The emergence of professionalism in sports such as football, rugby and cycling was very much a product of the wave of commercialisation which engulfed the leisure sector in the late nineteenth century. The same economic tide also left its mark on sports with a longer tradition of professionalism, such as cricket and horse-racing. Change was accompanied by controversy and almost every sport had its debate on the merits, or otherwise, of recognising professionalism and on the safeguards which would have to be imposed should it be accepted.

The essential difference between amateurs and professionals in nineteenth- century Britain was social rather than economic. No one labelled as professionals those early nineteenth-century, socially elite sportsmen who rowed or raced against each other for money prizes, or backed their sporting prowess with heavy wagers. Nor, at this time were they classed as amateurs: the contradistinction to professional was gentleman. However, as active sports involvement became more broadly based, the middle class added the organisation of sports bodies to its administrative portfolio and began to set rules regarding participation, rules in which birth and background became important parameters in the protection of middleclass sporting preserves. The concept of the amateur which developed was thus a by-product of changing circumstances in British sport. The ensuing struggle by professionals for recognition as legitimate sportsmen can perhaps be seen as part of the wider class confrontation taking place in society at this time.