Beeston St John's F.C.
| Full name | Beeston St John's Football Club |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1886 |
| Dissolved | 1895 |
| Ground | Padgers Road |
| Secretary | E. Wright[1] |
Beeston St John's F.C. was an association football club from Nottingham, active in the late 19th century.
History[edit]
The first record of the club is from 1886, when it entered the Nottinghamshire Church Football Association Cup.[2] The club however had greater ambitions, and entered the Nottingham Express Challenge Cup for more senior clubs that year, although it lost 7–0 in the first round to Kimberley Town.[3]
The club first made its mark by beating Loughborough Town in a friendly at the end of 1887 - Beeston had turned up to Loughborough to play the second XI, but, after the Town first XI was disappointed in its fixture, offered to play the senior side instead.[4] It finished the season by winning the Church Cup with a 1–0 win over Mapperley, in front of 1,200 on the Castle Ground in Nottingham, albeit its opponent was handicapped by losing a man to a broken leg in the first half.[5]
The club therefore entered the FA Cup for 1888–89, although that season qualifying rounds had been brought in. It won its first tie, 2–0 at home to Notts Olympic;[6] in the second qualifying round, the club was drawn away to Notts County. As County also had a scheduled Football League match against Burnley on the same day, County hosted the matches as a double header, and fielded a reserve XI against St Johns - which was still good enough to win 4–2.[7]
The turning professional of Nottingham Forest indirectly prevented the club from proceeding further. A number of the Forest players left to form a new amateur club, simply called Beeston,[8] and both clubs entered the 1889–90 FA Cup qualifying rounds. Both lost at the first time of asking (St John's to Jardines at home)[9] and St John's did not enter again.
The club played in the Notts League from 1889 to 1890[10] until 1894–95, but withdrew from the competition in the middle of the latter season,[11] and disbanded before the 1895–96 season.[12]
Ground[edit]
The club's ground was at Padgers Road, near the Humber Limited works,[13]
Notable players[edit]
- Harry Walkerdine, who was made captain of the club in 1889 after a successful first season, but was poached by Notts County after one further match.[14]
References[edit]
- ^ Alcock, Charles (1888). Football Annual. London: Wright & Co. p. 122.
- ^ "Notts Church Football Association". Nottingham Evening Post: 3. 4 September 1886.
- ^ "Notes on sports". Nottingham Journal: 7. 6 November 1886.
- ^ "Loughborough Town F.C.". Loughborough Herald: 5. 29 December 1887.
- ^ "Notts Church Cup - Final". Nottingham Evening Post: 3. 3 April 1888.
- ^ "Beeston St John's v Nottingham Olympic". Nottingham Evening Post: 3. 6 October 1888.
- ^ "Notts County v Burnley". Sporting Life: 4. 29 October 1888.
- ^ "Notts Cup - Final Tie". Nottingham Evening Post: 3. 5 April 1890.
- ^ "Jardine's v Beeston St John's". Nottingham Evening Post: 3. 26 October 1889.
- ^ "Beeston St John's v Notts Amateurs". Nottingham Guardian: 7. 30 September 1889.
- ^ "Notts Football League". Nottingham Evening Post: 3. 18 January 1895.
- ^ "Notts Church Football Association". Nottinghamshire Guardian: 3. 19 October 1895.
- ^ "Items". Athletic News: 2. 11 September 1888.
- ^ "Sports and pastimes". Nottingham Evening Post: 4. 15 August 1891.