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Bit of a long article - I'll just post a bit of it and the link to it - but it as now just been proven beyond doubt that Bolton scored the world's first league goal - by winger Kenny Davenport!
Picture of the ground - Pikes Lane - then and now -
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It was a discovery that leaves little doubt that Bolton winger Davenport scored the first league goal, with that going in at 3.47pm.
"It is like the tombs of Egypt, a little mystery solved," said Gordon Taylor, now the chairman of the Professional Footballers' Association but himself a former Bolton winger who has assisted Metcalf with some of his previous books.
"It would be great to get a plaque at Bolton."
Davenport, a local lad born close to the Pikes Lane ground where the fixture took place, quickly added a second goal although Bolton went on to lose 6-3. (Somethings never change - Sluffy)
The sport looked very different back then. There were no numbers on shirts, nets in the goals or substitutes waiting for their chance.
The referee stood on the touchline and acted both as a timekeeper and an arbitrator between the two umpires, one supplied by each team, when they could not agree.
It was difficult for journalists to accurately report what happened. They were often a long way from the action, looking at players they had never met before. The absence of numbers on the shirts and the muddy state of some of the pitches meant that reports occasionally missed who had actually scored.
Yet some things have evidently not changed over the last 125 years, with the report in the Cricket and Football Field stating Davenport's opening goal was awarded after "a protest for offside was raised in vain".
Admission that day at Bolton was 3d and 6d (2.5p), with the stands extra. A season ticket could be bought for between five shillings (25p) and a guinea (£1.05). The crowd was around 5,000, which was viewed as disappointing.
Davenport had joined Bolton from local side Gilnow Rangers in 1883 and went on to spend nine seasons at the club. He was an ever-present in the inaugural league season and played twice for England.
Not much is known about what happened to him after he retired except that he died in 1908 at the age of 46.
Trivia - On the day Davenport scored the first league goal, the body of Annie Chapman was discovered in Whitechapel, London. She was the second victim of Jack the Ripper .
Link here - well worth a full read in my opinion - enjoy.
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
Picture of the ground - Pikes Lane - then and now -
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
It was a discovery that leaves little doubt that Bolton winger Davenport scored the first league goal, with that going in at 3.47pm.
"It is like the tombs of Egypt, a little mystery solved," said Gordon Taylor, now the chairman of the Professional Footballers' Association but himself a former Bolton winger who has assisted Metcalf with some of his previous books.
"It would be great to get a plaque at Bolton."
Davenport, a local lad born close to the Pikes Lane ground where the fixture took place, quickly added a second goal although Bolton went on to lose 6-3. (Somethings never change - Sluffy)
The sport looked very different back then. There were no numbers on shirts, nets in the goals or substitutes waiting for their chance.
The referee stood on the touchline and acted both as a timekeeper and an arbitrator between the two umpires, one supplied by each team, when they could not agree.
It was difficult for journalists to accurately report what happened. They were often a long way from the action, looking at players they had never met before. The absence of numbers on the shirts and the muddy state of some of the pitches meant that reports occasionally missed who had actually scored.
Yet some things have evidently not changed over the last 125 years, with the report in the Cricket and Football Field stating Davenport's opening goal was awarded after "a protest for offside was raised in vain".
Admission that day at Bolton was 3d and 6d (2.5p), with the stands extra. A season ticket could be bought for between five shillings (25p) and a guinea (£1.05). The crowd was around 5,000, which was viewed as disappointing.
Davenport had joined Bolton from local side Gilnow Rangers in 1883 and went on to spend nine seasons at the club. He was an ever-present in the inaugural league season and played twice for England.
Not much is known about what happened to him after he retired except that he died in 1908 at the age of 46.
Trivia - On the day Davenport scored the first league goal, the body of Annie Chapman was discovered in Whitechapel, London. She was the second victim of Jack the Ripper .
Link here - well worth a full read in my opinion - enjoy.
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]