By Matt Badcock
IT'S not just the FA Cup first round proper kicking off this weekend, as a small corner of east London goes back to 1871 when Upton Park take on Clapham Rovers.
The clubs are etched in the competition's folklore after Clapham's Jarvis Kenrick scored the first ever goal in FA Cup history.
Upton Park have recently been revived and they will take a stroll down memory lane this Sunday.
The game – 1.15pm kick-off – is being played at West Ham Park on the same site of the first FA Cup encounter between the teams. There will be a skills competition for boys and girls, with a special trophy for the winner, before the two sides take each other on to celebrate their heritage.
Chairman Jon Hunter hopes long term they club can deliver top coaching to youngsters and, although in no way in opposition to West Ham United, help fill the gap for locals following the Premier League club's move to the Olympic Stadium.
“I've always loved the FA Cup,” Hunter told The NLP. “I don't think many people had even heard of Upton Park FC. They probably thought it was West Ham United, pre-Thames Ironworks and that was it.
“The more I read about it, the more I realised that's just not true. In fact the football was started at West Ham Park. There were only 16 teams in the FA Cup then. There are stories of how they got Preston North End thrown out of the FA Cup in 1884 because they were paying their players and bringing in professionalism.
“So Upton Park were the bastion of amateurism really and also bringing football together.
“If you love the FA Cup, Upton Park were part of the birth of the FA Cup.”
Although defunct by 1911, Upton Park have a rich history. They won an Olympic gold medal when they represented Great Britain in Paris in 1900 and the champions of Guernsey and Jersey play for the Upton Park Trophy annually.
In the summer, the revived team travelled to Guernsey for a friendly having also played in the last game at the Boleyn Ground against the Royal Engineers.
Manager Billy Jenkins lives on Green Street opposite the old ground and has football in his blood. Grandfather Bill Jenkins was West Ham physio from the mid-1950s to 1966 and treated the likes of Bobby Moore, before dad Bob followed in the same footsteps between 1966 and 1990.
“We're recreating the first game in the FA Cup, virtually on the same pitch,” said Jenkins, who is also in charge Old Foresters and the Arthurian League rep side. “It's nostalgic and exciting. People may look around Newham, Green Street, for another team – we're offering something that can pick up a small element of what was left behind, a bit of the soul, and give something back to this little community.
“We're playing on a park. It might not be top level but it's got a lot of nostalgia and that's significant. It's a nice story that traces back to the roots and will hopefully make people smile.”
*This article originally featured in The @NonLeaguePaper, which is available every Sunday.
