In 1874 the Reverend John Farrall Wright and schoolmaster Thomas Ogden established the Christ Church Sunday School football team. The team, captained by Ogden, played at the Park Recreation Ground. In 1877 there was a dispute between Wright and Ogden and as a result a new team, Bolton Wanderers, was formed. They now played their games at Pikes Lane.

Bolton Wanderers entered the FA Cup for the first time in the 1881-82 season. They lost 6-2 to Blackburn Rovers in the second round of the competition. The following year they beat Liverpool Ramblers 3-0 but lost in the next round to the Druids. In 1883 Bolton started the competition with a 8-1 victory over Irwell Springs. They were drawn against the powerful Notts County in the 4th round. The game ended in a 2-2 draw but Bolton lost the replay 2-1.

In January, 1884, Preston North End played the London side, Upton Park, in the FA Cup. After the game Upton Park complained to the Football Association that Preston was a professional, rather than an amateur team. Major William Sudell, the secretary/manager of Preston admitted that his players were being paid but argued that this was common practice and did not breach regulations. However, the FA disagreed and expelled them from the competition. Sudell had improved the quality of the team by importing top players from other areas. This included several players from Scotland. As well as paying them money for playing for the team, Sudell also found them highly paid work in Preston.

Preston North End now joined forces with other clubs who were paying their players, such as Bolton Wanderers, Aston Villa and Sunderland. In October, 1884, these clubs threatened to form a break-away British Football Association. The Football Association responded by establishing a sub-committee, which included William Sudell, to look into this issue.

In February 1885 John J. Bentley was appointed secretary of Bolton Wanderers. Bentley was an advocate of professionalism and he began recruiting talented players and paying them a match fee. On 20th July, 1885, the FA announced that it was "in the interests of Association Football, to legalise the employment of professional football players, but only under certain restrictions". Clubs were allowed to pay players provided that they had either been born or had lived for two years within a six-mile radius of the ground.

The decision to pay players increased club's wage bills. It was therefore necessary to arrange more matches that could be played in front of large crowds. On 2nd March, 1888, William McGregor circulated a letter to Bolton Wanderers, Aston Villa, Blackburn Rovers, Preston North End, and West Bromwich Albion suggesting that "ten or twelve of the most prominent clubs in England combine to arrange home and away fixtures each season."

John J. Bentley of Bolton Wanderers and Tom Mitchell of Blackburn Rovers responded very positively to the suggestion. They suggested that other clubs should be invited to the meeting being held on 23rd March, 1888. This included Accrington, Burnley, Derby County, Notts County, Stoke, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Old Carthusians, and Everton should be invited to the meeting.

The following month the Football League was formed. It consisted of six clubs from Lancashire ( Bolton Wanderers, Preston North End, Accrington, Blackburn Rovers, Burnley and Everton) and six from the Midlands (Aston Villa, Derby County, Notts County, Stoke, West Bromwich Albion and Wolverhampton Wanderers). The main reason Sunderland was excluded was because the other clubs in the league objected to the costs of travelling to the North-East. McGregor also wanted to restrict the league to twelve clubs. Therefore, the applications of Sheffield Wednesday, Nottingham Forest, Darwen and Bootle were rejected.

The first season of the Football League began in September, 1888. Preston North End won the first championship without losing a single match and acquired the name the "invincibles". Bolton Wanderers finished in 5th place, winning 10 of their 22 games.

John J. Bentley began recruiting players such as James Turner, John Somerville, Di Jones, John Sutcliffe and James Cassidy. However, in the 1889-90 season Bolton finished 9th with 19 points out of a possible 44. The 1890-91 season saw a slight improvement with the club finishing in 5th place with 25 points. The following season they finished in 3rd place obtaining 36 points in 26 games.

 

Bolton Wanderers in 1893

 

In the 1893-94 season, Bolton beat Small Heath (4-3), Newcastle United (2-1), Liverpool (3-0) and Sheffield Wednesday (3-2) to reach the 1894 FA Cup Final. Unfortunately, Bolton lost to Notts County 4-1 in the final at Goodison Park.

In 1895 Bolton Wanderers moved to the Burnden Park ground. It became the club's stadium for the next 102 years. It was also used for the replay of the 1902 FA Cup Final between Tottenham Hotspur and Sheffield United.

