In the 1873 English cricket season, in only their fourth season as a first-class team, Gloucestershire was proclaimed joint Champion County and went on to win or share the title four times in five seasons (1873-1874 & 1876-1877).
Player qualification rules came into force, with players having to decide at the start of a season whether they would play for the county of their birth or the county of residence. Before this, it was quite common for a player to play for two counties during the course of a single season.
