Home of football statistics and historyNo sooner had the season begun than a meeting of The Football Association in London was asked by Wanderers, supported by Harrow Chequers, to agree to the institution of a competition to be played off annually. Known as The Football Association Challenge Cup, it would by run on the lines of the “Cock House” matches at Harrow School. Supporters of the scheme were enthusiastic, but some FA members expressed doubts about the desirability of introducing such competitive element into the game. Others, not necessarily opposed to the idea, argued it should not be done in the present season as the cup ties would interfere with fixtures already drawn up by the clubs.
However, as with all Mr Alcock’s intentions, no sooner the word than the deed, and the company was persuaded to give a favourably verdict on the proposal. In the outcome only 15 clubs decided to take part in the competition and of these three withdrew without actually contesting. But the enterprise attracted sufficient interest to be deemed not failure; after all, half a dozen of the best sides in the country took part. Not least amongst the benefits gained was that the FA Cup brought to London the now-famous Queen’s Park, from Glasgow. The Scots were excused all the ties up to the semi-finals on account of the distance to be travelled, but after one drawn game at Kennington Oval, Queen’s Park could not stand the expense of a second visit, so withdrew. Royal Engineers were favourites to beat Wanderers in the final, but the latter won the trophy on merit, even taking into consideration the bad luck of the Sappers in having to play virtually a man short for the greater part of the game.
If there had ever been much chance that the dribblers and the Rugby men would one day come to agreement on one set of rules, that hope diminishing yearly, was now surely lost. For a little while, after the disputes attending the foundation of The Football Association in 1863, it might have been thought that, given time, an understanding was possible as more and more Rugby men were opposed to hacking,– apparently the principal cause of dissent in 1863. The only other problem in any real sense was that of handling the ball, a feature of the Rugby game not entirely distasteful to the Association people in 1863.
With the abolition of hacking from Rugby Union football, it might have been supposed that if the Rugby faction would accept a limitation on carrying the ball, and if the Association side would allow catching and running to a defined extent, division between the parties could be removed. Yet in less than a decade the two codes had moved so far apart as to become incompatible. And the reason for the barrier between them may be seen in the determination of Mr CW Alcock and his allies who knew very well what sort of football they wanted, and the unyielding attitude of the Old Rugbeians and friends who would admit of no change from the only kind of football they could possibly countenance.
When The FA declared the strictest prohibition on handling, and when the Rugby clubs formed their Union, all hopes of any sort of alliance perished. Further widening the rift was the attitude, even at the lower levels of Rugby clubs, and among men who had never seen the sky above Rugby School, expressed in a pointed lack of interest amounting to contempt for the other game. For even when they accepted an invitation to play against a team of the Association allegiance, most displayed such reluctance to acquaint themselves with the rules of the round ball game and showed such lack of enthusiasm during play that, for the sake of a game, the soccer men had to agree to change over to Rugby rules for the rest of the afternoon.