User:Grover cleveland/History of the laws of the game/Sheffield/1859

From Harvey
At their AGM in October 1859 the Sheffield FC had appointed a committee to revise their playing laws.45 It was probably at this point that the Club began to introduce many of the practices that they borrowed from Eton’s code, most notably the rouge.46 The extent of their suc- cess in grafting on these additions to their rules became apparent in December 1860 when they played a match on the rough playing surface of Hillsboro barrack ground against the 58th Regiment. Despite the fact that several members of the army team had been noted footballers while at public school, Sheffield, the rank outsiders, beat them, scoring one goal and ten rouges to their opponent’s one goal and five rouges.47

45 Sheffield and Rotherham Independent 15 October 1859.

46 Rouges were expansions of four yards on either side of the goal which provided an additional mode of scoring, players being awarded a point for touching the ball down within these areas. Far from being a slavish adherence to a public school model, this was adopted in response to a particular problem, the proliferation of goalless draws due to the fact that Sheffield’s goals were only four yards wide.

47 Bell’s Life in London 23 December 1860. Sheffield and Rotherham Independent 29 December 1860.

AGM
1859-10-15

https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000181/18591015/008/0006

A sub-committee was appointed to revise the laws, &c,. of the club, and other arrangements were made for the next season.

President: F. Ward (re-elected)

Vice-Presidents: T. A. Sorby, M. J. Ellison (re-elected)

Secretary: N. Creswick (re-elected).