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The Wednesday - 3rd Oldest Club


Guest bigblue

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Guest bigblue

This is possibly one for Kivo, but I'd be interested in everyone else's view too...

Notts County & Not'm Forest are older than Wednesday as football clubs; but Stoke and Chesterfield have dubious Est. dates - given that they're currently different entities from the ones that were formed on the dates they have on their crests. Does that really make us the 3rd oldest?

Also, because Wednesday were operating as a Cricket club in 1820, does that make us the oldest sporting club that exists as a Football club today?

I know that the answers to these questions don't really matter in the grand scheme of things; but just as a point of interes...?

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Chesterfield's "official" formation year of 1866 is a joke, even their own official website admits it was probably only to try and get one up on Wednesday

^^^^^

This

Jason Dickinson who writes books on Wednesday did write and point this out to Rothmans who produce those yearbooks on football but to no avail.

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This is possibly one for Kivo, but I'd be interested in everyone else's view too...

Notts County & Not'm Forest are older than Wednesday as football clubs; but Stoke and Chesterfield have dubious Est. dates - given that they're currently different entities from the ones that were formed on the dates they have on their crests. Does that really make us the 3rd oldest?

Also, because Wednesday were operating as a Cricket club in 1820, does that make us the oldest sporting club that exists as a Football club today?

I know that the answers to these questions don't really matter in the grand scheme of things; but just as a point of interes...?

I always thought that we were the fifth oldest club.

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Stoke City played their first game in 1868, as Stoke Ramblers. No evidence exists which shows them being formed anywhere near 1863.

Stoke Ramblers merged with Stoke Victoria in 1878 and became Stoke.

Therefore Stoke were formed in 1878 (adding City to their name in 1925)

Chesterfield were formed in 1919, the fourth football club in the town, the first having been formed in October 1867, a month after ourselves.

The 1866 date came about when one of their directors wanted to beat our date.

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Stoke City played their first game in 1868, as Stoke Ramblers. No evidence exists which shows them being formed anywhere near 1863.

Stoke Ramblers merged with Stoke Victoria in 1878 and became Stoke.

Therefore Stoke were formed in 1878 (adding City to their name in 1925)

Chesterfield were formed in 1919, the fourth football club in the town, the first having been formed in October 1867, a month after ourselves.

The 1866 date came about when one of their directors wanted to beat our date.

So I take it with the Cricket Club heritage that makes us the oldest current professional sports club in the country?

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Guest bigblue

sheffield club was the 1st club in the world we all know that but ive always been interested who did they play against ?

Teams that existed then, but don't remain today. Plus the rules weren't quite settled at that point, so it gets a bit messy with various collections of individuals playing different versions of the game.

In fact, because the rules were only really formalised after a game played between the London & Sheffield FA's in 1866. So we could arguably be the first proper "Association Football Club" ever formed. Both Notts County (oldest professional) and Sheffield FC (oldest ameteur) played their own versions, so technically not a football (as we know it today) club until around the date that Wednesday came into being!

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Guest bigblue

How can Stoke claim their date then? Seems strange.

because there was A club in existence in Stoke. It wasn't the one that exists today though. It'd be like the Pigs claiming to have been formed in 1867 because there was a club playing at Bumhole Lane. Different club; doesn't count in my book!

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There is no disputing the facts. Although all the hsitroy books say we're the fifth oldest, we are quite clearly the 3rd oldest. Stoke and Chesterfield are younger by any criteria, and strictly speaking, by many years. And, yes, it matters a great deal. We've also played continuously at Hillsborough since 1899, in three centuries! History is what shapes and defines us. Memories are all we have, once we lose memory, we are as sounding brass.

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Guest bartos

Needs officially sorting out, if we can move up to 3rd that would be ridiculously great - as someone earlier said - its what defines us.

Correct history does define, but why would it be so much better to be 3rd than 5th?

Does it really matter how old we are?

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