The 1895–96 season was the thirteenth to be played by the team now known as Bristol Rovers, and their twelfth playing under the name Eastville Rovers. The first team played their fourth campaign in division one of the Western League (known in previous seasons as the Bristol & District League), while the reserves competed in the second division of the same competition for the third time. The season was notable for Rovers having entered the FA Cup for the first time in their history, and for the first team playing their 100th competitive match.
| 1895–96 season | |
|---|---|
| Captain | Lewis John |
| Ground | Ridgeway Road, Ridgeway, Bristol |
| Western League | Joint runners-up |
| FA Cup | Preliminary round |
| Gloucestershire Senior Cup | Runners-up |
| Top goalscorer | Howard Gallier (15) |
The senior squad finished the season as joint runners-up of the Western League first division after tying for second place in the table with Staple Hill and a playoff match to separate them ended in a draw, while the reserves ended their campaign in fifth place in division two. The first team were also runners-up in the Gloucestershire Senior Cup, losing out in the final to long-time rivals Warmley, but the campaign was marred by the death of an opposing player in their semi-final with Bedminster following a clash of heads.
The club's début in the FA Cup came in the preliminary round and ended in a 2–0 defeat, again to Warmley.
Season review edit
The 1895–96 season began with the news that Lewis John had been appointed as the new club captain,[1] replacing H. McBain who had been skipper the previous year.[2]
Rovers started the season strongly, winning eight of their first nine games, although one of those victories was later expunged from the record after Cardiff were expelled from the league. Their form trailed off slightly after that, but they ended the season well enough to finish joint second place in the table. The Western League had decided that goal average would no longer be used to split teams tied on points and that a test match would be held to decide the finishing order.[3] A match was duly arranged between Rovers and Staple Hill to determine who would be runners-up, but the game ended in a 2–2 draw, leading to the teams being named joint runners-up.[4]
League tables edit
Western League Division One edit
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Warmley (C) | 20 | 16 | 3 | 1 | 65 | 13 | 5.000 | 35 | League champions |
| 2 | Eastville Rovers | 20 | 14 | 1 | 5 | 57 | 22 | 2.591 | 29 | Joint runners-up |
| 3 | Staple Hill | 20 | 13 | 3 | 4 | 48 | 19 | 2.526 | 29 | |
| 4 | Trowbridge Town | 20 | 13 | 1 | 6 | 50 | 31 | 1.613 | 27 | |
| 5 | St George | 20 | 10 | 4 | 6 | 47 | 38 | 1.237 | 24 | |
| 6 | Clifton[a] | 20 | 8 | 3 | 9 | 44 | 50 | 0.880 | 17 | |
| 7 | Gloucester | 20 | 6 | 4 | 10 | 29 | 42 | 0.690 | 16 | |
| 8 | Bedminster | 20 | 6 | 2 | 12 | 36 | 41 | 0.878 | 14 | |
| 9 | Swindon Wanderers | 20 | 4 | 4 | 12 | 57 | 63 | 0.905 | 12 | |
| 10 | Mangotsfield | 20 | 3 | 3 | 14 | 17 | 54 | 0.315 | 9 | |
| 11 | St Paul's | 20 | 2 | 2 | 16 | 12 | 60 | 0.200 | 6 | |
| 12 | Cardiff (D) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | Record expunged |
- ^ Clifton had two points deducted for breaching league rules
Western League Division Two edit
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Barton Hill (C) | 18 | 15 | 2 | 1 | 45 | 16 | 2.813 | 32 | |
| 2 | Fishponds | 18 | 11 | 4 | 3 | 33 | 14 | 2.357 | 26 | |
| 3 | St George Reserves | 18 | 11 | 3 | 4 | 52 | 22 | 2.364 | 25 | |
| 4 | Eastville Wanderers | 18 | 10 | 2 | 6 | 34 | 23 | 1.478 | 22 | |
| 5 | Eastville Rovers Reserves | 18 | 8 | 4 | 6 | 43 | 31 | 1.387 | 20 | |
| 6 | Cumberland | 18 | 7 | 3 | 8 | 47 | 35 | 1.343 | 17 | |
| 7 | Staple Hill Reserves | 18 | 7 | 2 | 9 | 34 | 58 | 0.586 | 16 | |
| 8 | Bedminster Reserves | 18 | 6 | 1 | 11 | 35 | 38 | 0.921 | 13 | |
| 9 | Warmley Reserves | 18 | 4 | 1 | 13 | 23 | 29 | 0.793 | 9 | |
| 10 | Clifton Reserves | 18 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 10 | 84 | 0.119 | 0 | |
