Anybody know the first substitute used in the League of Ireland. Nothing in google.
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Anybody know the first substitute used in the League of Ireland. Nothing in google.
I don't know, but I'm almost certain it'll be early in the 65-6 season, I believe LoI followed the (English) Football League's lead that season
LOI Substitutions
The use of substitutes in friendly games, up to full International level, was common on the continent of Europe from the 1920s. In Ireland’s second international in 1927, and its first at home, the Italian team introduced a substitute after one of their players was injured and had to retire. In 1958 FIFA attempted to regularise the practice when they initiated a rule that permitted the use of an outfield player during the first half of a match and a replacement goalkeeper at any time.
However, few countries had introduced substitution to the competitive arena. One exception was South Africa, which allowed replacement players when professionalism was introduced with the advent of the National Football League in 1959. To ensure that substitutions were made for genuine injury reasons, the replaced player was required to miss the next match.
In England there were regular discussions about the appropriateness of introducing injury substitutes, usually following a major match where one of the teams ended up with ten or less players. In almost every FA Cup final in the second half of the 1950s one of the teams finished a man short as a result of injuries that caused them to leave the field or remain only as a passenger: Jimmy Meadows (1955), Bert Trautmann (1956), Ray Wood (1957), Roy Dwight (1959) and Dave Whelan (1960).
Nonetheless, it was not until August 1965 that the English League introduced substitutes—Keith Peacock (Charlton Athletic) becoming the first-ever substitute used in English Football.
The first LOI substitution.
The use of substitutes was introduced in the League of Ireland in the early 1960s, a full four years before the English League. However, over the first number of seasons the new rule was applied only to subsidiary competitions.
First introduced in 1961-62, it was confined to the opening competitions for the President’s Cup and the Dublin City Cup and was available purely for injury replacements and only usable before half time.
In controversial circumstances, the new rule was availed of for the first time in the opening game of the 1961-62 season, in the President’s Cup match between Drumcondra and St Patrick’s Athletic on August 4th at Dalymount Park.
Early in the game the Drumcondra centre-half Sean Smyth was injured and replaced by Eddie Nesbitt, who very soon after his introduction was himself injured. He was off the field for a spell but after returning was again in trouble and went limping to the sideline.
Meanwhile, the alert Drumcondra management had stripped Tommy Kinsella, signalling their intention to bring him on, and for a moment it seemed that the referee would not allow this second substitution. However a Leinster FA official then arrived in the players’ tunnel and signalled that the substitution was in order—the game was under the aegis of the Leinster Football Association.
FAI Cup substitution.
The substitute rule—allowing an injury replacement up to the 44th minute—was introduced into the FAI Cup for the first time on the occasion of the 1964-65 final between Shamrock Rovers and Limerick. When Amateur International Mike Doyle broke his leg in the 41st minute the rule was called into play and Denis Linnane (Limerick) made history, becoming the first substitute used in the FAI Cup.
For the following season (1965-66) subs were permitted in League games, but Dundalk did not avail of it during its first season. The first occasion that Dundalk availed of the League game rule was on February 5th 1967 at Drogheda, before a record gate of £600 for the venue. Within eight minutes of the start Jim Burke broke his nose and was replaced by Kevin Murray. Jimmy Hasty scored for Drogheda while Dundalk’s 3-1 win opened up a three point gap at the top of the League that paved the way for the ultimate pennant victory.
In June 1967 the International Board permitted the use of two substitutes per team without restrictions. By now the half-time and injury-only restrictions had been lifted and tactical substitutions were becoming the norm.
Jim Murphy with Additional research: Soccer History, Issue 23, Summer 2009.
LOI League …. The first substitution.
The decision to approve substitutes for League games was taken by the League management committee on Thursday Friday 17th 1966, to come into effect on the following Sunday. The decision was taken after a number of injuries earlier in the season, of which the most serious was in December when Drumcondra’s Jimmy Morrissey suffered a broken leg.
The first use of the rule came on Sunday Feb 27th in the Sligo Showgrounds when the visitor’s St Patrick’s centre-forward, Noel Bates, was forced to retire and his substitute was described in the Irish Press report as the “bearded Desmond Downey”. The time of the substitution is listed as "the 21st minute" of the second half.
Cheers Jim.... just on Dundalk's first league sub, according to The History of Dundalk FC by one J Murphy (!) pp 238, Tom Kelledy replaced the injury Masterson during the league game v Sligo at the Marist on 10-4-66? (I guess it could be that Kelledy replaced Masterson before kickoff, but Masterson is in the team lineup)Quote:
Originally Posted by orielabu
Even Homer nods....even the Simpson variety!!