1891-92 Return to Holywell Meadow

The 1891-92 season, the Saints eleventh, saw St. Albans back on familiar territory as the site at Holywell Hill once again became the club’s home following a year at the Gombards ground. A return to their former stomping ground cut deeper into the club’s finances as the rent at Holywell Hill was greater than at Gombards but the ground was better suited for football with superior facilities to those off Folly Lane. Most importantly though, was the fact that attendances at Holywell Hill were larger than at Gombards.

The first match back at the Grammar School Ground, on 26^th September, saw the Saints overcome Regent’s Park side Sutherland 3-2 on 26^th September. The winning start was maintained with home victories over City Ramblers, 4-3, and Stratford St Johns, 7-0, the latter seeing Alf Miskin score the only hat-trick of the known 69 games that he played for St. Albans.

Clarence stopped the Saints in their tracks on 17^th October when securing a 3-3 draw at Holywell Meadows. Clarence, employees of John Blundell Maple’s furniture store in Tottenham Court Road, caused the home side to change their tactics significantly after scoring the opening goal. The Saints had started the game with Jack Dickerson playing in an outfield position for one of four times in his 132 games for the club. Fred Johnstone began the game between the posts but after that goal he was put into the forward line and Dickerson was placed back in his more familiar position in goal. John William Sharpe junior scored all three of the St. Albans goals.

 Referee Fred Gentle walks off after verbal abuse

Fred GentleThe game was refereed by Fred Gentle who left the ground early extremely upset at the treatment he had received from the home team. He gave his reasons in the local press the following week.

“On Saturday last a football match was played at St. Albans between Clarence FC and St. Albans, in which I acted as referee. During the game there was a claim of offside, which I disallowed and gave a goal. At once I was pounced upon by two St. Albans players, one of whom began using most foul language on the field, and which could not be allowed and I therefore left the play with disgust, after acting as player and referee with the St. Albans team from its commencement.”

Although deeply hurt Gentle was back as a linesman just a few weeks later and thereafter refereed most of the club’s home games.

The first defeat of the season was suffered on 24^th October when London side Vulcans won 2-1 in a match that kicked off at 4.10pm, 30 minutes after the scheduled time. George Humphrey, having retired due to injury during the previous season, refereed the game.

The Albanians had a free weekend on the final Saturday of the month when Hitchin scratched at late notice. St. Albans may have been without a game but several players managed to get a game elsewhere. Jack Dickerson, as an outfield player, joined George Wagstaffe Simmons in playing for Hertford; Will Goodliffe and Sandford Moore turned out for Harpenden, the latter scoring seven times in a 10-0 win over Luton Star. Moore had also scored four days earlier when St. George’s School drew 2-2 with Luton Town on the school pitch.

Hertfordshire hit eight

Hertfordshire played their first county match of the season on the 4^th November with a friendly against London Reserves at Watford. St. Albans, in James Dickson, had just one representative in the 8-0 thrashing of the London side. Dickson scored one of the goals while Walter Coles, of West Herts, notched four. In the London XI was E. Whitehouse who had played for City Ramblers against St. Albans earlier in the season.

After a wait of two weeks since the previous game St. Albans took to the Grammar School pitch on the 7^th November in front a good-sized crowd but failed to send the locals home happy when going down to a 3-1 defeat to London Caledonians. To make matters worse Alf Miskin left the pitch early due to a shoulder injury and later in the game H. Cox suffered a shin injury when in collision with a Calies player.

 The following weekend saw the Saints overcome what was described as an almost submerged and unplayable pitch at Harpenden, but play they did and beat the home side 2-1 courtesy of goals from two members of the Sharpe clan, John William and Ernest Northern. Not only was the pitch ridiculously sodden but the leather ball became impossible to hit for any distance, as it soaked up the water. After the game, the players retired to The George Hotel where, ‘the mud was washed off, refreshments and tea obtained, and a smoking concert held.’

St. Albans were back on home territory a week later and handed the Great Northern Railway Athletic Association a 6-0 defeat. This match turned out to be another social occasional with a sprinkling of home players and officials mixing with around 50 members of the G.N.R.A.A. after the game at the London and North-Western Hotel.

