South Norwood F.C. was an amateur

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club from

South Norwood South Norwood is a district of South London, England, within the London Borough of Croydon, Greater London and formerly in the historic county of Surrey. It is located 7.8 miles (12.5 km) south-east of Charing Cross, north of Woodside and ...

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History

The club was founded in October 1871, charging members a 5s annual subscription, and with Captain Moreton (brother of the

Earl of Ducie Earl of Ducie is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1837 for Thomas Reynolds Moreton, 4th Baron Ducie. History The Moreton family descends from Edward Moreton, who in the 17th century married Elizabeth, daughter o ...

) agreeing to be club president (and occasional player). Its first public appearance was an open training session at the ground, showing that the club had recruited "some well known amateur runners".

FA Cup history

The club entered the FA Cup for each of the years from 1872 to 1879, reaching the Second Round on five occasions: * 1872–73 **Round 1:

Barnes Barnes may refer to: People *Barnes (name), a family name and a given name (includes lists of people with that name) Places United Kingdom * Barnes, London, England ** Barnes railway station **Barnes Bridge railway station ** Barnes High Stree ...

(A) won 1–0 **Round 2:

Windsor Home Park The Home Park, previously known as the Little Park (and originally Lydecroft Park), is a 2.65 km2 royal park near Windsor, Berkshire, administered by the Crown Estate of the United Kingdom. It is the private grounds of Windsor Castle. It lies ma ...

(n) replay ordered (see below) **Round 2 replay:

(A) lost 3–0 The club's first tie at Barnes was "looked upon as a certainty for Barnes, as their opponents’ club is quite a modern one", but South Norwood won with a goal from G.V.Walshe after about ten minutes. The second round tie with Windsor Home Park, at the

Kennington Oval Kennington is a district in south London, England. It is mainly within the London Borough of Lambeth, running along the boundary with the London Borough of Southwark, a boundary which can be discerned from the early medieval period between th ...

, proved controversial, as both sides claimed to have won 1–0. Windsor Home Park claimed the South Norwood goal was the result of a handball, with which both umpires agreed, and South Norwood claimed that the Windsor Home Park goal the result of Home Park taking a corner that ought to have been a goal-kick. As at the time the referee's decision was subject to an appeal, the

Football Association A football association, also known as a football federation, soccer federation, or soccer association, is a governing body for association football. Many of them are members of the sport's regional bodies such as UEFA and CONMEBOL and the world gov ...

ordered a replay, which Home Park won easily. * 1873–74 **Round 1:

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(A) lost 1–0 * 1874–75 **Round 1: Pilgrims (H) lost 3–1 The match had elements of controversy, as Pilgrims' second goal was considered by the home side to be offside, but the Pilgrims umpire - "whose defective vision we deplore" - claimed not to have noticed any infringement, and the third goal allegedly cleared the tape. * 1875–76 **Round 1: Clydesdale ''Walkover'' **Round 2:

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(H) lost 5–0 * 1876–77 **Round 1:

Saxons The Saxons, sometimes called the Old Saxons or Continental Saxons, were a Germanic people of early medieval "Old" Saxony () which became a Carolingian " stem duchy" in 804, in what is now northern Germany. Many of their neighbours were, like th ...

(H) won 4–1 **Round 2:

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, situated south of Leeds and east of Manchester. The city is the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and some of its so ...

(n) lost 7–0 The Saxons match was an acrimonious one. The Saxons were said to be playing "on the win tie or wrangle principal", and were "apparently intent upon displaying their powers of polite repartee to make up for their deficiency in the knowledge of the Association rules." The approach did bring the Saxons the benefit of a goal which, according to the spectators, struck the tape and went over, but after the Saxons players "were prepared to take their affidavits that it went under", W.H. White, the South Norwood captain, conceded the goal. It availed the Saxons nothing as South Norwood were already four goals to the good. Frank Haslam, the Saxons' captain, complained that South Norwood kept interrupting the game by claiming offside, and blaming White for "a temper and disposition which totally unfits him for the football field"; however the South Norwood secretary C.E. Leeds complained in turn about the Saxons players regularly disputing refereeing decisions, often in unison, and dismissed Saxons as "comparatively obscure". The Sheffield match was played at the

in a rainstorm; the score was 2–0 to Sheffield at half-time but the Yorkshire side ran riot in the second half, only Edward Ram distinguishing himself for South Norwood. * 1877–78 **Round 1:

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(A) lost 2–0 * 1878–79 **Round 1:

Leyton Leyton ( ) is a town in East London, England, within the London Borough of Waltham Forest. It borders Walthamstow to the north, Leytonstone to the east, and Stratford to the south, with Clapton, Hackney Wick and Homerton, across the Ri ...

''Walkover'' **Round 2:

(A) lost 3–0 * 1879–80 **Round 1: Brentwood (H) won 4–2 **Round 2:

Clapham Rovers Clapham Rovers was from its foundation in 1869 a leading English sports organisation in the two dominant codes of football, association football and rugby union. It was a prominent club in the late 19th century but is now defunct. The club play ...

(H) lost 4–1

End of club

The club was wound up during 1881, the last recorded matches being in February; a 7–0 defeat to

Westminster School Westminster School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Westminster, London, England, in the precincts of Westminster Abbey. It descends from a charity school founded by Westminster Benedictines before the Norman Conquest, as do ...

, a 3–2 win at Acton, and a 9–0 defeat at

- a sign of the growing apathy was that only 10 men played at Westminster and Acton, and only 7 at Barnes. At a meeting of the South Norwood Cricket Club in September 1881, the past and present members of the football club presented a silver salver to C. E. Leeds, the long-serving secretary, as a wedding gift, and hoped that the football club would be "resuscitated"; the hope was a forlorn one.

Colours

The club gave its colours as "broad black and red bars", as distinct from the narrow hoops that were more normal in the 1870s.

Ground

The club originally used a field alongside Portland Road (opposite the Spread Eagle pub) and in 1875 it moved the cricket ground, also near Portland Road.

Famous players

Brothers Robert Smith and James Smith played for the club, including in the FA Cup. They appeared together for

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

in the first officially recognised football international match in November 1872.

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

international, William Lindsay also played for South Norwood at some time during his career. Edward Ram, who won the Cup with

in 1880, played for the club in 1876–77.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Profile
on Football Club History Database Association football clubs established in 1870 Defunct football clubs in London 1870 establishments in England Defunct football clubs in England Association football clubs disestablished in 1880