1895–96 Eastville Rovers F.C. season

The 1895–96 season was the thirteenth to be played by the team now known as Bristol Rovers, and their twelfth playing under the name Eastville Rovers. The first team played their fourth campaign in division one of the Western League (known in previous seasons as the Bristol & District League), while the reserves competed in the second division of the same competition for the third time. The season was notable for Rovers having entered the FA Cup for the first time in their history, and for the first team playing their 100th competitive match.

Eastville Rovers F.C.
1895–96 season
CaptainLewis John
GroundRidgeway Road, Ridgeway, Bristol
Western LeagueJoint runners-up
FA CupPreliminary round
Gloucestershire Senior CupRunners-up
Top goalscorerHoward Gallier (15)

The senior squad finished the season as joint runners-up of the Western League first division after tying for second place in the table with Staple Hill and a playoff match to separate them ended in a draw, while the reserves ended their campaign in fifth place in division two. The first team were also runners-up in the Gloucestershire Senior Cup, losing out in the final to long-time rivals Warmley, but the campaign was marred by the death of an opposing player in their semi-final with Bedminster following a clash of heads.

The club's début in the FA Cup came in the preliminary round and ended in a 2–0 defeat, again to Warmley.

Season review

The 1895–96 season began with the news that Lewis John had been appointed as the new club captain,[1] replacing H. McBain who had been skipper the previous year.[2]

Rovers started the season strongly, winning eight of their first nine games, although one of those victories was later expunged from the record after Cardiff were expelled from the league. Their form trailed off slightly after that, but they ended the season well enough to finish joint second place in the table. The Western League had decided that goal average would no longer be used to split teams tied on points and that a test match would be held to decide the finishing order.[3] A match was duly arranged between Rovers and Staple Hill to determine who would be runners-up, but the game ended in a 2–2 draw, leading to the teams being named joint runners-up.[4]

League tables

Western League Division One
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GAv Pts
1 Warmley (C) 20 16 3 1 65 13 5.000 35 League champions
2 Eastville Rovers 20 14 1 5 57 22 2.591 29 Joint runners-up
3 Staple Hill 20 13 3 4 48 19 2.526 29
4 Trowbridge Town 20 13 1 6 50 31 1.613 27
5 St George 20 10 4 6 47 38 1.237 24
6 Clifton[lower-alpha 1] 20 8 3 9 44 50 0.880 17
7 Gloucester 20 6 4 10 29 42 0.690 16
8 Bedminster 20 6 2 12 36 41 0.878 14
9 Swindon Wanderers 20 4 4 12 57 63 0.905 12
10 Mangotsfield 20 3 3 14 17 54 0.315 9
11 St Paul's 20 2 2 16 12 60 0.200 6
12 Cardiff (D) 0 0 0 0 0 0 — 0 Record expunged
Source:
(C) Champion; (D) Disqualified.
Notes:
  1. Clifton had two points deducted for breaching league rules

Western League Division Two
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GAv Pts
1 Barton Hill (C) 18 15 2 1 45 16 2.813 32
2 Fishponds 18 11 4 3 33 14 2.357 26
3 St George Reserves 18 11 3 4 52 22 2.364 25
4 Eastville Wanderers 18 10 2 6 34 23 1.478 22
5 Eastville Rovers Reserves 18 8 4 6 43 31 1.387 20
6 Cumberland 18 7 3 8 47 35 1.343 17
7 Staple Hill Reserves 18 7 2 9 34 58 0.586 16
8 Bedminster Reserves 18 6 1 11 35 38 0.921 13
9 Warmley Reserves 18 4 1 13 23 29 0.793 9
10 Clifton Reserves 18 0 0 18 10 84 0.119 0
11 Frenchay (X) 0 0 0 0 0 0 — 0 Record expunged
Source:
(C) Champion; (X) Resigned from the league.

