photo by H. I. W HITLOCK, Birmingham.

WILLIAM M`GREGOR,
of the Football League..
Founder
 X

ASSOCIATION
FOOTBALL &
THE MEN WHO MADE IT
BY ALFRED GIBSON & WILLIAM PICKFORD

IN FOUR VOLUMES

VOL. II

FULLY ILLUSTRATED

LONDON

THE CAXTON PUBLISHING COMPANY

84, 85 & 86 CHANCERY LANE, W.C.
 CONTENTS
I

SECTION VI
PAGE

THE ORIGIN AND FUTURE OF THE FOOTBALL LEAGUE. By W ILLIAM

MCGREGOR I

SECTION VII
IMPRESSIONS OF WING PLAY. By W ILLIAM M EREDITH . 9

SECTION VIII
THE DUTIES OF A FULL BACK. By H ERBERT SMITH 15

SECTION IX
H ALF-BACK PLAY. By JAMES W. CRABTREE 19

SECTION X
FOOTBALL JOURNALS . 24

SECTION XI

GIANTS OF THE GAME

HOWARD SPENCER 30

S. S. HARRIS • 34f

AV. J. OAKLEY . 36

ALEC LEAKS . 38
 iv Contents

GIANTS OF THE GAME—continued

PAGE

JOHN GLOVER 40

W. N. COBBOLD 43

WALTER BULL 45

BERT LIPSHAM 47

TOM CRAWSHAW 50

ROBERT CROMPTON 52

ARCHIE HUNTER 54

J. SlIARP . 59

A. G. RAISBECK 6o

FRANK FORMAN 62

WILLIAM IIOSFORTH 65

A. M. AND P. Al. WALTERS 67

SECTION XII

A HISTORY OF MIDLAND FOOTBALL

THE ORIGIN OF ASTON VILLA . • 72

WEST BROMWICH ALBION . 78

THE BIRMINGHAM CLUB . 82

WOLVERHA'.MPTON WANDERERS 88

DERBY COUNTY 96

NOTTS COUNTY 103

NOTTS FOREST 1I0

STOKE 117

SECTION XIII

FOOTBALL IN SHEFFIELD

SHEFFIELD WEDNESDAY . 126

SHEFFIELD UNITED . 130

i
 Contents

SECTION XIV

FOOTBALL IN LANCASHIRE

LIVERPOOL AND EVERTON 1J7

GOODISON PARK 141

ORIGIN OF THE LIVERPOOL CLUB . 145

BLACKBURN ROVERS. 149

PRESTON NORTH END 159

BOLTON WANDERERS 153

SECTION XV
 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

FULL-PAGE PLATES

WILLIAM AlcGREGOR (FOUNDER OF THE FOOTBALL LEAGUE) . . Frontispiece

R. E. FOSTER (CORINTHIANS AND ENGLAND) To face page viii

HERBERT SMITH (RKADING AND ENGLAND) 16

HOWARD SPENCER (ASTON VILLA AND ENGLAND) . I7 33

]ENGLAND v. SCOTLAND, igo5, AT THE CRYSTAL PALACE. AN
APPEAL 1 51

FRANK FORMAN (NOTTS FOREST AND ENGLAND) 62

W. F. BRAWN (ASTON VILLA AND ENC,LAND) 67

ASTON VILLA F.C., 1904-5 78

I3IlZMINGHAM F.C. 83

WOLVERHAMPTON WANDERERS F.C. . 94

DERBY COUNTY F.C. I01

NOTTS COUNTY F.C., 1905-6 I08

NOTTS FOREST F.C., 19o5-6

SHEFFIELD WEDNESDAY F.C., 1905 •i ii I28

SHEFFIELD UNITED F.C. 131

I'VERTON F.C., 1905-6 142

LIVERPOOL F.C., 1905-6 147

BLACKBURN ROVERS F.C. 158

PRESTON NORTH END F.C. 161

BOLTON WANDERERS F.C. 176

J. CAMPBELL (CELTIC AND SCOTLAND) 179

HARRY HAMPTON (ASTON VILLA) . Igo

G. LIVINGSTONE (MANCHESTER CITY AND SCOTLAND) 197

E. C. BAMBRIDGE (CORINTHIANS AND ENGLAND) 3! 204

V11
Viii I List of Illustrations

ILLUSTRATIONS IN TEXT
PAGE
S.H .COTTERELL (
CORINTHIANS) 5
FINLAY SPEEDIE (
RANGERS) 13

B. BATTLE S (
CELTIC AND SCOTLAND) 16

J.CRABTREE (
ASTON VILLA AND ENGLAND) 20

H UGH W ILS ON (3RD L.

