IN THE beginning, 1874, Thomas Ogden, the schoolmaster at Christ Church, called a meeting of teachers and other young men, and addressed the idea of furthering the game of football within the area, which received plenty of support.

The club's first game was played between Green Lane and Plodder Lane on a field called Smithfield and their first opponents were Farnworth. Matches were played on the Recreation Ground with Christ Church School itself being used as headquarters.

In 1877 the Vicar objected to meetings being held within the school without his presence, and the fact that they had to wander to a nearby hostelry, the Gladstone Hotel, which itself suggested the new name "Bolton Wanderers". Thus on 28 August 1877 the club was formed.

In 1881 Wanderers moved to Pikes Lane where £150 were spent on pitch improvements, where season tickets were priced at 1 guinea. In the same year, the club resisted the suggestion by civic leaders that the name "Wanderers should be dropped in favour of simply "Bolton".

Bolton Wanderers original home 'Pikes Lane'

The Wanderers entered the FA Cup for the first time in 1881/1882 and were knocked out at the second round by local rivals Blackburn Rovers.

In 1883 the club were threatened with expulsion from the Lancashire FA after referee Sam Ormerod was booed off the field at Pikes Lane and then assaulted at the railway station. Fortunately the Association decided not to take any action.

In 1885/86 Bolton won the Lancashire Cup by defeating Blackburn, and also won the Bolton Charity Cup and the Derbyshire Charity Cup, but off the field politics took the headlines. Peter Parkinson resigned as President, and at the annual meeting Billy Struthers was appointed Club Secretary. He showed little inclination for the job and in February 1887 Fitzroy Norris replaced him.

Wanderers team of 1885-86 winners of the Charity Cup, Lancashire Cup and Derby Cup

On 17 April 1888, Bolton Wanderers became one of the twelve to form the Football League. Accrington, Aston Villa, Blackburn Rovers, Burnley, Derby County, Everton, Notts County, Preston North End, Stoke, West Bromwich Albion and Wolverhampton Wanderers were the other clubs chosen for the league.

To complete a fine season in 1890/1891, Wanderers won the County Cup by defeating Darwen 3-1 in the final at Anfield. Goal nets were used for the first time during this season, initially in one half of a friendly at Nottingham Forest in January 1891. At the end of the season Bolton Wanderers were admitted to the Manchester Football Association, becoming the 46th member, and allowing them to compete in the Senior Cup competition.

The last League game in 1893/1894, before the FA Cup Final, was lost 3-2 at Everton and five days later another trip to Goodison was made for the Cup Final. A poor crowd of 23,000 saw the Wanderers freeze on the day and Notts County ran up a 4-0 lead before Cassidy grabbed a consolation goal, as County became the first Second Division side to win the FA Cup.

On 5th October 1894 it was decided that Bolton Wanderers Football & Athletic should be incorporated under the company acts of 1862 and 1890, whereby the liability of each shareholder be limited to the amount of his shares. A capital of £4000 was to be raised and a plot of land at Burnden was to be leased in the sum of £130 per annum.

Burnden Park was completed on August 10 1895 and used for the first time a week later when the club's ninth annual athletic festival was held. A total of 35000 passed through the gates on the Saturday and Bank Holiday Monday, e novelty of the new ground increasing the previous years attendance by 10000.

Football was first played at Burnden Park when the Wanderers took on Preston in a benefit game for full back, Dave Jones, who had captained the club for the previous six years. Three days later 15000 attended the opening League game at Burnden Park against Everton.

In 1898/1899 Wanderers were relegated to the Second Division for the first time and it was Lawrie Bell who scored the club's first ever Second Division goal in a 3-2 win over Loughborough at Leicester, with Loughborough's ground being closed down due to crowd disturbances.

1899/1900 saw Wanderers being promoted back into the First Division, finishing second to champions Sheffield Wednesday, despite Wanderers being awarded 11 penalties throughout the season and missing every one of them!

To assist with the compilation of these history pages, extracts were taken from 'Heroes, Heartbreakers & Headliners', The Official Bolton Wanderers History Book by Simon Marland.

The book is priced at £23.95 and can be purchased from the Club Superstore or online at www.bwfcsuperstore.co.uk