Bolton's Christmas Story
Bolton's Christmas Story The Christmas period is a time that should be spent with family, friends, and loved ones; however, that does not mean football stops. Over the years, Bolton have played on Boxing Day and Christmas Day, with the last game on this day coming in 1957 in a 1-1 draw away at Everton. In the post-war era, matches on Christmas Day were very common, and it was only since 1958 that more games were played on the 26th than the 25th. Pre-war England was similar to the current fixture schedule we are used to now. The 12 founding teams of the football league (including Bolton Wanderers) would commonly play on Boxing Day - a day named after the old tradition of rich families 'boxing' up presents for their servants. Boxing day highlights An image taken from the first Derby vs Bolton match, when Bolton scored the first ever football league goal, in 1888. From 1888-1897, Bolton and Derby clashed on Boxing Day all 9 years, with the Wanderers only coming out as winner