Old Westminsters F.C.
| Full name | Old Westminsters Football Club |
|---|---|
| League |
Arthurian League Division One |
| 2011–12 |
Arthurian League Division One, 4th |
Old Westminsters F.C. is an association football club composed of former pupils of Westminster School, London, England. They play in the Arthurian League.
The club was founded in 1885 and in its early years was very successful winning the London Senior Cup in 1887 (joint winners), 1888, 1890, 1892 and 1893.
Westminster has an historic joint claim to a major role in the development of Association Football, which remains the school's largest sport. During the 1840s at both Westminster and Charterhouse, pupils' surroundings meant they were confined to playing their football in the cloisters, making the rough and tumble of the handling game that was developing at other schools such as Rugby impossible, and necessitating a new code of rules. During the formulation of the rules of Association Football in the 1860s representatives of Westminster School and Charterhouse also pushed for a passing game, in particular rules that allowed forward passing ("passing on"). Other schools (in particular Eton College and Harrow) favoured a dribbling game with a tight off-side rule. By 1867 the Football Association had chosen in favour of the Westminster and Charterhouse game and adopted an off-side rule that permitted forward passing. The modern forward-passing game was a direct consequence of Westminster and Charterhouse Football.
Several Old Westminsters were capped for England, either whilst at the school or subsequently.
The following six scholars played for England whilst at the school (with the number of caps received whilst registered with Old Westminsters F.C.):
On 25 February 1893 Alban Harrison, Rupert Sandilands and William Winckworth, played together in the match against Ireland, with Winckworth and Sandilands both scoring in a 6-1 victory.
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