Match results

Western League

Division One
14 September 1895 1Mangotsfield0–4Eastville RoversMangotsfield
Report Attendance: "Small"
28 September 1895 2Eastville Rovers7–3Trowbridge TownRidgeway
  • Gallier  (x2)
  • Thompson  (x2)
  • Brown  (x2)
  • Hockin
Report
  • Everett  (x2)
  • Unknown
Attendance: "Very large"
Referee: Mr G. Gay
26 October 1895 3Bedminster1–3Eastville RoversAshton Gate
Popham  2' Report
  • Horsey
  • Thompson
  • Leese
Stadium: Greenway Bush Ground
Attendance: "Small"
Referee: Mr G. Gay
9 November 1895 4Swindon Wanderers1–2Eastville RoversSwindon
  • Potter
  • H. Howard
Report
  • Unknown scorer
  • Leese  90'
 Attendance: 500
Referee: Mr Bloor (Bristol St George)
16 November 1895 5Eastville Rovers1–2GloucesterRidgeway
Laurie Report
  • Scantlebury
  • Fielding
Referee: Mr S. Major (Swindon)
23 November 1895 6Eastville Rovers3–2CliftonRidgeway
  • Leese  (x2)
  • Osborne
Report
  • Stout  (x2)
30 November 1895 7Eastville Rovers5–0St Paul'sRidgeway
 Report
7 December 1895 Void[lower-greek 1]Cardiff2–3Eastville RoversCardiff
  • Farthing
  • Stubbs
Report
  • Ross  (x2)
  • Osborne
14 December 1895 8Eastville Rovers2–1Staple HillRidgeway
  • Brown
  • Leese  55'
Report Rogers Attendance: 1000
21 December 1895 9Eastville Rovers1–2WarmleyRidgeway
Brown Report
  • Wilshire
  • Unknown scorer
Attendance: 3000
Referee: Mr J. Bloor
28 December 1895 10Clifton1–1Eastville RoversKingswood
Stout Report Unknown scorer  60' Stadium: Chequers Ground
Referee: Mr J. Bloor
11 January 1896 11Eastville Rovers2–1St GeorgeRidgeway
  • Ross
  • Brown
Report Britton Attendance: 1500
Referee: Mr Williams (Staple Hill)
1 February 1896 12Gloucester2–3Eastville RoversGloucester
F. Fielding  (x2) Report
  • Thompson
  • Osborne
  • Brown  90'
 Stadium: The Avenue Road Ground
Referee: Mr Smith (Swindon)
8 February 1896 13Eastville Rovers1–2BedminsterRidgeway
Gallier  (pen.) Report
  • Harris
  • Unknown scorer
15 February 1896 14St Paul's0–5Eastville RoversBower Ashton
Report
  • Gallier
  • Leese
  • Hone  (o.g.)
  • Unknown scorer
  • Unknown scorer
Attendance: 300
22 February 1896 15Warmley2–0Eastville RoversWarmley
  • Stone
  • P. Britton
Report Attendance: 3000
Referee: Mr F.H. Howard (Swindon)
7 March 1896 16St George2–1Eastville RoversSt George
  • Coyne
  • G. Harris
Report Leese Attendance: "A big crowd"
21 March 1896 17Staple Hill0–1Eastville RoversStaple Hill
Report Gallier  10' Stadium: Staple Park
Attendance: 800
Referee: Mr Russell (Swindon)
4 April 1896 18Trowbridge Town0–1Eastville RoversTrowbridge
Report Brown Attendance: 1000
19Eastville Rovers5–0MangotsfieldRidgeway
25 April 1896 20Eastville Rovers9–0Swindon WanderersRidgeway
  • Rogers
  • Brown  (x4)
  • Leese  (x3)
  • Horsey
Report Attendance: > 1000
30 April 1896 Test match[lower-greek 2]Staple Hill2–2Eastville RoversSt George
18:30 GMT
  • Britton
  • Unknown scorer
Report
  • Unknown scorer
  • Unknown scorer
Referee: Mr A. Farrant