After a short break the club kicked off December with a weakened team that went down to a 2-1 defeat to St. George’s at Harpenden. Three days later, on the 5^th, Wagstaffe Simmons was the referee and Fred Gentle linesman as St. Albans defeated Hertford 2-1 on a windy day at Hartham. The match report in the Herts Advertiser criticised the roughness of the game and laid much of the blame at the door of Hertford. The county town took great exception to this and, through their Hon. Secretary and Treasurer H.J. Webb, protested most strongly in a letter to the newspaper.

Moore returns with a brace

Sandford Moore made his first appearance of the season on the 12^th and scored twice as Chesham Generals went down to a 4-2 defeat. The appropriately named Coldstream Guards were the visitors on the 19^th when the Grammar School Ground pitch was frozen and the grass frosty but the game lasted for the full duration.

A most curious game was played on Saturday 26^th December at home to fellow St. Albans club Stanville, as the Herts Advertiser explained, ‘The clubs having nothing else to do last Saturday arranged a match supposed to fill up time till the Olympians should turn up to play the town club.’ The game was of just two 15-minute segments during which time the Saints rattled up six goals. In goal for St. Albans was Tom Spicer, he was principally the custodian for City Rovers but stood in for the Saints on 21 occasions between Boxing Day 1888 and this match against Stanville.

Spicer was back in action two days later, though, to assist visitors, Olympians, who had arrived at St. Albans a man short. The Saints attack featured the Goodliffe brothers, Will and George, with the latter bagging four goals. Having been in the side that won 6-0 on the 26^th, Spicer was then on the receiving end as the Olympians went down 7-4. The pitch at the Grammar School Ground was in a poor state following heavy rain. The game was moved to the pitch for the 2^nd XI that, although still under water, was in a better condition than the main pitch.

For the opening game of the New Year, on 2^nd January, Watford Rovers were the visitors to Holywell Hill and a healthy crowd approaching 800 is said to be been in attendance. Neither side was at full strength but the description of the Citizens XI was somewhat less than flattering, ‘The other five included a first eleven man, a couple who have done good service for the town occasionally, and a couple who were of very little use indeed.’ Whatever the merits of that team they achieved a 2-2 draw with their near neighbours.

Planned games against Redbourn, Harpenden and Hertford did not come fruition but the 23^rd January saw Queens Park Rangers make their first visit to St. Albans. Rangers turned up three men short and borrowed three locals including Fred Johnstone who gave an impressive display in goal. The Saints began the game with Jack Dickerson playing at full-back and A. Greenfield in goal. When one of the missing Rangers players arrived St. Albans, already three goals in arrears, put Dickerson in goal and moved Greenfield to centre half-back. Rangers ran out 4-1 winners.

County Cup campaign begins

On the 30^th January 1892, St. Albans finally played their first competitive match of the season with the visit of Hertford Town in the 1^st Round of the County Cup. The Goodliffe brothers bagged a goal apiece while Lieutenant George Bigge completed the 3-0 scoreline. 

Tottenham Hotspur paid their first visit to St. Albans since September 1888 on 6^th February and went the same way as before as the Saints pulled off a fine 2-1 win. Sandford Moore, the only St. Albans survivor from the first meeting, did what he did in the first game and scored. He also scored direct from a free-kick given for handball but, such were the Laws of the Game at the time, the goal was disallowed due to no other player having touched the ball.

A week later and the Saints earned more praise with a respectable goalless draw at home to the 2^nd Scots Guards who were the holders of the Army Cup. The St. Albans XI included two new faces from St. George’s School in the form of J.A. Corben and Aubrey Hyndford More. The latter had a particularly impressive debut and went on to make 22 appearances for his new club, scoring 12 goals.

Snow and frost on the weekend of the 20^th put paid to any hopes of playing a scheduled game with Redbourn but football returned on the final Saturday of the month with the Saints romping home 7-0 against Kensal at Holywell Hill.

Hertfordshire played their second and final match of the season when travelling to Southall to face Middlesex on 2^nd March. St. Albans were not represented in the side that went down to a 3-1 defeat.

2,000 look on as County Cup semi-final goes to a replay

Far stronger opposition than Kensal offered was faced on the 5^th of March as St. Albans, appearing in the semi-final of the County Cup for a third successive season, took to the field against West Herts – formerly Watford Rovers - at Hatfield. The Watford Observer contended that the Saints were a ‘trifle’ stronger in attack than the previous season but a ‘trifle’ weaker at the back, a point conceded in the St. Albans press. The Citizens also had to do without the services of Tom Smith, due to a heavy cold, and H. Cox who was suffering from a knee injury.

