Finding suitable collocations
The next step was to see to what extent this usage has occurred in books, how old it is, and whether it has been mainly used in connection with sport, by searching Google Books. But there was a small problem.
In the vast majority of cases, on in watching on and watched on is a preposition, and is followed by a determiner such as the, my, this etc. To wade through all these looking for watch on in the meaning of look on from the sidelines would be like looking for a needle in a haystack, so we need some additional filter. Luckily there are a few conjunctions and prepositions that often follow it in the meaning we are interested in.
Four Four Two
Four Four Two is a British football magazine and website, and seems to be where the expression watching on is most at home, so I had a look to see how they were using it.
There were 85 examples of watched on, 53 of watching on, and 49 of watch on,and a handful for watches on. As far as I could see, most of these used on adverbially. The more usual looking on from hardly gets a look-in,
I looked at the first ten genuine entries for each form. For watched on, there was one participle clause and nine finite verbs. The most popular word to follow on was as, with 8 instances, then one instance of with and one of a following adverb.
For watching on, we have eight participle clauses, and two finite verbs. In eight cases watching on is followed by from, in one by as, and one by after.
In six cases, watch on is followed by as, in three by from, and one by an adverb.
Netspeak
So I first decided that my line of enquiry should concentrate on watch / watching / watched on followed by from and as. But there was another way to do it, which was to look at how look on is used when not followed by a determiner. This is what I found at the collocation finder, Netspeak, which confirmed as and from, but meant that I should also consider in and with (the comma and fullstop are impossible to search for at Google Books:
| look on | looking on | looked on |
| as | , | as |
| . | . | . |
| , | in | , |
| in | with | in |
| with | from | with |
| from | as | from |
Ngram
Finally, I had a look at look on at Ngram, and the top non-determiner collocations were: look on and; looked on as, with, in; looking on with, and, in. This gave me five variations to look at - as, from, in, with, and
Looking on goes well back before 1800
But first let's have a look at look on with the meaning of watching something from the sidelines. How old is it? At Google Books, there are four examples of looked on as and one of looking on as before 1800, but these all have the meaning of 'considered as'.
Other variations are more promising. The earliest example I can find with our meaning is one of looking on in, from 1601
"But though I used the best expedition I could yet Tyrone
did attempt us in our drawing of[f], with no great gaming of
either side though so unwilling he was any more to meddle that
he hynge [?] looking on in the Fews."
Calendar of the State Papers relating to Ireland, 1601
There are five verifible examples of looking on (and), the earliest from 1677
... which I cou'd not be weary of looking on, and observing its motion that lasted near four Hours
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, London 1677
There is an early example of looking on from (but only one before 1800):
The King of France looking on from the Hill of Saronne
The Earl of Castlemaine's Memoirs of the Irish Wars, 1681
We do rather better with looking on with - two indisputable examples, both with the meaning we are after (and two misdated), the earliest, although listed as 1662, appears to be from 1708
After sunset, at the top of the mast, suddenly appeared a little fire, about the size of a big candle's flame, which made about the same noise as an ascending rocket; it lasted for about one good quarter of an hour, and we were looking on with great attention
From a narrative by Baron Christoph von Graffenried, 1708, in The Colonial Records of North Carolina, Vol 1, 1884
The next is from 1746
If the balance of power were in 'any danger, the empire would not stand neutral, nor would the princes thereof stand looking on with such unconcern.
The Scots Magazine, 1746
and therefore he addresses himself immediately to the crowd, and reproaches the delay of those, who stupidly looked on
The Universal Magazine, London, 1748
All three looked on with curiosity, anticipating much diversion
The Tatler,or Lubrications of Isaac Bickerstaffe, Esq, Sir Richarsd Steele, Joseph Addison, London, 1764
So I think we can say that this meaning of look on was well established before 1800.