R.V. AND SCOTLAND) 21

JOHN CAMERO N (
TOTTENHAM H OTSPUR) 25

W. N.COBBOLD (
CORINTHIANS AND ENGLAND) 44

BERT LIPSHAM (
SHEFFIELD UNITED AND ENGLAND) 48

TOTTENHAM H OTSP UR v. AST ON VILLA . ENGLISH CUP TIE AT TOTTENHAM 58

F.W. RINDER (
CHAIRMAN, ASTON VILLA) 69
J.DE VEY (
ASTON VILLA) 72

J.W. BACHE (
ASTON VILLA AND ENGLAND) 73

AN ATTACK ON GOAL 85

T.BADDELEY (
W OLVERHAMPTON W ANDERERS AND ENGLAND) 92

A THRO W IN FROM TOUC H . BLOOMER, RECEIVING THE BALL I00

J.CAMPBELL ORR (
COUNCIL, F.A.) io8

A HALT TO REPAIR DAMAGE . _ 116

F.SPIKE SLEY (
SHEFFIELD W EDNESDAY AND ENGLAND) I24

C.J.LEW IN (
COUNCI
L, F.
A.) 133

EVERT ON v. ASTON VILLA 140

J.COX (
LIVERPOOL AND ENGLAND) 146

C. SA GAR (M ANCHESTER U NITED AND ENGLAND) 154

MILLWALL v. EVERTON (
ENGLISH Cup TIE). A GOOD H EADER 165

C. M .ASH CROFT (
W OOLWICH ARSENAL) 169

GOALKEEPER THR OWIN G OUT OF GOAL 173

S.SMITH (
PORTSMOUTH AND ENGLAND) 176

IN THE NET . GOALKEEPER A FRACTION OF A SECOND TOO LATE 180

J. GRANT (
COUNCIL, F.
A.) 185
W. PICKFORD (COUNCIL, F.
A.) 188

A SIXPENNY BANK 197

BOWMAN (
N ORWICH CITY) 204

GOALKEEPE R ON TH E ALERT 212

I'hnto, FRY'S M AGAZINE.
R.E.FOSTER ,CORINTHIANS AND ENGLAND
(Holder of the Record Cricket Score against the Australians),
ASSOCIATION FOOTBALL

SECTION VI

THE ORIGIN AND FUTURE OF THE FOOTBALL

LEAGUE

BY WILLIAM McGREGOR

IT would be impossible to over-estimate the importance of the applica-

tion of the League principle to football. Comparatively few people
realise the state that football was in prior to the inception of the
League. It has become the fashion in some quarters to decry League
football, and even object to the use of the term League, but that is
foolish in the extreme. There is nothing of the bogy in the word
League; the principle caught on at once in football, and the League
is now the dominating influence in the game. Even the college matches
at Oxford and Cambridge are played on the League system, and as
a system it is perfect. People need not dislike the League system
because the League, as we call it somewhat arbitrarily, has become
an all-powerful combination of wealthy clubs to which the question
of X s. d. is admittedly the most vital consideration. Even if people
object to the League and its professionalism, it does not lessen the
advantages of the League system as applied to any pastime, and yet
Ihave heard people use such a phrase as "that hateful word League."
I am pretty free from conservatism; terms never become bogies to
me. The League has been of untold value to junior football, leaving
out of consideration any question as to the benefit it has conferred
upon the senior clubs.
But the Football League was needed. Prior to its inauguration
fixtures were kept or cancelled in a capricious way. If the weather
was exceptionally bad the match was liable to be cancelled ;if some
VOL. II. A

