Suter was a stonemason but he also played football for Partick Thistle and Glasgow Rangers in the Scottish League. He went on to become the first player to admit to being professional.Suter and others like him helped open football up to the working classes by making it a valid career option – the game eventually turned pro in 1885.The English Game starts with an FA Cup quarter-final match between Kinnaird’s Old Etonians and Suter’s Darwen – a recreation of a real game from 1879.All rights reserved. When Liverpool FC was founded, ten Scots were in the team.However everything changed in 1878 when he lost his Glasgow job due to the knock-on effects of a bank’s sudden collapse.He looked south of the border during the 1878/79 season and joined former Partick teammate Jimmy Love at Darwen FC - one of the clubs they played against during their time in Scotland.While that was his day-to-day job, Suter also played football and joined his local club Partick FC, appearing in teams from 1876. Martha was born circa 1862, in Blackburn… I have put a link to your post on Partick People and Whiteinch History both facebook goups. "In an interview with The Lancashire Evening Post, Suter admitted to receiving some form of payment.Despite his brother joining him from Patrick FC in Glasgow, Suter moved to the Blackburn Rovers, where he was offered more money.Darwen FC was dissolved in 2009 and a successor team, AFC Darwen was formed. His brother - familiarly known as Nick Ross... was practically the man who brought Preston North End into notoriety. Fergus Suter (1857–1916), the lone son of David Suter, a journeyman stonemason, and his wife, Catherine (née Cooke), was born at 159 Shamrock Street, Glasgow, on 21 November 1857. The show follows two central characters – both real people who were incredibly important to the birth of professional football.It is a recreation of the true story which led to the beginnings of modern professional football in the late 1800s, and how it became the UK’s national sport.Darwen accused Blackburn of paying Suter to play for them, which was illegal. Suter became one of the most controversial figures in the early game when he moved from Darwen to Blackburn Rovers – a club which still exists today. His bride was a 19-year-old called Martha Almond, the daughter of a cotton mill manager.After retirement from football he entered the pub trade, becoming landlord of Blackburn’s Bay Horse Hotel. The Glaswegian footballer first played for Patrick FC before making the move to Darwen FC and later Blackburn. SKU: suter-fergus-image-1-blackburn-1884 Categories: England & Wales 1890 - 1900, Scotland 1890 - 1900 Tags: Blackburn Rovers, Darwen, Partick Thistle, Rangers. He travelled to London to fight for the Association Cup, but after three attempts his team was beaten.He was best known, however, as one of the strongest supports of the Blackburn Rovers and he played a very fine game.
It was only in the third match that the Old Etonians prevailed, winning 5-2.Suter helped open the door for Scottish footballers to make their name in England, as Andy explains.“Preston North End, who won the first league title, had a team packed full of Scots.”Andy said: “He only worked for a few weeks then played football for money. They joined the West Lancashire League.Darwen went onto become part of the Lancashire League in 1900 and remained as a regional team.However, the drama depicts Suter making the move to Darwen first when in reality this was not the case.As depicted In The English Game, there was controversy over rumours Suter and Love were being paid to play for Darwen.The real Darwen FC existed as a Football League member from 1870 until 1899.They had to make the journey to The Oval in London three times after drawing 5-5 and 2-2, before losing 6-2 in the second replay.“And suddenly they had this weekly excitement of following the game and following their own favourite team and going to the next town and seeing them play.The team was made up of mill workers from the local mill, but the football team was one of the very few working-class teams to exist in the 19th century.Darwen was the first club from northern England to achieve any success in the FA Cup, despite losing 6-2 to The Old Etonians.Darwen really did play in an FA Cup quarter-final match against the Old Etonians in 1879 and Suter and Love really did play in the game.They made the semi-finals of the 1880-81 FA World Cup, losing 4-1 to the Old Carthusians.He said "We had no settled wages but it was understood that we interviewed the treasurer as the occasion arose.