On November 15th, 1924, Sam Chedgzoy dumbfounded the Goodison crowd by displaying a technique that should really have been illegal – dribbling the ball from a corner. However, it was legal thanks to a vague rule change. Before the 1924/25 season, goals could not be scored directly from a corner. In June 1924, the rule was amended to allow players to score directly from a corner. But the amendment ended up causing loads of controversy and debate.

That day, Everton were playing against Arsenal in front of roughly 20,000 fans. Early in the game, Chedgzoy was in possession of the ball in the wing and, despite encouragement from the crowd to cross it, he hung onto it. He had done the same thing a few times and the ball was always given away. But on one occasion, he won a corner, and proceeded to do one of the most famous (or infamous) dribbles in football history. He kicked the ball 10 yards and ran onto the ball in order to make a cross. Despite the technique being frowned upon by referee Henry Griffiths, he allowed play to continue. Griffiths told Chedgzoy that he couldn’t do that but at half-time, Chedgzoy showed him the rule book and Griffiths accepted it. Chedgzoy did the dribble again and again throughout the game, and opponent Jock Rutherford followed suit. The game ended in a 3-2 defeat for Everton with James Ramsay scoring the winning goal for Arsenal – ironically, from a corner (taken in the usual way.)

It transpired 25 years later in a Liverpool Echo article by Will Cuff published after his death that Sam Chedgzoy was offered £2 by Echo journalist Ernest “Bee” Edwards before the game. Chedgzoy was Bee’s second choice – his first choice was Liverpool left-back Donald McKinlay but, after initially agreeing, he changed his mind and backed out, fearing people would judge him for not playing the game properly. Bee would only pay him the £2 on one condition:

Get the corner in the first 20 minutes if possible as I want to feed my newspaper clients around the country with the full story, and if it arrives after then the wires I send will not reach London, Manchester, Preston, aye, every big town, in time for publication.

After succeeding, Edwards gave Chedgzoy the £2 at half-time.

Coincidentally, the loophole was taken advantage of in another game the same afternoon. In a match between Preston and Nottingham Forest, Preston winger George Harrison (who used to play for Everton with Chedgzoy) did the same as Chedgzoy. It was reported Harrison did it to “follow out an arrangement.” However, unlike Chedgzoy, Harrison was penalised. Referee Charles Lines thought the dribble was illegal and gave Nottingham Forest a free-kick.

This perplexed everyone, but the loophole had been known for a while.

The Scottish Football Association proposed the rule change to permit players to score directly from corners and succeeded. The SFA then had the task to implement the change and modify the rules. But one modification was about to cause furore:

Law 10 – Delete “corner-kick.”

The “corner-kick” was then added to Law 11, and the new rule was thus:

A goal may be scored from a corner kick or from a free kick for an offence under Law 7.

Law 7 was:

When the ball is played behind the goal-line by a player of the opposite side, it shall be kicked off by any one of the players behind whose goal-line it went, within that half of the goal area nearest the point where the ball left the field of play; but if played behind by any one of the side whose goal-line it is, a player of the opposite side shall kick it within one yard of the nearest corner flag-staff. In either case, an opponent shall not be allowed within ten yards of the ball until it is kicked off.

And Law 10 was (before the amendment):

When a free kick has been awarded, the kicker’s opponents shall not approach within ten yards of the ball, until the kick is taken, unless they are standing on their own goal line. The ball must at least be rolled over before it shall be considered played, i.e. it must make a complete circuit or travel the distance of its circumference. The kicker shall not play the ball a second time until it has been played by another player. The kick-off, corner-kick, and goal-kick shall be free kicks within the meaning of this Law.

Players were forbidden to dribble from a free kick. The removal of “corner-kick” meant a corner wasn’t classed as a free kick. Therefore, the new rule meant that players were allowed to dribble from the corner flag as long as they initially kick the ball at least 10 yards.

Confusion about the rule change arose before the season started, but people thought it meant the 10-yard rule was redundant. That was not the case. In September, the possibility of players scoring directly from a corner while dribbling from the corner flag was discussed.

Lancashire Evening Post, 20th September 1924

The Scotsman believed that the “corner-kick” omission was an accident but it wasn’t likely someone would score in that way.

A curious difference of opinion has arisen in “Soccer” circles as to the effect of the removal of the words “corner kick” from the last sentence of Law 10. It has been claimed by Scottish officials that as the result of the alteration, it is permissible for the kicker to dribble the ball up to the goal, if he can, and direct it through. But this was not, I believe, the intention of the framers and there are inferences that it cannot be done.

However, it DID happen.

Lancashire Evening Post, 1st November 1924

The loophole being exposed in the Football League was bound to happen at some point. The dribble was criticised and there were calls for the FA to do something about it.

After some months of somnolence, the Football Association authorities have wakened up to the fact that the framing of the rule relating to the corner kick, was of an ambiguous nature and the International Board will be asked to alter the rule accordingly.

The position was forced at Goodison Park and at Deepdale, where the ball was dribbled from the corner flag, with diverse rulings from the respective referees. Some decision was bound to come sooner or later, for matters had reached a pitch that compelled the attention of the ruling bodies, if they wished to maintain the best interests of the game.

Everton and Liverpool joint programme

It may be that the legislators who framed the new rules whereby a goal may be scored direct from a corner kick had in mind the possibility of the kicker touching the ball more than once before being played by another player. Certainly, the legislators have not provided against it, though my personal view is that a mistake has been made in doing so.