Division Two
21 September 1895 1Bedminster Reserves3–8Eastville Rovers ReservesBedminster
Report Stadium: St John's Lane
12 October 1895 2Eastville Rovers Reserves1–2Barton HillUnknown
Report
9 November 1895 3Eastville Rovers Reserves1–1FishpondsRidgeway
Report
16 November 1895 Void[lower-greek 3]Eastville Rovers Reserves5–1CumberlandUnknown
Report
14 December 1895 4Staple Hill Reserves2–3Eastville Rovers ReservesStaple Hill
Report
21 December 1895 5Warmley Reserves5–1Eastville Rovers ReservesWarmley
Report
28 December 1895 6Eastville Rovers Reserves10–1Clifton ReservesUnknown
Report
11 January 1896 7St George Reserves3–2Eastville Rovers ReservesSt George
Report
18 January 1896 8Eastville Rovers Reserves3–0Clifton ReservesUnknown
Report
1 February 1896 9Eastville Rovers Reserves0–2Barton HillUnknown
Report
22 February 1896 10Eastville Rovers Reserves2–1Warmley ReservesRidgeway
Report
7 March 1896 12Eastville Rovers Reserves2–0St George ReservesRidgeway
Report Referee: Mr George Gay
14 March 1896 13Fishponds4–0Eastville Rovers ReservesFishponds
Report Referee: A. Williams
21 March 1896 14Eastville Rovers Reserves3–1Staple Hill ReservesRidgeway
Report Referee: F.G. Matthews
28 March 1896 15Eastville Wanderers1–1Eastville Rovers ReservesEastville
Report Stadium: Eastville Park
Referee: H.J. Batchelor
4 April 1896 16Eastville Rovers Reserves1–1Eastville WanderersRidgeway
Report Referee: G. Gay
11 April 1896 17Eastville Rovers Reserves1–1CumberlandUnknown
Report Referee: G. Silman

The results of the away match against Bedminster Reserves and the remaining game against Cumberland are not known.

FA Cup
5 October 1895 Preliminary roundEastville Rovers0–2WarmleyRidgeway
Report
  • Rooke
  • Stone
Attendance: "Large"
Referee: Arthur Roston Bourke (London)

The lineups for Eastville Rovers' first ever game in the FA Cup (referred to at the time as the English Cup) is shown below.[5][6]

Eastville Rovers
Lewis John (GK, C)
R. HorseyA.N. Oldcrock
RossA. FowlerH. McBain
C. LeeseW.T. ThompsonF. GallierG. BrownA. Laurie
F. WebleyS. StoneW. RookeH. Wilshire"Nip" Britton
F. BryantPhil Britton (C)L. Wilmot
G. BrittonF. Reeves
W. Demery (GK)
Warmley
GK = Goalkeeper, C = Captain

Gloucestershire Senior Challenge Cup

Rovers were runners-up in the Gloucestershire Senior Cup this season, losing out to Warmley in the final which was watched by around 6000 spectators – believed to have been a record attendance for the area at the time. They were narrowly beaten by a single goal to nil by the Warmleyites in a re-match of the 1889 final which Rovers had won by the same scoreline.[7]

Their semi-final victory was marred by the death of Bedminster outside-right Herbert Edward "Teddy" Smith. He was involved in a clash of heads with Rovers' fullback Lovett during the first half when both were attempting to head the ball, Smith receiving a heavy blow to the side of his head. Both men continued playing after initially falling to the ground. When the game resumed for the second half Smith was late re-joining his teammates and play went on without him. When he eventually made it back onto the field he was reported as appearing pale and confused and unable to participate in any meaningful way. A few minutes later he was forced to leave the match after vomiting and was taken to his parents' house in Southville where he lost consciousness in the evening and died early the following morning.[8]

25 January 1896 Preliminary roundEastville Rovers4–0Bristol South EndRidgeway
  • Osborne  (x2)
  • Brown
  • Leese
Report Attendance: 2000
Referee: Mr Magor (Swindon)
29 February 1896 First roundSt George1–1Eastville RoversSt George
Harris  47' Report Ross Attendance: 4000
Referee: Mr N. Whittaker
14 March 1896 First round replayEastville Rovers4–0St GeorgeRidgeway
  • Osborne  (x2)
  • Thompson  (x2)
 Report Attendance: 4000
Referee: Mr N. Whittaker
28 March 1896 Semi-finalBedminster0–1Eastville RoversBedminster
Smith Report Brown Attendance: 4000
Referee: Mr Brodie (Wolverhampton)
6 April 1896 FinalWarmley1–0Eastville RoversSt George
Bowler Report Stadium: St George Athletic Ground
Attendance: 6000
Referee: Mr N. Whittaker

