Portsmouth Football Club is a professional association football club based in Portsmouth, England, founded in 1898. Football was first played in Portsmouth from at least the middle of the 19th century, brought to the Victorian era military town, by soldiers, sailors and dockers from other places in England. In Northern England the rules of football were already well established. Portsmouth Association Football Club was an amateur team founded in 1883 by architect Arthur Edward Cogswell. Its most famous player was Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, who played as goalkeeper under the pseudonym "A.C. Smith." The club disbanded in 1896, and Cogswell designed the Pompey public house at Fratton Park. Portsmouth Town was an amateur team before Portsmouth became a city in 1926. They competed in cup competitions, attracted several thousand spectators by 1891, and attempted to become Portsmouth's first professional club, but failed. Royal Artillery (Portsmouth) Football Club was formed by the Portsmouth regiment of the Royal Artillery. Established in 1894, they were notable for their competitive success and support from the local community. The team played home games at the United Services Recreation Ground and achieved significant victories.
The formation and development of these early clubs set the stage for the creation of Portsmouth F.C., officially named the Portsmouth Football and Athletic Company Limited, in 1898. With the backing of local businessmen, the club rapidly advanced, constructing the Fratton Park stadium and achieving entry into the Southern League. Early successes included finishing as runners-up in their first league season. Portsmouth continued to grow and evolve in the early 20th century, gaining a reputation for strong performances in the Southern League. The club was elected to the Football League Third Division in 1920, beginning a steady climb up the tiers. By the late 1920s, Portsmouth had reached the First Division, solidifying its status as a top-tier team. Despite financial challenges, the club maintained competitive performances, including reaching the FA Cup final in 1929 and 1934, although they were defeated both times.
The club’s perseverance paid off when Portsmouth won the FA Cup in 1939, defeating Wolverhampton Wanderers 4-1 in the final. This victory was a significant achievement for the club, which had struggled with financial and competitive challenges throughout the 1930s. Portsmouth's success continued post-World War II, with the team winning the First Division title in consecutive seasons, 1948–49 and 1949–50, under the management of Bob Jackson. These achievements marked the pinnacle of the club's history.
The latter half of the 20th century saw fluctuating fortunes, with periods of financial instability and relegation interspersed with success. The club faced severe financial crises in the 1970s and 1980s, leading to multiple relegations. However, the 2000s brought a resurgence, with Portsmouth winning the FA Cup again in 2008. Despite this success, financial troubles persisted, culminating in administration and relegation from the Premier League in 2010. In 2013, the Pompey Supporters Trust took ownership, stabilizing the club and beginning a new chapter focused on community ownership and sustainability.
Precursor clubs Portsmouth Association Football Club (1883–1896) Portsmouth Association Football Club was an amateur team founded in 1883 by renowned Portsmouth architect, Arthur Edward Cogswell (1858–1934). Portsmouth AFC's most famous player was Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the author of the Sherlock Holmes stories. Arriving in Portsmouth in June 1882, Doyle set up a medical practice at 1 Bush Villas in Elm Grove, Southsea. The practice was initially not very successful. While waiting for patients, Doyle began writing fiction, played cricket and also played as Portsmouth AFC goalkeeper under the pseudonym, "A.C. Smith". Portsmouth AFC were disbanded in 1896. Club founder Arthur Cogswell later went on to design the first buildings at Fratton Park between 1899 and 1905.
Portsmouth Town (?–1891–?) Portsmouth Town were an amateur football team in Portsmouth, using the "Town" name before Portsmouth became a city in 1926. Portsmouth Town were reported in Portsmouth's local newspapers as having competed in cup competitions, and by 1891 and had attracted crowds of "several thousand spectators". The team had also attempted to elevate itself from amateur to professional status - to become Portsmouth's first professional football club - but the efforts failed. When Portsmouth Town were formed, or and how they ended are unclear.
Royal Artillery (Portsmouth) Football Club (1894–1899, 1900–1901)
Royal Artillery (Portsmouth) F.C. were a late Victorian era amateur football team formed by soldiers of the Portsmouth regiment of the Royal Artillery arm of the British Army.
In the 1890s, Portsmouth as well as having an important Royal Navy base, was also an army garrison town. Portsmouth hosted several barracks of the British army within it, including the Royal Artillery. Their officers were based at Cambridge Barracks on the High Street in Old Portsmouth, while the lower ranking men were based at Clarence Barracks (now Portsmouth City Museum). The army kept their men fit with a wide range of sports, most of which were played at the United Services Recreation Ground complex at Burnaby Road, Portsmouth.
Royal Artillery (Portsmouth) F.C. were formed in the autumn of 1894, taking the "one or two" remaining players from the Gosport-based Depot Royal Artillery team, whose team had largely been "drafted away" before the 1894-95 season began and disbanded. Depot Royal Artillery's main local rival had been 15 Company Royal Artillery, who were based at Fort Fareham in Fareham, a rivalry which was revived when Royal Artillery (Portsmouth) took over the role after the Depot team was disbanded.
