{"id":180,"date":"2008-03-03T15:36:41","date_gmt":"2008-03-03T15:36:41","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2015-11-06T20:23:17","modified_gmt":"2015-11-07T02:23:17","slug":"soccer-hooliganism-in-england-between-the-wars","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thesportjournal.org\/article\/soccer-hooliganism-in-england-between-the-wars\/","title":{"rendered":"Soccer Hooliganism in England Between the Wars"},"content":{"rendered":"
Submitted by: Gerald Griggs<\/div>\n

Hooliganism has long been associated with soccer in England and has been
\na common occurrence from the late nineteenth century onwards. Yet following
\nthe end of the First World War, incidents of crowd disorder appeared to
\nfall resulting in a period of calm and orderly behavior up until the
\nSecond World War. The purpose of this study is to focus upon the inter-war
\nperiod, examining the theories proposed that explain the apparent calm
\namongst the spectators of English soccer.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

INTRODUCTION<\/h2>\n

Prior to the introduction of the organized and professional game in the
\nlatter half of the nineteenth century, English soccer had been something
\nof a savage affair, involving large unruly mobs indulging in mass violence.
\nAlthough the codification of soccer and the establishment of the Football
\nAssociation (FA) in 1863 brought a sense of order to the game, crowd disorder
\nremained prevalent throughout the late nineteenth and early twentieth
\ncentury. However, following the end of the First World War in 1918, incidents
\nof crowd disorder and hooliganism appeared to fall, resulting in a period
\nof calm and orderly behavior right up until the Second World War in 1939
\n(Dunning et al., 1993). Post-war Britain once again witnessed crowd trouble
\nwith the re-emergence of disorder, which was to continue until the present
\nday (Sleap, 1998).<\/p>\n

The intention of this paper is to therefore focus upon the inter-war
\nperiod, examining the theories proposed that explain the apparent calm
\namongst the spectators of English soccer. First, issues relating to the
\nsocial composition of the crowd will be discussed. This will be followed
\nby considering how crowd disorder was reported upon by both official and
\nmedia sources. Lastly, consideration will be given to how unruly behavior
\nwas dealt with by the different parties concerned.<\/p>\n

SOCIAL COMPOSITION OF THE CROWD<\/h2>\n

The incorporation of the working class into mainstream respectable society
\nhas been offered by Figurational Sociologists as a significant reason
\nwhy soccer spectators behaved in a more civilized way between the wars
\n(Dunning et al., 1988, Maguire 1986, Murphy et al., 1990). The idea is
\nposited that the working class between the wars wished to convey to higher
\nclass members of society (and presumably show each other) that they could
\ncollectively interact at a large social gathering without disorder being
\ncreated. Maguire (1986) points out that the FA actually believed that
\nsoccer was especially capable of achieving civilized and orderly behavior
\namong the working classes, particularly in difficult social climates.
\nDuring the General Strike of 1926 for instance, the “FA committee
\nargued that the playing of soccer would prove helpful in the present unsettled
\ncondition of industrial affairs of the country” (Maguire, 1986, p.
\n230).<\/p>\n

In respect to the class structure, another main theme that becomes apparent,
\nis the idea that soccer spectatorship was becoming increasingly respectable
\nas a result of the re-emergence of the middle classes attending soccer
\nmatches. Both Walvin (1986) and Mason (1979), in particular, refer to
\nmixed classes being apparent at soccer matches during the inter-war period.
\nThese are significant observations, as before the First World War, middle
\nclass men would mostly watch rugby during the traditional soccer season
\n(Lowerson, 1995). The appearance of women at soccer matches also indicates
\ntoo that crowds were becoming more middle class (Hayward, 1995). Evidence
\nindicates that the women present would most likely have been middle class,
\nas during the inter-war period, working class women did not spend their
\nlimited leisure time at sporting occasions (Jones, 1992).<\/p>\n

Although little else can be derived from the specific composition of
\ninter-war crowds, not least because of the lack of recorded data (Holt,
\n1990), it is possible to consider how spectators were organized. In respect
\nof where and how a soccer fan would spectate, a factor that became more
\nevident in the 1920s and 1930s was not so much the social class of an
\nindividual but their ability to pay. What resulted according to Bale (1993)
\nwas the first case of physical segregation determined by prices, with
\nseating and shelter demanding a higher price. Hargreaves (1986) suggests
\nthat such segregation was a necessary demarcation of social position that
\nexisted as much within classes as between them. It is argued that the
\nvisible social hierarchy which was evident in the later part of the nineteenth
\ncentury within soccer, needed to be re-established, particularly by the
\n‘petit bourgeois’ in order that their new found social status be acknowledged.
\nWhether the new fashion of segregation somehow pacified and ordered the
\ncrowd would be a contentious suggestion but Hutchinson (1982) certainly
\nconsiders that such physical features as turnstiles and fences helped
\nto control such large numbers.<\/p>\n

