The Chudley Cannons were founded in 1753 by local Quidditch
enthusiast Elmer P. Grace who was sick of travelling the 100 miles to watch the
nearest professional side, the Falmouth Falcons in Cornwall. The amount of free
space on nearby Dartmoor already made Devon a perfect setting for amateur players
to develop and thus proved a perfect place to form a professional team. Elmer
unearthed a number of local stars and in the following centuries, the club has
continued to produce a number of high quality players.

  Contrary
to recent performances, the Cannons started life as one of the most successful
teams in the country. Under the influence of Elmer they had won four League
titles in their first decade of existence and over the next century and a half
won a further 17 League titles overtaking much older clubs like the Caerphilly
Catapults and the Wimbourne Wasps. Many of the players of these eras won
multiple League Titles and a large amount of caps for their respective National
teams.

  In the
last century, however, the performances of the team have plummeted. Cannons
fans now celebrate back-to-back wins with the same furore as League titles were
100 years ago. This is reflected in this book, with a heavy bias towards
players from the club’s most successful years, for example the club’s early
years (1750s) and their most recent period of success (1880s-90s). A small handful
of players from recent years have become fans’ favourites, maybe even heroes,
despite generally not reaching the highest levels of the game. In fact, these
players are considered cult heroes amongst Cannons fans whilst having next to
no recognition elsewhere. They are included nonetheless as they are, after all, Legends of the Chudley Cannons.