' and 448 substitutes) Grounds: • League games have been played on 220 different grounds • Most matches have been played at Preston North End's Deepdale (2,336), Burnley's Turf Moor (2,304) and Bury's Gigg Lane (2,281). • There are three stadiums still in use today that were used in the first season. They are Deepdale, Turf Moor and…….Anfield (which was used by Everton) Fans: • The total number of spectators through Football League turnstiles is just under 2.2 billion (2,192,000,000) Clubs: • There have been 136 clubs that have played in The Football League. Although there are numerous examples of defunct clubs reforming under new names. In such cases it is often a moot point as to whether these are a continuation of the same club or constitute an entirely separate entity. Following the formation of The Football League in 1888, the popularity of league football spread around the world with domestic leagues being formed in the following years: 1888: England. 1890: Ireland, Scotland, Netherlands. 1891: Argentina. 1895: Belgium. 1897: Switzerland. 1900: Uruguay. 1901: Hungary. 1906: Paraguay. 1909: Romania. 1911: Austria. 1912: Peru. 1921: USA, Ireland, Tunisia, Venezuela. 1924: Sweden, Bulgaria. 1925: Czechoslovakia (then 1993: Czech Republic & Slovakia). 1927: Greece. 1929: Spain, Italy, Denmark. 1932: France. 1933: Chile. 1936: USSR. 1937: Norway, Haiti. 1938: Portugal. 1943: Mexico. 1948: Colombia. 1956: Ghana. 1957: Ecuador. 1959: Brazil, Turkey. 1960: Ivory Coast. 1962: Algeria, Zambia. 1963: Germany. 1965: Japan. 1966: Mali, Nigeria. 1977: Australia, Bolivia. 1983: South Korea. 1988: Panama. 1992: Croatia, Ukraine. 2000: Bosnia. 2001: Russia. 2006: Montenegro, Serbia.
StanSP Posted 28 February 2013 Posted 28 February 2013 Might as well delete that post (and then this one). I didn't realise there was a thread!
act smiley Posted 28 February 2013 Posted 28 February 2013 Great stats there too. Although some of the years some countries first formed a league are a bit misleading, surely? Well, not really - it's based on it being a league that's 'national' which is why Germany and Brazil, for example, are so late as they'd used a regional organisation originally. The only one that stands out as odd is Russia, as they'd had a national league between the end of the USSR and then.
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