I
2 Association Football
of the best men could not go then it was not thought expedient to
send a wear team, and the match was written off. Often a match
would be written off on the Friday night, and even on Saturday morn-
ing. Iremember very well that in one period of Aston Villa's career
so many matches were written off as the result of frost and other
causes that not a single game was played for five Saturdays. Now
this was irritating enough in the old amateur days when the non-
playing of a match simply meant a disappointment to every one con-
cerned. The players were disappointed at not having their game, and
several thousand people were disappointed at being deprived of their
usual Saturday afternoon's sport. But when in addition to all these
considerations the weekly wage-list had to be met, the lax and loose
system which prevailed became intolerable. It meant bankruptcy, and
the question had to be faced. It is on record that in one season in
the early eighties Nest Bromwich Albion refrained from issuing a
fixture-card because they found that the match list was so cut up by
Cup ties and replayed Cup games that it was farcical to have a printed
list. Usually a club like the Albion would enter for four or five cups,
and make provision for a reasonably long run in each. If they were
thrown out in the first round they had blank days; if they kept in
longer than they expected to remain, then fixtures already arranged
had to go by the board. Spectators, too, became disgusted with the
intermittent character of the fare provided for them, and in many of
our leading football centres the game was in avery bad way immediately
prior to the League coming into being. While a Cup tie is now always
an exhilarating contest, in those days there was no exemption of the
strong club, consequently we saw Preston North End beating Hyde by
twenty-six goals to nil, and Aston Villa defeating various teams by over
twenty goals to nil, what time their goalkeeper, George Copley, sat on
achair which had been placed between the posts for his especial benefit.
Such matches naturally meant poor gates, and clubs of the standing f
of Aston Villa and Preston North End could not afford to indulge in t
them; but they had to fulfil such engagements in order to reach the
more profitable stages of the competition. What was wanted was
fixity of fixtures, if I may use the term. The clubs wanted a pro-
gramme which would receive adequate public support; the public t
wanted. a programme which they knew would be gone through con-
scientiously. Even then the lack of the competitive spirit in football
was being felt.
 ill

An Historic Document 3
Now people will have the competitive spirit in everything. The
League may have caused this spirit to run riot; I sometimes think
it has, but, after all, there is something very thrilling about the
competitive spirit. We used to think matches in the County Champion-
ship at cricket were the greatest games of their kind, but who will
compare the average county match now with a test match, England
v. Australia. Ihave heard members of the English Test team say that
there is a thrill about the cricket in. Test games which is positively
fascinating. At any rate, rightly or wrongly, for weal or woe, a love
I
of the competitive spirit is deeply planted in the hearts of the British
public. The League has both made that spirit and cultivated it; there
the fact is, let the League be blamed or praised for it just as the
individual reader thinks best.
A great many people saw the difficulty which football and foot-
ballers were in ; I happened, luckily, to be the one man at that
particular time who saw the way out. It appeared to me that a fixed
programme of home-and-home matches between the leading clubs in
the country, such fixtures to be kept inviolate, would produce football
of a more interesting nature than the average game we then saw. I
had no doubt in my own mind that the League system would be a
great success. I am xvillin7 to admit that I did not foresee that it
would sweep everything before it in the way it has. However, the
first thing to do was to get the organisation started, and on March
2nd, i sss, I sent the following circular to Preston North End, Black-
burn Rovers, Aston Villa; Bolton Wanderers, and West Bromwich
Albion :—

Every year it is becoming more and more difficult for football clubs of any
standing to meet their friendly engagements and even arrange friendly matches.
The consequence is that at the last moment, through Cup-tie interferences, clubs are
compelled to take on teams who will not attract the public. I beg to tender the
following suggestion as a means of getting over the difficulty: that ten or twelve of
the most prominent clubs in England combine to arrange home-and-home fixtures
each season, th e sa id fixtures to be arrange d at a friendly conference about the same
time as the International Conference. This combination might be known as the
Association Football Union, and could be managed by a representative from each
club. Of course this is in no way to interfere with the National Association; even
the suggested matches might be played under Cup-tie rules. However, this is a I
detail. My object in writing you at present is merely to draw your attention to the
subject, and to suggest a friendly conference to discuss the matter more fully. I
would take it as afavour if you would kindly think the matter over, and make whatever
suggestion you may deem necessary. Iam only writing to the following :—Blackburn
4 Association Football
Rovers, Bolton Wanderers, Preston North End, West Bromwich Albion, and Aston
Villa, and should like to bear what other clubs you would suggest.—I am, yours
very truly, W ILLIAM McGREGOR,.