The Reverend Charles BennettWest Herts supporters could get to Hatfield on the 1.49pm train but St. Albans had no such assistance with Great Northern declining to run a special, this in spite of a request to do so. The kick-off was booked for 3.15pm but, as efforts were made to get all of the spectators from a large crowd into Mr Canham’s field, the start was delayed by 30 minutes. The Herts Advertiser estimated that the attendance was around 2,000 and was highly critical of the Hertfordshire Football Association for pocketing all of the takings minus travel expenses and other costs. Admission to the game was 6d.

The press seemed to agree that St. Albans had the better of the opening 45 minutes and West Herts took the honours after the break. Agreement on how Roston Bourke refereed the game differed greatly. St. Albans were highly critical of his performance, the Herts Advertiser accused him of favouring the Watford club, while the Observer said that St. Albans are never happy with the referee and half expected the Saints to walk off before time, as they had done two years earlier.

  The game finished all square at 3-3 with both sides complaining about some of the goals scored by the opposition. The Reverend Charles Bennett (left), George Goodliffe and Aubrey More – the possessor of a powerful shot – scored for the Saints while Coles with two, and M.J. Cottam scored for the yellow and amber clad West Herts team. West Herts were keen to play 30-minutes extra time but, when St. Albans refused, the draw stood.

Some West Herts followers rated the chances of St. Albans avoiding defeat as extremely low and had these cards, that had a thick black border, printed prior to the game. 

The sides reconvened at Hatfield the following Saturday in front of around another 2,000 spectators which was close on double the attendance for the previous season’s final. St. Albans were unchanged for the replay whilst West Herts made one change with the formidable Arthur Dunn back to strengthen their attack. Dunn duly came up with a goal as the Watford club stormed into a two-goal lead inside fifteen minutes and went on to cruise to a 5-1 win, Goodliffe was again on target for the Saints. Dunn's appearance was one of just two he made for West Herts during which time he scored three goals.

 One player in particular who was glad to see those two games out of the way was West Herts’ half-back Joseph Penny who was due to be married on the date of the first game. He put the happy event back by one week only to have to further delay his nuptials by another seven days due to the 3-3 draw. Penney had further cause for celebration on 2^nd April when a hat-trick by Hertfordshire striker Walter Coles, and singles from Fred Sargent and M.J. Cottram, clinched a 5-2 victory in the final for West Herts against Hoddesdon at Ware. The crowd was estimated at around 600.

Undeterred by their failure to beat St. Albans at the first attempt, Watford supporters were back at the printing presses during the week leading up to the replay to produce another ‘amusing’ card predicting the Saints demise. The card makes reference to St. Albans’ complaints about offside goals during the first meeting.

St. Albans appeal rejected

The tie, though, was far from over as St. Albans launched a protest that Dunn had not been resident within the specified radius for the required length of time. The Herts F.A. discussed the appeal at the Bedford Head Hotel on Wednesday, 16^th March with the following clubs present; St. Albans, West Herts, Hertford, Hitchin, Hoddesdon and Watford St. Marys. The appeal was rejected and West Herts were clear to contest the final. Dunn had made ten appearances for St. Albans in the past, the last of which was in April 1891, almost a year before this incident.

St. Albans were back in action four days later to face a St. George’s School side at Harpenden that included such familiar faces as Sandford Moore, Aubrey More, Charles Bennett and Sidney Margetts Stanely. J.W. Sharpe junior scored two of the St. Albans goals with Moore and More grabbing one each for the home side, the visitors won 3-2. London Caledonians were due to provide the opposition the next weekend but, due to being involved in a cup tie, scratched.

Next up at the Grammar School Ground were Manor Park on the 26^th. One of the two backs for the London club was Pottinger, a one-armed player who had previously played against St. Albans for Hotspur in March 1887. The Saints not only lost 3-1 but also picked up a couple injuries. Reynolds received an injury during the first half and Manor Park kindly consented to a substitute coming on at half time with Will Goodliffe taking to the pitch. But the home side still finished the game with just ten men after Cox sustained a heavy knock during the second period.