Friendlies
7 September 1895 Eastville Rovers3–3St Paul'sRidgeway
 Report
  • Pook
  • Stone  (o.g.)
  • Unknown
Attendance: 300
21 September 1895 Eastville Rovers2–1WarmleyRidgeway
  • Griffiths  10'
  • Thompson  85'
 Report
  • Bryant
Attendance: 1500
Referee: Mr J. Bloor
12 October 1895 Eastville Rovers4–0RadstockRidgeway
 Report
19 October 1895 Bristol South End1–1Eastville RoversBedminster
Jones Report Gallier Stadium: St John's Lane
Attendance: 2000
2 November 1895 Eastville Rovers2–4Hereford ThistleRidgeway
  • Leese
  • Thompson
Report
  • Sharpe  (x2)
  • Crump  (x2)
 Attendance: Over 2000
Referee: Mr J. R. Riddell
26 December 1895 St George2–1Eastville RoversSt George
  • W. Harris
  • Luther
  • Unknown scorer
Report Laurie Stadium: St George Athletic Ground
Attendance: "A fair sprinkling"
Referee: Mr G. Gay
4 January 1896 Eastville Rovers3–0Bristol South EndRidgeway
 Report Attendance: 2000
18 January 1896 Eastville Rovers2–2Wycombe WanderersRidgeway
 Report
  • Unknown scorer
  • Unknown scorer
11 April 1896 Bedminster2–1Eastville RoversBedminster
  • Marsh
  • Burland
Report Gallier Attendance: "Poor"
20 April 1896 Bristol South End1–0Eastville RoversBedminster
Magyer Report Stadium: St John's Lane
Attendance: 2000
Referee: Mr J. Bloor

Notes
  1. The match against Cardiff was expunged from the league records when they were expelled from the league later in the season
  2. As Eastville Rovers and Staple Hill were tied on points at the end of the season, league rules stated that a playoff must be held to decide which time placed second and which third. The game ended in a draw, leading to them being declared joint runners-up.
  3. The reserve game against Cumberland was shortened and therefore did not count in the league standings

Statistics
Friendly matches are not included in this section.
Match record
CompetitionHomeAwayTotal
PWDLFA PWDLFA PWDLFA
Western League 107033613 10712219 2014155722
League playoffs 000000 101022 101022
FA Cup 100102 000000 100102
Gloucestershire Cup 220080 311122 5311102
Total 139044415 148332513 2717376928

Cumulative record

The total cumulative record of Eastville Rovers up to the end of the 1895–96 season is shown below. This is calculated by adding the numbers in the section above to the total games played up to the end of the previous season. Friendly matches are not included in this table, and games held at neutral venues are considered to have been played away from home.

Match record
CompetitionHomeAwayTotal
PWDLFA PWDLFA PWDLFA
Western League 381971210869 38163196172 76351031169141
League playoffs 000000 101022 101022
FA Cup 100102 000000 100102
Gloucestershire Cup 72231614 159152423 2211384037
Total 462191612485 54255248797 100461440211182

References
  1. "Association Football". Bristol Mercury. 31 August 1895. Retrieved 17 July 2019 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  2. "Association Football: Local club prospects". Western Daily Press. 1 September 1894. Retrieved 19 February 2020 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  3. "Athletics". Bristol Mercury. 16 September 1895. Retrieved 18 July 2019 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  4. "Athletics". Bristol Mercury. 1 May 1896. Retrieved 26 February 2020 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  5. "Saturday's Football". Western Daily Press. 7 October 1895. Retrieved 23 July 2019 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  6. "Athletics". Bristol Mercury. 7 October 1895. Retrieved 23 July 2019 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  7. "Gloucestershire Senior Cup. Final Tie". Bristol Mercury. 7 April 1896. Retrieved 18 December 2019 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  8. "Association Player Killed: Sad accident at Bedminster". Bristol Mercury. 30 March 1896. Retrieved 18 December 2019 – via British Newspaper Archive.
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