Watching on at Google Books
There are no hits at GoogleBooks for any of the variations between 1500 and 1799. For the rest, I've ignored watch on, as there are too many referring to watches, whether of the wrist type or the nautical type. I've also ignored things like watching on and on / on and off. These include simple watching / watched on followed by a full stop or comma when the next clause or sentence starts with the target preposition / conjunction
| as | from | in | with | and |
| 19th century - watched on | 3 | 1 | 21 | 13 | 31 |
| 19th century - watching on | 2 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 2 |
| 1900-1949 - watched on | 2 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 3 |
| 1900-1949 - watching on | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| 1950-1974 - watched on | 6 | 2 | 6 | 7 | 1 |
| 1950-1974 - watching on | 4 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 4 |
| 1975-1999 - watched on | 27 | 13 | 29 | 5 | 9 |
| 1975-1999 - watching on | 16 | 2 | 12 | 7 | 5 |
| 2000-2014 - watched on | 10 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 7 |
| 2000-2014 - watching on | 8 | 7 | 1 | 8 | 4 |
Nineteenth Century
The earliest I could find was from 1820.
Who, when surrounded was with spies,
All watching on with Argus eyes
The Republican, London, 1820
Nella too was glad to be spared all speech, and the cousins watched on in silence
Sir Michael Paulet, Ellen Pickering, London, 1845
Still I watched on, with unabated vigilance, deep into the night.
Cat and Dog, London, 1854
Till, worried out with watching on in vain, We fall to sleep,
The Living Age, Boston, 1867
There we stood, in mute affliction
Watching on from day to day
The Deserted Chamber, from Alice and other poems, Francis Reginald Slatham, London, 1868
She sat watching on as they gave up the sport
The Englishman's Magazine of Literature, Religion, Science and Art, London 1865
Wait ! fear not ! she cries, Watch on with trusting eyes
The Cornhill Magazine, London, 1867
It's as weel I didna lippen to ye to tak' my place," she mentally observed, as she watched on from hour to hour
Auld Fernies's Son, Mary Charlotte J leith, 1881
Juno watched on, and when at last nothing could be seen, she waved her handkerchief
Masterman Ready, Frederick Marryat, London, 1885
Would the old ones last until the new ones came? brooded the fascinated Guy, watching on as one possessed
The English Illustrated Magazine, 1893
We watched on as the blaze drove eastwards
Pearson's Magazine, London, 1896
Our interest in each other will not cease at commencement day, but we will watch on as the years go by.
The Michigan Alumnus, 1899
The expression, then, was definitely used in the nineteenth century, but examples are few and far between, especially when compared with look on. And at this time there is certainly no specific connection with sport.
Twentieth century - first half
I found just over twenty examples, none of them to do with sport.
... he generally sets the younger ones to do the robbery while he is watching on and giving warning of the police
Parliamentary Papers, London, 1908
The Faun watched on with wide eyes, for his dayeyes are narrow and sleepy, but his night-eyes are wide and keen, the seers of wild shy secrets, the beholders of celestial descents.
Gods and Wood Things, Leslie Holdsworth Allen,London 1913
I have heard of European officers having actually asked their servants to beat respectable Indians — themselves watching on !
India Arisen, Thanwardas Lilaram Vaswani, 1922
Mr. Hendrix, still preserving his finest courtroom manner of Reason and Superiority, watched on in silence and fell to wondering what he had ever seen in this redheaded, almost illiterate creature with her muscular legs and childish face to have ever considered her charming or desirable
Actor's Blood, Ben Hecht, 1936
Twentieth century - third quarter
Around 27 examples, only two connected with sport, both American (I think):
R. L. M. Kirkwood watched on from the centre of the ring while hundreds of people watched with excitement this Calf Scramble.
The Farmer,1950
A crowd of 49,936 watched on in 105° heat as the Nationals scored their 19th All-Star win against 17 losses and one tie.
Brittanica Book of the Year 1967
... and the Indian police present watched on with folded arms, without intervening at all.
