Sheffield Rules

The rules spread beyond the city boundaries to other clubs and associations in the north and midlands of England, making them one of the most popular forms of football during the 1860s and 1870s.

[2] Games played under the rules are also credited with the development of heading, following the abolition of the fair catch, and the origins of the goalkeeper and forward positions.

[8] During the winter months in 1855 the players of Sheffield Cricket Club organised informal football matches in order to retain fitness until the start of the new season.

Adrian Harvey denies any public school influence, arguing that the rules were derived from "ideas generally current in the wider society".

[19] The club rules also dictated that any disputes on the field would be resolved by any committee members present — an early reference to the position now occupied by the referee.

[20] At the club's next annual general meeting in October 1859, a committee was appointed to revise the laws and prepare them for publication.

[22][23] On 31 January 1860, a meeting was held where it was resolved that Law 8 should be expunged and replaced with "Holding the ball (except in the case of a free kick) or knocking or pushing it on is altogether disallowed".

At the annual general meeting of Sheffield FC held in October 1861, the following amendments were made to the rules:[25] Proposals to ban pushing and to introduce "rouges" were rejected.

"'[27] The rouge originated in the Eton Field Game, where it was awarded when a player touched the ball down behind the opponents' goal-line in a somewhat similar manner to today's "try" in rugby.

[31] At the club's annual meeting in October 1861, Sheffield FC specifically rejected a proposal to add rouges to its own code.

[25] Although the Sheffield laws defining the rouge bore a great deal of similarity to the equivalent rules of the Eton Field Game,[32] there were also significant differences.

Sheffield also removed Eton's requirement that the attacking player who kicked the ball behind the goal-line had to be "bullied" (tackled / mauled).

[34] A detailed description of a rouge being scored is found in a contemporary report from the Youdan Cup final of March 1867:[35] After half an hour's play the ball was kicked by Elliott, not through the goal, but just over it, and was touched down by Ash in splendid style, after running round two of his opponents before getting to the ball, thus securing a rouge.The 1862 laws, like those of 1858, made no provision for offside.

[36][39] A newspaper article of January 1867 reported that '[t]he [stricter, FA-style] off-side rule has been played in Sheffield, but was universally disapproved of.

It was found to be the cause of much discontent, and produced a most unsatisfactory state of things, it being so difficult, in the excitement of a close match, to distinguish what players were "off," and what "on" side.

[43] The text of the laws of the [London] Football Association, which had been amended the previous month, was used as a starting-point, with the Sheffield clubs making changes to reflect the distinctive features of their game.

During an "animated discussion" on the question, defenders of the fair catch "objected to the continual chopping and changing ... 'catching' having been abandoned on a previous occasion [from 1867 to 1868]".

The meeting continued by criticising the FA's "ridiculous" offside law (which required three opponents to be closer to the opposing goal), and its arrogance in refusing to play any rules but its own.

[63] Another proposal to introduce the FA's 3-player offside law was "negatived by a large majority", with opponents citing the rough nature of the grounds played on by the Sheffield teams, and claiming that "the strong defence it [the FA's offside rule] admits of would in many instances prevent any likelihood of a score being made".

[76] The Football Association (FA) was formed at a meeting in the Freemason's Tavern in Great Queen Street, London on 26 October 1863.

In it he also enclosed a copy of the Sheffield Rules and expressed the club's opposition to hacking and running with the ball, describing them as "directly opposed to football".

After letters were published in The Field deriding the state of affairs it was decided to unite the kicking game under one set of laws.

[102] The exhibition match was set up to test the use of the lights and was played between specially selected teams captained by the brothers William and Charles Clegg.

He played first class cricket for Victoria during the 1857–1858 season alongside three of the founders of Melbourne Football Club including Tom Wills, the man credited with creating the original rules.

[citation needed] Despite the loss of their own rules, Sheffield remained a key part of the footballing world until the onset of professionalism.

[citation needed] According to Charles W. Alcock, Sheffield provided the first evidence of the modern passing style known as the Combination Game.

In January 1872 the following account is given against Derby: "W. Orton, by a specimen of careful play, running the ball up in close proximity to the goal, from which it was returned to J. Marsh, who by a fine straight shot kicked it through"[119] This play taking place "in close proximity to the goal" suggests a short pass and the "return" of the ball to Marsh suggests that this was the second of two passes.

The account goes on to describe other interesting early tactics: "This goal was supplemented by one of T. Butler's most successful expositions of the art of corkscrew play and deceptive tactics which had the effect of exciting the risibility of the spectators"[119] Similarly the following contemporary account of passing comes from January 1872: "the only goal scored in the match was obtained by Sheffield, owing to a good run up the field by Steel, who passed it judiciously to Matthews, and the latter, by a good straight kick, landed it through the goal out of reach of the custodian".

Although a recognised position goalkeeper sometimes was also referred to in the rules as the player nearest their own goal (allowing him the luxury of handling the ball).

[citation needed] Although not directly involved with Sheffield football, Charles W. Alcock had a major role in relations between the local and London associations.