What Is The Origin Of The Club Name Sheffield Wednesday?

Sheffield Wednesday football emerged from 'The Wednesday Cricket Club' based in Sheffield who used to play on Wednesdays, as this was the day when the steel-workers in the team got a half-day and used it to play sports on.

It was decided that a football team was needed to keep up the physical fitness of players during the winter months, when cricket wasn't played. So Sheffield Wednesday was formed on Wednesday 4th September 1867, keeping the theme of Wednesday nights in their name.

It turned out that the team was better at football than they were at cricket and they progressed well enough during their first few years together to attract the attention of Charles Clegg who became the President of Sheffield Wednesday football club for the rest of his life.

During the 1880s, the few devoted cricket players left the club to leave Sheffield Wednesday as a football-only club which turned professional in 1887.