Chapter 6 The original investigation

In 1895, the Old Rugbeian Society set up a sub-committee to investigate the origin of Rugby football. They published a report in 1897 which contained in full the most significant letters they received, but did not give details of the questions that were asked. It is however fairly clear that they specifically quoted Bloxam about William Webb Ellis: Gibbs refers to an unspecified quote from Bloxam, and Hughes writes: "The 'Webb Ellis tradition' had not survived to my day."

The following table summarises the various points made to the sub-committee, and for convenience, I have also included Ellis and Bloxam in their chronological positions. Items in brackets represent an inference rather than a direct statement.

It is notable that most of the writers were somewhat vague about the rules in their time. In part this was due to their age, and the time that had elapsed since their days at Rugby; moreover subsequent developments may have confused the issue. However the lack of formality over rules in those early days was undoubtedly a significant factor.

The oldest of all, the Reverend Thomas Harris, was surprisingly confident:-
"Picking up and running with the ball in hand was distinctly forbidden. If a player caught the ball on a rebound from the ground, or from a stroke of the hand, he was allowed to take a few steps so as to give effect to a 'Drop-kick', but no more; subject of course to interruption from adverse players."

He was also the only one to have known WWE:-
"I remember Mr William Webb Ellis perfectly. He was an admirable cricketer, but was generally regarded as inclined to take unfair advantages at Football. I should not quote him in any way as an authority." (Perhaps he was under the impression that WWE himself was claiming to have invented carrying the ball.)

In a second letter he says:-
"As to Mr W Webb Ellis and his practices, you must observe that I was several years his junior, and had not either reasons or opportunities for closely observing his manner of play."

Harris also comments that his brother, John, who left in 1832, agrees with what he has written.

At the other end of the scale, Hughes made an interesting point which illustrates that rules were not as hard and fast as we see them today:-
¤"In my first year, 1834, running with the ball to get a try by touching down within goal was not absolutely forbidden, but a jury of Rugby boys of that day would almost certainly have found a verdict of 'justifiable homicide' if a boy had been killed in running in."

The famous plaque that the Society put up in 1900 is perhaps best regarded as an early example of spin-doctoring. The actual report is much more circumspect in the conclusions it drew:-
"It may, we think, be fairly considered to be proved from the foregoing statements, that in 1820 the form of football in vogue at Rugby was something approximating more closely to Association than to what is known as Rugby football to-day, that at some date between 1820 and 1830 the innovation was introduced of running with the ball, that this was in all probability done in the latter half of 1823 by Mr W Webb Ellis, who is credited by Mr Bloxam with the invention and whose 'unfair practices' were (according to Mr Harris) the subject of general remark at the time. To this we would add that the innovation was regarded as of doubtful legality for some time, and only gradually became accepted as part of the game, but obtained a customary status between 1830 and 1840, and was duly legalized first by Bigside Levee in 1841-42 (as stated by Judge Hughes) and finally by the rules of 1846."

The last part of this, regarding the 1830s, seems unexceptionable. It is however somewhat curious that, despite quoting Mr Harris on WWE's practices, they ignore his clear statement that in his day, running with the ball was forbidden - which means that the practice had not been accepted in 1828. William Webb Ellis left the school in 1825.

* Although correspondents are listed by their year of entering Rugby School, it would have been better to list them by their leaving year, if that were available, since in general, only the senior boys played Bigside. That implies that the information given refers to their final three years or so.

Page updated 15 August 2002 by Peter Shortell