Crystal Palace F.C. were an amateur football club, founded circa 1861, formed from the groundkeepers of the Great Exhibition. Later notable players joined such as Cuthbert Ottaway.
The "Groundkeepers" were one of the 12 founder members of the Football Association. The club was moderately successful in the pre-Football League era and competed in the first FA Cup reaching the semi-finals where they were eliminated by the Royal Engineers 3-0, in a replay after the first game ended goalless. The team also played in the FA Cup in the next 4 seasons, without any significant impact.