| 11 | Frenchay (X) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | Record expunged |
Match results edit
Western League edit
Division One edit
| 14 September 1895 1 | Mangotsfield | 0–4 | Eastville Rovers | Mangotsfield |
| Report | Attendance: "Small" |
| 28 September 1895 2 | Eastville Rovers | 7–3 | Trowbridge Town | Ridgeway |
|
Report |
|
Attendance: "Very large" Referee: Mr G. Gay |
| 26 October 1895 3 | Bedminster | 1–3 | Eastville Rovers | Ashton Gate |
Popham  2' |
Report |
|
Stadium: Greenway Bush Ground Attendance: "Small" Referee: Mr G. Gay |
| 9 November 1895 4 | Swindon Wanderers | 1–2 | Eastville Rovers | Swindon |
|
Report |
|
Attendance: 500 Referee: Mr Bloor (Bristol St George) |
| 16 November 1895 5 | Eastville Rovers | 1–2 | Gloucester | Ridgeway |
| Laurie |
Report |
|
Referee: Mr S. Major (Swindon) |
| 23 November 1895 6 | Eastville Rovers | 3–2 | Clifton | Ridgeway |
|
Report |
|
| 30 November 1895 7 | Eastville Rovers | 5–0 | St Paul's | Ridgeway |
|
Report |
| 7 December 1895 Void[α] | Cardiff | 2–3 | Eastville Rovers | Cardiff |
|
Report |
|
| 14 December 1895 8 | Eastville Rovers | 2–1 | Staple Hill | Ridgeway |
|
Report | Rogers |
Attendance: 1000 |
| 21 December 1895 9 | Eastville Rovers | 1–2 | Warmley | Ridgeway |
| Brown |
Report |
|
Attendance: 3000 Referee: Mr J. Bloor |
| 28 December 1895 10 | Clifton | 1–1 | Eastville Rovers | Kingswood |
| Stout |
Report | Unknown scorer 60' |
Stadium: Chequers Ground Referee: Mr J. Bloor |
| 11 January 1896 11 | Eastville Rovers | 2–1 | St George | Ridgeway |
|
Report | Britton |
Attendance: 1500 Referee: Mr Williams (Staple Hill) |
| 1 February 1896 12 | Gloucester | 2–3 | Eastville Rovers | Gloucester |
| F. Fielding (x2) |
Report |
|
Stadium: The Avenue Road Ground Referee: Mr Smith (Swindon) |
| 8 February 1896 13 | Eastville Rovers | 1–2 | Bedminster | Ridgeway |
| Gallier (pen.) |
Report |
|
| 15 February 1896 14 | St Paul's | 0–5 | Eastville Rovers | Bower Ashton |
| Report | Attendance: 300 |
| 22 February 1896 15 | Warmley | 2–0 | Eastville Rovers | Warmley |
|
Report | Attendance: 3000 Referee: Mr F.H. Howard (Swindon) |
| 7 March 1896 16 | St George | 2–1 | Eastville Rovers | St George |
|
Report | Leese |
Attendance: "A big crowd" |
| 21 March 1896 17 | Staple Hill | 0–1 | Eastville Rovers | Staple Hill |
| Report | Gallier 10' |
Stadium: Staple Park Attendance: 800 Referee: Mr Russell (Swindon) |
| 4 April 1896 18 | Trowbridge Town | 0–1 | Eastville Rovers | Trowbridge |
| Report | Brown |
Attendance: 1000 |
| 19 | Eastville Rovers | 5–0 | Mangotsfield | Ridgeway |
| 25 April 1896 20 | Eastville Rovers | 9–0 | Swindon Wanderers | Ridgeway |
|
Report | Attendance: > 1000 |
| 30 April 1896 Test match[β] | Staple Hill | 2–2 | Eastville Rovers | St George |
| 18:30 GMT |
|
Report |
|
Referee: Mr A. Farrant |
Division Two edit
| 21 September 1895 1 | Bedminster Reserves | 3–8 | Eastville Rovers Reserves | Bedminster |
| Report | Stadium: St John's Lane |
| 12 October 1895 2 | Eastville Rovers Reserves | 1–2 | Barton Hill | Unknown |
| Report |
| 9 November 1895 3 | Eastville Rovers Reserves | 1–1 | Fishponds | Ridgeway |
| Report |
| 16 November 1895 Void[γ] | Eastville Rovers Reserves | 5–1 | Cumberland | Unknown |
| Report |
| 14 December 1895 4 | Staple Hill Reserves | 2–3 | Eastville Rovers Reserves | Staple Hill |
| Report |
| 21 December 1895 5 | Warmley Reserves | 5–1 | Eastville Rovers Reserves | Warmley |
| Report |
| 28 December 1895 6 | Eastville Rovers Reserves | 10–1 | Clifton Reserves | Unknown |
| Report |
| 11 January 1896 7 | St George Reserves | 3–2 | Eastville Rovers Reserves | St George |
| Report |
| 18 January 1896 8 | Eastville Rovers Reserves | 3–0 | Clifton Reserves | Unknown |
| Report |
| 1 February 1896 9 | Eastville Rovers Reserves | 0–2 | Barton Hill | Unknown |
| Report |
| 22 February 1896 10 | Eastville Rovers Reserves | 2–1 | Warmley Reserves | Ridgeway |
| Report |
| 7 March 1896 12 | Eastville Rovers Reserves | 2–0 | St George Reserves | Ridgeway |
