58 Fun Facts About Crystal Palace

Which group of summer sportsmen set up the original amateur Crystal Palace football club in Victorian times?

The local cricketers of the Crystal Palace Cricket Club started the football side, and seven of its members helped to found the Football Association in 1863.

Why did the Crystal Palace Company want a professional football club at its ground in 1905?

To draw regular paying crowds: Cup finals had shown the ground could fill, but the FA would not let the final's hosts own a team, so a separate club was formed.

Palace's founding secretary Edmund Goodman came from which club, a founder member of the Football League?

Aston Villa offered Palace one of their assistant secretaries to set the new club up; Goodman recruited its first chairman, then managed the team for 18 years.

How did Edmund Goodman find Palace's first chairman, Sydney Bourne?

By checking records of FA Cup final ticket buyers, Goodman found that Sydney Bourne was a regular purchaser; Bourne was elected chairman at the first meeting and served until he died in 1930.

Which FA Cup holders did Southern League Palace beat 4-2 in January 1909?

Wolves, the 1908 Cup winners, drew 2-2 at home and lost the replay 4-2; no FA Cup holders fell to a non-league side again until Palace themselves did in 2026.

Which group plotted to destroy the grandstands at the Crystal Palace before the 1913 FA Cup final?

The suffragettes never carried the plot out, but in the same month their arson campaign burned down Kent's cricket pavilion at Tunbridge Wells.

Palace were forced out of the Crystal Palace ground in 1915 when it was requisitioned by whom?

The Admiralty turned the Crystal Palace into a naval training depot, HMS Victory VI; Palace moved to Herne Hill, then to the Nest once Croydon Common folded.

What did Palace achieve by winning the Third Division in 1920-21?

A title as League newcomers: the Third Division was created in 1920 from the Southern League's top flight, and Palace won it by five points to go straight up.

Which renowned stadium architect designed Selhurst Park, which opened in 1924?

Archibald Leitch, who also built stands at Craven Cottage and Stamford Bridge, drew up the ground, but strikes left it unfinished when The Wednesday won the opening game 1-0.

In April 1962 Palace hosted a friendly that was which Spanish club's first ever match in London?

Real Madrid came to mark the opening of Selhurst Park's new floodlights and won 4-3, two weeks before playing in the European Cup final.

Which club did Palace thrash 5-0 at Selhurst Park in December 1972, months before being relegated?

Manchester United sacked manager Frank O'Farrell three days after the 5-0 defeat, but Palace still went down that spring, ending their first top-flight spell.

Malcolm Allison changed Palace's nickname from 'The Glaziers' to 'The Eagles', inspired by which Portuguese club?

Benfica are nicknamed the Eagles and still send a live one circling their stadium before home games; Allison wanted to shake off the club's homely image.

Palace's red and blue vertical stripes, adopted under Malcolm Allison, were inspired by which club?

Barcelona's blaugrana stripes were Allison's model; the centenary season of 2005-06 briefly revived a claret, blue and white design before the stripes returned.

What did referee Ron Challis order in a 1976 Cup replay between Palace and Brighton?

A successful penalty to be retaken: Brian Horton's second kick was saved, Palace won 1-0, and Brighton manager Alan Mullery was fined £100 for his gestures at the Palace fans.

The young Palace side that won the Second Division in 1979 was dubbed what by the media?

'The Team of the Eighties' tag followed FA Youth Cup wins in 1977 and 1978; they briefly topped the First Division in autumn 1979 but were relegated within two years.

Which Palace substitute scored twice in the 3-3 1990 FA Cup final?

Ian Wright, back from a broken leg, scored minutes after coming on and again in extra time; Palace still lost the replay 1-0.

Why did third-placed Palace miss out on Europe in 1991?

England had only one UEFA Cup place because the ban after Heysel had left the country unranked, and it went to the runners-up once their own ban was lifted early.

Palace won the 1991 Full Members Cup 4-1 after extra time at Wembley against which club?

Everton equalised to force extra time, then conceded three goals in it in what sponsors styled the Zenith Data Systems Cup.

Which club stayed up on goal difference at Palace's expense in 1992-93?

Oldham Athletic won 4-3 on the final day while Palace lost theirs, leaving both on 49 points and Palace down on goal difference.

What was Eric Cantona's original sentence for his 1995 flying kick at a Palace fan at Selhurst Park?