"P.S.—How would Friday, March 2-rd, 1888, suit for the friendly conference at
Anderton's Hotel, London ?"

The replies received were favourable. Mr. Bentley, who was then
Secretary of Bolton Wanderers, was in favour of the movement, and
suggested that the composition of the League should be as follows :
Preston North End, Bolton Wanderers, West Bromwich Albion,
Aston Villa, Accrington, Blackburn Rovers, Burnley, Wolverhampton
Wanderers, Halliwell, Old Carthusians, Stoke, Notts County, and
Mitchell's St. George's. Mr. Tom Mitchell, the Rovers' Secretary, was
in favour, and suggested that Burnley and Accrington should be asked
to attend the preliminary gathering. The second circular issued by
me was calling a meeting at Anderton's Hotel, Fleet Street, on the
Friday previous to the Cup Final at the Oval between the Albion and
Preston North End. It went to the following clubs:—Stoke, Wolver-
hampton Wanderers, Accrington, Burnley, Preston North End, Notts I

County, Blackburn Rovers, Bolton Wanderers, Aston Villa, and Nest

Bromwich Albion. At the meeting at Anderton's Hotel the idea of
the establishment of the League was warmly approved, and all that
was then required was a name. I was personally not favourable at
first to the title "League," as just at that time the word "League "was
disliked in England on account of the doings of the Irish Land League,
and I believe I suggested that it should be called "The Association 1
Football Union." But it was feared that this would not be pleasing t
to the Rugby Union, and, despite my little antipathy, the title "The 1
Football League " was adopted. Mr. Harry Lockett, of Stoke, v-as f
appointed secretary, p7 o tem., and it ivas decided to call a meeting
n t
at the Royal Hotel, Manchester, on April 17, 1888, to consider the
formation of a League of twelve clubs, to elect officers, and draw up
rules. At that meeting the constitution of the League was definitely
determined, the ori gi nal clubs being Preston North End, Aston Villa,
Wolverhampton Wanderers, Bolton Wanderers, Everton, Nest Bromwich
Albion, Derby County, Burnley, Notts County, Stoke, Blackburn
Rovers, and Accrington. There were thus six Midland clubs and six
Lancashire teams. There were numerous applications from other clubs,
but, so far as we could see, there were only twenty-two vacant dates,
 Preston Unbeaten in the League 5
and it was not deemed advisable to have a larger membership than we
could get areasonable programme for.
There was a suggestion that the gates should be divided. Ihave
often been accused of being inconsistent in regard to this proposal
to divide the gates. I am op-
posed to it ;then Iwas not dis-
inclined to favour it. I think
that at the start it might have
been fairly worked, but Ibelieve
there would soon have been fric-
tion and unrest. The bigger clubs,
that is to say, the clubs luckily
situated in populous centres,
would have wanted to go ahead
faster than their rivals. At any
rate, it would not be fair to have
gates divided now. We should
put a premium on incapacity of
management; the looselymanaged
club would live on those who
inade management astudy. The
principle of two points for awin
and one for adraw was adopted,
and no better system of deter-
mining the Championship could
be devised. Preston North End, Photo: "Fry's Magazine'