Notes, Memoranda and Letters, Indian Ministry of External Affairs, 1959
Twentieth century - fourth quarter
With around 125 examples of watched on and watching on with the meaning we are interested in between 1975 and 2000, we can see a distinct increase in the last quarter of the twentieth century. However, hardly any are to do with sport, a lot appear to be American, and a lot are from fiction. Here are the only sports related examples I could find:
... the drivers, the flag marshals waving two yellow flags to warn the other competitors that the track was completely blocked, and the stunned, shuffling silence of the crowd, watching on in horror.
Race for revenge, Lynsey Stevens, 1982
Watching on as McKechnie made his point at national level for the first time, his Southland Boys' High School coach Clive Williams recalled how he had been drawn to his ability seven years earlier.
McKechnie, Double All Black: An Autobiography, New Zealand, 1983
Itagaki was an active supporter of sumo wrestling, but the white-haired old man who regularly watched on from the gallery at the Kokugikan arena appeared to be a living fossil from the distant past.
Five political leaders of modern Japan, various authors, 1986
Jealousy will manifest itself like parents in a fist fight at a little league game with the little leaguers watching on in disbelief.
The American Racing Pigeon News, 1987
And now, with Savage as the WWF's deluded monarch putting his entire existence, his reason for being on the line, she had returned, watching on from the sidelines
Article dated 1991, from The Complete WWF Video Guide Volume II (2012), Christine Simonotti
The big game for the Vega Longhorns. The crowd watched on in the balmy Texas panhandle
Hey Cowboy, Wanna Get Lucky?, Baxter Black, 1995
Twenty-first century
Up until 2000, I've only been able to find seven examples connected with sport. The first fourteen years of this century yield nine: four about American sports, one about golf, two about cricket, and two about football. Hardly the surge, nor the bias towards football or Britain, that might have been expected from its use in the media.
With the Wildcats taking a one-nil lead in the three-game series, Heal will be watching on with close interest as he considers rejoining the league where he launched his international career.
The Bulletin, 2000
And that's exactly what happened, with Boone watching on from the sideline. The Titans beat the Steelers 34-31 in overtime the next night in one of the wildest games ever played at the Coliseum.
Tales from the Titans Sideline, Jim Wyat, US 2004
... was Nick Faldo and Freddie Couples, Davis Love and Gary Player, all of them tinkering away as a hushed crowd of a couple of hundred fans watched on from the grandstand.
John Daly: The Biography, Gavin Newsham, 2005
Watching on with not so benevolent interest is Vaughn (Wayne Brady), a former NBA agent who makes serious money handling the big money betting that surrounds the matches.
The Holywood Reporter, 2006
The greatest crowd of the week watched on, and they were heart and soul with the blue-eyed, golden-haired Englishman, who performed prodigies of court covering, but lacked the knowledge of tennis tactics to press home victory.
All-Round Genius: The Unknown Story of Britain's Greatest Sportsman, Mick Collins, 2007
The setting could not have been more perfect: a hill-country town he loves, with a large family he adores, all watching on from the main pavilion.
Brick, 2007
There is a gulf separating the two 'traditions', between the political and cultural drivers that animate their fans watching on from the sidelines, and the reality of the sporting action on the field.
El Clasico: Barcelona V Real Madrid: Football's Greatest Rivalry, Richard Fitzpatrick, London 2012
The plodding nature of the football and the thousand or so passive looking souls watching on from the bleachers hint that the real nature of this rivalry might be somewhat less intense.
Of Garrisons and Goalscorers, Hugo Saye, Bloomington,Indiana, 2012
October (2006) started with a memorial service for Peter Osgood that was held on the Stamford Bridge pitch, with those attending watching on from the Lower Shed.
Making History, Not Reliving It: A decade of Roman's rule at Chelsea, Mark Worrall, Kelvin Barker, David Johnstone, UK 2013