Ashton Reporter  February 3 1894.

Sir, - kindly allow me space for a few remarks re the report of the match, Droylsden v St. James AFC, which appeared in your last issue, and which is unfair and misleading. The report says that St. James left the field owing to the heavy rain. This was not so, but was through a dispute which occurred over the third goal awarded to Droylsden, and which was rank offside. The referee was utterly incompetent, and our players were unable to get in any kind of complaint whatever, which culminated in their leaving the field. The ground was a perfect quagmire, being ankle deep in mud all over the field. It will be a long time before the Saints’ again visit the Droylsden ground. Your correspondent thinks the Gorton Saints’ have a few wrinkles to learn before they can compete with the ‘lucky’ Droylsden team. I have perhaps no need to say that Droylsden are not able to teach St. James or anyone else wrinkles on playing football, and as for their being lucky, there is perhaps more luck than anything else about their play, combined with their patent referee. Without wishing to boast of the Saints’ abilities, I only hope they will meet Droylsden in the semi-final for the Stockport Shield on neutral ground, and then the Gortonians will make them gallop! Wanted, a referee. None from Droylsden need apply!  

Yours, ‘One who was there.’

Ashton Reporter  February 10 1894.

Sir, - I was a spectator at the match between Droylsden AFC and St. James, Gorton, and I am satisfied that it is our friend from Gorton who is trying to mislead the public. It was the second goal which Gorton disputed. Any person who knows Mr. Knowles (who played with the late Droylsden FC for several seasons) knows whether he is competent as a referee, and the result of past matches shows whether they are a lucky team or not. It is only Droylsden’s second season. The first season they beat the Saints’ 4 goals to 1, and 1-0; and this season 3 goals to 1 each time.

Yours, ‘A member of Droylsden AFC.’

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Droylsden Association Football Club was founded in 1892, and the club’s first president was a Mr. Joseph Cropper. Joseph Cropper was born in the village of Droylsden in 1840, and in 1879 he became tenant of the Butchers’ Arms public house, which at that time was described as an old building, scarcely more than a vault. During his tenancy the house was altered and extended, and he constructed and laid out a bowling green and outbuildings on a field at the back of the premises. Throughout the 1880s, Mr. Cropper ran bowling handicaps on the green, and the Butchers’ Arms soon became a focal point for the bowlers of the district. By the latter part of the 1880s, Association Football was fast becoming the country’s most popular sport and by 1890 several Droylsden clubs were already in existence.

One of the earliest Association clubs in the district, was Droylsden Amateurs, though by 1892, as many as a half dozen clubs were playing and using the town name as a prefix to their club name, i.e., Droylsden Albion, Droylsden Celtic, Droylsden Villa, Droylsden Ramblers, Droylsden Wesleyans and so on. As yet however, no official ‘town team’ had been formed. The exact beginning’s of Droylsden AFC appear to have gone unrecorded in any local newspaper, which would suggest that the importance of the club at that time was of little consequence in the village; it was just another football club. During the club’s first season – 1892/93 – a further indication regarding the club’s status is evident with the non-appearance of any coverage in the local press whatsoever. This, at a time when Association Football in general, and local football in particular, was receiving extensive coverage in the local press on a weekly basis. In those days match reports were posted to the sports editor of the local newspaper by the club secretary, and it seems likely that no such reports were forwarded by the secretary of Droylsden AFC.

Droylsden commenced their football life with club colours of black and amber, though by the early part of the 1900s their strip had been changed to blue shirts and white shorts. The red and white strip with which the club has become synonymous was not introduced until after the First World War when the club was re-formed in 1919. During the research of this book the origin of Droylsden’s nickname the ‘Bloods’ has eluded me, though I think it is safe to assume that Droylsden’s ‘Bloods’ tag probably came about with the introduction of the red shirts after the 1914/18 war. The ‘late Droylsden FC’ referred to in the above letter in 1894, was a Rugby Football club, and no connection has been found to link the two clubs together. Therefore, Droylsden FC (1882/1885) can be discounted from this history of Droylsden AFC.

Dave Siddall, March 1991

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