Appropriate day to remember the Club's roots. St Andrews was formed as a mission church in 1868 within the parish of All Saints around what was primarily market gardens. However, a few short years later the expansion of the railway and other industries close by, saw a housing boom and in 1874 St Andrews was elevated to the status of parish church within the newly created Fulham Fields. Among the growing population were plenty of boys in need of recreation and in 1879 the rev John Caldwell encouraged young Tom Norman to convince his mates to form St Andews Cricket and Football Club. Between then and 1833 the football matches were nothing more than kickabouts but things got more serious when they moved to a pitch at the Ranelagh Club - although the 'changing room' was at the Eight Bells pub in Fulham High Street. The first recorded match appeared in the West London Observer in November 1883 when the Club played Christ Church Rangers away and lost 4-0. Revenge was exacted at home a year later though when captain Jack Howland scored the only goal of the game. Three years later Christ Church merged with St Jude's (patron Saint of Lost Causes) and became Queens Park Rangers FC. St Andrews were also having an identity problem with so many church teams of the same name and also in 1886, became Fulham St Andrews Football and Cricket Club. Yes, football had become the more popular of the two sports; helped by winning the West London Football Association Cup in the 1886/87 season - the Club's first trophy. Indeed the Club's popularity was such that they were now running a third eleven and on 1st January 1889 a monmentous decision was taken to rename the club, Fulham Football Club. please log in to view this image The Club moved to an enclosed ground behind Putney boat houses in 1891 - sharing it with Wasps rugby club - and began to draw a crowd sometimes as many as a thousand, before moving to our final home at The Cottage in 1896. The first match recorded there on film - or at least the first one that has survived time - was a match against Bury in 1912. Here's a link to watch the footage: http://player.bfi.org.uk/film/watch-football-season-fulham-v-bury-1912/