An official ruling on the point is necessary, since the matter has been brought to a head by such distinguished wingmen as Chedgzoy and Rutherford. Referee and other people who should know all there is to know about the rules differ on the question, and the F.A. must take the earliest opportunity of amending the rule. It is certainly much easier for a wing forward to touch the ball nearer goal than to kick from the flag.

The new methods added variety to the tactics employed following a player putting the ball over his own goal line. Rutherford and Chedgzoy are convinced that there is nothing in the rule, as it at present stands, to prevent dribbling the ball into the middle from a corner.

“F. McN.”, Liverpool Daily Courier

Clearly such a state of affairs cannot be allowed to continue. Referees and players “dunno where they are.” The dribble should be banned.

Athletic News

I do not see that there is anything to be gained by this new way. If a man starts to dribble from the corner flag, the opposing side will, of course, place a man to stop him. After all, you can get the ball into the danger zone much more easily in the old way.

Then-Fulham manager Andy Ducat

There is a mistake in the rules, and I do not think it would be in the interest of the game to let a corner kick be dribbled. A corner is awarded for a specific cause, and I do not think a man should be allowed the advantage of dribbling up to the goal.

Referee John Howcroft

Although Sam Chedgzoy supported the rule change.

My dribbled corner kick is a new and good way. After all, a back who concedes a corner can be suspected of sneaking out of a goal, and therefore should be penalised.

Others believed that Chedgzoy exposing the loophole on the pitch was a good thing because this could lead to the rule being amended again to ban the dribble.

Chedgzoy in dribbling the corner kick acted according to the present interpretation of the law on the subject. Hitherto, the corner kick has always been included among the free kicks in the rules, but this season, it is not. We gave no instructions to Chedgzoy, but he is aware of the rule. His action was allowed by the referee, although it is problematical if all referees would agree to it. It may prompt legislation on the matter leading to a definite ruling.

Will Cuff

[Billy] Meredith, the famous old Welsh international player, said in an interview yesterday [17th November] that there was nothing in the rules to prevent it, and he was glad to see it done, for it gave further scope to brains. He supposed that to guard against the man dribbling from the corner, opponents would now place a man, or two men, ten yards from him. But the more men they put to watch him, the more they left their goal open, and the forward should have no difficulty in lifting the ball over the heads of the forwards. By the new method, the corner kick, instead of being practically useless as it has been, would be rendered quite dangerous.

Gloucestershire Echo

Football League president John McKenna was at the Everton-Arsenal game and wasn’t satisfied with the rule change, adding that the corner kick rule will be amended as soon as possible.

It is lawful, but it was never intended that the corner kick should not be a free kick. However, the rules does not make that clear.

My opinion is that the authorities will amend the corner kick rule at the first opportunity. Certainly, something will have to be done, because even the referees themselves seem uncertain on the point. Either it is an infringement of the rule to take the corner kick in this way, or it is not; and the point must be definitely settled. It is true that the opposition can counter to some extent by bringing a man out to mark the player taking the corner kick. That was done in the Everton v Arsenal match on Saturday, and then the kick was taken in the ordinary way, but even when this was done, there was nothing to prevent the player dribbling if he liked. I think that on Saturday, the man who marked was standing too far off.

The point is that advantage is being taken of a looseness in the rule which was never contemplated by those who framed it.

FA secretary Frederick Wall added:

The FA are considering the matter in conjunction with the other national Football Associations, and in due course, some communication will be made.

Whatever was going to happen with the new corner kick rule needed to be done quick because in a match between QPR and Brentford, a goal was scored because of the controversial dribble (though not by the dribbler himself.) QPR’s Bob Bolam dribbled the ball from the corner flag and crossed it into the box. The ball reached Harry Hirst and he subsequently converted and the goal was allowed.

Nearly a couple of weeks after the Chedgzoy corner, the FA released this statement:

At the meeting of the International Football Association Board on June 14th, 1924, the words “corner kick” were inadvertently deleted from the law. At the meeting of the Board, to be held in June 1925, it will be proposed that the words be reinstated.

In the meantime, officials of the game and the players are instructed that the corner kick must be deemed to be a free kick within Law 10, and that the kicker shall not play the ball a second time until it has been played by another player.

The rule was rectified and the dribble was illegal again.

Sam Chedgzoy subsequently spoke about the incident in more detail. In March, he said players were aware of the loophole.

In the summer, the rules were altered so as to permit of a goal being scored direct from a corner kick, but in the alteration of the rule, it seemed that the authorities had omitted to state clearly whether it was permissible for a player to dribble from the corner flag. We players talked about it and thought about it, and on a well-known legislator being asked his opinion, he declared that there was now nothing in the rules to prevent a player taking several kicks in succession when his side had been awarded a corner kick.

A few months later, he added the dribble was done as an experiment.

You will remember that when the corner kick rule was altered the authorities seemed to leave it open for the players taking the corner to dribble. Well, I tried the dribble from the flag as an experiment. The referee in that game allowed me to do so, and I did it a few times. Yet I was criticised for trying it: spectators wanted to see the corner kick taken in the old way. I should not go so far as to say that the dribble from the corner kick which I tried was better than the old straight kick into goal. But surely there could be no harm in giving the new idea a trial.

A tumultuous couple of weeks in football because of one small omission.