January 30 (1882)

The St. Louis Globe-Democrat reports “a splendid gathering . . . notwithstanding the cold weather” for a football match at Sportsman’s Park the day before between the Hornets and “Capt. Mike Walsh’s eleven.” The Hornets have only nine players and lose, 1-0. The prize for the winners is “a foot ball . . . offered by Manager Cuthbert,” according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. According to The Globe-Democrat, “Nally, the crack runner . . . made the winning ‘kick-in.’” (No first name is given for Nally.) The Globe-Democrat adds that the match is the first of three for the Hornets, and that “next Sunday, the Hornets will have their full team out, when they expect to make up for yesterday’s defeat.” The Hornets will come up short in their next match on Feb. 5, tying the Hurleys, 1-1, before a reported 1,000 fans at Sportsman’s Park. The events are typical of soccer played in St. Louis until the founding of the first league in October 1884. Before the league, teams played one-off games when challenged by other teams, or as part of daylong sports festivals featuring events such as cricket, hurling and foot races.