Crystal Palace Trivia
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6correct to beat the crowd
58 free Crystal Palace trivia questions with answers — sports quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
Crystal Palace were created by the company that owned the Great Exhibition building, to fill the FA Cup final stadium in its grounds, and traced their roots to a club that entered the very first FA Cup. This quiz covers the whole story: Edmund Goodman and the claret-and-blue inheritance from Aston Villa, the suffragette plot to blow up the 1913 final, the wartime eviction by the Admiralty, Selhurst Park's opening defeat, Real Madrid's first match in London, Malcolm Allison's red-and-blue Barcelona stripes and the Eagles nickname, Terry Venables's Team of the Eighties, Steve Coppell, Ian Wright and the 1990 final, third place in 1991 and the European place that never came, the 49-point relegation, Cantona's kick, two administrations, CPFC 2010 and the fight for the freehold, Holloway's play-off win, Pulis, Pardew, de Boer's 77 days, Hodgson, Glasner, Eze's winner in the 2025 FA Cup final, the UEFA demotion, Macclesfield and the Conference League triumph in Leipzig. Early questions suit anyone who has sung 'Glad All Over'; later ones are for Eagles who know their Holmesdale from their Whitehorse Lane: which club Palace beat in the 1909 Cup as the first non-league side to knock out the holders, who was the club's first chairman and how he was found, and which bald eagle flew the ground before kick-off. Good for a supporters' club night or a south London pub quiz. Every answer was checked against Wikipedia's article on the club, its grounds and its history, and each question shows its source.
30 of 58 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01Which group of summer sportsmen set up the original amateur Crystal Palace football club in Victorian times?
The local cricketers
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.
Q 02Why did the Crystal Palace Company want a professional football club at its ground in 1905?
To draw regular paying crowds
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.
Q 03Palace's founding secretary Edmund Goodman came from which club, a founder member of the Football League?
Aston Villa
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.
Q 04How did Edmund Goodman find Palace's first chairman, Sydney Bourne?
By checking records of FA Cup final ticket buyers
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.
Q 05Which FA Cup holders did Southern League Palace beat 4-2 in January 1909?
Wolves
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.
Q 06Which group plotted to destroy the grandstands at the Crystal Palace before the 1913 FA Cup final?
The suffragettes
The suffragettes never carried the plot out, but in the same month their arson campaign burned down Kent's cricket pavilion at Tunbridge Wells.
Q 07Palace were forced out of the Crystal Palace ground in 1915 when it was requisitioned by whom?
The Admiralty
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.
Q 08What did Palace achieve by winning the Third Division in 1920-21?
A title as League newcomers
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.
Q 09Which renowned stadium architect designed Selhurst Park, which opened in 1924?
Archibald Leitch
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.
Q 10In April 1962 Palace hosted a friendly that was which Spanish club's first ever match in London?
Real Madrid
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.
Q 11Which club did Palace thrash 5-0 at Selhurst Park in December 1972, months before being relegated?
Manchester United
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.
Q 12Malcolm Allison changed Palace's nickname from 'The Glaziers' to 'The Eagles', inspired by which Portuguese club?
Benfica
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.
Q 13Palace's red and blue vertical stripes, adopted under Malcolm Allison, were inspired by which club?
Barcelona
Q 21Palace lost the 1996 play-off final 2-1 to a last-minute extra-time goal by which Leicester player?
Steve Claridge
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.
Q 22Which recruitment tycoon bought Palace in June 1998 and took them into administration within a year?
Mark Goldberg
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.
Q 23Whose 87th-minute winner at Stockport on the last day of 2000-01 saved Palace from relegation?
Dougie Freedman
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.
Q 14What did referee Ron Challis order in a 1976 Cup replay between Palace and Brighton?
A successful penalty to be retaken
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.
Q 15The young Palace side that won the Second Division in 1979 was dubbed what by the media?
The Team of the Eighties
'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.
Q 16Which Palace substitute scored twice in the 3-3 1990 FA Cup final?
Ian Wright
Ian Wright, back from a broken leg, scored minutes after coming on and again in extra time; Palace still lost the replay 1-0.
Q 17Why did third-placed Palace miss out on Europe in 1991?
England had only one UEFA Cup place
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.
Q 18Palace won the 1991 Full Members Cup 4-1 after extra time at Wembley against which club?
Everton
Everton equalised to force extra time, then conceded three goals in it in what sponsors styled the Zenith Data Systems Cup.
Q 19Which club stayed up on goal difference at Palace's expense in 1992-93?
Oldham Athletic
Oldham Athletic won 4-3 on the final day while Palace lost theirs, leaving both on 49 points and Palace down on goal difference.
Q 20What was Eric Cantona's original sentence for his 1995 flying kick at a Palace fan at Selhurst Park?
Two weeks in jail
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.
Dougie Freedman's late goal at Edgeley Park sent Huddersfield down instead; he later managed Palace from 2011 to 2012 before leaving for Bolton.
Q 24Which manager tried to quit Palace for Birmingham City early in the 2001-02 season and was put on gardening leave?
Steve Bruce
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.
Q 25Iain Dowie's Palace won the 2004 play-off final 1-0 against which club?
West Ham United
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.
Q 26Which teenager did Palace sell to Wigan after entering administration in 2010?
Victor Moses
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.
Q 27What did the CPFC 2010 consortium secure from Lloyds Bank after a fan campaign?
The freehold of Selhurst Park
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.
Q 28Which club did Palace beat 1-0 in the 2013 play-off final to return to the Premier League?
Watford
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.
Q 29Which manager kept Palace up in 2013-14, then left two days before the next season began?
Tony Pulis
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.
Q 30Which Dutchman did Palace sack in 2017 after four league games without a goal?
Frank de Boer
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.