A new book dedicated to the vanished football clubs of Great Britain is reviewed by Eric Brown…
BY ERIC BROWN
They say those who lived through it don’t remember the hedonistic 1960s.
Don’t believe it. Towards the end of that momentous decade, I was training as a journalist at a group of seven south London-based local newspapers. A rookie, cub or newbie sports reporter learning every day during a period I’ll never forget.
One early job was covering matches played by Corinthian Casuals FC, a club of no fixed abode still firmly wedded to the amateur code when times were passing them by.
This was the era of illegal “cash in boots” incentives, which meant certain clubs that unofficially paid the highest signed the best players and regularly challenged for honours in the “amateur leagues.”
Shamateurism, it was called. Casuals strictly adhered to the rules and, as a result, regularly featured among the Isthmian League’s bottom clubs. They were fun to cover, though, and a rich source of contacts with Alan Pardew, later of Crystal Palace, Charlton and West Ham among former players.
Casuals played at The Oval before moving to Sandy Lane as Tooting & Mitcham’s tenants and cricket connections were retained.
Bob Willis occasionally played in goal. He hastily had to abandon football mid-season upon receiving an emergency call to join England’s Ashes tour already underway in Australia. A good story.
Surrey all-rounder Graham Roope, another England cricketer, also played for Casuals along with several journalists who included future Sky Sports commentator Martin Tyler and his ITV pal Steve Hamer.
They lined up alongside Don Joy, a bulky and rather immobile centre half who once surprised everyone, including himself, by scoring from the halfway line. Don was the son of former London Evening Standard football writer Bernard Joy, the last amateur to appear at full level for England.
Bernard was one of seven players actually registered to Casuals and also to Corinthians when the clubs were separate. All seven won England caps between 1895 and 1936.
His full cap came against Belgium in Brussels on May 9, 1936, when he was playing for First Division Arsenal as well as Casuals and Corinthians.
On 4 January 1939, successful merger talks resulted in the disappearance of Casuals and Corinthians as separate clubs. Corinthians are assured of lasting football fame for their amateur ideals. They could not countenance any player deliberately fouling an opponent in the penalty area in what has become known as those “Corinthian days.”
Accordingly, if a penalty was awarded against them, the goalkeeper would stand aside while an opponent scored into an empty net. If Corinthians were awarded a penalty, their skipper would deliberately shoot wide.
Author Philip O’Rourke includes the intriguing stories of confirmed amateurs Corinthians, Casuals and Corinthian Casuals in his new book ‘Forgotten Football Clubs of Great Britain and Ireland’.
He notes how England’s team that beat Wales in March 1895 consisted entirely of Casuals players, a record unlikely ever to be beaten.
They were football pioneers, too, spreading their philosophy and influence on world tours. It is said Real Madrid adopted their famous white kit in tribute to Casuals.
I was yet to learn much of this as I sat freezing in the wooden stand at the Sandy Lane ground watching the latest hopelessly outclassed Corinthian Casuals recruits try to avoid yet another heavy defeat.
Then conducted interviews in the bar without the benefit of mini-tape recorders or mobile phone recorders. Pitman’s was king, match reports written longhand.
Some 50 years later, the merged outfit which strictly rejected professionalism has managed to survive in the Isthmian League at a time when top English clubs are ruled by sterling or dollars.
Mr O’Rourke’s book is a follow-up to his successful ‘Forgotten Football Clubs Across the World’. That book and his current offering are both sub-titled “Gone but Never Forgotten,” suggesting they no longer exist.
Yet many of the clubs featured do survive, as we have seen with Corinthians and Casuals. Telford, for example, were wound up but later sprang back to life, as did Welsh club Merthyr Town.
There are complicated histories from the likes of Rochdale, Manchester Association, Crystal Palace, Rushden and Diamonds, South Liverpool, Third Lanark, Wanderers and a whole host of Irish clubs.
Surprisingly, there’s no mention of Accrington Stanley, the first of the Football League’s founder members to go under.
The SJA is interested in your sports media industry news and views. Keen to reach an engaged audience, including over 70,000 followers across social media? We welcome your enquiries – contact us here. We also offer advertising and sponsorship opportunities.
For information on how to apply as a Full or Associate Member of the SJA, plus details of our free-to-enter SJA Academy, click here.