The Persistence of Mob Football
An early example
The Persistence of Mob Football
I learned very recently that the old medieval sport of “mob football” still exists in certain places. For example, the Royal Shrovetide Football Match is still played on Shrove Tuesday and Ash Wednesday in Ashbourne, Derbyshire.
It’s amazing that this sport has continued to survive over the centuries, especially when you consider the efforts that were made to stamp it out.
The relationship between the annual mob football match and the more organized games that were eventually played in the schools is pretty obvious. This illustration from 1846 gives you an idea of the chaotic nature of the sport, as well as its obvious relation to rugby:
And it was the violence of the sport that made it so controversial. In the Highway Act of 1835, playing football on public highways in England and Wales was forbidden — which, in theory, should have meant the death of the sport:
It’s pretty obvious from the language of this Act that public football tended to block the roadways and cause all sorts of problems.
That’s why it’s interesting to note this 1872 account of a prosecution against the public playing of football in onne other than Ashborne:
It’s interesting to note that this article itself comments on how long it had been since a mob football case had appeared in the newspaper. This also sounds like one of the greatest traditional matches of all, since both sides had to worry not only about the other team, but also about interference from the police.
I guess this goes to show just how powerful tradition can be. Even the evolution of this ancient game into its modern form hasn’t been enough to completely get rid of the old practice. Not even the arm of the law could end it.