James Cassidy was the star of the team during this period. He played for Bolton for eight seasons. He was the club's top scorer in five seasons and overall he scored 101 goals in 219 games. John Sutcliffe, the Bolton goalkeeper, also won five international caps for England during his time at the club.

In April 1895 Bolton Wanderers played an away game against Bury in the Lancashire Senior Cup. After James Turner made a strong tackle against an opponent the home crowd rushed on the field and attacked him and the referee was forced to abandon the game.

Bolton Wanderers finished 10th (1894-95), 4th (1895-96), 8th (1896-97) and 11th (1897-98). In 1898 season John Somerville was employed as Bolton's player-manager. Unfortunately, in his first season in charge the club finished 17th and was relegated to the Second Division.

In 1899-1900 Bolton finished second to Sheffield Wednesday and returned to the First Division. Laurie Bell was top scorer that season with 23 goals. The club continued to struggle in the top tier and in the 1902-03 season they finished bottom and was once again relegated.

Bolton kept faith with John Somerville and in the 1904-05 season the club finished second to Liverpool and was promoted back to the First Division. Bolton had two good seasons where they finished 6th before being relegated again in the 1907-08 season. Bolton bounced back by winning the Second Division championship in the 1908-09 season.

Once again Bolton struggled in the top tier and in January 1910, with the club firmly entrenched at the bottom of the First Division, John Somerville was sacked and replaced by Will Settle. He was unable to save the club from relegation but he steered Bolton to promotion at the first attempt. Settle also recruited a group of talented players including Ted Vizard, Joe Smith and Jimmy Seddon.

In 1911-12 Bolton finished fourth in the First Division and in the 1914-15 they reached the semi-final of the FA Cup. However, they were beaten 2-1 by Sheffield United. At the end of the season professional football in Britain came to an end because of the First World War. In 1915 Will Settle left the club to be replaced by Tom Mather. According to Dean Hayes, the author of Bolton Wanderers (1999): "After finding certain responsibilities had been taken away from him, he left the club under something of a cloud after 17 years' service." Soon afterwards Mather was called up to join the Royal Navy and his assistant, Charles Foweraker, became the new manager.

After the war, Charles Foweraker, built an outstanding team that included Joe Smith, Billy Jennings, Jimmy Seddon, John Reid Smith, David Jack, Billy Butler, Walter Rowley, Ted Vizard, Harry Nuttall, Dick Pym, Alex Finney and Bob Haworth.

In the 1920-21 season Bolton Wanderers finished in 3rd place in the First Division of the Football League. Joe Smith, scored a club record of 38 goals, this included hat-tricks against Middlesbrough, Sunderland and Newcastle United.

Bolton Wanderers enjoyed a good FA Cup run in the 1922-23 season. They beat Leeds United (3-1), Huddersfield Town (1-0), Charlton Athletic (1-0) and Sheffield United (1-0) to reach the first cup final to be held at Wembley Stadium.

 

Left to right: Jimmy Seddon, Dick Pym, Walter Rowley, Alex Finney, Billy Jennings,
David Jack, Ted Vizard, Harry Nuttall, John Reid Smith, Bob Haworth, Billy Butler & Joe Smith.

 

The Empire Stadium had a capacity of 125,000 and so the Football Association did not consider making it an all-ticket match. After all, both teams only had an average attendance of around 20,000 for league games. However, it was rare for a club from London to make the final of the FA Cup and supporters of other clubs in the city saw it as a North v South game.

The Bolton Evening News reported: "It is computed that fully 250,000 people made their way to the imposing and spacious ground form all parts of the Empire, all anxious to see the blue riband of the football world decided. About 60,000 people had passed inside the turnstiles when pandemonium broke loose. One of the main exits was broken down and thousands of people surged inside the enclosure, and from that moment the situation showed signs of getting out of hand. People scaled high walls and clambered into seats for which others had paid. Such was the pressure on the ringside fences that they gave way. The crowd rushed across the large cinder track which encircles the playing pitch, and in an incredibly short time the beautiful greensward was occupied by a black uncontrollable mass. The police, apparently taken by surprise, were for a time powerless to deal with the situation and even after more officers, mounted and on foot, had been rushed to the ground, the task of clearing the playing pitch was a tediously slow process."

