MERRY CHRISTMAS-FOR SOME

 For football fans, the Christmas period serves up a real festive feast, with fixtures stuffed into the calendar like sage and onion into a turkey’s nether regions. Christmas Day, however, is a football-free zone, with supporters left to sit indoors and endure the Queen’s speech, over excited kids, cracker jokes and kisses from elderly relatives.

This wasn’t always the case, though – historically, until the 1950s, football was traditionally played on Christmas Day. This made a lot of sense, particularly in the early years. Christmas Day was a rare public holiday and football was one of the few entertainments available. In the days before television, it wasn’t possible to slump on the sofa in front of the EastEnders Christmas special, so folk wrapped up in new hats and scarves from Santa Claus and went out to watch football instead. Spurs went away to Manchester City on Christmas Day, (30,000 watched at Hyde Road). On December 25th 1912 and drew 2-2. ONE day later they hosted City (20,000 in crowd) and won 4-0 on Boxing Day. James Cantrell scored a hat trick. Below...snow during the fixture, not at Christmas!

Today, clubs are complaining about the overload of fixtures on this Christmas holiday. In the past, there would be a full programme of fixtures on Christmas Day and usually, another full programme on Boxing Day. In the Victorian era, when many of the festive traditions we enjoy today were introduced, football was very much a part of Christmas. Two days, three games!!! 

A 1980s revival brought Christmas Day matches back to the nation, which ended in failure. Brentford planned to play Wimbledon in a Third Division game kicking off at 11am. Both sets of fans protested about the ridiculous timing and the match was played on Christmas Eve instead.

In 1888, Everton played two matches on Christmas Day, then another on Boxing Day. All three matches took place at Everton’s pre-Goodison home – Anfield. On Christmas morning they played a Lancashire Cup tie against Blackburn Park Road, coming from behind to win 3-2. Then in the afternoon they played an annual exhibition match against Ulster FC, winning 3-0, with goalkeeper Charles Jolliffe scoring the third goal to the great amusement of the 2,000 spectators – a large crowd for the time. The Boxing Day match against Bootle was less amusing, being played in a shower of hailstones, and ending as a goalless draw.

The first Football League match to be played on Christmas Day was Preston North End versus Aston Villa in 1889. Preston’s 'Invincibles' were the reigning league champions, but Villa had won the previous meeting between England’s top two sides. This was a real Christmas cracker and 9,000 spectators postponed their turkey dinners to see it, making it one of the highest-attended games the fledgling league had seen. Man of the match was Preston’s Nick Ross, the fearsome defender-turned-forward who terrified opponents by hissing at them through a crooked set of rotten teeth. Ross gave Preston an early lead, but Villa hit back with two goals before half-time. In the second half, Ross hit a long-range equaliser and then claimed his hat-trick with a “lightning shot”. A hard-fought game ended 3-2 to Preston, who went on to win the league for the second season running.

Clubs often played derby matches on Christmas Day, and one of football’s biggest early derbies was Blackburn Rovers versus Darwen. In 1890, a match between the sides at Ewood Park ended in a Christmas Day riot, with very little seasonal goodwill on display.

Rovers, saving their best players for a Boxing Day match at Wolves, fielded a reserve side. An aggrieved Darwen initially refused to play, before eventually offering up their own scratch XI. At this point, several thousand short-changed supporters of both sides united to show their displeasure. “The impatient crowd burst on the field, smashed the goalposts, and damaged the stands,” reported the Birmingham Daily Post. “No game took place, therefore.” 

Abstaining on religious grounds Even though local derbies were often scheduled for Christmas, the demanding schedule put a strain on the players with all the travelling that would have been involved.If a club misses a game today severe penalties can be administered, but FA rules at the time stated “no club shall be compelled to play any match on Good Friday or Christmas Day”.

Swindon Town’s Harold Fleming (who played from 1907 to 1924) and Sunderland’s Arthur Bridgett below, (1902 to 1924) were high profile England International players, who refused to play on Christmas Day on religious grounds.

The Steel and Sons Cup (also referred to as the Steel Cup was presented by David Steel on behalf of his metal and jewellery company), founded in 1895, is an intermediate football competition in Northern Ireland run by the North East Ulster FA.

The competition culminates in the final which has traditionally been played on 25 December (except when this date falls on a Sunday). Current holders are Linfield Swifts and Glentoran the most winners.