The History of the Casuals
The Casuals were founded in 1883 with membership originally restricted to the Old Boys of three public schools, Eton, Charterhouse, and Westminster, although that was soon changed to include all ex-public school and university players.
The famous chocolate and pink shirts were reputedly the racing colours of founder member Thomas William Blenkiron, an Old Carthusian and former Cambridge University football blue, however it is just as likely that they were based on the colours of Charterhouse and Westminster schools. Casuals were a strong force in the early amateur game; runners up in the first FA Amateur Cup Final in 1894, founder members of the Isthmian League in 1905, the first holders of the A.F.A Senior Cup in 1907, and winners of the F.A. Amateur Cup in 1936.
Casuals' victory in the Amateur Cup Final came after beating Ilford 2-0 in a replay before a crowd of 28,000 at West Ham following a 1-1 draw at Selhurst Park. It was crowned by a civic reception in Kingston, where Casuals played their home games from 1925 to 1939. W.H. "Tagge" Webster, one of the goal scorers, later became President of Corinthian-Casuals. Centre half Bernard Joy also played for Arsenal and later that season was chosen for England against Belgium, the last amateur footballer to gain a full England cap.
Although their Isthmian League commitments prevented them from touring as frequently as their illustrious counterparts Corinthians, The Casuals did make occasional forays into Europe, holding their own against the likes of Athletic Bilbao and Sporting Lisbon while notably defeating clubs such as Benfica, MTK Budapest, Slavia Prague and VfB Leipzig.
Beginning in 1937, The Casuals and Corinthian FC were run by a joint committee and toured together as 'The Corinthians and Casuals' that year. Casuals' final match before the eventual amalgamation with Corinthians was a 4-3 win over local rivals Wimbledon on May 6th 1939.
HonoursFounder Member of the Isthmian League and the Southern Amateur League
1884/85 F.A. Cup 1st Round 1885/86 F.A. Cup 1st Round 1886/87 F.A. Cup 1st Round 1887/88 F.A. Cup 1st Round; London Senior Cup Finalists 1888/89 London Senior Cup Finalists 1890/91 London Charity Cup Winners 1892/93 London Senior Cup Finalists 1893/94 Amateur Cup Finalists; London Charity Cup Winners 1894/95 London Senior Cup Finalists 1895/96 London Senior Cup Finalists 1896/97 London Charity Cup Winners 1900/01 London Charity Cup Winners 1903/04 London Charity Cup Winners 1904/05 London Charity Cup Winners 1907/08 A.F.A. Senior Cup Winners 1908/09 A.F.A. Senior Cup Finalists 1912/13 A.F.A. Senior Cup Winners 1929/30 Surrey Senior Cup Winners 1935/36 F.A. Amateur Cup Winners 1936/37 Isthmian League Runners-up |
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