St Helen’s ArchivePreserving the past for the future
1872-1873 Season
Swansea Football Club was formed on 26th September 1872 under the association code, from members of the Swansea Cricket Club. Its first captain was William Randall, a solicitor from Bridgend. The first match (under association rules) was played against Neath on 23rd November 1872. Neither the venue or result are recorded. But a retrospective article written in 1910 by long serving Swansea RFC Committee man James Livingston gives us the Swansea team that day as having been:
William Randall (Captain), Horace Walker, Charlie Chambers, Francis Welch, Fred Meager, Charles Bath, George Ward, Eben Jones, Walter Schenk, Arthur Richardson andBerestone Madge.
Only three matches are known to have been played this season. It is not known under which code those against Llandovery College and Cadoxton Grammar School were played, though both opponents did play under rugby laws by this time. On 27th January 1873 Horace Walker, the incumbent Hon. Secretary resigned his post and it was taken over by Charlie Chambers, a more rugby oriented man. With Randall also soon to depart, Swansea moved away from the association code and sought more opponents in the rugby game.