then almost at the zenith of their S. H. COTTERELL

power, won the Championship the Corinthians

first year, and repeated their

triumph, although by a narrower margin of points, in the second
season. Indeed, in the first year North End accomplished a per-
formance which never has been equalled, and probably never will be
equalled—they passed through the competition without defeat; four
of their matches were drawn, and the rest were won. But the days
of Preston North End have gone, never to return. There has been
a general levelling up, and each year the fight becomes keener, and
the clubs more equally matched.
So much for the origin of the League ;what of its future? There
can be no doubt as to the success of the League. Imitation is said to
6 Association Football
be asincere form of flatter-,and the League has been flattered indeed.
It is difficult to sav anything concerning the future of the League,
except than it is likely to go on increasing in interest and importance.
There was a time when the Second League was not so strong as it
might be, but now that professional teams have been founded in Hull,
Leeds, and Bradford, and two Second Division teams are located in
London, it is only reasonable to suppose that the Second League will,
in another five years, be a competition infinitely more important than
it is to-day, and that it -will then contain practically no -weak teams.
At present there are a number of teams in the Second League which
cannot be said to be stroll . Of course the Second League was
crippled each time the First Division was enlarged. Had the First
Division remained at sixteen clubs, there is no doubt that the .Second
League would now have been avery strong and thoroughly interesting
competition. However, what I have prophesied will come about in
five years' time.
The only development apart from this natural growth in interest
and influence is in the direction of the gradual bringing in of influential
clubs at present outside the organisation with the object sooner or later
of making the League a truly national body. N1`hile it does not include
Southampton, Portsmouth, and Tottenham Hotspur, it cannot be said
to be truly representative. Whether the League will grow- at the
expense of the Southern League, I do not for a moment pretend to
say. I-ould not •N illingly seethe Southern League lessened in influence
by reason of the growth of the League. But Ishould say the tendency
is in the direction of aNational League, but this is more likely to come
about. by evolution than revolution. When such an idea was mooted
some years ago the question of travelling expenses cropped up, but
that is not worthy of discussion now. The extra travelling expenses
involved by the appearance in the League of a few- more Southern
teams would be a mere bagatelle to our wealthy clubs, and the
increased gates which would come about as the result of engagements
with new teams would more than compensate for any additional expense
so entailed.
The League should never aspire to be a legislating body. It should
loop after its own interests, that is, the interests of its affiliated clubs,
but it should never aspire to lead in the matter of legislation. By
the very nature of things the League must be a selfish bocly. Its
interests are wholly bound up in the welfare of its affiliated clubs,
 Amateurs in the League
and what happens outside is, in a sense, of secondary importance only.
There was atendency at one time to make the League a greater power
in football politics than it was ever destined to be. The League has
immense power, but there is no necessity for that power to be used.
The League has its work to do ;the Association has its work to do,
and there need be no clashing. Indeed, for some years there has been
no suggestion of clashing. There was a time when friction seemed
likely to come about between the two great bodies, but alittle common
sense was exercised, and now football is in a healthier state so far as
the relations of all important bodies are concerned than ever it was
before. The Association desired to limit the number of clubs in each
League, and in this they were wise. There is nothing to cavil at there ;
the Association must be supreme. For instance, theme was atime when
the League, very foolishly as we now know, decided to boycott clubs
which interfered with its players. Now that was calculated to set
public opinion against the League; in fact, it did cause public opinion
to go against the body. Ave have learned our lesson, and a mistake
of that kind is not likely to be repeated.
The prejudice on the part of amateurs to League football is not so
pronounced as it used to be. We now have a good sprinkling of
amateur players in our League clubs, and they are highly esteemed.
It is not too much to say that the re-appearance of Roose in the ranks
of the Stole Club produced quite a revolution in the Potteries in
favour of that club. The amateur has an influence, if he will only use
it and settle down to work in a persistent way. If League football
is worth playing it is worth playing well, and Ihave no sympathy with
a man who goes flitting about from club to club in the course of a
season. Isay this because Ibelieve that the keen man is the man who
enjoys his sport. The player who makes sacrifices for his club is the man
who gets the maximum of enjoyment out of that club, whatever any one
else may think to the contrary. The man who says, "It's too much
fag," never gets any enjoyment out of anything. No, give me keenness,
and that is why I say that the amateur who plays League football is
a sensible fellow. He will enjoy his football more than he who plays
the game in an irresponsible and haphazard spirit.
I am convinced that the League competition will long remain the
competition I)ccr excellence. The English Cup and the League are
firmly established, and they run well together. There is no similarity
between the two. The Lcague competition is one of skill and endur-
I

