A recruitment poster for the “Football Battalion”, World War I.In 1914, Sir Arthur Conna

A recruitment poster for the “Football Battalion”, World War I.In 1914, Sir Arthur Connan Doyle (author of the Sherlock Holmes series) made a direct appeal for professional football players (Soccor in US) to join the military for service in the war against Germany.  2,000 professional players would serve in World War I.  A special unit was also recruited, called the “football battalion”, which was part of the Middlesex Regiment and was made entirely of professional football players.  Of the 600 that made up the battalion, less than 100 would survive the war. -- source link

More pics about