Origins
Celebrating 120 years of the Grecians – The St Sidwell’s United Story

13. The first professional association football match in
Exeter
As St Sidwell’s United’s first season drew to a close, association football lovers in the city decided to further stimulate the growing interest in the game. A meeting was held on 1 March 1902 at Exeter Guildhall to consider ‘securing the services of a couple of first-class teams for an exhibition match at Exeter at the end of the present season’. A motion to this effect proposed by Norman Kendall was passed unanimously and a committee set up to progress matters. Fred Harvey– more about him in the next issue –was on
the committee; and so too was Reg Davey of the old Exeter Association club, who were the first association team to play at St James Park. A series of professional clubs were approached including Southampton, Tottenham Hotspur and Aston Villa. In the end it was Division 2 winners West Bromwich Albion and fellow second tier Woolwich Arsenal who agreed to visit with the game arranged at the County Ground, a rugby venue, on Saturday 28 April. It was a good thing Southampton had stalled on playing: they were in action in the FA Cup Final replay on the same day.

The lead up to this ‘grand exhibition association football match’ – the first-ever professional game to be played in Exeter – was full of excitement. The Evening Post dubbed the game the
‘Sporting event of the Coronation year’. One correspondent said that the visiting teams ‘will illuminate the native mind as to the science and skill of the soccer game’. And they added:
‘Considering the novelty, I should say the attendance will be a large one.’ The railways played their part. The Great Western Railway ran specials from all parts of Devon, while the South Western Railway’s ‘cheap excursion tickets’ included departures from Yeovil, Ilfracombe and Plymouth. the predictions were right. Around 6000 crammed into the ground paying 6d to stand and 2/6d for a reserved seat. And for the benefit of the many ‘Rugbeians’ present, newspaper had printed out some of the ‘chief points of the game’ as these spectators were bound to be ‘confused in watching the movements’.                                                                                                                                                                  But before the pros, there was a prelude which featured the ‘popular’ St Sidwell’s United. As champions of the Exeter Junior League, they faced a side made up of players from other
Junior League clubs. The Gazette described the game as ‘rather uninteresting’ and said it was ‘spoilt, to a great
extent, by the high wind’. The Western Times countered by saying that it was a ‘rather interesting game’. By common consent St Sidwell’s were not at their best and the League
team won 1-0. It was only the fourth defeat of the season for the green and whites.

And so to the main event which West Brom won 1-0. There were again differing reactions in the local press. The Western Times described it as ‘disappointing in its lifelessness’ while the Gazette enthused about an ‘exceedingly clever’ match. Their verdict was that ‘no one who saw it could fail to have been pleased with the sight’. Association football in Exeter had reached a new level, and the County Ground had secured
another piece of sporting history.