8 Association Football
ance ; the Cup goes to the club which
- plays the best and most
spirited football in a few games. It -would be foolish to institute
comparisons between the struggles. The only thing I need say is
that the English Cup competition comes at a very opportune time,
for towards February there is apt to be a slackening of interest in
the League so far as the few- teams which have done consistently badly
are concerned. But even then there is the fight to avoid the bottom
places, and that is often as thrilling as the struggle for championship
honours. The kind of football which wins the League does not win
the Cup, and so one competition is the counterpart rather than the
rival of the other.
 SECTION VII

IMPRESSIONS OF WING PLAY

BY WILLIAM MEREDITH

IHAVE been asked to write upon agame which has been very dear to
me for some years now, and which has given pleasure to countless
thousands, who have spent the little leisure they have in these stern
competitive days in looking on. -It seems to me that I cannot do
better than afford spectators aglimpse of the player, as he stands before
the public eye, keenly observed, closely followed in his every movement,
and the object of varying criticism, just as he may succeed or fail.
After this, there may be still room for a discussion of the science of
forward play from the standpoint of the extreme winger. The intro-
duction of professionalism has been responsible for many things. It
has, for instance, along with the introduction of the Football League,
and the League system generally, raised the standard of football, which
it is reasonable to believe would never have reached the science it has
done but for this. People there are who seem never tired of holding
up their hands in pious horror against the payment of the player, and
think that there would be enough to provide amateur sport, apart from
professionalism. Iam not going into this question, because it has been
completely answered, in the most convincing way, by the enormous
public patronage bestowed upon it. These attendances would never
have been possible where there was no guarantee of a full team taking
the field, which was often the case in the pre-professional days.
But if professionalism has done this from the point of view of
popularising the game, it has done much also in giving the player a
status, and with it a responsibility which did not exist previously.
There was a time when little was expected of a player, than that he
should treat the position merely from the strictly individual point of
vies- of developing his physique, and adding pleasure to his hours of
recreation. This is a class of football which still flourishes in many
9
IO Association Football
scattered districts, and which can be regarded purely, in a recreative
light. -No one would be so foolish to say anything against it either, but
rather would encourage it. But to be fair, it must be agreed that, on
the other hand, the players, who play for remuneration, and provide an
entertainment for thousands, are fulfilling aworthy calling. There are
those who consider the present maximum amount of 64 a reek all
the year round as altogether too generous a sum for the playing of a
match or two within the space of aweek. Those who argue, however,
have not always placed themselves in aposition to ascertain what it is
that is required of the professional player at the present time. Let me
just throw into prominence some of the sacrifices he has to make and
the rules he- has to observe, to show that be is not the happy-go-lucky
fellow whom, we are told, lounges about the streets, kills time aimlessly,
and not always wisely, and who is the idol of folk who allow their
enthusiasm to take mistaken channels. In the first place, let me say
that in the last dozen years there has been a great change in the
character of the paid player. Recognising the fact that the public eye
was upon him, and that his work called forth every season more exacting
responsibilities, he willingly accepted the position, and we now see him
able to take his position in the best of company, and -would have no
hesitation in asking alady to take aseat with him in his saloon. -Why,
it is afact that Manebester City team on our recent journey to London
for the final for the English Cup, surprised the occupants of a station
they _were leasing by singing, and that too quite musically, "Lead,
Nindly Llaht." The days indeed when hotel proprietors absolutely
refused to allow afootball team on their premises, owing to such school-
boy pranks as emptying the feather beds on to the landing-hall below
or even marching out triumphantly the next morning with the four bed-
posts, declaring that as they had paid for their beds they meant to have
them, are now incidents of the past. In dress, conduct, and general
behaviour Icontend that the paid player can well take care of himself, and
compares favourably, at any rate, - with any other professional sportsman.
The player has not so much time on his bands as many suppose.
At most headquarters he is required to present himself for training not
later than ten o'clock in the morning. He then begins a course of
exercise best fitting him for his work. This is not by any means child's
play. It is downright serious application to a set of rules, which are
imperatively enforced, and which will vary from the use of heavy clubs
and dumb-bells, to twenty minutes' skipping, ball-puncbina. sprinting,
 Arm-chair Criticism II

