Saved by a Football

The shipwreck survivors who were saved by a soccer ball — and by Watford FC.

The Wreck of the Stella, The Graphic, April 8 1899, adapted

The footballers from Watford FC were crossing the English Channel when their ship’s lookout spotted two lifeboats. It was 7 am on March 31, 1899, and the team’s players were aboard the SS Vera on their way to Jersey and Guernsey for a series of friendly matches. Huddled in the lifeboats were survivors…