THE REPORTING OF CROWD DISORDER<\/h2>\n

In examining how incidents of crowd disorder were reported between the
\nwars most research concerns itself with the examination of FA minutes
\nand press reports. During the inter-war period, FA records show a marked
\nfall in hooliganism (Dunning et al., 1988). Between 1921 and 1939 there
\nwere a total of seventy one incidents of crowd misconduct recorded by
\nthe FA (an average of just under four per season). Moreover, between 1930
\nand 1934 there were merely five cases, none of which resulted in ground
\nclosure (ground closure was a common punishment by the FA after violence
\nat matches). In total there were in fact eight ground closures in the
\ntwenty years after the First World War, whereas there is evidence to suggest
\nthat there could have been as many as forty six in the twenty years preceding
\nit. Post-war statistics again show recorded incidents rising steadily,
\nup to as many as twenty five cases per season (Dunning et al., 1988, p.
\n134). It can be assumed perhaps, that the FA took a softer line on crowd
\ndisorder during the inter-war period, again perhaps in a bid to make soccer
\nappear more respectable, given the poor reputation it was trying to shed.
\nHowever, it must be said that the incidents recorded are ‘sketchy’ at
\nbest (Dunning et al., 1988).<\/p>\n

According to Murphy et al. (1990) the press too under reported incidents
\nof crowd disorder between the wars, though this was less to do with becoming
\nmore civilized but more to do with the new commercial pressures being
\nplaced upon editors. As the 1920s and 1930s heralded a new era of consumption
\nand consumerism, advertising became an increasingly significant means
\nof revenue for newspapers. As a result, headlines and print grew in size
\nand more photographs were included. As Murphy et al. (1990, p. 110) point
\nout “under the twin constraints of lessened space and the emerging,
\ncompetition-induced desire for a more attractive presentation, editors
\nseem to have become more sensitive to the issue of ‘newsworthiness’ and
\nthe need for selectivity”. Therefore, given that soccer hooliganism
\nwas not seen to be a social problem at that time, it would therefore have
\nbeen deemed to hold little or no interest to a newspaper reader.<\/p>\n

DEALING WITH UNRULY behavior<\/h2>\n

According to Williams et al. (1991), at a time of soaring attendances
\nthe “patterns of spectating of the period were indicative of considerably
\nmore self policing and internal discipline within soccer crowds compared
\nwith those of twenty years or more later and, indeed, those in the early
\nyears of the century” (Williams et al., 1991, p. 164).<\/p>\n

This is supported by Maguire (1986) who makes reference to a number of
\nFA minutes recorded in the 1920s which indicate that ‘respectable’ people
\nshould exercise self control and aid in the controlling of fellow spectators,
\nallowing what was agreed upon, to be ‘permissible’. Maguire (1986, p.
\n230) suggests that “attempts to promote self regulation and increasing
\nagreement over what was considered permissible may well have reflected
\nthe continuing successful endeavours of the middle classes to impose their
\nvalues on society as a whole”.<\/p>\n

When self regulation failed however, the police themselves restored law
\nand order, with Walvin (1986) indicating that stricter and more rigorous
\npolicing methods were employed during the inter-war period. This raises
\na number of interesting questions. First, were the police reacting to
\nan apparently more uncontrollable crowd? Secondly, did the implementation
\nof such strategies represent a shift in police policies during the inter-war
\nperiod? Thirdly, did the action taken during this period in fact result
\nin there being less spectator disorder?<\/p>\n

Although, as mentioned in the introduction that crowd disorder always
\nexisted there is little evidence to suggest that the police were unduly
\nconcerned. Hooliganism was not the social phenomenon that it later became.
\nHowever, it would be reasonable to suggest that more effective methods
\nof general crowd control indicated by Walvin (1986) were probably more
\nto do with personal safety than outbreaks of violence. Whether or not
\nthe action taken by the police in any way quieted crowd disturbances is
\nquestionable, though they may have contributed through their presence,
\nas relations between the police and the public were considered to be at
\nthere most harmonious during the inter-war period (Reiner, 1985).<\/p>\n

Relations between the fans and the club itself between 1919 and 1939
\nwere also considered to be closer than they had ever been. Taylor (1971)
\nproposes that this is based upon the perceptions of the sub culture of
\nthe working class that would be most likely to create trouble. His theory
\nof \u00a0 ‘Participatory Democracy’ details that “in the inter-war
\nyears, the illusion persisted that power – over the future of the club
\nand particularly over the possibility of victory was distributed between
\nmanagement, directors, players and the sub culture, all of whom were seen
\nas standing in some kind of unambiguous relationship to the working class
\nof the area as a whole” (Taylor, 1971, p. 362). It must be remembered
\nhowever that those that administered the club were markedly middle class
\nand had only the watching of soccer in common with the working class on
\nthe terraces. After the Second World War, as soccer became more professional
\nand affluent (Bourgeoisification), more overt and frequent hooliganism
\nresulted, which was considered a working class reaction to not being consulted
\nover the new direction of soccer (Taylor, 1971).<\/p>\n