At 1.45 pm instructions were given for all gates to be closed. George Kerr later commented: "I saw the turnstiles had been built into woodern structures that were about 8 feet high, the turnstiles themselves were locked and deserted but bodies were climbing over them like monkeys and I quickly followed suit... I got behind the crowd and soon was being pushed forward by others who got behind me. I was literally pushed into the ground."

A reporter from the East Ham Echo described the scene after the gates were closed: "Something unusual was happening. Then the word went round that the disappointed multitude at the gates had broken through. They streamed down the little tributaries in a vast sea of heads, and settled on the cinder track round the pitch. Then came a sudden movement of the front ranks - a rush, the thin cordon of police and stewards was brushed aside like a cobweb, and in a moment the playing pitch, which had drawn the gaze for so long, brightly verdant in the sunshine, was blotted out - black with a restless, moving, excited throng of people. Football was forgotten. Spectators, who had taken up and held their positions since early morning, were bundled unceremoniously out of place by the rush, and swept on to the green. Everywhere men and women were seen clambering over the low rails and partitions, eager to secure seats in the stands. Strong men and frail women fainted and fell in the crush and excitement, and the ambulance brigade were hotly engaged in dealing with casualties which increased every minute."

Albert York was a barrow-boy who sold apples and pears to fans going to the game: "When everything was sold we went into the match through a broken gate and joined the heaving, sweating cloth-capped mass of humanity, but hardly saw a thing of the action because of the immense crowd."

 

David Jack, with his hand on his hip, waiting for the police to clear the
crowd from the pitch before the 1923 FA Cup Final.

 

According to The Times newspaper, about a 1,000 people were injured attempting to get into Wembley Stadium that day. The spectators at the front were pushed onto the field making it impossible for the game to get started. For a while it seemed that the game would have to be postponed. However, in the words of one East Ham Echo reporter, "...then came the miracle. Half a dozen mounted policeman arrived on the scene, and working from the centre of the pitch by great efforts, filched a little more space from the crowd, which the cordon of police endeavoured to hold.... But wonders of wonders was the work of an inspector on a dashing white horse." The inspector on the white horse was G. A. Story and as a result of these efforts the game began after a 40 minute delay.

Jimmy Ruffell was later interviewed about the game: "Most of the people at Wembley seemed to be Londoners. Well, the ones I saw seemed to be. As we tried to make our way out onto the field everyone was slapping us on the back and grabbing our hands to shake them. By the time I got to the centre of the pitch my poor shoulder was aching."

West Ham trainer, Charlie Paynter, complained: "When the players of both sides got on the pitch there seemed quite a hundred London supporters to every Bolton supporter. My boys were slapped and pulled about, while the Bolton players got through practically unscathed. Unfortunately Ruffell, who had just got over an injured shoulder, which was naturally tender; and Tresadern both received severe shakings before they reached the pitch... It was a pitch made for us until folks tramped all over the place. when the game started it was hopeless. Our wingers, Ruffell and Richards were tripping in great ruts and holes... The pitch had been torn up badly by the crowd and the horses wandering over it."

The game eventually started 43 minutes late. In the second minute Jack Tresadern got stuck in the crowd after going in to retrieve the ball for a throw in. Before he could get back onto the field, the ball was sent into the West Ham United penalty area. Jack Young gained possession of the ball but he gave it away to Jimmy Seddon. The ball was then passed to David Jack. According to The Times reporter at the game: "Jack feinted to pass out to Butler; when the pass looked as good as made, he dribbled inside to the left, went through the West Ham United defence at a great pace and scored from close in with a hard high shot into the right-hand corner of the net."

 

David Jack scoring the first goal against West Ham United

 

Three minutes later, Dick Pym, the Bolton goalkeeper, missed a corner-kick from Jimmy Ruffell and the usually reliable Vic Watson, blasted the ball over the crossbar. The Times journalist covering the game wrote: "Pym, misjudging a perfectly taken corner by Ruffell, came out of goal and missed the ball. The ball came to Watson, who had an open goal yawning only a few yards in front of him. How he managed to kick the ball over the cross-bar instead of into the net one cannot imagine; if a player tried to do it, the odds against him would be generous. Watson, however, did fail to score."

