In a city where the world of sport begins and ends with either cricket or tennis, the buzz around football with the Indian Super League (ISL) matches is a refreshing trend.
However, history suggests that the city was not always so conservative in the choice of sports it nurtured.
At the cusp of the 20 century, football and its sister sport of rugby football were quite the rage in the city.
A hundred and twenty years ago, in 1894, the city saw its first football tournament with as many as 10 teams across the country participating. By 1895, the sporting event organised by the Madras Gymkhana Club, had become an annual affair, with the champion winning the EK Chetty Cup.
Madras, interestingly, was also where rugby football was introduced to British India as a whole. In 1871, during the visit of H.M.S. Galatea to the subcontinent, a scratch match or two was played in Calcutta and Madras.
However, according to The Hindu’s archives, the people of the city were provided with the opportunity to witness a full-fledged rugby match only two decades on, on December 24, 1892. The match played on the Gymkhana Grounds between the Gymkhana team and that of the Madras Officers lasted a full thirty minutes, with one goal and two attempts made to score.
The unfamiliar rules of the game often left the crowds in the stands immensely tickled.
By 1926, however, the game no longer invited ridicule. In October, an ambitious All India Quadrangle Rugby Tournament was organised by the Madras Gymkhana. Calcutta, Bombay, Ceylon and Madras were pitched to compete along with teams from the Welsh Regiment, Lancashire Fussiliers, Planters of Southern India and a mofussil side. With a huge attendance, the finals saw a tough fight between the Calcutta and Madras teams, with the latter beaten by a narrow margin in a nail-biting finish.
