Atherstone Ball Game

The Atherstone Ball Game is a "Medieval football" game played annually on Shrove Tuesday in the English town of Atherstone, Warwickshire. The game honors a match played between Leicestershire and Warwickshire in 1199, when teams used a bag of gold as a ball, and which was won by Warwickshire. At one time similar events were held in many towns throughout England, but Atherstone's is now one of at least three such games that are still played each year at Shrovetide, the others being the Royal Shrovetide Football match held in Ashbourne, Derbyshire, and The Alnwick Shrovetide Football Match in Alnwick, Northumberland.[1]

The ball played in the 813th Atherstone Ball game on Shrove Tuesday in 2012.

Overview
Atherstone Conservative Club in Long Street (known as the Connie) is the venue from which the ball is thrown to commence the game

The game is an annual event played in Atherstone each Shrove Tuesday. Shops in the town are boarded up in preparation for its staging, while local children are allowed to leave school early on that day.[2] The two-hour game is played in the town's main street, Long Street, and sees groups of players compete for possession of a giant ball that is specially made for the occasion. The match is usually started at 3.00pm on Shrove Tuesday by a celebrity guest, usually someone associated with the area, who is invited to throw the ball from the upstairs balcony of the Atherstone Conservative Club (known locally as the Connie).[fn 1] The game itself has few rules, two being that play is restricted to Long Street and participants are not allowed to kill anyone. The winner is declared at 5.00pm, the title going to the person who has possession of the ball when the whistle sounds.[1][3][4][5] Ahead of the game itself, sweets and pennies are thrown to local children.[6] The ball is decorated with ribbons before the game, and prizes are also awarded to anyone who gets hold of one, as well as to the person who gets the golden penny, thrown into the crowd shortly before the game commences.[7]

Gameplay can become quite intense as players compete to keep hold of the ball, with clothes torn off and occasional violence.[8][9] The New Zealand Herald has described it as "combining all the best aspects of the UFC, volleyball and Gloucester's famous cheese wheel chase".[10] The event is policed by officers from Warwickshire Police, while members of West Midlands Ambulance Service are on standby to treat any injuries.[8]

Famous people who have started the game include those from the worlds of sport, acting and television. Among those to throw the ball out to the crowd are rugby player Wally Holmes in 1953, actor Sid James in 1963, comedian Jimmy Tarbuck in 1968, comedian Larry Grayson in 1976, former Aston Villa manager Brian Little in 1985 and 2019, footballer Gordon Banks in 1995, television newsreader Llewella Bailey in 2000, and actress Annette Badland in 2017. Singer George Formby was also pictured at the game in 1937.[11][12] The 2020 game had two personalities to launch proceedings, former Coventry City footballers Dave Bennett and Kirk Stephens.[13]

History
A sculpture of the Atherstone Ball Game created by Michael Disley.

The original medieval football game honoured by the annual event was held in Atherstone in 1199, during which teams from Warwickshire and Leicestershire competed, using a bag of gold as a football. This original "Match of Gold", as it became known, was won by Warwickshire. The Ball Game was once one of many such games held in towns throughout England, but is presently one of three that continue to be held over Shrovetide, the other two being the Royal Shrovetide Football match in Ashbourne, Derbyshire, and The Alnwick Shrovetide Football Match in Alnwick, Northumberland.[1][14]

Medieval football matches were more common before the 20th century, but their violent nature led the government of the time to pass the Highway Act 1835 to prevent it being played in the streets, although games continued to take place in Atherstone. In 1901, an attempt by police and local authorities to also have the Atherstone game banned was rejected by parish councillors. Before the 1970s the game was played throughout the town, but was restricted to Long Street because the ball frequently ended up in the Coventry Canal. In 1986, a public meeting was held to determine the game's future after that year's event got out of hand. The outcome of this meeting was the formation of a Ball Game committee, which now has responsibility for organising the event.[1][14] After violence broke out at the 2019 game, committee chairman Rob Bernard suggested those responsible threaten the game's future: "In the past, when things have got out of hand, we've put it out there that the future of the Ball Game is under threat and it calms down a bit the following year...But then it comes back again. It is the nature of it."[8] Following that year's game, a clip of participants fighting received 3.4 million views on Facebook, and a report in the Daily Mirror newspaper claimed that a man's ear had been ripped off during the fracas. However, no such casualties were reported either by police or ambulance officials.[8][10][15]

The 2020 game, held on 25 February of that year, was abandoned around half way through the match when a steward was taken ill, having collapsed from a heart attack at the town's Conservative Club. He was treated at the scene by paramedics from West Midlands Ambulance Service before being airlifted to hospital, where he underwent medical procedures. A JustGiving page was subsequently established to provide financial help for his family.[16][17]