Soon afterwards West Ham United had another chance when Dick Richards finished off a brilliant dribble with a clever shot that Dick Pym managed to save. After 13 minutes the game was brought to a halt after the crowd spilled on to the pitch in front of the main stand. It was another ten minutes before the mounted police cleared the pitch and the match could resume.

Once the game had restarted Joe Smith appeared to scored from a clever centre from Billy Butler but was ruled offside. Bolton were the better team in the first-half and the East Ham Echo reported that this was "because they were more experienced and better fitted temperamentally to stand the strains of the extraordinary conditions."

The teams did not leave the field at half-time but crossed over and resumed play after a five-rninutes' interval. West Ham United began the second half well and Vic Watson just failed to convert a cross from George Kay. This was followed by another near miss. According to George Kerr: "It was a hard low cross from Richards on the right wing arriving about chest-high outside the six-yard box. Watson went for it and had he contacted he must have scored but Pym, the goalie, managed to get his hand to it, knocking it down and collecting it."

In the 54th minute Joe Smith received a pass from Ted Vizard and volleyed against the underside of the bar. The referee ruled that it had crossed the line, before rebounding back into play. Bolton Wanderers now had a two-goal lead.

West Ham United continued to press forward but failed to make anymore chances. The Daily Mirror reported: "The prescence of the crowd on the touchlines considerably hampered the work of the wingers." Jimmy Ruffell later admitted: "It was a hard game for West Ham to play as the field had been churned up so bad by horses and the crowd that had been on the pitch well before the game. West Ham made a lot of the wings and you just couldn't run them for the crowd that were right up close to the line."

George Kerr supported this view: "The conditions did not suit West Ham. They relied heavily upon speed and the long ball, usually using Jimmy Ruffell plied by the other speed merchant Victor Watson. But it was clearly inhibiting to Ruffell with the danger of tripping over spectators' legs and the general feeling of being jammed in."

According to the Stratford Express: "It was a tame finish to a disappointing match, spoiled of all its interest by the lamentable conditions under which it was decided... Bolton won because they more nearly approached their more usual form than West Ham did, and because they were less upset by the unusual happenings. On the day's play they were the better side, and deserved their victory."

The Bolton Evening News agreed: "By general consent, West Ham were conquered by a team which played with superb confidence, plainly conscious of its ability to win through... Here we had eleven men working with but a single purpose, dovetailing and blending perfectly, a mobile, virile force which operated in absolute unison and unity, whether concentrating on aggression or compelled to retreat. I cannot single out one player more than another for a special need of praise. Where all did so well, it would be invidious to individualize."

Bolton finished in 4th place in the 1923-24 season. The following season Bolton moved up to 3rd in the First Division. Bolton Wanderers had another good cup run in the 1925-26 season. The club beat Bournemouth (6-2), South Shields (2-0), Nottingham Forest (1-0) and Swansea City (3-0) to reach the final against Manchester City. Bolton won the game 1-0 with David Jack scoring the only goal of the game in the 76th minute.

 

David Jack scoring in the 1926 FA Cup Final.

 

Joe Smith was now 38 years old and in March 1927 he was sold to Stockport County. Smith had the great record of scoring 277 goals in 492 games. The following month, Charles Foweraker paid £2,150 for Harold Blackmore. He joined a team that included David Jack, Jimmy Seddon, John Reid Smith, Billy Butler, Ted Vizard, Dick Pym and Alex Finney.

In October, 1928, Herbert Chapman, the manager of Arsenal, decided to pay a transfer fee of over £10,890 for David Jack. He was Bolton's top scorer for five of the eight seasons he was there, scoring 144 goals in 295 league matches. Sir Charles Clegg, president of the Football Association, immediately issued a statement claiming that no player in the world was worth that amount of money. Others thought that at 29 years old, Jack was past his best. However, over the next few years Jack did everything he could to show that he was worth the money. Chapman later told Bob Wall that the buying of Jack was "one of the best bargains I ever made".

Bolton missed the goals scored by Joe Smith, David Jack and John Reid Smith and only finished in 14th place in the 1928-29 season. However, they had another good FA Cup run. They beat Liverpool (5-2), Leicester City (2-1), Blackburn Rovers (2-1) and Huddersfield Town (3-1) to reach the final against Portsmouth. Bolton won 2-0 with goals from Billy Butler and Harold Blackmore. Under the leadership of Foweraker, Bolton had won the FA Cup three times in seven years.

