Blackburn Olympic F.C.

The Blackburn Olympic Football Club was an English football club from the town of Blackburn. Although the club only existed from 1878 to 1889, but he has in the history of football in England is of great importance. He was the first club from the north, and the first from the Arbeitermillieu, who won the most coveted trophy in the country, the FA Cup. In addition, the player from Blackburn Olympic in 1883 were the first professional football players ever. As a former worker now they made ​​their money playing football.

History

In February 1878 Blackburn Olympic arose from the merger of the associations Blackstar and James Street. The club name was inspired from Ancient Olympia in Greece, where at that time held extensive excavations. In the first 18 months of the club wore their home games at changing places until he finally next to the pub - Hole i'th' -Wall ( "hole in the wall" ) bought a plot of land free and there erected a grandstand. The number of audience was usually between 1000 and 2000. Most viewers, about 10,000, were counted in November 1884 in a match against Preston North End.

At the beginning of Blackburn Olympic participated in local tournaments. In 1880 he volunteered for the first time in the FA Cup, the then most important competition in the country. The first Cup game ended in a narrow 4:5 defeat against FC Sheffield. In the season 1881/82 the from also came in the first round. Surprisingly joined Blackburn Olympic in 1883 before the final of the FA Cup. In the Kennington Oval in London, the club met in front of 8,000 spectators at the Old Etonians and won 2-1 after extra time.

This success was of great importance, because for the first time a club had won the trophy from the Arbeitermillieu in northern England and prevailed against the wealthy upper-class amateur clubs in the south. He persuaded the Football Association to two years later for all professional players to open the football and thereby prevent cleavage of the Association.

1884 was Blackburn Olympic advance to the semifinals, but was defeated Queen's Park 0-4. Other achievements were made ​​in the following years. Olympic had due to financial problems increasingly hard to keep up with the competition, especially with Blackburn Rovers. 1886 left a number of key players to the club, because their wages were cut drastically. When William McGregor 1888, the Football League founded, he allowed only one club per city, and decided in the case of Blackburn Rovers for. After Blackburn Olympic had all professional players in 1889, dismissed the club eventually disbanded due to high debt in September 1889.

Achievements

The club won the following trophies:

• FA Cup: 1882/83
• East Lancashire Charity Cup: 1881/82
• Blackburn Association Challenge Cup 1878 /79 1879/80
• Livesey United Cup: 1877/78

The only competition in which the club took part, but never won, was the Lancashire Senior Cup.

Known player

• Edgar Chadwick
• Jack Southworth
• William Townley