Royal Artillery Portsmouth's principal members were:
Regimental Sergeant Major Frederick Windrum - Royal Artillery's club treasurer and trainer. Windrum later became a director of Portsmouth F.C. in 1899. Sergeant Richard Bonney - Club secretary. Bonney later became the third Portsmouth F.C. manager in 1905. Sergeant John Hanna - Team captain. Gunner Matt Reilly - Vice-captain and 6'2" tall Irish international goalkeeper. Nicknamed as "Mick", "Ginger" and "Town Hall" (after the tallest building in 1890s Portsmouth). Gunner J. Fletcher - Captain of the reserve team. Gunner Johnny McNeill - Vice-captain of the reserve team.
Royal Artillery Portsmouth's first ever game was a friendly played on Saturday 6 October 1894 on the "Men's Ground" pitch on the western side of the United Services Recreation Ground complex in Burnaby Road, against a team from the nearby Portsmouth Grammar School. Royal Artillery won their first ever match 2-0, with two second half goals scored by Gunner Hill and Sergeant Williams.
Royal Artillery Portsmouth's first competitive match was a first-round Army Cup tie against Royal Marine Artillery, played on Tuesday 23 October 1894, again at the Men's Pitch at Burnaby Road. A single first-half goal scored indirectly from a corner kick by inside-forward Samson/Sampson was enough to give Royal Artillery their first competitive win.
In May 1897, Royal Artillery Portsmouth were denied election into the Southern League, having finished in second place in the 1896-97 Hampshire Senior League behind Cowes F.C. Two months later, Royal Artillery gained a surprise promotion into the Second Division of the 1897–98 Southern Football League, gained by the resignation of Freemantle F.C., a Southampton-based team from the Southern League. Royal Artillery finished their first season in the 1897-98 Southern Football League Division Two in top position and were promoted to Division One for the following 1898-99 season.
Royal Artillery Portsmouth were nicknamed The Gunners, because of their artillery role in the British army. The team name was often abbreviated in the press as R.A. Portsmouth, or Portsmouth R.A.. They were also nicknamed Pompey, the local nickname for the town of Portsmouth. Royal Artillery Portsmouth played their home games at the United Services Recreation Ground complex, near to Portsmouth Town Hall (now Portsmouth Guildhall), within easy earshot of the Town Hall's clock tower bell chimes, which inspired a supporter's chant named The Town Hall Chimes (which later evolved into The Pompey Chimes).
Enthusiasm and support for the Royal Artillery team was high in Portsmouth. Royal Artillery actually played on two alternating home pitches at the United Services Recreation Ground complex, the "Men's Ground" on the western side of Burnaby Road and the "Officer's Ground" to the eastern side, which also hosted Hampshire county cricket games in the summer. The United Services Recreation Ground complex was gradually enlarged to accommodate crowds of up to 8,000 supporters, with stands named "The Railway End", "The Pavilion End" and "Town Hall End".
On Saturday 25 February 1899, in the 1898–99 FA Amateur Cup quarter-finals, Royal Artillery defeated Harwich & Parkeston 1-3 in Dovercourt, Essex. Harwich & Parkeston jealously protested Royal Artillery's win and their supposed "amateur" status, accusing them of actually being professional players. A Football Association enquiry later found that the Royal Artillery players went away for a week's training at The White Lion Hotel in Aldeburgh, Suffolk before the cup-tie. The Royal Artillery players, as British army soldiers, had not individually paid for the hotel and training themselves, the army had - which the FA deemed as "professionalism". The FA Amateur cup committee agreed and Royal Artillery were disqualified from the FA Amateur Cup, and awarded the match victory to Harwich & Parkeston. Royal Artillery appealed the decision at a special FA meeting, but the FA confirmed by a majority that the Royal Artillery disqualification would stand. The law defining amateur and professional players was further amended by the FA. Royal Artillery were publicly seen as either a strong innocent team who were naive victims of unclear rules, or by some, a professional army team who purposely played in a grey area between the definitions of "amateur" and "professional".
After their expulsion from the FA Amateur Cup for "professionalism", Royal Artillery were then forced by the FA to field an entire team of amateur reserves for the remainder of the 1898–99 Southern League season, which resulted in Royal Artillery finishing bottom of the table at the end of the season. Royal Artillery then met Cowes F.C. in a relegation test match play-off. Cowes, from Division Two (South West) of the Southern League, defeated Royal Artillery 4-1, which earned Cowes a promotion to the Southern League Division One. Royal Artillery (Portsmouth) F.C. were then relegated after a single season in the Southern League's top division.
Although the 1898-99 season was now over, and their banned players were reinstated for 1899-1900, it was too late for Royal Artillery. Their best players had moved on, some even discharging from the army to join professional clubs. The operators of their home grounds at Burnaby Road too had also decided to ban football for the next 1899-1900 season, as it had been found that the football played there during 1898-99 had ruined the turf which had affected the later cricket season.
On 29 May 1899, the annual Southern League meeting took place, at the "Rainbow Tavern", 15 Fleet Street, London. Royal Artillery (Portsmouth) F.C.'s future was summed up in a brief single sentence from the minutes of the meeting: "It was noted that Royal Artillery, having been beaten by Cowes in the test match, had retired."
Royal Artillery were more respectfully remembered and rightfully credited for the rise in popularity and enthusiasm of football in the Portsmouth area at the annual meeting of the Portsmouth Football Association in July 1899.