Table Of ContentEnglish Gentlemen and
World Soccer
The significance of the Corinthians Football Club, founded in 1882, has
been widely acknowledged by historians of football and by sports historians
generally. As a ‘super club’ comprising the best amateur talent available,
they were an important formative influence on football in England from the
1880s to 1930s. As a touring club – they first travelled to South Africa in 1897
and made regular forays into Europe and also to Canada, the United States
and Brazil – they were the self-proclaimed standard bearers for gentlemanly
values in sport.
Indeed, for many years, they were the most famous football club in
the world, drawing huge crowds and helping to ensure that the version
of football emanating from the English public schools and universities in
the mid- nineteenth century became a global game. Though their playing
strength and influence waned after the First World War, they remained a
significant force through to 1939, upholding ‘true-blue’ amateurism at a
time when football was increasingly associated with professionalism and
seen as a branch of commercial entertainment.
While much has been written about the Corinthians, mainly by club in-
siders, this is the first complete scholarly history to cover their activities
both in England and in other parts of the world. It critically reassesses the
club’s role in the development of football and fills a gap in existing litera-
ture on the relationship between the progress of the game in England and
globally. Most crucially, the book re-examines the sporting ideology of
gentlemanly amateurism within the context of late nineteenth- and early
twentieth- century society.
Chris Bolsmann is a Professor in the Department of Kinesiology at California
State University Northridge, USA and Visiting Professor, Faculty of Health
Sciences, University of Johannesburg, South Africa.
Dilwyn Porter is an Honorary Professor of Sports History and Culture at De
Montfort University and Visiting Professor of Modern History at Newman
University, Birmingham.
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Elizabeth Dimock
17 British Politics, Society and Empire, 1852–1945
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22 English Gentlemen and World Soccer
Corinthians, Amateurism and the Global Game
Chris Bolsmann and Dilwyn Porter
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series/RSMBH
English Gentlemen and
World Soccer
Corinthians, Amateurism
and the Global Game
Chris Bolsmann and
Dilwyn Porter
First published 2018
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa
business
© 2018 Chris Bolsmann and Dilwyn Porter
The right of Chris Bolsmann and Dilwyn Porter to be identified as
authors of this work has been asserted by them in accordance with
sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or
reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical,
or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including
photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or
retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks
or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and
explanation without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British
Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Bolsmann, Chris, author. | Porter, Dilwyn, 1947– author.
Title: English gentlemen and world soccer: Corinthians, amateurism
and the global game / Chris Bolsmann, Dilwyn Porter.
Description: Abingdon, Oxon; New York, NY: Routledge, 2018. |
Series: Routledge studies in modern British history |
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2017058012
Subjects: LCSH: Corinthian Football Club—History.
Classification: LCC GV943.6.C59 B65 2018 | DDC 796.334/640941—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017058012
ISBN: 978-1-4724-6613-6 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-315-57975-7 (ebk)
Typeset in Times New Roman
by codeMantra
Contents
List of Figures vii
Acknowledgements ix
Introduction 1
1 ‘A scratch team with gentlemanly instincts’:
The Corinthians and English soccer in the late
nineteenth century 20
2 Decline and fall: The Corinthians in the twentieth century 41
3 ‘Missionaries of Empire’: The Corinthians on tour in
South Africa 62
4 Communing with continental amateurism: Corinthians
in Europe, c. 1904–39 80
5 ‘Joy the Corinthians are coming!’ The Corinthian
Football Club on tour in Canada and the United States 101
6 Noblesse Oblige and the Corinthian sojourns in Rio de
Janeiro and São Paulo 117
Conclusion 130
Bibliography 139
Index 151
List of Figures
I.1 Corinthian FC, 1885–86 1
1.1 Crystal Palace, Sheriff of London Shield, Corinthians v
Sheffield United, 19 March 1898 20
2.1 Corinthian FC, Sheriff of London Shield v Sheffield
United, Crystal Palace, 19 March 1898 41
3.1 Corinthians v Orange River Colony, Bloemfontein, 24 July 1907 62
4.1 Corinthians v Hannover 96, Hannover, 12 April 1936 80
5.1 Corinthians v Fore River, Boston, 14 September 1906 101
6.1 Corinthians v Brasileiros, Rio de Janeiro, 24 August 1913 117
C.1 Banquet in honour of the Corinthians, Paris, 1904 130
Acknowledgements
Thanks are due to our editors at Routledge, Rob Langham and Michael
Bourne, who took on this book in difficult circumstances and have kept
faith with the authors over a lengthier period than they could possibly have
anticipated. Stuart Allison, James Hall, Gary James, Nick Piercey, Evie
Stevenson and Christoph Wagner were each very generous in setting time
aside to help with translations and access to sources. The content of this
book is much richer for their efforts. Peter Holme and Alex Jackson at the
National Football Museum Archive at Preston came up with leads I would
never have found myself. Thanks are also due to Neil Carter, Richard Holt,
Kristian Naglo, Harvey Osborne, Kevin Tallec Marston and Matt Taylor
for various services rendered.
Sandra Porter was an endless source of encouragement and support
throughout. Without her love and kindness, my half of the project would
never have been completed.
Working with my co-author Chris Bolsmann has been a real pleasure.
I have been involved in a number of co-authored and co-edited projects
over the course of my career and know that they often test the strength of a
friendship. We know each other much better now than when we started and
yet somehow remain the best of friends. See you on Route 66, buddy.
Finally, thanks are due to our friend and colleague Tony Mason who be-
gan this journey with us and to whom all historians of association football
are indebted.
Dil Porter
Several colleagues and friends have helped me immeasurably with this
project. Thank you all. In England, Tony Mason read some of my earlier
work and provided critical insights. Aidan Hamilton assisted with contacts
in South America and shared sources. Rob Cavallini spent several hours
answering my questions watching the Corinthian-Casuals. Alex Jackson at
the National Football Museum in Manchester helped me access excellent
source materials. Ana Maria Madrigal, Juan Carlos Guataqui, Olga Castro
and Ovande Furtado assisted with Spanish and Portuguese translations.
