From early days, pubs were influential in the growth of
sport. The immediate vision that comes to mind is a pub dart tournament but
pubs also nurtured other sports which don’t come to mind as readily. Publicans were
instrumental in promoting the growth of cricket, horse-racing and prize fighting.
In later years pubs were instrumental in the promotion of
football. Before football gained in popularity, many players got their start by
playing for pub teams. With no club facilities, pubs close to grounds were used
as team changing areas. Sponsoring a team was a smart move for a publican as
teams and spectators would need to slake their thirsts win or loose. There were
benefits for the teams and for the publicans in their on-going relationship.
While he ran a pub on Freemasons Road in Canning town, Henry
Booth was associated with the Thames Iron Foundry team. This team became West
Ham United. Was his assistance instrumental in getting the team off the ground?
It is hard to tell. Perhaps their relationship went the same way as other
publican/team associations. As football became commercially viable, the teams
didn’t need the support of publicans or brewers anymore. “With the commercial
possibilities of the game seemingly infinite, instead of football being played
where the drink was, the drink followed the game.”*
Sources
Flanders, Judith. Consuming Passions. Harper Perennial, London, 2007. *p 449
Jennings, Paul. The
Local: A History of the English Pub. Tempus Publishing Limited, Stroud,
Gloucestershire, 2007
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