Pegasus Association Football Club was an English

amateur An amateur () is generally considered a person who pursues an avocation independent from their source of income. Amateurs and their pursuits are also described as popular, informal, autodidacticism, self-taught, user-generated, do it yourself, DI ...

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

club that ran from 1948 to 1963, based in

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

and composed of

Oxbridge Oxbridge is a portmanteau of the University of Oxford, Universities of Oxford and University of Cambridge, Cambridge, the two oldest, wealthiest, and most prestigious universities in the United Kingdom. The term is used to refer to them collect ...

(

and

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

)

university A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

students. While the club saw success in the 1950s, they disbanded the following decade after defections to rival clubs.

History

The club was founded in 1948 as a joint venture of Oxford University A.F.C. and Cambridge University A.F.C., instigated by

Harold Warris Thompson Sir Harold Warris Thompson, CBE, FRS (15 February 1908 – 31 December 1983) was an English physical chemist and spectroscopist, who also served as chairman of the Football Association. Early life and education Harold Thompson was born in Wom ...

, professor at St. John's College, Oxford and later an administrator with

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. The founding president was Kenneth Hunt, formerly of the star amateur club Corinthian F.C. The symbol

Pegasus Pegasus (; ) is a winged horse in Greek mythology, usually depicted as a white stallion. He was sired by Poseidon, in his role as horse-god, and foaled by the Gorgon Medusa. Pegasus was the brother of Chrysaor, both born from Medusa's blood w ...

was chosen as containing elements from the logos of the football clubs of both Oxford University (a

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) and Cambridge University (a

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). At first, members had to be current Oxford or Cambridge University players or to have left the previous year, but this rule was later relaxed. In the postwar years, Oxbridge students included many men in their twenties demobilised from service in World War II. Pegasus had an attractive style similar to the

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as simply Tottenham (, , , ) or Spurs, is a professional Association football, football club based in Tottenham, North London, England. The club itself has stated that it should always ...

of the day, whose

Vic Buckingham Victor Frederick Buckingham (23 October 1915 – 26 January 1995) was an English football player and manager. He played for Second Division side Tottenham Hotspur. As manager he won the 1954 FA Cup final with West Bromwich Albion and finished ...

and Bill Nicholson had previously coached Oxford and Cambridge respectively. The club had great success in the 1950s including wins at

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in the

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in 1951, which finished 2–1 against

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, and 1953, which finished 6–0 against Harwich & Parkeston in front of a full house of 100,000 spectators. On both occasions, the semi-final was played at

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and was drawn, so that a replay was necessary. In the 1951 semi-final, Pegasus's opponents,

Hendon Hendon is an urban area in the London Borough of Barnet, northwest London northwest of Charing Cross. Hendon was an ancient Manorialism, manor and parish in the county of Middlesex and a former borough, the Municipal Borough of Hendon; it has ...

, were awarded a penalty in the last minute, but missed it, and Pegasus won the replay at

Selhurst Park Selhurst Park is a football stadium in Selhurst, in the London Borough of Croydon, England, which is the home ground of Premier League club Crystal Palace. The stadium was designed by Archibald Leitch and opened in 1924. It has hosted interna ...

. In 1954, Pegasus toured

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, and supplied seven members of the England amateur international team. Changes in university culture in the 1960s and defections to Corinthian-Casuals undermined its ethos and the club folded in 1963, following an Oxfordshire Senior Cup tie against Marston United.

Colours

The club played in white shirts, navy blue shorts (in honour of Oxford), and sky blue socks (in honour of Cambridge), with a badge of a sky blue Pegasus on a dark blue patch.

Ground

The club used Iffley Road in Oxford for its home matches, as the Cambridge pitch at Grange Road was owned by the Cambridge University rugby club.

Famous coaches

Joe Mercer Joseph Mercer (9 August 1914 – 9 August 1990) was an English footballer and manager. Mercer, who played as a defender for Everton and Arsenal in his footballing career, also went on to manage Aston Villa and Manchester City, and was the ...

Malcolm Allison Malcolm Alexander Allison (5 September 1927 – 14 October 2010) was an English football player and manager. Nicknamed "Big Mal", he was one of English football's most flamboyant and intriguing characters because of his panache, fedora a ...

* Arthur Rowe

Famous officials

*Reverend Kenneth Hunt, founding president *Sir

Honours

**Winners: 1950–51, 1952–53 * Oxfordshire Senior Cup **Winners: 1949–50, 1957–58

References

External links

*{{fchd, name=Pegasus F.C., id=PEGASUS * Ken Shearwood, ''Pegasus: The Famous Oxford and Cambridge Soccer Side of the Nineteen Fifties''. With an Introduction by Geoffrey Green, and an Afterword by David Miller. (Kennedy & Boyd, 2011).

Defunct football clubs in England Association football clubs established in 1948 Association football clubs disestablished in 1963 Clubs and societies of the University of Cambridge Clubs and societies of the University of Oxford Oxbridge Defunct football clubs in Oxfordshire 1948 establishments in England 1963 disestablishments in England University and college football clubs in England