Victorian Sport: Playing by the Rules

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• 1. There are no rules
• 2. A game of two halves
• 3. Laying down the law
• 4. Ashes to ashes
• 5. Word gets around
• 6. Find out more
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There are no rules

Michael Owen doubtless doesn't know it, but he probably owes some of his success as a footballer to the Victorians. Before the 1800s, 'football' was a pretty rough pastime and a man of Michael's size would have been at a distinct disadvantage. Had they existed, the laws of the game would have read something like this: rule one - there are no rules. Bone-crunching tackles were literally that, and there were no referees, blind, biased or otherwise, to offer protection.

In 1602, Sir Richard Carew described the Cornish hurling game, a forerunner of today's field sports, thus:

when the hurling is ended, you shall see them retyring home, as from a pitched battaile, with bloody pates, bones broken, and out of joynt, and such bruses as serve to shorten their daies.

'...football...left men injured and unable to work...'

Luckily for Michael, matters would change. The course of the Victorian period saw a drive towards a more civilised and controlled society. In sport this manifested itself by a desire for rules and regulations, changing the emphasis from manly physical pursuits to moral and spiritual exercises with disciplinary value and a spirit of fair play.

It was a process that was largely driven by the Industrial Revolution. Industry began to dominate the economy and workers moved from field to factory and developed a new-found desire for material wealth. This gave their middle class employers greater control and the chance to dictate how employees should live their lives. A campaign was mounted against violent sports like football which left men injured and unable to work, while working hours were increased to levels previously deemed unacceptable leaving fewer opportunities to play.

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Published: 2001-08-01