Clapham Common Club, usually known by its initials C.C.C., was a mid-nineteenth century amateur English football club based at Clapham Common.
Full name | Clapham Common Club | |
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Nickname(s) | C.C.C. | |
Founded | 1864 | |
Dissolved | 1872 | |
Ground | Clapham Common | |
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The club was active during the period between 1864 and 1871, playing both association football and codes closer to rugby football.[1][2] The club was a member of the Football Association from 1864[3] to 1872,[4] although it did not enter the FA Cup.
The club's first recorded match was a 2-1 win over a "scratch eleven" on 4 January 1864,[5] the scratch eleven being made up of other members of the club. The first genuine external match followed on 16 January, a 2-0 home win against the Montague Club.[6]
The club played the Blackheath Rugby Club under the latter's rules (similar to rugby, but with a different offside rule) in 1865, winning 4-0.[7] The biggest win was a 6-0 win for a C.C.C. thirteen against a 20-man Clapham side;[8] the club's most notable win was a 1-0 win over the Wanderers in a match played to Westminster School rules, albeit the Wanderers were hampered by having to use substitutes (one of whom was C.C.C.'s Edward Tayloe) as only seven players - albeit including Charles W. Alcock and Alexander Morten - turned up.[9]
The last reported match was on 18 March 1871, a 0-0 draw at home to Sydenham F.C., in which the club was "represented on this occasion by an exceptionally weak team".,[10] although the club was still active within the FA committees at this time, with captain P.V. Turner being on the committee to choose players for the unofficial internationals.[11]
The formation of the Clapham Rovers was a factor in the decline of C.C.C.; the club's captain and secretary in 1868, John Tayloe, was captain of the Rovers in the latter's first match in 1869.[12] In the 1869-70 season, the club only played seven matches, with three 0-0 draws, three 1-0 defeats, and scoring just the one goal, in a win over Brentwood School.[13] By 1872, two of the C.C.C. regulars were playing for the Civil Service F.C., others played for the original Crystal Palace club, and others - including the Dealtry brothers, Soden, and Ker, who had played in the club's very first matches - retired from the game.
Until 1870 the club listed its colours as being a black velvet cap with a red tassel and red stockings.[14] In 1871 the club changed to red and black.[15]
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