LADY DAY

25th March  In the West, Lady Day is the traditional name in some English-speaking countries of the Feast of the Annunciation, which is celebrated on 25 March, and commemorates the visit of the The Archangel Gabriel to the Virgin Mary, during which he told her that she would be the mother of Jesus Christ, the on of God! So, Lady Day, New Year's Day, meant that the new year began on 25 March from 1155 until 1752, when the Gregorian Calender was adopted. 

In 1807, The Slave Trade Act abolished the slave trade in the British Empire. Did you know that on this day, March 25, 1954, the first color TV went on sale? The set had a 15-inch screen and was sold for $1000, which would be worth $7,850 in today’s money. On the same day in 1857 Frederick Langenheim took the first photo of a solar eclipse. In 1807 The Slave Trade Act was passed in the British Government, but it did not abolish the slave trade in the British Empire, it only fined those found transporting slaves, at £120 GBP per slave.  By the way it's Aretha Franklin and Jordan Sancho's birthday.

March 25th 1882 was the day (and year) that the Old Etonians, the 1881 losing Cup finalists, played the professionals, Blackburn Rovers and beat them 1-0 at The Oval. 6,500 attended and the first ten finals included only SIX clubs:-

The Wanderers (1872-3-6-7-8), Royal Engineers (1875), Oxford University (1874), Old Etonians (1879), Clapham Rovers (1880), Old Carthusians in 1881.
The Rovers, professionals, intruded on the domination of the southern amateurs and having been unbeaten all season, they went to The Oval with a collection of 28 goals in six games, on their way to the final. Fergus Suter, recruited from Darwen FC (who appears in The English Game on TV's Netflix), had raised the bar and thousands of supporters were at the railway station to see the chaps off. 

The Old Etonians were full of zest and energy, making sure that they kept the cup in amateur hands. The OEs won 1-0, a goal scored by Anderson.

This was the end of an era, as the professionals took over next when Blackburn Olympic beat the Cup holders 2-1 at The Oval.
Lord Arthur Kinnaird (shown in the picture) did a handstand in front of the pavilion, after the game, to celebrate his fifth cup win.

In the 1883 Final, the OEs lost 1-2 to Blackburn Olympic (Below, the first northern club to take the cup) who had used "professional" training methods to raise their game. Olympic had only been formed five years before and they were organised systematically, switching the ball from wing to wing to stretch the OEs. They trained on the beach at Blackpool for a week prior to the game, sharpening their game! They had beaten the Old Carthusians 4-0 in the semi-final at Whalley Bridge! It was their first fixture against Southern opposition.

Arthur Dunn, Old Etonian and England international, who gave his name to the Arthur Dunn Cup (for old boys' teams playing in the south based Arthurian League), was injured and had to leave the match early on. Oympic won in extra time.
Blackburn Rovers won in 1884, and '85 and '86 and '90, '91* and 1927-8.
They were runners up in 1881-2 and 1959-60.

Rovers 1884-5
* In 1891, James Forrest (below) for Blackburn Rovers  (1883-95) became the  first and only professional to win 5 FA Cup winners medals. He was also the first professional to play for England, winning 11 caps between 1884-90. He later became a director of the club and died aged 59. He played 148 games for the Rovers and then finished off at Darwen in 1895-6.

The same day, 1980, on the other hand, Ian Botham was best known as a cricketer but on this day in 1980 he made his debut as a footballer for Scunthorpe United, coming on as a sub in the Division 4 match at Bournemouth. He couldn't be described as a footballing legend at the Old Show Ground - he didn't make his starting debut for another 2 years (and that a 7-2 home defeat by Wigan) and in all played for Scunthorpe in 11 League matches and an FA Cup tie. With a record like that, he was awarded a benefit match later....against Manchester United.

He was a talented all rounder at school, but had to choose between cricket and football as a career. He chose cricket but, even so, he played professional football for a few seasons and made eleven appearances in the Football League for Scunthorpe Utd, becoming the club's president in 2017. He is a keen golfer, and his other pastimes include angling, especially on TV and shooting. He has been awarded both a knighthood and a life peerage.