Category Archives: 1889-90

Death of Walter Chew

On this day (31 August) in 1948 the death was announced of Walter Chew, a man associated with the first known season of St Mark’s (though there are serious doubts on whether the 16 year old played in the earliest known game based on his own comments). St Mark’s is vital in the development of Manchester City. Chew was a key figure in the club’s formative years but there are some myths out there about him and that time. His obituary above is from August 1948 which says he was 84 at the time of his death. You can find out more about Chew and the latest research below:

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Ardwick v Everton under Floodlights in 1890

It wasn’t the first game under floodlights for Ardwick (Manchester City’s predecessors) but it was a significant occasion when on Monday 10 March 1890 the club played Everton under lights at Hyde Road. This match report describes the game. Notice that not much is said about the lights themselves. That’s because it wasn’t the first occasion the club had played under lights in Manchester and those reading the report would be expected to know what Well’s patent lights were due to the features that had been written previously.

People often talk of the 1950s as being the birth of floodlit football but, of course, like many things in football’s history there had been firsts decades earlier.

On 14 October in 1953 the first game under floodlights at Maine Road took place, Manchester City 6 Hearts 3.  Here’s an article about that period and City’s first formal floodlighting system, including a photo from the actual game and another report.

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City’s history via players

I’m always keen to find links between today’s Manchester City and the key players of the past and so a while back I set myself the task of trying to find connections from the club’s first competitive game in 1890 through to the Premier League successes of today. The idea was to see how few players I could find to form a chain through the decades. 

I did this in 2021 and today (December 2024) the same number of players still link that first year of competitive football 134 years ago with today. For those wondering how many players I’ve used to link the beginning to today: the answer is 16. But who are they and can you do better?

Subscribers can read the players and the result of my efforts below:

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The 1900s: 1902-1903 Maley’s The Man

Continuing the series of features on Manchester City in the early 1900s! Today it’s a 1400 word article telling the story of 1902-03 when Celtic legend Tom Maley became City boss.

Ever wondered how Manchester found its first major trophy success or what the scandal that rocked City was all about? Then subscribe and read this series of articles.

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The 1890s: 1889-1890 Illuminated Ardwick

Starting today: A new series of features on Manchester City in the 1890s! Ever wondered how MCFC came into being and what happened to Ardwick AFC? Well, now’s your chance to find out. This series covers the final years of Ardwick and the birth of Manchester City. It starts with the second half of the 1889-90 season for Ardwick and includes a story of a floodlit game.

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Read more of this content when you subscribe today. It costs £3 per month (cancel anytime) or sign up a year at a time for the discounted annual fee of £20. This gives access to everything on the site, including PDFs of 3 of my books and various other articles, interviews and audio material. Each subscriber has access to all content posted during their subscription period too. Why not sign up for a month and see what you think?

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More on the 1890s tomorrow. Why not subscribe and read this and all the other subscriber features?

The 1890s: Ardwick and Manchester City

A new series of features starts tomorrow. This series provides a season by season account of Ardwick AFC and Manchester City FC in the 1890s. Some are 2000+ word articles, others are a bit less, but each adds to the story of how the club evolved. So, if you’ve ever wondered how MCFC came into being and what happened to Ardwick AFC, here’s your chance to find out. This series covers the final years of Ardwick, the birth of Manchester City and Manchester’s first national title.

Watch this space tomorrow for details.

City’s history via players?

A few years back I set myself the task of trying to find connections from the Manchester City’s first competitive game in 1890 through to the Premier League successes of today.

The idea was to see how few players I could find to form a chain through the decades. It was an interesting idea linking today’s Manchester City with the key players of the past and so can you work out how many players were included in this chain? The idea was that each player had to have played alongside the next one on the list and also the previous one.

Can you work out how many players and also can you provide your own chain, naming players that fit the criteria?

Subscribers can read the smallest number I found to make this chain and who they are below (there is a clue in the photo – the goalscorer is the final player in my chain):

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True Blues – Walter Chew

Continuing the weekly series of ‘True Blue’ figures associated with the early years of Manchester City, here’s an article on Walter Chew, a man associated with the first known season of St Mark’s (though there are serious doubts on whether the 16 year old played in the earliest known game). Chew went on to be a key figure in the club’s formative years but there are some myths out there about him and that time. Please note: My MCFC v AVFC programme article earlier this season included a typo which said he was 15 at the time of St Mark’s earliest known game. That should’ve read 16 (his obituary above is from August 1948 which says he was 84 at the time of his death, meaning he’d have been 16 in November 1880). You can find out more about Chew and the latest research below:

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There will be another ‘True Blue’ featured next Monday. Use the tag ‘True Blues’ to find other profiles in this series.

The full series of True Blue profiles will feature:

Lawrence Furniss, John Allison, Joshua Parlby, Walter Chew, William Sumner, Tom Maley, St Mark’s community leaders, Billy Meredith, John Chapman, William Beastow and James Moores.

Manchester City in the Early 1990s

We hear so much about the Premier League era and how the game has changed, so for today’s feature I’ve decided to take a look at the early 1990s and the birth of the Premier League. It’s almost thirty years since the structure of league football changed forever and during that time some clubs have benefitted from the new structure and others have found life difficult. City have experienced both extremes of course.

The narrative that we often hear about the Blues’ journey over the last thirty years is that they’ve gone from a struggling club to a hugely successful one and, while it is true City are highly successful today and that the Blues entered their lowest ever point in the late 1990s, it is wrong to assume that the position the club found itself in by 1999 was typical of the club’s full history. 

So, here for subscribers, I’m taking a look back at the early 1990s and remind ourselves where the Blues were; who their rivals were; and the state of football at that time:

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City’s history via players

I’m always keen to find links between today’s Manchester City and the key players of the past and so I set myself the task of trying to find connections from the club’s first competitive game in 1890 through to the Premier League successes of today.

The idea was to see how few players I could find to form a chain through the decades.  Subscribers can read the result of my efforts below:

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Read more of this content and all the other 370+ articles posted so far when you subscribe today.

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