Magistrates gave Cantona 'Two weeks in jail' in March 1995 for common assault; on appeal it became 120 hours of community service, and fan Matthew Simmons was convicted of threatening behaviour.

Palace lost the 1996 play-off final 2-1 to a last-minute extra-time goal by which Leicester player?

Steve Claridge scored in the last minute of extra time with penalties seconds away; a year later Palace went up with a 90th-minute winner of their own against Sheffield United.

Which recruitment tycoon bought Palace in June 1998 and took them into administration within a year?

Mark Goldberg, who had made his money in IT recruitment, bought the club but not the ground; Palace went into administration in March 1999 with debts of £22 million.

Whose 87th-minute winner at Stockport on the last day of 2000-01 saved Palace from relegation?

Dougie Freedman's late goal at Edgeley Park sent Huddersfield down instead; he later managed Palace from 2011 to 2012 before leaving for Bolton.

Which manager tried to quit Palace for Birmingham City early in the 2001-02 season and was put on gardening leave?

Steve Bruce, appointed in summer 2001, was placed on gardening leave when he tried to join Birmingham in November; once released, he was replaced by his Birmingham predecessor Trevor Francis.

Iain Dowie's Palace won the 2004 play-off final 1-0 against which club?

West Ham United lost to Neil Shipperley's goal at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff; Palace went down on the last day of the next season after drawing at Charlton.

Which teenager did Palace sell to Wigan after entering administration in 2010?

Victor Moses went for £2.5 million within a week; the ten-point deduction that came with administration turned a play-off push into a fight against relegation.

What did the CPFC 2010 consortium secure from Lloyds Bank after a fan campaign?

The freehold of Selhurst Park was won back after hundreds of fans protested outside the bank's London headquarters as a liquidation deadline loomed in June 2010.

Which club did Palace beat 1-0 in the 2013 play-off final to return to the Premier League?

Watford lost to Kevin Phillips' extra-time penalty at Wembley on 27 May 2013, sending Palace back to the Premier League after an eight-year absence.

Which manager kept Palace up in 2013-14, then left two days before the next season began?

Tony Pulis was named Premier League manager of the season for the escape, then left two days before the opener; Warnock returned briefly before Pardew took over.

Which Dutchman did Palace sack in 2017 after four league games without a goal?

Frank de Boer lasted 77 days; Roy Hodgson replaced him and took a side without a point or a goal to an eleventh-place finish.

Which of Palace's four England players at Euro 2024 had only joined the club that February?

Adam Wharton arrived from the Championship on 1 February 2024 and was in the England squad four months later; no club supplied more of that squad than Palace's four.

Who scored the only goal of the 2025 FA Cup final as Palace beat Manchester City?

Eberechi Eze volleyed in Daniel Muñoz's cross after 16 minutes, and Palace then survived a saved penalty to win the first major trophy in their history.

Why were Palace demoted from the 2025-26 Europa League to the Conference League?

UEFA ruled that 'Shareholder John Textor also owned Lyon', breaching multi-club ownership rules at the March 2025 assessment date; CAS upheld the demotion in August 2025 and Nottingham Forest took the Europa League place.

Which NFL owner bought a 43 per cent stake in Palace in 2025?

Woody Johnson, who owns the New York Jets, paid a reported 190 million pounds; he said he came to admire Palace while ambassador in London from 2017 to 2021.

Which goalkeeper saved two penalties in the shoot-out as Palace won the 2025 Community Shield?

Dean Henderson saved from Alexis Mac Allister and Harvey Elliott after Mohamed Salah had fired over, and Justin Devenny struck the winning kick against the league champions.

Who scored Palace's first ever European goal, against Fredrikstad in August 2025?

Jean-Philippe Mateta headed in Will Hughes' shot early in the second half for a 1-0 first-leg win at Selhurst Park; a 0-0 draw in Norway took Palace into the league phase.

Which non-league club knocked FA Cup holders Palace out in the 2025-26 third round?

Macclesfield, of the sixth tier, sat 117 places below Palace; no FA Cup holders had lost to a non-league side since 1909, when Palace themselves were the giant-killers.

Palace won the 2026 Conference League final 1-0 in Leipzig against which Spanish club?

Rayo Vallecano, also in a first European final, fell to a goal early in the second half, a year after UEFA had demoted Palace into the competition.

Palace's 2022 crest, dated 1861, challenges which club's billing as the world's oldest professional club?

