hooligan

[manrow]

Where does the phrase, "football is a gentleman's game played by hooligans" come from?

[Octavius]

Oscar Wilde said that football is a game for gentlemen played by barbarians.

The phrase referred to above was:

Football - A game for gentlemen played by hooligans.
Rugby - A game for hooligans played by gentlemen.
--"The Wonderful World of Rugby" by Jon Clarke

[Quizmonster]

I did have a glance at a couple of quotation websites, Andy - since I didn't know offhand - but failed to find a specific source. I thought it sounded vaguely Wildean, O, but then decided that he probably had never had even the remotest interest in either game! So, I just abandoned it, in the knowledge that someone would come along with an answer. Cheers

[Peri]

And Gaelic Football is a game for hooligans played by hooligans - not my opinion thats the way we finish that saying over in ireland octavius.

[Peter Pedant]

my guess is a recycled Oscar quote -

Remember when Whistler commented, i wish I had said that!Oscar replied ; you will! you will!

 

PP

[maxi29]

Other way round, PP. It was Wilde who said "I wish I'd said that" and Whistler who said "You will"

As for the original question, I've turned up �Rugby is a beastly game played by gentlemen. Soccer is a gentlemen�s game playedby beasts� by Henry Blaha (whoever he was).

[manrow]

I have had a response from am American friend who says the original quotation was about American football, and reads as follows with the brackets inserted by me, as were not there in the first instance:-

Henry Blaha�s maxim runs:-

�rugby is a beastly game played by gentlemen; soccer is a gentlemen�s game played by beasts.�

The full quotation actually goes on to say �and (American) football is a beastly game played by beasts� 1972.