Extraordinary Football Match

Sometimes its good to take a look back at what people were saying and doing in the past. Reading old newspapers can throw up some interesting stories. In this instance if you have been up the Chesterfield Canal you will have passed close to the spot. Here is what we would call today a public interest story. 

Derby Daily Telegraph – Monday 18 April 1887

The Extraordinary Football Match

At a football match, played at Worksop on Saturday, between Beighton and Worksop, the ball was kicked over the hedge into the garden adjoining the football field, and was promptly seized by the wife of the owner of the garden and locked up in an outhouse. The players, bring without a ball, were unable to proceed with the game another ball having been seized by the same party just to before the match commenced and taken to the local police station. 

One of the players and a spectator went to the proprietor of the garden and his wife and asked for the ball, which was refused, where upon the two decided to help themselves and accordingly made for the door of the outhouse. The proprietor of the garden picked op his garden fork and ran at one of them with it, but the latter seeing his danger caught the gardener by the neck, and twisted him round, and took the fork from him. 

Meanwhile the gardener's wife had not been idle. She armed herself with the swill bucket and battered it about the head of the player who had ventured to seek the ball. This roused the ire of the spectators who rushed in scores over the hedge, into the garden, but seeing the player coming from the garden with the ball under his arms, they retired, otherwise the proprietor of the garden, might have fared badly. As it was, the spectators contented themselves by hooting at the two in the garden until the match terminated.

Later....