25 September

1869: - Clapham Rovers beat The Wanderers 1-0 in the clubs’ first ever match, despite the Wanderers being one of the most successful clubs of the time.

1904: - Charles Follis became the first black player to play professional football after he signed a contract with Ohio Shelby Blues.

1929: - Joe Bradford scored 5 goals for the Football League against the Irish League at Goodison Park. The Birmingham inside-forward was probably the greatest forward Birmingham ever had as he scored 250 goals in 413 League matches for the club between 1919 and 1935.

1933: - Blackburn Rovers’ inside-left; Tommy McLean and Sheffield Wednesday’s inside-left Harry Burgess came together during the First Division match between the two sides at Ewood Park. The two players however left the pitch before the referee Harry Mee could send them off.

1936: - Hughie Gallacher for the first time in a 15 year career transferred out of the First Division when he transferred from Derby County to Notts County, who were then in the Third Division South. Before the Second World War a total of £23,000 was spent on his transfers which were a record at the time. He moved from Airdrieonians to Newcastle United in 1925 for £6,500, to Chelsea in 1930 for £10,000, to Derby County in 1934 for £3,000. Notts County signed him in 1937 for £2,000 but that moved lasted less than a year when he moved onto Grimsby Town for £1,000. A move to Gateshead followed in 1938 for £500. In his 18 years in the Scottish and English Football Leagues he scored 386 goals in 549 matches.

1963: - Tom Finney came out of retirement to play a European Cup tie for Distillery against SL Benfica. The former Preston North End and England winger inspired the Irish club to a 3-3 draw. However without his influence the club lost the second-leg 5-0.

2006: - Millwall parted company with their manager Nigel Spackman, following five successive defeats, the latest being a 1-0 defeat to Northampton Town on Saturday 23rd September.

2006: - Four Greek football fans were charged with causing a public disturbance following Panathinaikos’ 2-1 win over PAOK Thessaloniki. The rioting started by Panathinaikos fans after the match resulted in 24 cars, 2 buses, and a motorcycle being seriously damaged or destroyed when they attacked them with iron bars and gasoline bombs. 7 people were initially detained inside the stadium for violent behaviour, but three of them were later released without charge.

2006: - The French coach Raymond Domenech called for two referees on the pitch in Ligue 1 matches, after a string of controversial decisions happened in the early part of the 2006-2007 season.

2006: - Gigi Multescu resigned as manager of the Romanian club Vaslui, after picking up only 1 win and 5 points from 9 matches.

2006: - FIFA upheld the 6-month ban to football agent Olivier Jouanneaux, for his part in AS Roma’s Philippe Mexes’ controversial transfer from AJ Auxerre. Jouanneaux was suspended in February 2006 and was fined 50,000 Swiss Francs ($41,000).

2006: - The Uruguayan striker Dario Silva had his right leg amputated, remaining in a serious condition after a car crash. The former Portsmouth and Sevilla striker lost control of the vehicle, which hit a row of street lights. Former Uruguay internationals Elbio Pappa and Dardo Pereira were also in the car only suffering minor injuries.

2006: - Mehdi Mahdavikia of Hamburger SV, was handed a three-match ban and fined €5,000 for violent conduct, after he was sent-off in the 73rd minute of Hamburg’s 1-1 draw with Werder Bremen on 23rd September, following a bad challenge on Diego who left the pitch with a knee injury.

2006: - The Mexican club Necaxa announced Hugo Sanchez as their new manager, while the former Ecuador captain Alex Aguinaga was announced as their new sporting director.