The Football World of Crabtree & McGregor, 1901/02

The Football World of Crabtree and McGregor 1901/02

24 remarkable articles. Two pioneers of the game. A unique window into football at the beginning of the twentieth century.

For the first time in football history - The Football World of Crabtree and McGregor 1901/02 brings together an extraordinary collection of twenty-four contemporary football articles, originally published during the 1901/02 season and written by two men who had experienced the development of the professional game from very different perspectives.

Jimmy Crabtree

Jimmy Crabtree was one of the outstanding footballers of his generation. An England international and celebrated Aston Villa player, Crabtree had played alongside and against many of the finest footballers of the Victorian and Edwardian eras.

In his eight articles he looks back upon the great players, matches and personalities he encountered during a distinguished career.

His subjects include the football of his own day, the great Preston North End side of the past, memorable internationals, the science of half-back play, outstanding full-backs and forward lines, historic matches and his thoughts on the future of professionalism.

William McGregor

Alongside Crabtree are sixteen articles by William McGregor, Aston Villa director and the man whose determination and foresight led to the foundation of the Football League in 1888.

McGregor's contribution is particularly fascinating. Here is one of the architects of organised League football writing about the game little more than a decade after the competition he helped create had begun.

Across two series of eight articles, he considers how football had changed, the differences between the English and Scottish games, the Corinthians and Queen's Park, players and spectators, referees and the Laws of the Game, early internationals, junior football, historic FA Cup ties and some of the great players of his time.

Football History – In Their Own Words

These are not modern accounts reconstructed more than a century later.

They are the words of Crabtree and McGregor themselves, written in 1901 and 1902.

For this new edition, every article is placed within its historical setting. Each is introduced by the writer/editor, explaining its background and significance, before the original article is published verbatim.

An editorial summary concludes each article, drawing together its principal themes and providing further historical context for the modern reader.

The result is both an important historical source and a richly illustrated journey into football as it was understood by two men who had actually lived through its transformation.

A Limited-Edition Hardback

The book has been produced as a limited-edition A4 hardback, comprising 142 pages in full colour.

The book includes a ribbon page marker and is illustrated throughout with period imagery and specially created full-colour artwork designed to complement the original writings and recreate something of the football world of 1901/02.

As an additional feature, every purchaser will receive a complimentary period-style A4 football print featuring the club they support.

After ordering, simply confirm your chosen football club by email to World Vintage Colours, and an appropriate complimentary A4 period print will be supplied with your book.

For supporters of Aston Villa, collectors of football history and anyone fascinated by the formative years of the professional game, The Football World of Crabtree and McGregor 1901/02 offers something increasingly difficult to find:

the opportunity to hear football's early history told by the people who were actually there.

Book Specification

Limited-edition hardback
A4 format
142 pages
Full colour throughout
Ribbon page marker
24 original articles reproduced verbatim
Introductions and concluding editorial summaries to every article
Complimentary period-style A4 print of the purchaser's chosen football club

ISBN - 9781838356156

Price

£40.00 plus postage and packing