Until they found a home ground, Rovers would be nothing more than a social sporting group. Finally, after a year of searching they found their first home, which went by the wonderful moniker of Oozehead. It was a dump, in all fairness. Little more than a cow field, the middle of the pitch had to be covered with wooden planks to hide the large drainage pool which was probably a watering place for the livestock. Regardless of that it hosted the first ever Rovers home match, a 0-0 draw with Darwen. After this we know of the first definite Rovers victory, over Clitheroe, although it is uncertain whether it was played at home or away, nor is the actual score known never mind the names of the scorers. During this time Rovers were also hosting games at the Pleasington Cricket Ground. Again, details are vague regarding what games they played there although we do know of the game against Preston Rovers on December 8th 1877, mainly because it had to be halted due to a suspected heart attack which afflicted Henry Smith, one of the Preston team, who later died after being carried to the nearby Butler’s Arms pub.

Unsurprisingly both of these venues were hastily dumped as soon as Rovers found a proper ground at which to play. The history of Blackburn Rovers as a team of note began in earnest with their move to Alexandra Meadows, which remains today as the home of East Lancs Cricket Club, just off Duke’s Brow and closely linked to Corporation Park.

On January 2nd 1878 Rovers invited the renowned Partick Thistle side to journey south for a glamour tie at their new ground. Rovers recorded their first famous victory in their history by shocking the Scots 2-1 with a double from Dirk Birtwhistle. The game featured a couple of interesting debuts. For Rovers, A N Hornby made his first appearance. Although he only figured in the team for two years, Hornby was a long-time supporter of the team and one of the benefactors that helped finance the FA Cup runs and league campaigns of the future. From a family of mill-owners in the Brookhouse area of Blackburn, Hornby encouraged his workers to take up football and also to support the local teams. As well as being a major figure and driving force in the increase of the popularity of football in the town, ‘Monkey’ Hornby, as he was known, was a formidable sportsman and representing England at rugby and cricket, the latter of whom he was also to captain. Hornby also went on to represent Lancashire County Cricket Club in almost 300 test matches. On the opposition side there was a Scot who was to have a major influence on local football in the coming years, one Fergie Suter. It was his first game in the area but nowhere near his last. The 2-1 victory sent the name of Blackburn Rovers around the small footballing world in England at the time. Rovers, now with a decent ground of their own, had arrived.

Rovers continued to play games against mainly local opposition such as Cob Wall, Darwen and Clitheroe with varying degrees of success. The year of 1878 would herald the foundation of two groups who would figure heavily in Rovers’ dealings in the next decade. First of all, a new club in the town was formed. Blackburn Olympic was born in August 1877 when two small Blackburn clubs (James Street and Black Star) merged. Although they originally seemed just another local team to be faced, they were soon to be the most successful team in the area, briefly ruling the national game and casting Rovers into shadow. The second event was the creation of the Lancashire Football Association at Bromley Cross near Bolton in September 1878. Twenty three clubs (including Rovers, Olympic and Darwen) were present at the birth of this organisation. The Lancashire FA provided a management structure to the local game. This would enable the Lancashire clubs to compete in local competitions and then in the FA Cup. It also heralded the beginning of the Lancashire Cup, the first competition Rovers would regularly take part in.