The Hampstead Football Club was founded in 1866 and the first recorded game took place in 1867. A disagreement between Club Secretary William Titchener and William Alford in 1867 resulted in Alford leaving with half of the membership to form the club now known as Wasps. The club was renamed Harlequin Rugby Football Club in 1870, supposedly because the membership was no longer purely local, but the HFC monogram had to be retained. The word 'Harlequin' ("Arlecchino", a comic servant from the "commedia dell'arte") was found in a dictionary and all present agreed to the new name.