The 1830s in the development of soccer
Year |
Event |
1830 |
The first modern inter-city railway, the Liverpool and Manchester Railway opened, transporting both passengers and freight. By the 1840s the expansion of rail transport across Britain meant that people could more easily travel much further afield than before. For the first time regular inter-school football competitions could be arranged. The problem was usually that each public school played by its own rules of football. One solution was to divide the match into two halves, with the ‘home’ school’s rules being applied in the first half, and the ‘away’ school’s rules in the second. |
1835 |
The Highway Act was passed making it illegal to play football on public highways, leading to the sharp demise of previous forms of medieval football. |
1838 |
It was noted that Jem Mackie – a pupil at Rugby School – was proficient in “running in” which is believed to have been the equivalent of try scoring, and thus documentary evidence of a handling game. |
1839 |
Another former Rugby School pupil, Albert Pell, was responsible for organising football matches at Cambridge University and is often credited with the introduction of rugby union, which was simply called football at that time. |