THE birth of football outside of Europe, the inspiration for 11-time European champions Real Madrid’s famous white kit and even the word soccer all came from a team currently in eighth tier of English football.
Corinthian FC — now known as Corinthian Casuals — were football pioneers, and the first truly, great team, who now compete in the Ryman League Division One South.
Alan Pardew, Martin Tyler and former cricketer, Alec Stewart, are among some of their ex-players.
The club were formed in 1882 in a restaurant by St. Paul’s Cathedral, which was since destroyed in the war.
They were formed by the then secretary of the FA, N.L. “Parr” Jackson, as the England team were suffering, failing to beat Scotland — and the idea was that this group of top players would play together regularly and improve as a team.
They would play no competitive matches, only friendlies.
And within seven years, they were hammering Scotland with nine Corinthian FCs in their starting line-up.
In 1894 and 1895 — in two matches against Wales — Corinthian FC became the only team to this day to provide an entire XI of players for England.
The captain of the first match was also the man who invented the word ‘soccer’.
Football back then was known as Association Football and Charles Wreford-Brown was talking to a fellow Oxford University student, who asked him whether he fancied “a game of rugger” — which was an abbreviation of the word ‘rugby’.
Wreford-Brown replied that he would rather player ‘soccer’, shortening the word ‘Association’.
Between 1883 and 1890, 52 of the 88 caps awarded in matches against Scotland went to Corinthian FC players.
Max Woosman, who also captained England, won a Wimbledon Doubles title as well as an Olympic gold medal in tennis at the 1920 Olympics.
While, C.B. Fry opened the batting for the England cricket team with W.G. Grace, played rugby for the Barbarians and held the European long jump record and R.E Foster is the only player to have captained his country in both cricket and football.
And British football’s first ever black player, Andrew Watson, also turned out for Corinthian FC.
They strongly believed in the amateur ideology, and refused the idea of a professional game, a dispute with the FA ensued and they were banned from competing in the league or FA Cup.
Unable to compete in the professional leagues, the club decided to travel and brought the competitive game outside of Europe for the first time.
Football was present in various countries, but there weren’t any actual matches.
Former player, Charles Miller, is credited with first bringing the game to Brazil — when he returned from his studies in Southampton with a football and boots in 1894.
And the famous club, Corinthians, were so impressed with the English amateurs that when they formed in 1910, they named their team after them.
A miscommunication led to the Brazilians adding an ‘s’ on the end.
South Africa was Corinthian FC’s first destination in 1897 — and thus the first country outside of this continent to play a match.
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They toured the world, beating teams from every continent. In the USA, they beat New York 18-0 as they delivered a true football masterclass.
The now defunct Sheriff of London pitted the best amateur team against the best professional side in the country and Corinthian FC won it four times in seven years from 1898 to 1904.
They beat Bury 10-3 in 1903, just months after the Lancastrian side had beaten Derby 6-0 in the FA Cup final — 20 years after beating FA Cup holders Blackburn, 8-1.
And, in a 1904, the dismantled Manchester United 11-3 — which remains to this day the Red Devils’ heaviest defeat.
In 1914, Corinthian FC decided returned to Brazil but, as soon as they landed, received word about the outbreak of World War I and decided to immediately return home — dodging torpedoes along the way.
The club suffered and lost more men than any other during the four years.
In 2015, the current Corinthian-Casuals team returned to Brazil to fulfil the tour that was never completed over 100 years earlier.
Goalkeeper, Thomas Rowlandson, who also played for Sunderland, when they were the best team in land, received a Military Cross for his bravery and was killed in the Battle of Flers-Courcelette in 1916.
Corinthian FC’s ideology transcended football. They believed in the highest-order of fair play.
They would refuse to take or attempt to save penalties as they believed a gentleman would never intentionally foul another.
Their belief was that the referee’s job was to uphold the laws of the game — and that they played football to a higher moral level than the basic laws.
As the game took off on a global scale, Corinthian FC’s appeal waned and times got tough. They went out of business in in 1939 and merged with Casual FC to create the modern-day side.
It’s a shame that the story of such an incredible side should be forgotten over time.
They inspired teams for all over the world — including the great Real Madrid, who adopted the club’s colours.
Corinthian FC stood for all that is good about the game, and have maintained their traditions of fair play and amateur status right to this day — to show a ‘Corinthian spirit’ is still used as description for the ultimate acts of fair play.
The current club are a million miles away from the ancestors — and in the heartfelt words of current goalkeeper, James Bracken, as he laid a wreath at the grave of predecessor, Rowlandson: “It’s not important that they remember my name — but it’s vital that theirs are not forgotten.”
In 2016, the club are fighting for survival.
And, for the good of the game, it’s imperative that this fantastic club stick around.
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