Notts County claim 1862; Palace's new crest swapped 1905 for 1861 by tracing the club back to an amateur side formed that year at the Crystal Palace.

Which Dave Clark Five song, played at Selhurst Park since 1964, do Palace fans sing?

'Glad All Over' topped the UK chart for the Dave Clark Five in January 1964, knocking the Beatles off number one, and the Selhurst Park crowd adopted it that same year.

Which bald eagle flew across Selhurst Park before every home game until 2020?

Kayla, from the Eagle Heights sanctuary in Kent, made her pre-match flights for a decade; after her death in 2020 Palace had no live eagle until Phoenix arrived in 2024.

Which nickname did Brighton adopt in the 1970s as a direct response to Palace's 'Eagles'?

The Seagulls replaced Brighton's brief nickname, the Dolphins, in 1977 after fans had sung it on the terraces as a retort to Palace's chant of 'Eagles'.

In Ted Lasso, Selhurst Park plays AFC Richmond's home ground under what name?

Nelson Road is Selhurst Park on screen, while AFC Richmond's training scenes were shot at the ground of non-league Hayes & Yeading United.

Which future England manager led Palace to the 1979 Second Division title before a record Selhurst Park crowd of 51,482?

Terry Venables' young side beat Burnley 2-0 in a rearranged last game in May 1979, overtaking rivals Brighton to win the title by a point.

Which Palace ultras group, based behind one goal at Selhurst Park, disbanded in 2026 after two decades?

The Holmesdale Fanatics formed in 2005 and brought flags and tifo displays to the ground; they disbanded in August 2026, blaming the state of modern football.

Which Rolling Stone is a lifelong Crystal Palace fan?

Bill Wyman, the Rolling Stones' longtime bassist, grew up in south-east London and has supported Palace since he was a boy.

The 2021 Amazon documentary about Palace's 2012-13 promotion season was called what?

'When Eagles Dare' is a five-part series on a 2012-13 season that changed managers in the autumn and ended with Ian Holloway's side winning promotion at Wembley.

Which club beat Third Division Palace 2-0 in the 1975-76 FA Cup semi-final at Stamford Bridge?

Southampton, then in the Second Division, won 2-0 and went on to lift the Cup; Palace had knocked out Leeds, Chelsea and Sunderland on the way.

Who holds the Crystal Palace record for most appearances, with 660 first-team matches?

Jim Cannon, a teenage centre-back, scored on his debut in a 2-0 win over Chelsea in 1973 and stayed until 1988.

Whose 165 goals, 54 of them in the 1930-31 season alone, make him Palace's record scorer?

Peter Simpson once scored six in a 7-2 win over Exeter City, in October 1930, and no Palace player has matched his totals for a season or a career since.

Which club beat Palace 9-0 in September 1989, seven months before losing to them in an FA Cup semi-final?

Liverpool had eight different scorers at Anfield in Palace's record league defeat, yet Palace beat them 4-3 after extra time in the semi-final.

Who scored Palace's goal in their 2016 FA Cup final defeat at Wembley?

Jason Puncheon came off the bench to put Palace ahead late on, but Juan Mata equalised three minutes later and Jesse Lingard won it in extra time.

Which club did Palace beat over two legs in the 1989 Second Division play-off final?

Blackburn Rovers won the first leg 3-1 at Ewood Park, but Palace won the return 3-0 after extra time to end eight years outside the top flight.

Why did Palace go down in 1994-95 despite finishing fourth from bottom?

The league was being cut to 20 clubs, so four went down instead of three; Palace fell in 19th place in a season when they reached both domestic cup semi-finals.

Arthur Rowe took Palace up in 1961 after winning the League with which 'push and run' side?

Tottenham Hotspur won the Second Division and then the First in successive seasons under Rowe, before poor health forced him to resign.

Which former Wimbledon chairman took control of Palace in 1981 and kept Selhurst Park after selling the club?

Ron Noades ran Palace for 17 years and appointed Steve Coppell, who took them to an FA Cup final; when he sold up in 1998 he leased the ground back to the club.

In which Mike Leigh play is Tony a former Crystal Palace player for whom it 'didn't work out'?

Abigail's Party gave Tony the past of John Salthouse, who played him: he had been on Palace's books as a teenager before injury turned him to acting.

Which Palace signing from Bristol Rovers in 1989 became Britain's first £1 million goalkeeper?

Nigel Martyn owed his break to Bristol Rovers' tea lady, who got the Cornish amateur his trial with the club.