History of the Corinthians

The Early Years

The team that toured in 1910

"The Corinthians, a band of amateurs - and such amateurs! A brilliant galaxy of talent...whose sole aim and ambition were to bring out all that is good and healthy in a pastime they followed for the love of it...the name of the club is, even at the present day, a household word for all that is chivalrous, clean, upright and true in the civilised world of sport."
- R. Robinson, 'History of Queens Park FC', 1920

Corinthian Football Club was founded in September 1882 by Nicholas Lane "Pa" Jackson, Assistant Honourable Secretary of the Football Association. His aim was to develop a club side capable of challenging Scotland at international level.

England had suffered a series of six losses to Scotland and the FA had decided enough was enough. Jackson recognized that one of the main factors in Scotland’s supremacy was that its players, many of whom played for Queen's Park, had greater opportunities to play together, whereas England’s players typically only met on the same ground when called up for an international friendly. Inviting the top players from England’s public schools, Jackson’s idea was to provide opportunities for the country’s best amateur players to play together by organizing midweek matches against amateur and professional clubs so as to not conflict with the players existing club obligations. Corinthian FC would thus serve as a player pool for the England squad with the players regularly playing together against quality competition.

Within four years, calling on the best amateurs from the public schools and universities, there were nine Corinthians in the England team. A total of 86 Corinthians have represented England at full international level and on two occasions the national squad consisted entirely of Corinthian players.

The Corinthians went on to challenge some of the top professional teams in the land. In 1889 they were the only club to defeat Preston North End's 'Old Invincibles' and in 1904, they beat Manchester United 11-3, still United's worst defeat. Dedicated to amateurism, Corinthian FC became founder members of the Amateur Football Association in 1907 and donated a trophy, The Corinthian Cup, for a new competition among its members, which continues today as the AFA Senior Cup.

Widely regarded as the best team in the world in the early 20th century, the Corinthians also took football round the globe, touring in South Africa, Canada, the United States, South America and across Europe, including Austria, Hungary, Czechoslovakia (today's Czech Republic), Belgium, France, Spain, Holland, Sweden, Denmark, Switzerland and Germany. Such was their renown that Real Madrid adopted Corinthian's white shirt in homage to the game's first global giants. In 1910, after a visit to Sao Paulo in Brazil, the locals were so impressed they immediately founded a Corinthians of their own, Sport Club Corinthians Paulista, now one of the most successful clubs in South America who in 2012 beat Chelsea to become World Club Champions. For more detailed information about Corinthian's international exploits, please visit the 'Corinthian Tours' page on this site.

Corinthians in the Cup

Twenty two Corinthian players lost their lives in World War one, a catastrophe from which the club never fully recovered. During the 1920's, in an attempt to revitalise interest in the club, Corinthian FC began to participate in the FA Cup. Their inaugural cup tie was away against Brighton and Hove Albion on January 13th, 1923 in a match that ended in a 1-1 draw. After another 1-1 draw in the replay at Crystal Palace, Corinth finally lost the second replay 1-0 at Stamford Bridge (pictured) on January 22nd, in front of a crowd of almost 45,000.

Despite the defeat, the club's first foray into the FA Cup was still considered a great success and had certainly captured the imagination of the public, with almost 90,000 spectators attending the three games. The following year Corinthian went one better; defeating Blackburn Rovers in the 1st Round before bowing out to West Bromwich Albion.

Over the next decade, Corinthian FC continued to draw huge crowds to witness their cup exploits against professional clubs, including:

1923 - 45,000 v Brighton
1926 - 42,000 v Manchester City
1924 - 50,000 v West Brom
1927 - 56,000 v Newcastle Utd
1928 - 38,000 v Sheffield Utd
1929 - 42,000 v West Ham Utd

Thoughout the 20s and 30s, the club continued to tour Europe regularly, taking on some of the continent's biggest teams. In 1930, after the Corinthians had beaten the Swiss Cup holders, Young Boys of Berne 7-1 during their Easter Tour of Switzerland, the local paper, Der Kicker wrote:

“The Corinthians were superior in control of the ball, trapping and passing, body control, lightening starts and speed on the run. The tactical subtleties of the game, carried out in worthy, clean sporting and almost youthful joy, were dainties for the connoisseur.”

By the end of the 1930's, interest in amateur exhibition football was waning and it was ultimately decided that Corinthian should merge with fellow amateurs The Casuals FC, a club with whom they had shared a great many players over the preceding decades. The two clubs had toured together as 'The Corinthians and Casuals' in 1937 and had been run by a joint committee since they had shared the Crystal Palace as their home ground in the 1920s.

Thus, on May 1st 1939 Corinthian Football Club formally amalgamated with The Casuals to form Corinthian-Casuals FC. To this day, the club still adheres to the founding principles of amateurism, fair-play, sportsmanship and the 'Corinthian Spirit'.

Honours & LANDMARKS

1886 Nine Corinthians represent England v Scotland
1894 Eleven Corinthians represent England v Wales
1895 Eleven Corinthians represent England v Wales
1887 First Tour to South Africa
1897/98 Joint Winners of Sheriff of London Shield Drew twice with Sheffield United
1899/00 Won Sheriff of London Shield defeating Aston Villa 2-1
1900/01 Runners-up Sheriff of London Shield to Aston Villa
1901/02 Runners-up to Tottenham Hotspur in Sheriff of London Shield
1902/03 Runners-up to Sunderland in Sheriff of London Shield
1903/04 Winners of Sheriff of London Shield defeating FA Cup holders Bury 10-3
1904 First Tour to Europe
1904/05 Recorded heaviest defeat of Manchester United 11-3 which still stands today
Runners up Sheriff of London Shield
1905/06 Runners-up to Liverpool in Sheriff of London Shield
1906 First Tour to North America
1906/07 Runners-up to Newcastle United in Sheriff of London Shield
1910 First Tour to Brazil
1922/23 FA Cup 1st Round lost to Brighton in second replay
1923/24 FA Cup 2nd Round lost to West Brom after beating Blackburn Rovers
1924/25 FA Cup 1st Round lost to Sheffield Utd
1925/26 FA Cup 3rd Round lost to Manchester City
1926/27 FA Cup 4th Round defeated Walsall 4-0 before going out to Newcastle Utd
1927/28 FA Charity Shield Runners-up to Cardiff City
FA Cup 3rd Round lost to New Brighton
1928/29 FA Cup 4th Round beat Norwich City 3-0, then lost at West Ham United
1929/30 FA Cup 3rd Round lost to Millwall in second replay (150,000 watched the three games)
1930/31 FA Cup 3rd Round lost to Port Vale
Sheriff of London Shield Runners-up to Arsenal
1931/32 FA Cup 3rd Round lost to Sheffield Utd
1932/33 FA Cup 3rd Round lost to West Ham United
1933/34 Sheriff of London Shield Runners-Up to Tottenham Hotspur
1934/35 FA Cup 1st Round lost to Watford
1935/36 FA Cup 1st Round lost to Reading
1936/37 FA Cup 1st Round lost to Bristol Rovers
1937/38 FA Cup 1st Round lost to Southend Utd
1938/39 FA Cup 1st Round lost to Southend Utd