A History of Amateur Football in Oxford Part 2

Our look back at the history of amateur football in Oxford continues. Don't forget to read part 1 if you haven't already.

A History of Amateur Football in Oxford Part 1

It is perhaps unusual that professional football came late to Oxford – with no team playing professionally in the city until 1949 – while geographically and culturally similar towns such as Reading and Swindon had professional teams from the mid-1890s. The lack of a professional outfit in Oxford disguises the fact that football was every bit as important and popular in the city during this time as it was in those neighbouring towns. However, whereas professionalism became an accepted part of football in much of the rest of Britain from the late 19^th century, in Oxford the traditional values of amateurism proved to be far more deep-seated.

Oxford and England

So the Euros are now upon us and the national media hype machine has already gone into overdrive trying to inspire nationalistic fervour. While for many of us the national team are a mere distraction from the more important matter of OUFC, we can at least try and stoke the passions by remembering Oxford's contribution to the cause. We may not be able to boast a whole host of England stars among our midst, but we have nevertheless played our own role down the years, so here is a brief (and by no means exhaustive) list of some Oxford and England connections.