While West Herts completed what was seen as a mere formality in beating Hoddesdon in the final of the Hers County Cup at Presdales, Ware, 5-2, St. Albans played out a goalless draw with an XI put together by W. McFie of the London Caledonians. McFie called on several of his team mates from the Calies but also relied on the generosity of other clubs such as Millwall Athletic and Sutherland.

War of words with West Herts rumbles on

Even with the county cup resolved for another year there was no let up in the carping in the respective newspapers of St. Albans and Watford. The Herts Advertiser was adamant that action should be taken against those who had made the ‘death notice’ cards from the semi-final matches and implored the county association to get involved. The Watford Observer responded with, ‘The bitter cry of out-cast St. Albans is now turned on to the County Football Secretary. Nothing seems right for the City of Saints and Straw plaiters.’

Mike SharpSt. Albans were without a game on the 9^th but played three games over the course of the Easter weekend, 15-18^th April. Upton Park made their only journey to the Grammar School Ground on Easter Saturday and returned home with a 2-0 win under their belts. Will Goodliffe arrived late at the ground, leading to the Saints starting the game with Jack Stevens of local side Stanville. Upton Park had quite a history having participated in the inaugural F.A. Cup competition in 1871-72 and, in 1900, won the first Olympic Football Tournament when they represented Great Britain. In between times, they folded in 1887 and reformed in 1891. One member of their team that won at St. Albans, Fred Chalk, went on to play in the 1900 Olympic Tournament when football was a demonstration sport.

 The Saints claimed their final win of the season on Easter Monday morning when seeing off Upton United at Holywell Hill. The game was due to kick off at 11am but the start was delayed due a good number of spectators staying in the town to see the ‘Volunteers’ start their march to Hatfield. St. Albans relied upon the aid of two local clubs to fill the XI starting places. Stanville provided four players in the form of T. Hewer, J. Heading, W.G. Long and Jack Stevens, while City Rovers loaned the Saints A. Figg, Francis and W. Deamer, the latter marked the first of his three games for the club by scoring one of the goals against Upton United. This game was Long’s second for the club and he went on to become a regular in the side, making 49 appearances. He also scored against Upton United.

Five St. Albans players – Jack Dickerson, Ernest Northern Sharpe, Ernest ‘Mike’ Sharp (left), Jack Stevens and James Dickson – were back in action in the afternoon when the Citizens faced Tottenham Hotspur for the second time since the turn of the year. The Saints also relied upon three members of the Upton United side to complete the team. Spurs made six changes from the side beaten in February and a stronger looking XI ran out 2-0 winners.

The Saints season was concluded on 23^rd April with a 2-2 draw home draw against St. Mary’s Watford. The St. Albans side was a mixture of players from several clubs while St. Mary’s included three players that had played for West Herts.

Formation of Southern Alliance League

Outside of the County Cup, matches continued to be of the friendly variety which was very limiting in terms of taking the game forward and also gave little indication of how the club was progressing compared to others in the area. Moves, however, were afoot to rectify the situation and a meeting was held in Anderton’s Hotel, Fleet Street, London, on 2^nd February - at which St. Albans were represented - with the intention of forming a Southern League. It was felt that the game in Southern England was getting left behind as the F.A. had sanctioned professional football in 1885 and three years later the Football League was founded with its membership consisting entirely of clubs from the north and midlands. Part of the reason for the slow evolution of the game in the south was down to the London F.A. who were against clubs turning professional.

At the meeting, which had been called by Woolwich Arsenal, the notion of forming the Southern League was agreed and a dozen clubs were invited to become members, but the league did not get off the ground at this particular time, partly because clubs were mindful of the punishment that might be handed out by the London Football Association. St. Albans polled six votes but were one of eleven clubs whose application had been unsuccessful. Bottom of the pile were Tottenham Hotspur who received just one vote – within ten years Spurs were to become the only non-league side ever to win the F.A. Cup. Instead, the Southern Alliance League was set up for the 1892-93 season but, after originally agreeing to be members, St. Albans, along with Uxbridge, Wolverton and Chesham, withdrew their application stating they wished to see how the league would progress. The club was also concerned as to the costs to be incurred in running a side in the new league.

The Laws of the Game were also under review at this time with 1891 seeing goal nets used for the first time during a match between the North and the South, this was also the year in which penalty kicks were introduced following a request by the Irish F.A.

1891-92 Annual Report

1891-1892 Season Line-ups

Appearances & Goals