Clarke (1978) too believes that the subsequent professionalisation, along
\nwith the transformation of the social situation experienced by young working
\nclass people, together resulted in the breaking of ties between members
\nof the same family or community which were strong amongst the pre-war
\nworking class. Consequently as Clarke (1978, p. 25) points out “working
\nclass boys before the Second World War typically went to soccer with their
\nfathers, uncles, older brothers or neighbours; in that context, their
\nbehavior was subject to relatively effective control”. Working class
\nyouth, the most likely group to engage in hooliganism, were therefore
\neffectively babysat for most, if not all of the inter-war period. It was
\nonly later in the century when they went to matches in gangs with their
\npeers that control from elders ceased to be exercised effectively.<\/p>\n

CONCLUSION<\/h2>\n

In summary, after examining the theories proposed that explain the apparent
\ncalm amongst the spectators of English soccer during the inter-war period,
\nit would appear to be somewhat na\u00efve to suggest that one overriding
\nidea could be held accountable. An interplay and evolution of a great
\nnumber of social factors such as Clarke’s (1978) idea of the ‘family on
\nthe terrace’, coupled with a general willingness to implement more effective
\nregulation by all parties concerned, would seem to offer a more plausible
\nbut less clear cut explanation.<\/p>\n

BIBLIOGRAPHY<\/h2>\n
    \n
  1. Bale, J. (1993) \u00a0 Sport, Space and the City. London: Routledge.<\/li>\n
  2. Clarke, J. (1978) Football and Working Class Fans: Tradition and Change.
    \nIn Ingham, R. (Ed.) Football Hooliganism. London: Inter-Action.<\/li>\n
  3. Dunning, E., Murphy, P., Willaims, J. (1988) The Roots of Football
    \nHooliganism. London: Routledge.<\/li>\n
  4. Dunning, E., Maguire, J., Pearton, R. (Eds.) (1993) The Sports Process.
    \nLeeds: Human Kinetics.<\/li>\n
  5. Hargreaves, J. (1986) Sport, Power and Culture. Cambridge: Polity
    \nPress.<\/li>\n
  6. Hayward, T. (1995) Women and Football Factsheet: A History of Female
    \nFootball Fans. Leicester: Leicester University.<\/li>\n
  7. Holt, R. (1990) Sport and the British. Oxford: Clarendon Press.<\/li>\n
  8. Hutchinson, J. (1982) The Football Industry. Glasgow: RD.<\/li>\n
  9. Jones, S (1992) Sport, Politics and the Working Class. Manchester:
    \nManchester University Press.<\/li>\n
  10. Lowerson, J. (1995) Sport and the English Middle Classes 1870 – 1914.
    \nManchester: Manchester University Press.<\/li>\n
  11. Maguire, J. (1986) ‘The Emergence of Football Spectating as a Social
    \nProblem 1880 – 1985: A Figurational and Developmental Perspective’.
    \nSociology of Sport Journal, Volume 3, (pp.217-244).<\/li>\n
  12. Mason, A. (1979) Association football and English Society 1863 – 1915.
    \nSussex: Harvester Press.<\/li>\n
  13. Murphy, P., Williams, J., Dunning, E. (1990) Football on Trial. London:
    \nRoutledge.<\/li>\n
  14. Reiner, R. (1985) The Politics of the Police. Brighton: Wheatsheaf.<\/li>\n
  15. Sleap, M. (1998) Social Issues in Sport. London: Macmillan.<\/li>\n
  16. Taylor, I. (1971) Football Mad: A Speculative Sociology of Football
    \nHooliganism. \u00a0 In Dunning, E. (Ed.) The Sociology of Sport. London:
    \nFrank Cass & Co.<\/li>\n
  17. Walvin, J. (1986) Football and the Decline of Britain. London: Macmillan.<\/li>\n
  18. Williams, J., Wagg, S. (1991) British Football and Social Change.
    \nLeicester: \u00a0 Leicester University Press.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
    Submitted by: Gerald Griggs<\/div>\n

    Hooliganism has long been associated with soccer in England and has been
    \n a common occurrence from the late nineteenth century onwards. Yet following
    \n the end of the First World War, incidents of crowd disorder appeared to
    \n fall resulting in a period of calm and orderly behavior up until the
    \n Second World War. The purpose of this study is to focus upon the inter-war
    \n period, examining the theories proposed that explain the apparent calm
    \n amongst the spectators of English soccer.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_options":[]},"categories":[290,291,296],"tags":[60,8,23,62],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4btio-2U","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":37,"url":"https:\/\/thesportjournal.org\/article\/menaces-to-management-a-developmental-view-of-british-soccer-hooligans\/","url_meta":{"origin":180,"position":0},"title":"Menaces to Management: A Developmental View of British Soccer Hooligans, 1961-1986","date":"February 11, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Submitted by: A.J. Haley, Ph.D. and Brian S. Johnson Abstract: In their longitudinal examination of local and national newspaper reports of soccer hooliganism in Britain Dunning, E., Murphy, P. J. and Williams, J. 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