1601 to 1725 in sports

1601 to 1725 in sports describes the period's events in world sport.

Sport increasingly popular in England during this period. Boxing is revived and village cricket develops in the 17th century with the interest of gamblers giving rise to the introduction of professionalism. The first attempts to organise football take place.

Bandy

Events

• A game that is recognisable as modern bandy is played in Russia by the early 18th century, although the rules in use differ from those devised in England in the 1880s. In Russia, bandy is known as "hockey with a ball" or simply "Russian hockey". The game becomes popular among the nobility with the royal court of Peter I the Great playing bandy on Saint Petersburg's frozen Neva river. Russians play bandy with sticks made out of juniper wood, later adopting skates.

Boxing

Events

• 1681 — the ancient sport of pugilism resurfaces in England during the late 17th century in the form of bare-knuckle boxing, also known as prizefighting; the first documented account of a bare-knuckle fight is published in the London Protestant Mercury
• 1719 — James Figg is declared the first bare-knuckle boxing champion of England.
• 1720–23 — James Figg defeats challengers Timothy Buck, Tom Stokes, Bill Flanders and Chris Clarkson to retain the Championship of England, all the fights taking place in London.
• 1724 — James Figg is defeated by Ned Sutton at Gravesend, details of the fight being lost.
• 31 May 1725 — Ned Sutton loses his Championship of England title in a rematch with James Figg in London. Figg will retain the title until his retirement in 1730.

Chess

• Having been firmly established in Spain and Italy during the 15th and 16th centuries, chess becomes increasingly fashionable in France which, by the 18th century, is the main centre of European chess.

Cotswold Games

Robert Dover's Olimpick Games are held in the Cotswolds from c.1604 to 1612

Cricket

Events

• c.1610 — teams representing "the Weald" and "the Downs" play the world's earliest known organised cricket match at Chevening in Kent
• 1611 to 1660 — numerous court cases concerning cricket
• 10 September 1624 — death of Jasper Vinall (born c. 1590), the first cricketer known to have died as a result of an injury received when playing the game
• Village cricket thrives in the middle period of the 17th century, but there is no evidence of teams of county strength being formed at this time
• c.1660 — in the wake of the English Restoration, the popularity of cricket as a gambling sport encourages investment and patronage; the introduction of professional players and the formation of teams representative of multiple parishes, possibly whole counties, mark the beginning of an evolution from the level of village cricket towards a major standard
• 1695 — Parliament decides against a renewal of the 1662 Licensing Act and so clears the way for a free press on the Act's expiry in 1696; it is from this time that cricket matters can be reported in the newspapers
• 7 July 1697 — the Foreign Post reports a "A Great Match in Sussex" played for fifty guineas, the earliest known record of a significant match
• 29 June 1709 — Kent v Surrey, the earliest known inter-county match and, therefore, the world's oldest cricket fixture
• 1721 — mariners of the British East India Company are reported to be playing cricket at Cambay in India
• 1720s — Charles Lennox, 2nd Duke of Richmond becomes a significant patron of cricket

Curling

Events

• 1620 — the word "curling" first appears in print at Perth in the preface and the verses of a poem by Henry Adamson
• 1716 — Kilsyth Curling Club is formally constituted and now claims to have been the first club in the world

Football

Events

• 1602 — Richard Carew describes the game of "hurling to goals" played in eastern Cornwall in his "Survey of Cornwall". The game has the earliest described rules requiring equal numbers, no playing of the ball on the ground, and banning the forward pass, with similarities to the modern game of Rugby football.

Ireland

• In the 17th century, football games grow in popularity and are widely played. This is due to the patronage of the gentry who are serving as patrons of the games. Games are organised between landlords with each team comprising 20 or more tenants and attracting wagers with purses of up to 100 guineas.
• 1670 — the earliest record of a recognised precursor to modern football dates from a match in County Meath in which catching and kicking the ball is permitted.
• 1695 — "foot-ball" is banned by the severe Sunday Observance Act, which imposes a fine of one shilling (a substantial amount at the time) for those caught playing sports on the Sabbath. But it proves difficult, if not impossible, for the authorities to enforce the Act.
• 1712 — the earliest recorded inter-county match in Ireland is at Slane between teams from County Louth and County Meath.

Golf

Events

• 1603 — James VI of Scotland appoints Edinburgh bowmaker William Mayne as royal club-maker for his lifetime

Horse racing

Events

• 1605 — Newmarket becomes known as the home of horse racing in England after its discovery by James I whilst out hawking or riding; the region has a long association with horses going back to the time of Boadicea and the Iceni
• 1634 — by this time, spring and autumn race meetings have been introduced at Newmarket and the first Gold Cup event is held in 1634
• 1654 — all horse racing is banned by Oliver Cromwell and many horses are requisitioned by the state
• 1664 — following the Restoration, racing flourishes and Charles II institutes the Newmarket Town Plate, writing the rules himself:

Articles ordered by His Majestie to be observed by all persons that put in horses to ride for the Plate, the new round heat at Newmarket set out on the first day of October, 1664, in the 16th year of our Sovereign Lord King Charles II, which Plate is to be rid for yearly, the second Thursday in October for ever.

• 1711 — Queen Anne keeps a large string of racehorses and is instrumental in the organisation of racing at the village of East Cote, now known as Ascot, near Windsor Castle. She founds Royal Ascot where one of the main events each year is still called the Queen Anne Stakes.

Lacrosse

Events

• 15th–19th century — Native Americans play lacrosse to resolve conflicts, heal the sick, give thanks to the Creator and train for war in modern day Canada and the United States.
• 1636 — Jean de Brébeuf, a French Jesuit missionary, watches a Huron game of lacrosse in what is now Ontario, and he notices that the sticks look like a bishop's crosier or "la crosse" in French.

Rowing

Events

• 1716 — the first race for the right to wear Doggett's Coat and Badge is held among the professional watermen in London. The course runs four miles and five furlongs (7443 m) from London Bridge to Chelsea and is established as an annual event continuing into the 21st century.