Historic FA Cup win at Ilkeston
ROCHDALE embark upon their annual FA Cup adventure tomorrow at Maidstone United on the anniversary of a groundbreaking day in the club’s history few are likely to remember.
The event occurred in a first-round clash some 65 years ago to November 1951, when Dale celebrated victory at Ilkeston. It was a fairly innocuous cup win for the team from a higher division – yet the tie marked an important first for football.
Trevor Jones, Chairman of the Rochdale & District Sunday Football League travelled to Ilkeston that day as an eager eightyear-old.
It was the first time in Ilkeston had ever made it to the first round proper of the competition and it proved not only significant for the two clubs but for the English game as a whole – the first time a white football was used!
“The Football Association offered teams the opportunity to play with a white ball for the first time, which Ilkeston accepted. I went to the game and I was only a young lad,” recalls Trevor.
“It was a real dank, misty, dirty, horrible November day and you could hardly see from one end of the pitch to the other.
“Ilkeston were putting a bit of pressure on, there were no floodlights and only one white ball. But the ball got kicked out of the ground and got lodged in a tree! I remember a young lad tied a couple of props together to try and get the ball down.”
Rochdale were 2-0 up with most of the game already played when this happened. A standard brown leather ball was then thrown onto the pitch to continue the match but the ball couldn’t be seen due to the conditions, and the fans thought the game had been abandoned.
The referee then called time on the match as it was getting dark and there no floodlights, Dale progressing to the next round.
“Ilkeston Town’s badge was a tree, but because of this match they adapted it and thereafter it had a white dot, which was the ball stuck in the tree. It was the first ever game to be played with a white ball and it got stuck. It was Ilkeston’s logo for years and years.”
The crest was later changed to a robin, but in 2010 the club was liquidated and a new club, Ilkeston FC was formed in its place.
Rochdale will be hoping for a similar result this weekend – with or without the assistance of any nearby trees!
‘It was the first game to be played with a white ball and it got stuck’