... are almost as old as competitions in football. The first one was scored in 1868 in the final of the Cromwell Cup, which is described on Wikipedia as "the second ever football competition", the first being the Youdan Cup (held in the previous year). Both competitions were held in Sheffield, and both were named after the local businessmen who sponsored them and provided the trophies. The sponsor of the later competition was the manager of the local Alexandra Theatre, who rejoiced in the name of Oliver Cromwell.
The finalists in the Cromwell Cup were the Garrick and the Wednesday. Oliver Cromwell himself played for the Garrick, which was the older club – founded in 1866, a year earlier than the Wednesday. The score was 0–0 after 90 minutes, so the captains agreed to continue playing until one team or the other scored a goal. A note on the Garrick club, archived on the Wayback Machine, records that "Garrick were the losers when Wednesday scored a comedy goal after 10 minutes (a Garrick defender hoofed the ball straight up in the air and when it came down it deflected off someone's shoulder between the posts)."
The Wednesday continued to go from strength to strength for some time, and became known as Sheffield Wednesday in 1929. The Garrick, on the other hand, seem to have been so upset to lose the tournament in such a fashion that they "withdrew from playing the more popular local teams, instead taking on the minor teams and playing the occasional out of town match ... finally disappear[ing] from the scene in 1878."
The next recorded use of the golden goal format was in North American professional "soccer leagues", in the 1970s. The term "golden goal" itself was introduced by FIFA in 1993 – the alternative term "sudden death" being perceived to have negative connotations.
The first golden goal recorded as being scored under the auspices of FIFA occurred on 13 March 1993, scored by Australia against Uruguay in the quarter–finals of the World Youth Championship. The first major tournament final to be decided by such a goal was the 1995 Football League Trophy, where Birmingham City beat Carlisle United 1–0, with a goal from Paul Tait. (This is the competition for teams in the third and fourth tiers of English football, known at the time as Divisions Two and Three – now Leagues One and Two.)
The first major international match to be decided by a golden goal was the final of the 1996 European Championships, at Wembley, when Oliver Bierhoff scored to give Germany victory over the Czech Republic.
The final of the 2000 European Championships tournament was also decided by a golden goal, scored by David Trezuguet for France against Italy, in the 103rd minute. The score after 90 minutes had been 1–1.
Laurent Blanc's golden goal, the first in World Cup history, came in the Round of 16 in the 1998 tournament, enabling France to defeat Paraguay. The score after 90 minutes had been 0–0.
There were three golden goals in the 2002 World Cup finals tournament. Two of them came in the Round of 16, when Henri Camara scored one for Senegal against Sweden and Ahn Jung–wan scored one for South Korea against Italy. The third was in the quarter–finals, when Ilhan Mansiz scored for Turkey against Senegal. (Making Senegal, if I'm not mistaken, the only team to both win and lose a FIFA match by a golden goal.)
In the final of the 2000–1 UEFA Cup tournament, Liverpool and Alavés were tied 4–4 after 90 minutes (Liverpool having previously led 2–0, 3–1 and 4–3). Liverpool eventually won 5–4, thanks to a "golden own goal" scored in the 117th minute by Alavés's right back, Delfí Geli.
Three matches in the FIFA Confederations Cup were decided by golden goals. (This is contested every four years between the holders of the six continental nations' cups, the World Cup holders and the host nation.) The first golden goal in this competition was scored in the semi–final of the 1997 tournament, by Harry Kewell for Australia against Uruguay; the last came in the final of the 2003 tournament, scored by Thierry Henry for France against Cameroon.
For the 2002–3 season, FIFA introduced the 'silver goal'. This meant that if one side scored in the first 15 minutes of extra time, the game would end at the interval (provided one team was still ahead). The organisers of each individual tournament could decide whether they used golden goals, silver goals or neither.
Ajax of Amsterdam qualified for the group stage of the 2003–4 season by virtue of a silver goal against GAK of Graz (Austria). The only silver goal in an international tournament came in the final of Euro 2004, when Traianos Dellas scored for Greece with just two seconds remaining in the first half of extra time. As in the 1996 final, the losing team on this occasion was the Czech Republic.
Golden and silver goals were abolished in 2004. The experiment was seen as a failure; the hoped–for increase in attacking play had not materialised, and there was some confusion over which rules would apply in which tournaments.
Golden goals are still used in American college football (soccer), but Thierry Henry's golden goal was the last in a major tournament and Traianos Dellas's silver goal in 2004 was the only silver goal in such an event. It was also the only goal that Dellas scored in his 53 international appearances.
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