Corinthian FC
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| Founded | 1882 |
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| Dissolved | 1939 (merged with Casuals F.C.) |
| Ground | Queen's Club, Crystal Palace, The Oval |
| League | none |
Corinthian Football Club was an English amateur football club based in London between 1882 and 1939.
The club was founded on 28 September 1882 by N. Lane Jackson, Assistant Secretary of the Football Association (The FA). At that time football was still amateur, with the English game dominated by southern clubs; Old Etonians were the reigining FA Cup champions. In international football (which had not yet spread beyond the home nations), Scotland prevailed, having won three consecutive matches over England by scores of 5-1, 6-1 and 5-4.
Jackson attributed Scotland's success to "the greater opportunities our opponents over the border [have] of playing together", and aimed to counteract this by forming a club "composed of the best amateur players in the kingdom". In order to accomplish this aim, Corinthian F.C. took care to avoid playing matches on Saturdays (when players might be playing for other clubs). The first proposed name for the club was the "Wednesday Club", but this was changed to the "Corinthian Football Club" on the suggestion of Harry Swepstone.
The club was also founded to promote sportsmanship and fair play, and champion the ideals of amateurism, The players were famed, above all, for their ethos of “sportsmanship, fair play, [and] playing for the love of the game”. ‘Corinthian Spirit’, understood as the highest standard of sportsmanship, is often associated with the side. This spirit was famously summed up in their attitude to penalties; “As far as they were concerned, a gentleman would never commit a deliberate foul on an opponent. So, if a penalty was awarded against the Corinthians, their goalkeeper would stand aside, lean languidly on the goalpost and watch the ball being kicked into his own net. If the Corinthians themselves won a penalty, their captain took a short run-up and gave the ball a jolly good whack, chipping it over the crossbar”.
"Within twenty years the Corinthians were to become the greatest and most attractive team that football had then known. With an intelligent nonchalance and in their tailored shirts and well-cut shorts they brought a quality and culture to the game".
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