For several years the ball was made by the sportswear manufacturer Webb Ellis. Prior to this Alan Johnson the local Saddler from Market Street was the maker from the 1950s. Following the 2017 game Webb Ellis cancelled their contract to make the ball. As a consequence, Atherstone upholsterer, Pete Smith, was commissioned to produce the ball for the 2018 game. This marked the first occasion the ball had been made in the town since 1982. Smith based his design on an original cardboard template made by local craftsman Brian Brown.[18]

Coverage of the game was first heard on BBC radio in 1934, and footage of it was first shown on television in 1958.[1]

Notes
  1. The Atherstone branch of Barclays Bank was used until its closure in 2019; the Conservative Club was then selected as a replacement venue to start the game, beginning in 2020.
gollark: Abstractness. Or abstraction.
gollark: regl is better.
gollark: You've convinced me, at least, to make MTG a core part of curricula.
gollark: But it's an example of how more rigorous/detailed content and tricky questions are orthogonal.
gollark: Well, yes.

References
  1. Reid, Nick (26 February 2017). "Atherstone Ball Game: The story behind England's ancient sport". Coventry Telegraph. Trinity Mirror. Archived from the original on 7 May 2017. Retrieved 21 May 2017.
  2. "Atherstone Ball Game 2018: What time and where". Birmingham Mail. Trinity Mirror. 12 February 2018. Archived from the original on 12 February 2018. Retrieved 19 January 2020.
  3. Reid, Nick (3 March 2017). "EastEnders star 'honoured' to start 818th Atherstone Ball Game". Tamworth Herald. Local World. Archived from the original on 3 March 2017. Retrieved 21 May 2017.
  4. Rodger, James (9 February 2016). "What is the Atherstone Ball Game? Everything you need to know". Coventry Telegraph. Trinity Mirror. Archived from the original on 24 February 2017. Retrieved 21 May 2017.
  5. Bridge, Bobby (16 January 2020). "New beginning for Atherstone Ball Game". Birmingham Mail. Trinity Mirror. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
  6. "Coventry and Warwickshire Features – Shrove Tuesday in Atherstone". BBC. 28 October 2014. Archived from the original on 7 November 2015. Retrieved 21 May 2017.
  7. Reid, Nick (1 February 2017). "EastEnders star to kick off a 'bigger and better' Atherstone Ball Game". Tamworth Herald. Local World. Retrieved 21 May 2017.
  8. Bridge, Bobby (7 March 2019). "The truth behind those Atherstone Ball Game "ear" claims". Coventry Telegraph. Trinity Mirror. Archived from the original on 1 October 2019. Retrieved 19 January 2020.
  9. Loughnane, Alan (6 March 2019). "There was serious violence and fights during the Atherstone Ball Game this week". Joe.ie. Archived from the original on 7 March 2019. Retrieved 19 January 2020.
  10. "The Atherstone Ball Game is officially the most brutal sport on Earth". NZ Herald. 8 March 2019. Archived from the original on 5 October 2019. Retrieved 19 January 2020.
  11. "Famous faces love the Atherstone Ball Game". Atherstone Biz. 23 February 2017. Retrieved 19 January 2020.
  12. "Former Aston Villa boss to start Atherstone's Ball Game". Coventry Telegraph. Trinity Mirror. 4 March 2019. Archived from the original on 30 August 2019. Retrieved 19 January 2020.
  13. Bridge, Bobby (25 February 2020). "Atherstone Ball Game 2020: Coventry City legends Dave Bennett and Kirk Stephens to launch event". Coventry Telegraph. Trinity Mirror. Retrieved 29 February 2020.
  14. "Atherstone Ball Game 2018: Funky Facts on the ancient contest". Birmingham Mail. Trinity Mirror. 30 January 2018. Retrieved 19 January 2020.
  15. "Rugby Football History". Rugby Football History. Archived from the original on 11 February 2013. Retrieved 21 January 2020.
  16. "Atherstone Ball Game halted after steward taken ill". Coventry Telegraph. Trinity Mirror. 25 February 2020. Retrieved 29 February 2020.
  17. "Fund to support family of 'critically-ill' ball game steward". Coventry Telegraph. Trinity Mirror. 29 February 2020. Retrieved 29 February 2020.
  18. Reid, Nick (11 January 2018). "Atherstone Ball Game 2018: Ball made in town for first time in 36 years". Birmingham Mail. Trinity Mirror. Archived from the original on 4 February 2018. Retrieved 4 February 2018.
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