As proof they were moving along though, one of their founders was forced to retire. John Lewis had injured his leg in a skating accident and when he attempted a comeback found it would not stand the rigours. So, upon retirement, he helped Rovers behind the scenes as a benefactor and became a referee. Not just any old ref either; he was nicknamed ‘the Prince of Referees’ and refereed three FA Cup finals. So not all refs are useless then, after all one helped to found Rovers!

The FA Cup wasn’t to be their only attempt at winning a trophy. On the 16th August 1879 at the Coffee Tavern in Blackburn the draw was made for the first ever Lancashire Cup. In their inaugural match in this inaugural competition, Rovers were faced with the challenge of Enfield. After an away 1-1 draw they won the replay 5-1. Rovers were only to excel at home, beating Bolton Wanderers (4-0), Turton (2-1) and Accrington (3-1) all at home to reach the first Lancashire Cup final. The Turton side had complained that Rovers had included two players not from Blackburn (McIntyre and Campbell, both newly arrived from Scotland yet the result was allowed to stand).

“The Turtonians, it is said, have entered a formal protest against the Victory claimed at Blackburn by the Rovers by their (the Rovers) playing two Scotsmen (Campbell and McIntyre) not resident in the town.”

Despite the complaint, the result was permitted to stand and Rovers to meet their friends from along the Bolton Road.

It was to be this first Lancashire final that was to start the antagonism between Rovers and their opponents, Darwen. Darwen claimed that ‘Monkey’ Hornby, the talented multi-discipline sportsman, was not a regular player in the Rovers team and so should not play. Rovers countered that Kirkham of Darwen was likewise ineligible. The debate wrangled on for months. On March 15th 1880 Fred Hargreaves made his England debut in a 3-2 win over Wales at Wrexham, the first England international in the history of Blackburn Rovers, alongside Thomas Marshall of Darwen. While they represented their country together, their clubs finally settled the dispute which meant Hornby was out of the Rovers line up but Kirkham in for Darwen. The game was played in front of over 10,000 in Darwen. Rovers were thrashed 3-0. The dislike between the two clubs would last for far longer than just that season however.