| Report | Referee: Mr George Gay |
| 14 March 1896 13 | Fishponds | 4–0 | Eastville Rovers Reserves | Fishponds |
| Report | Referee: A. Williams |
| 21 March 1896 14 | Eastville Rovers Reserves | 3–1 | Staple Hill Reserves | Ridgeway |
| Report | Referee: F.G. Matthews |
| 28 March 1896 15 | Eastville Wanderers | 1–1 | Eastville Rovers Reserves | Eastville |
| Report | Stadium: Eastville Park Referee: H.J. Batchelor |
| 4 April 1896 16 | Eastville Rovers Reserves | 1–1 | Eastville Wanderers | Ridgeway |
| Report | Referee: G. Gay |
| 11 April 1896 17 | Eastville Rovers Reserves | 1–1 | Cumberland | Unknown |
| Report | Referee: G. Silman |
The results of the away match against Bedminster Reserves and the remaining game against Cumberland are not known.
FA Cup edit
| 5 October 1895 Preliminary round | Eastville Rovers | 0–2 | Warmley | Ridgeway |
| Report |
|
Attendance: "Large" Referee: Arthur Roston Bourke (London) |
The lineups for Eastville Rovers' first ever game in the FA Cup (referred to at the time as the English Cup) is shown below.[5][6]
| Eastville Rovers | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lewis John (GK, C) | ||||
| R. Horsey | A.N. Oldcrock | |||
| Ross | A. Fowler | H. McBain | ||
| C. Leese | W.T. Thompson | F. Gallier | G. Brown | A. Laurie |
| F. Webley | S. Stone | W. Rooke | H. Wilshire | "Nip" Britton |
| F. Bryant | Phil Britton (C) | L. Wilmot | ||
| G. Britton | F. Reeves | |||
| W. Demery (GK) | ||||
| Warmley | ||||
Gloucestershire Senior Challenge Cup edit
Rovers were runners-up in the Gloucestershire Senior Cup this season, losing out to Warmley in the final which was watched by around 6000 spectators – believed to have been a record attendance for the area at the time. They were narrowly beaten by a single goal to nil by the Warmleyites in a re-match of the 1889 final which Rovers had won by the same scoreline.[7]
Their semi-final victory was marred by the death of Bedminster outside-right Herbert Edward "Teddy" Smith. He was involved in a clash of heads with Rovers' fullback Lovett during the first half when both were attempting to head the ball, Smith receiving a heavy blow to the side of his head. Both men continued playing after initially falling to the ground. When the game resumed for the second half Smith was late re-joining his teammates and play went on without him. When he eventually made it back onto the field he was reported as appearing pale and confused and unable to participate in any meaningful way. A few minutes later he was forced to leave the match after vomiting and was taken to his parents' house in Southville where he lost consciousness in the evening and died early the following morning.[8]
| 25 January 1896 Preliminary round | Eastville Rovers | 4–0 | Bristol South End | Ridgeway |
|
Report | Attendance: 2000 Referee: Mr Magor (Swindon) |
| 29 February 1896 First round | St George | 1–1 | Eastville Rovers | St George |
| Harris 47' |
Report | Ross |
Attendance: 4000 Referee: Mr N. Whittaker |
| 14 March 1896 First round replay | Eastville Rovers | 4–0 | St George | Ridgeway |
|
Report | Attendance: 4000 Referee: Mr N. Whittaker |
| 28 March 1896 Semi-final | Bedminster | 0–1 | Eastville Rovers | Bedminster |
Smith  |
Report | Brown |
Attendance: 4000 Referee: Mr Brodie (Wolverhampton) |
| 6 April 1896 Final | Warmley | 1–0 | Eastville Rovers | St George |
| Bowler |
Report | Stadium: St George Athletic Ground Attendance: 6000 Referee: Mr N. Whittaker |
Friendlies edit
| 7 September 1895 | Eastville Rovers | 3–3 | St Paul's | Ridgeway |
|
Report |
|
Attendance: 300 |
| 21 September 1895 | Eastville Rovers | 2–1 | Warmley | Ridgeway |
|
Report |
|
Attendance: 1500 Referee: Mr J. Bloor |
| 12 October 1895 | Eastville Rovers | 4–0 | Radstock | Ridgeway |
|
Report |
| 19 October 1895 | Bristol South End | 1–1 | Eastville Rovers | Bedminster |
| Jones |
Report | Gallier |
Stadium: St John's Lane Attendance: 2000 |
| 2 November 1895 | Eastville Rovers | 2–4 | Hereford Thistle | Ridgeway |
|
Report |
|