 

Ardath (1934)

H.O. Wills (1935)

Phillips (1936)

H.O. Wills (1939)

 

Bolton was less impressive in the next decade and finished 14th (1930-31), 17th (1931-32) and 21st (1932-33). After spending two seasons in the Second Division, Bolton was promoted in the 1934-35 season. Once again they struggled in the First Division finishing 13th (1935-36) and 20th (1936-37). During this period the team included Harry Goslin, Jackie Roberts, Jack Hurst, George Hunt, Harry Hubbick, Don Howe, Ray Westwood, Jack Atkinson, Tom Woodward and George Eastham.

In 1936 Harry Goslin became captain of the club. Under his leadership Bolton maintained its position in the First Division of the Football League. As the authors of Wartime Wanderers point out: "Goslin was a tall, athletic, ramrod-straight man with piercing blue eyes, whose physical presence combined with his pleasant but firm personality made him the ideal choice for club captain. Under his astute leadership the club's fortunes improved."

Charles Foweraker bought Albert Geldard from Everton for £4,500 in July 1938. Tommy Lawton was very upset by the decision to sell Geldard: "He was the fastest thing on two legs over ten yards. We had other wingers like Torry Gillick, Wally Boyes and Jimmy Caskie, but Albert had played for England only the season before, when he'd kept Stan Matthews out of the team. I thought we'd miss him."

In July 1938 Charles Foweraker was awarded the Football League's Long Service Medal in recognition of more than 21 years' service to Bolton Wanderers.

Bolton Wanderers finished in 7th place in the 1938-39 season. George Hunt ended up as top scorer with 23 goals in 37 league games. However, according to Nat Lofthouse, it was Ray Westwood who was the club's main star that season. "He was an idol of mine. A brilliant player, who knew he was a good player, but wasn't big-headed. Over ten, fifteen, twenty yards he was electric. He mesmerised me as a boy, and I wanted to be like him."

On 15th March, 1939, Adolf Hitler ordered the German Army to invade Czechoslovakia. It seemed that war was inevitable. On 8th April, Bolton Wanderers played a home game against Sunderland. Before the game started, Harry Goslin, the team captain, spoke to the crowd: "We are facing a national emergency. But this danger can be met, if everybody keeps a cool head, and knows what to do. This is something you can't leave to the other fellow, everybody has a share to do."

Of the 35 players on the staff of Bolton Wanderers, 32 joined the armed services and the other three went into the coal mines and munitions. This included Harry Hubbick, who resumed his career down the pits and Jack Atkinson and George Hunt served in the local police force. A total of 17 players, including Harry Goslin, Danny Winter, Billy Ithell, Albert Geldard, Tommy Sinclair, Don Howe, Ray Westwood, Ernie Forrest, Jackie Roberts, Jack Hurst and Stan Hanson, joined the 53rd (Bolton) Field Regiment, whereas Tom Woodward, became a Physical Training instructor.

 

Bolton Wanderers players in 1939: Billy Ithell, Danny Winter, Jackie Roberts,
George Caterall, Don Howe and Harry Goslin.

 

The government imposed a fifty mile travelling limit and the Football League divided all the clubs into seven regional areas where games could take place. Bolton Wanderers was put in the North-East League. The team included those players like Harry Hubbick, Jack Atkinson and George Hunt, who had been employed on the home front. Walter Sidebottom, a teenager who only got in the first-team at the end of the 1938-39 season emerged as a player with a very bright future. In the 1939-40 season Bolton won 13 out of their 22 games and finished in 4th place in the North-East League.

 

53rd (Bolton) Field Regiment football team: Standing: Danny Winter, Harry Goslin,
Stan Hanson, George Catterall, (Lt Col G Bennet), Billy Ithell, Jack Hurst, Front
row: Albert Geldard, Don Howe, Ray Westwood, Jackie Roberts, Tommy Sinclair.

On 12th May, 1940, Adolf Hitler ordered the invasion of France. The 53rd (Bolton) Field Regiment was sent to help the French but came under attack from the advancing Panzer divisions. Harry Goslin was credited with destroying four enemy tanks and this resulted in him being promoted to the rank of Lieutenant. Goslin, Don Howe, Ray Westwood, Ernie Forrest, Jack Hurst and Stan Hanson, were lucky to make it back to the French port of Dunkirk where they were rescued by British ships.

