The Birth Of The Blue And Whites.

[Alan75]

When Rovers run out on to Ewood Park on Saturday against Charlton, it will be a milestone in their illustrious history. The 5th November, 130 years to the date that John Lewis and Arthur Constantine called a meeting at the St Leger Hotel in King William Street, Blackburn to form Blackburn Rovers Football Club.

Although the Rovers had began to take shape back in 1868 when wealthy industrialist John Lewis moved to Blackburn from Market Drayton, it wasn’t until Lewis started to discuss his passion for Association Football with a former pupil of Shrewsbury public school, Mr Arthur Constantine, that the thought of Rovers was conceived.

Constantine shared Lewis’s enthusiasm for the game and together they decided to form their own team and called a meeting at the St Leger Hotel in King William Street, Blackburn which took place on 5th November 1875.

At that meeting on the 5th November 1875, when seventeen men attended, a motion to form a club was carried unanimously, resulting in the birth of Blackburn Rovers Football Club.

Happy Birthday for Saturday - Rovers.

[Alan75]

copied from the history section of this site

The public school background of many of those present (even those who had not been to public school had at least been to the local grammar school, meaning this was a meeting of wealthy and educated people) became evident when the strip to for the club to play in was chosen. It was chosen to base the shirt on that of ex-public schoolboy side Old Malverians but to change the green to a Cambridge blue colour as a reference to the old University of many of those present.

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