Attendance: Over 2000 Referee: Mr J. R. Riddell |
| 26 December 1895 | St George | 2–1 | Eastville Rovers | St George |
|
Report | Laurie |
Stadium: St George Athletic Ground Attendance: "A fair sprinkling" Referee: Mr G. Gay |
| 4 January 1896 | Eastville Rovers | 3–0 | Bristol South End | Ridgeway |
|
Report | Attendance: 2000 |
| 18 January 1896 | Eastville Rovers | 2–2 | Wycombe Wanderers | Ridgeway |
|
Report |
|
| 11 April 1896 | Bedminster | 2–1 | Eastville Rovers | Bedminster |
|
Report | Gallier |
Attendance: "Poor" |
| 20 April 1896 | Bristol South End | 1–0 | Eastville Rovers | Bedminster |
| Magyer |
Report | Stadium: St John's Lane Attendance: 2000 Referee: Mr J. Bloor |
Notes edit
- ^ The match against Cardiff was expunged from the league records when they were expelled from the league later in the season
- ^ As Eastville Rovers and Staple Hill were tied on points at the end of the season, league rules stated that a playoff must be held to decide which time placed second and which third. The game ended in a draw, leading to them being declared joint runners-up.
- ^ The reserve game against Cumberland was shortened and therefore did not count in the league standings
Statistics edit
- Friendly matches are not included in this section.
| Competition | Home | Away | Total | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | W | D | L | F | A | P | W | D | L | F | A | P | W | D | L | F | A | |
| Western League | 10 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 36 | 13 | 10 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 21 | 9 | 20 | 14 | 1 | 5 | 57 | 22 |
| League playoffs | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| FA Cup | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Gloucestershire Cup | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 2 |
| Total | 13 | 9 | 0 | 4 | 44 | 15 | 14 | 8 | 3 | 3 | 25 | 13 | 27 | 17 | 3 | 7 | 69 | 28 |
Cumulative record edit
The total cumulative record of Eastville Rovers up to the end of the 1895–96 season is shown below. This is calculated by adding the numbers in the section above to the total games played up to the end of the previous season. Friendly matches are not included in this table, and games held at neutral venues are considered to have been played away from home.
| Competition | Home | Away | Total | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | W | D | L | F | A | P | W | D | L | F | A | P | W | D | L | F | A | |
| Western League | 38 | 19 | 7 | 12 | 108 | 69 | 38 | 16 | 3 | 19 | 61 | 72 | 76 | 35 | 10 | 31 | 169 | 141 |
| League playoffs | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| FA Cup | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Gloucestershire Cup | 7 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 16 | 14 | 15 | 9 | 1 | 5 | 24 | 23 | 22 | 11 | 3 | 8 | 40 | 37 |
| Total | 46 | 21 | 9 | 16 | 124 | 85 | 54 | 25 | 5 | 24 | 87 | 97 | 100 | 46 | 14 | 40 | 211 | 182 |
References edit
- ^ "Association Football". Bristol Mercury. 31 August 1895. Retrieved 17 July 2019 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Association Football: Local club prospects". Western Daily Press. 1 September 1894. Retrieved 19 February 2020 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Athletics". Bristol Mercury. 16 September 1895. Retrieved 18 July 2019 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Athletics". Bristol Mercury. 1 May 1896. Retrieved 26 February 2020 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Saturday's Football". Western Daily Press. 7 October 1895. Retrieved 23 July 2019 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Athletics". Bristol Mercury. 7 October 1895. Retrieved 23 July 2019 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Gloucestershire Senior Cup. Final Tie". Bristol Mercury. 7 April 1896. Retrieved 18 December 2019 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Association Player Killed: Sad accident at Bedminster". Bristol Mercury. 30 March 1896. Retrieved 18 December 2019 – via British Newspaper Archive.