EARLY FOOTBALL GAME

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 208, 18 September 1937, Page 17

EARLY FOOTBALL GAME

A Foreigner's Story I

An extract of a diary kept in 1710 a Swedish student on a visit to England, now published in a Swedish paper, hais an interesting account of a football match played in. Leicester. 4 '1710, July 10, Leicester. — The County town of Leicestershire, rather big and be&utiful. I did not stop here, but only went thxough the town. After "I had left it, I saw an immense crowd of people on one Side of the road; they shouted^ turned, rau, laughed, making it obvious that something was going on. Also, there were a lot of people running about in their shirt-sleeves and with white trousers, though what precisely they were doing I was unable to (see, since I was too far away. "I rode there and saw that they were playing a game which they call fuddboll. It eonsists therein; that since th# town has two parishes, twelve persons (who are to play against one another) are chosen from each parish. '"They play on a long smooth field, and each have a goal; it is just like a cavalier tonrnament. They first meet in the middle of the field, being an equal distance from their goals. Then they have a ball as big as a head and filled ' mside With hair or something else so that it will be light. The ball is thrown up in the air; then each side triee to

kick it into their opponents' goal, the side having won that first kicks it into the goal. "For this they are knubbling (incidentally the writer uses here an English loanword; 'KnubblaJs'), shooting, crowding, and fighting so that they bleed from their noses and mouths, tear the shirts and clothes ofii one another, and the one is deemed the most courageous who finishes the most torn and bruised. A courageous hero was among them who was naked to his hips^ having, no doubt, had to (sacrifice his shirt in order to kick the ball onee. "And the others, sweating and bleeding from nose and mouth, put their hands on their hipg and were breathing hard from their difficult work. But he who could kiek the ball higher than the others was, indeed, proudj then all the people standing round the players shouted a fearful cry of delight, behaved absurdly, thronged and straightening their shoulders, and' let hasai, hasai (the -usual English cry of joy) be heard unto heaven. " After such a successful and well ended fight they go to drink. But I took no part in that joy, but continued on horse-back. Admired, as always before, what a splendid and fine country ip this England. g .