Welcome back to It Was What It Was, the football history podcast. In this second part of our two-part special on football hooliganism, co-hosts Jonathan Wilson and Rob Draper trace the roots of football violence from the 1890s through to its transformation into organised ‘firms’ in the 1960s, 70s and 80s. They discuss the origins of the word ‘hooligan’, early crowd disorder and FA crackdowns, and how post-war prosperity, youth subcultures, away travel and ‘taking ends’ helped create a new kind of fan conflict. The episode also covers the European and England-team flashpoints of the 1970s and 80s, the political and policing response to the Popplewell Report, with later links to post-Hillsborough reforms and why large-scale hooliganism declined.
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01:39 Where the Word ‘Hooligan’ Comes From (1890s London)
04:03 Football Fever: Mass Crowds and Class Anxiety
12:17 What Early ‘Hooliganism’ Looked Like: Pitch Invasions & Crowd Control
17:43 Players Under Attack
20:25 Fan-on-Fan Violence Emerges & the Rise of Away Travel
22:08 Cup Finals, ‘Football Specials’ & Patronising Press Panic
27:27 Post-War: The 60s–70s Gangs Are Coming
29:02 Teddy Boys, Rock ’n’ Roll Panics & Mods vs Rockers
31:02 Merseyside: Away Travel & the Rise of Chanting
36:53 Taking Ends: Territory, Undercover Trouble & the New ‘Game’
41:58 Europe & England Abroad: From Paris 1975 to Euro 1980
44:00 1980s Casuals, Designer Gear & Firms Arranging Fights
48:43 1985: Luton–Millwall, Heysel, Thatcher & the Popplewell Report
51:28 Aftermath: CCTV, ID Schemes & Taylor Report
53:50 Global Legacy: Ultras, Copycat Firms & Why Football Identity Endures