1888 Great Britain Tour
The 1888 Great Britain Tour was a series of association football matches played between a touring team from Canada organized by the Western Football Association, and several clubs from across the British Isles. The Canadian team finished their tour with 9 wins, 5 draws, and 9 losses in 60 days.[1] In 2003, the team was inducted into the Canada Soccer Hall of Fame for their accomplishments.[2]
WFA roster
| Name | Nation | 
|---|---|
| Harry Bewell | |
| Harry P. Bingham | |
| Walter W. Bowman | |
| Solomon Brubacher | |
| Dr. William Burnet | |
| Alexander Noble Garrett | |
| Alex Gibson | |
| Tom Gibson | |
| Dr. Edward Payson Gordon | |
| Fred Killer | |
| Charles (Carl) Kranz | |
| Tom W. Murray | |
| Dr Wilfred Pirt Mustard | |
| Dr. Henry Hempton “Harry” Pirie | |
| Dr. Walter Proudfoot Thomson (c) | |
| E.W. Webster | |
| David Forsyth | 
Results
Statistics
| Competition | First match | Last match | Record | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Win % | |||
| Irish opponents | 1 September | 5 September | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 13 | 7 | +6 | 75.00 | 
| Scottish opponents | 8 September | 18 September | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 12 | −7 | 20.00 | 
| English opponents | 22 September | 30 October | 14 | 5 | 3 | 6 | 21 | 22 | −1 | 35.71 | 
| Total | 23 | 9 | 5 | 9 | 39 | 41 | −2 | 39.13 | ||
Last updated: 30 October 1888
 Source: Matches 
Matches
All match records were retrieved from research done by Colin Jose.[1]
| 1 September 1 |  County Antrim  | 2–6 |   | Belfast, Ireland | 
  |  
  |  
| 3 September 2 |  Distillery  | 2–3 |   | Belfast, Ireland | 
| 4 September 3 |  Clarence  | 2–3 |   | Belfast, Ireland | 
| 5 September 4 |  YMCA  | 1–1 |   | Belfast, Ireland | 
| 8 September 5 |  Rangers  | 1–1 |   | Govan, Scotland | 
  |  
  |  Stadium: Ibrox Park | 
| 11 September 6 |  Queen's Park  | 3–1 |   | Crosshill, Scotland | 
  |  
  |  Stadium: Hampden Park | 
| 13 September 7 |  Ayr  | 4–0 |   | Ayr, Scotland | 
  |  
| 15 September 8 |  Hearts  | 0–3 |   | Edinburgh, Scotland | 
  |  Stadium: Tynecastle Park | 
| 18 September 9 |  Scotland XI  | 4–0 |   | |
  |  ||||
| Note: The Scotland XI were not the national team. They were a team made up of Scottish league players from Cowlairs, Queens Park, Rangers, Renton, and Vale of Leven football clubs. | ||||
| 22 September 10 |  Sunderland  | 0–3 |   | |
  |  
| 26 September 11 |  Middlesbrough  | 2–3 |   | |
  |  
| 29 September 12 |  Lincoln City  | 1–3 |   | |
  |  
| 1 October 13 |  Sheffield  | 1–1 |   | |
| Note: It is unclear which particular Sheffield team played in this match (e.g. Sheffield United, Sheffield Wednesday, etc.). | ||||
| 4 October 14 |  Notts County  | 2–0 |   | Nottingham, England | 
| Stadium: Trent Bridge Ground | 
| 6 October 15 |  Newton Heath  | 0–2 |   | |
  |  
| 8 October 16 |  Blackburn Rovers  | 4–1 |   | |
  |  
| 13 October 17 |  Swifts  | 2–2 |   | |
  |  
| 15 October 18 |  Northampton County  | 2–3 |   | Wellingboro, England | 
| 17 October 19 |  Oxford University  | 1–1 |   | |
  |  
| 20 October 20 |  Old Carthusians  | 1–0 |   | |
  |  
| 22 October 21 |  Aston Villa  | 4–2 |   | |
  |  
  |  
| 27 October 22 |  West Bromwich Albion  | 1–0 |   | |
| ?  |  
| 31 October 23 |  Swifts  | 1–0 |   | London, England | 
| Stadium: Kennington Oval | 
References
- ^ a b Jose, Colin. "Overseas Tours by Canadian Teams: Great Britain Tour, 1888". Canadian Soccer History. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
 - ^ "Teams & Organisations of Distinction". Canada Soccer. Retrieved 5 June 2023.