Clapham Common Club, usually known by its initials C.C.C., was a mid-nineteenth century amateur English football club based at Clapham Common.
| Full name | Clapham Common Club | |
|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | C.C.C. | |
| Founded | 1864 | |
| Dissolved | 1872 | |
| Ground | Clapham Common | |
| Secretary | C. H. Hartung, P. V. Turner | |
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History
editThe club was active during the period between 1864 and 1871, playing both association football and codes closer to rugby football.[1][2] The club was a member of the Football Association from 1864[3] to 1872,[4] although it did not enter the FA Cup.
The club's first recorded match was a 2–1 win over a "scratch eleven" on 4 January 1864,[5] the scratch eleven being made up of other members of the club. The first genuine external match followed on 16 January, a 2–0 home win against the Montague Club.[6]
The club played the Blackheath Rugby Club under the latter's rules (similar to rugby, but with a different offside rule) in 1865, winning 4–0.[7] The biggest win was a 6–0 win for a C.C.C. thirteen against a 20-man Clapham side;[8] the club's most notable win was a 1–0 win over the Wanderers in a match played to Westminster School rules, helped by the Wanderers having to use substitutes (one of whom was C.C.C.'s Edward Tayloe) as only seven visiting players - albeit including Charles W. Alcock and Alexander Morten - turned up.[9]
The last reported match was on 18 March 1871, a 0–0 draw at home to Sydenham F.C., in which the club was "represented on this occasion by an exceptionally weak team".,[10] although the club was still active within the FA committees at this time, with captain P.V. Turner being on the committee to choose players for the unofficial internationals.[11]
The formation of the Clapham Rovers was a factor in the decline of C.C.C.; the club's captain and secretary in 1868, John Tayloe, was captain of the Rovers in the latter's first match in 1869.[12] In the 1869–70 season, the club only played seven matches, with three 0–0 draws, three 1–0 defeats, and scoring just the one goal, in a win over Brentwood School.[13] By 1871, although the C.C.C. boasted 76 members, the Rovers cluld claim over 100.[14] From 1872, two of the C.C.C. regulars were playing for the Civil Service F.C., others played for the original Crystal Palace club, and the remainder - including the Dealtry brothers, Soden, and Ker, who had played in the club's very first matches - retired from the game.
Colours
editUntil 1870 the club listed its colours as being a black velvet cap with a red tassel and red stockings.[15] In 1871 the club described its colours as red and black.[16]
Ground
editThe club played on the Clapham Common, usually finding a pitch a 5-minute walk from Clapham railway station on the London, Chatham and Dover Railway.[17]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Crystal Palace v. Barnes". Field: 20. 9 December 1865.
- ^ "King's College v. C.C.C.". Sportsman: 3. 26 January 1871.
- ^ Brown, Tony (2011). Football Association 1863-1883: A Source Book. UK: Soccerdata. p. 23.
- ^ Brown, Tony (2011). Football Association 1863-1883: A Source Book. UK: Soccerdata. p. 62.
- ^ "report". Bell's Life: 5. 9 January 1864.
- ^ "report". Bell's Life: 6. 23 January 1864.
- ^ "report". Bell's Life: 4. 7 January 1865.
- ^ "report". Sportsman: 1. 20 November 1866.
- ^ "report". Sportsman: 1. 5 February 1867.
- ^ "report". The Sportsman: 3. 23 March 1871.
- ^ "report". The Sportsman: 3. 21 February 1871.
- ^ "Clapham Rovers v Wanderers". Sportsman: 3. 28 September 1869.
- ^ "report". Sportsman: 4. 4 November 1869.
- ^ Alcock, Charles (1871). Football Annual. Paternoster Row: Virtue & Co. p. 56.
- ^ Lillywhite, John (1869). Football Annual. John Lillywhite. p. 7.
- ^ Alcock, Charles (1871). Football Annual. Paternoster Row: Virtue & Co. p. 56.
- ^ Lillywhite, John (1869). Football Annual. John Lillywhite. p. 7.