Performing a search for cricket in our oldest British Newspaper Archive publications (the Archive’s earliest pages run from 1699) it is possible to discover the fascinating history of the enduringly popular sport. In this special blog we will look at cricket’s early association with royalty, its emergence as a gambling sport, and its inevitable explosion in popularity. Kentish Gazette | 23 June 1773 An early and passionate advocate for the sport was Prince Frederick of Wales, father of George III, who …
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The first recorded mention of women’s cricket was in 1745, in Surrey. We searched our Archive for early mentions of women’s cricket, and we came across a treasure trove of articles describing the early history of the sport. Harrow versus Pinner | Graphic | 18 August 1888 One of these comes from the Sherborne Mercury, published in August 1849. It describes a match between ‘nine married ladies’ and ‘nine single ladies’ played at Picket Post, in the New Forest. The single ladies …
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This week we are delighted to welcome a bumper crop of new and updated titles to The Archive, with 163,404 new pages added. We have seven brand new titles added this week, covering both England and Scotland. We have three new London publications joining us – the Harrow Midweek, the Middlesex Gazette and the Middlesex Independent – as well as one Scottish title (the Northern Ensign & Weekly Gazette) and one new Essex title (the Essex Guardian). We are also delighted to welcome two specialist sporting titles …
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This week we have added 57,277 new pages to The Archive. We are excited to welcome specialist sporting title – the Football Post (Nottingham) – to our collection, with 1069 issues added so far. We now have thirteen specialist sporting newspapers available to search – you can find a comprehensive list of sporting newspapers here, as well as hints and tips for using The Archive for sporting research here. We have also updated five of our existing titles, including three of our …
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The British Newspaper Archive is the perfect research tool for discovering the history of your favourite sports team or delving into the origins of your local club or venue. Register today! Sport is one of the most searched topics on the site and it’s easy to see why. From historical match fixtures and results, through to news articles and photographs of history’s most iconic sporting moments, the depth and breadth of knowledge the Archive can offer is truly endless. How to search Start by going …
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Sports news is a staple of any newspaper. And you will find sports news in all of our newspapers. We also have 22 titles dedicated specifically to sport. Whether your interests run to cricket, horse racing, athletics, or football we have the newspaper for you! We have sporting titles from England, Ireland, and Scotland dating from 1823 to 1979. Each sports title has its own title page. Title pages give you details about the history of the title and our …
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Throughout the month of June, The British Newspaper Archive is celebrating its numerous sporting titles. Today, we are taking a look at some of the sporting headlines from the newspapers during the month of June regarding tennis, racing, and cricket. According to the Illustrated London News, which published an extensive feature about sports as part of its 100th-anniversary edition, since the turn of the century, sports have become an international spectacle and a global passion. Throughout our lives, …
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We were fascinated by this news story about Harold Mahony, who won the men’s singles at Wimbledon in 1896. Born in Edinburgh in 1869 (we think the 1867 in the news story is a typo), Mahony was twice a semi-finalist at Wimbledon in 1891 and 1892, before finally winning the championship in 1896. As he was born to Irish parents (from Dublin), Mahony was clearly a mix of Scottishness and Irishness – so Ireland might claim him as an Irish …
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Congratulations to Andy Murray! Today, Murray became the first man from the UK to win Wimbledon since Fred Perry’s victory in 1936. To celebrate Andy Murray’s wonderful performance and historic achievement, here are some historical newspaper reports on Fred Perry’s victory at Wimbledon in 1936. Dundee Courier | 4 July 1936 Derby Daily Telegraph | 3 July 1936 Read some of the other historical newspaper stories about Wimbledon that we’ve been posting on the blog.
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We’ve been reading stories about the history of Wimbledon in The Archive, and have found some terrific newspaper reports. Here’s an article about the arrival of the electronic scoreboard on Centre Court in 1929, published in the Derby Daily Telegraph. Derby Daily Telegraph | 21 June 1929 1929 Ladies’ Wimbledon Final | Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News | 13 July 1929 Read some of the other historical newspaper stories about Wimbledon that we’ve been posting on the blog. Derby Daily Telegraph – Friday 21 June …