The club's origins around 1870, lie in rugby and cricket, which were played on the local cricket pitch, Barley Bank, the club eventually adopting the Football Association Rules in 1875.
In 1878, Blackburn Rovers visited their pitch for a friendly and 14,000 turned up to watch one of the first floodlit matches.
In 1879, Fergie Suter and James Love were signed on the club's books as professionals from Patrick Thistle and this started a row amongst various clubs over professionalism, which was not allowed! At this time the Lancashire clubs especially were sneaking Scots across the border to boost their teams. The ban on professionals ruling eventually changed, obviously!
The Scots boosted Darwen's football until they reached the FA Cup quarter-finals meeting the Old Etonians and accepting the rule that matches had to be played in London, Darwen travelled three times to the capital drawing 5-5, 2-2 and then capitulating to the OEs 5-6. What a thriller!
In 1880-1, the club had a splendid run in the FA Cup, meeting and beating Brigg, Sheffield, Sheffield Wednesday and Romford (15-0) until the semi-final, when they met their match in the great Old Carthusians, who if you didn't know by now, are the old boys of Charterhouse School in Surrey and in those days one of the great amateur teams. The old boys won 4-1 and went on to beat the Old Etonians in the final 3-0 at the Oval.
By 1891 the club joined the Football League with varied success, playing their last league game at Barley Bank against Newton Heath (now Manchester United) drawing 1-1 in front of 1000 supporters. The ground is now given over to housing.
The club took the main stand with them and ended up at the Anchor Ground where I shall be tomorrow with a couple of old Lancastrian teachers watching an FA Vase cup tie.
I shall be rooting for the Salmoners-if you read past blogs you will find out more about the visitors, West Auckland FC.
http://baileyfootballblog.blogspot.co.uk/2014/05/west-auckland-lose-fa-vase-and-world-cup.html
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