Nottingham Wanderers F.C. was an English
association football club from
Nottinghamshire.
History
Although the club claimed a formation date of 1872, the first recorded match is from 1876, against Radcliffe. It is possible that the foundation date refers to the cricket club out of which the football club was formed.
The club was one of the first to play under artificial lighting, a match with Nottingham Trent at the Castle ground in November 1879 being described as "lighted by means of
Bengal lights". It was one of the first entrants to the
Notts Cup in 1883-84, reaching the semi-finals, but losing to
the Trent club. The Wanderers appealed the result on the basis that one of the Trent players (
Harry Moore) was a professional with
Notts County, and that both he and another player were cup-tied, but the
Nottinghamshire Football Association
The Nottinghamshire Football Association, often known simply as the Notts FA, is the governing body of football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ' ...
rejected the appeal, as it was both out of time and unsupported by a formal motion by the Wanderers club.
The club struggled to attract crowds; although 1,000 attended a match against
the Swifts
''Swifts'' (also known as ''The Swifts'') is a heritage-listed late-Victorian architecture, Victorian Battlement, castellated Gothic Revival architecture, Gothic Revival mansion located in the suburb of Darling Point, New South Wales, Darling Po ...
at the Meadows in October 1884, one week later, the club played in front of a meagre attendance because most people were watching
Notts County v
Darwen instead.
FA Cup entries
The club only entered the
FA Cup twice, both times losing in the first round. In
1884-85, losing 1-0 at
Sheffield Heeley
Sheffield Heeley is a List of United Kingdom Parliament constituencies, constituency represented in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, UK Parliament since 2015 by Louise Haigh, ...
. The
following year, the club lost in a replay to
Notts Olympic. Even a local derby Cup tie could not attract crowds, only 400 turning up to the first match (the appalling weather being a factor).
End of the club
The last recorded result for the club is an 8-0 defeat at
Accrington
Accrington is a town in the Hyndburn borough of Lancashire, England. It lies about east of Blackburn, west of Burnley, east of Preston, north of Manchester and is situated on the culverted River Hyndburn. Commonly abbreviated by locals to ...
in December 1885 and in January 1886 the club is described as "quite defunct".
The Wanderers name was revived in 1888 as the new name for
Mellors Limited F.C.
Mellors Limited Football Club, also variously given as Mellors' or Mellor's Limited, was an English football club from Nottingham.
History
Mellors was the works side of M. Mellor & Sons Limited, a lace manufacturing company founded by Moses Mel ...
Colours
The club colours were described as "scarlet" and "scarlet and white", probably referring to the shirts and knickerbockers rather than a pattern.
[Charles Alcock yearbooks 1880-81]
References
Association football clubs established in 1872
Association football clubs disestablished in 1886
1872 establishments in England
1886 disestablishments in England
Defunct football clubs in Nottinghamshire
{{England-footyclub-defunct-stub