The 53rd (Bolton) Field Regiment spent the rest of 1940 and the whole of 1941 at various army camps around Britain. According to the authors of Wartime Wanderers: They spent their time "building coastal defence constructions, manning anti-aircraft batteries and patrolling potential enemy landing sites all along the East Anglia coastline, variously stationed at Beccles, Nancton and Holt." This enabled them to play the occasional game for Bolton Wanderers in the North-East League. The team that year included Harry Hubbick, Jack Atkinson, George Hunt, Danny Winter, Harry Goslin, Billy Ithell, Walter Sidebottom, Albert Geldard, Tommy Sinclair, Don Howe, Ray Westwood, Ernie Forrest, Jackie Roberts, Jack Hurst and Stan Hanson.

On 22nd March 1941, George Hunt, the club's leading scorer for the last two seasons, was moved to right-half and replaced at centre-forward by the 15 year-old Nat Lofthouse. Bolton won the game 5-1 with Lofthouse scoring two of the goals. Lofthouse immediately formed a good relationship with his inside-forward, Walter Sidebottom. In the first six games together they scored 10 goals between them.

Bolton Wanderers beat Blackburn Rovers 2-0 at Burnden Park on 26th April 1941. Lofthouse and Sidebottom scored the goals. It was to be Sidebottom's last game for the team as he now fell into the latest age qualification group to be conscripted into the armed forces. Sidebottom was sent to join the Royal Navy.

On 15th July 1942, the 53rd (Bolton) Field Regiment was told to mobilise for overseas service. The following month they arrived in Egypt and immediately became involved in defending Alam el Halfa. On 30th August, 1942, General Erwin Rommel attacked Alam el Halfa but was repulsed by the Eighth Army. General Bernard Montgomery responded to this attack by ordering his troops to reinforce the defensive line from the coast to the impassable Qattara Depression. Montgomery was now able to make sure that Rommel and the German Army was unable to make any further advances into Egypt.

On 22nd October 1942, the 53rd (Bolton) Field Regiment took up battle positions. The following day General Bernard Montgomery launched Operation Lightfoot with the largest artillery bombardment since the First World War. The attack came at the worst time for the Deutsches Afrika Korps as Erwin Rommel was on sick leave in Austria. His replacement, General George Stumme, died of a heart-attack the day after the 900 gun bombardment of the German lines. Stume was replaced by General Ritter von Thoma and Adolf Hitler phoned Rommel to order him to return to Egypt immediately.

The Germans defended their positions well and after two days the Eighth Army had made little progress and Bernard Montgomery ordered an end to the attack. When Erwin Rommel returned he launched a counterattack at Kidney Depression (27th October). Montgomery now returned to the offensive and the 9th Australian Division created a salient in the enemy positions.

Winston Churchill was disappointed by the Eighth Army's lack of success and accused Montgomery of fighting a "half-hearted" battle. Montgomery ignored these criticisms and instead made plans for a new offensive, Operation Supercharge.

On 1st November 1942, Montgomery launched an attack on the Deutsches Afrika Korps at Kidney Ridge. After initially resisting the attack, Rommel decided he no longer had the resources to hold his line and on the 3rd November he ordered his troops to withdraw. However, Adolf Hitler overruled his commander and the Germans were forced to stand and fight.

The next day Montgomery ordered his men forward. Lieutenant Harry Goslin and the 53rd (Bolton) Field Regiment joined the pursuit. The Eighth Army broke through the German lines and Erwin Rommel, in danger of being surrounded, was forced to retreat. Those soldiers on foot, including large numbers of Italian soldiers, were unable to move fast enough and were taken prisoner.

The British Army recaptured Tobruk on 12th November, 1942. During the El Alamein campaign half of Rommel's 100,000 man army was killed, wounded or taken prisoner. He also lost over 450 tanks and 1,000 guns. The British and Commonwealth forces suffered 13,500 casualties and 500 of their tanks were damaged. However, of these, 350 were repaired and were able to take part in future battles.

After spending time in Baghdad, the 53rd (Bolton) Field Regiment moved to Kirkurk on 8th January 1943. They were eventually relocated to Kifri which was to become their main base for the next five months. While there