and alternating with an eight or nine miles' walk at abrisk pace. The
player has to train himself in other ways, and requires to be proof
against temptation to indulge in things which do not make for con-
dition. Every hour of the day almost he lives in an atmosphere
which reminds him of nothing else but football; and he finishes the week
playing before agreat crowd of people, who often expect him to perform
more like a machine than a human being subject to pains, aches, and
illnesses, to say nothing of some ugly wound which the stud of a boot
has opened, but which his pluck and loyalty to his club causes him to
forget in his whole-souled desire to secure avictory for his side. If he
is married he has to say good-bye to many of the pleasures of home life,
and at the festive time of the year, when every one reckons to meet
round the family circle, he is probably hundreds of miles away, perhaps
shut up in a deserted seaside resort, undergoing "special training" for
the purpose of providing entertainment for the more favoured members
of society. Add to all this the possible risk of having to stay for weeks
in hospital nursing abroken ankle or adislocated collar-bone, and it must
surely be agreed that the life of the professional football player is not
quite so gilded an occupation as it might appear.
In recent years there seems to have sprung up a closer criticism
of the player as such, and one can now read, as well as listen to, the
instructions of well-intentioned people who always know just how a
game can be won, and who will recount the exact number of mistakes
made on the field of play by every individual player. From spectators
the players on the wing are always most ably captained by well-inten-
tioned people, who will tell you just how far away is the opposing back,
the exact moment to centre, and the easiest way to score from within
the confines of the chalk-lines surrounding the corner-flag. The mistake
which many of our good critics make is that they do not realise many of
the things which mare it necessary for the players to do precisely the
opposite to what the spectators think should be done Most players
have their own peculiar ideas and methods of going to work. They
have made these something of alife study, and the fact that they have
proved in the hi gh est sense successful is surely enough to entitle them
to play their own game. The very fact that players cannot always do
just what they please, that a puff of wind under the ball in alengthy
fli glit from the wing may mean all the difference between amiss and a
hit, a Goal or afailure, that aheavy ground causes the ball often to stop
where it strikes, whilst a fast one may mean its rivalling acricket ball
I2 Association Football
for pace, are, with dozens of other varying influences, the spice of the
game, causing every match to have that element of uncertainty as to
the distribution of the honours, and which explains more than any-
thing else the great popularity -which football enjoys. Make men into
machines, and convert the pastime into something -which will make
every result tolerably certain before the match is played, and you -would
very quickly hear the death-knell of the sport. Ibelieve that the more the
position of players on and off the field is studied, the more considerate
will be the attitude of the critics, who will be agreed in time, as many
are convinced already, that allowing for the fact that nothing but the
feet and occasionally the head are allowed to act in the manipulation
of the ball, that the science of the game of football will hold its own
against almost any other branch of outdoor sport. I have already
proved, Ithink, that our players are not by any means the "unintelli-
gent paid hirelings "-which some -would have us believe, and in further
proof of this let us remember that the successful player requires, if he
-wishes to make any headway in the game, to be continually thinking out
fresh ideas, and developing new movements in the manipulation and
control of the ball. I am able to specially --rite on this phase of the
subject, because Iregard the outside forward position as the most diffi-
cult to fill, and possibly requiring, next to the goalkeeper, a greater
display of individual cleverness than any other position. The reason
will be at once apparent when it is remembered that the inside player
may be some distance away when one starts arun down the field. Then
it is that the outside man realises that what he does, in the way of
beating down opposition, has to be done alone. Frequently, too, the
centre half will execute a sort of flank movement, -whilst the full back
--ill operate on the touch-side. Here then we have something like a
complete enveloping manoeuvre on the part of the opposing side, and it
is with such situations facing one that the real merits of a player are
tested to the utmost. It would be obviously impossible to set up a
rigid set of rules as to how an outside player can best beat down the
attentions of halves and backs. Every fresh change in the placings of
the men, and every new circuit of the ball, alters th e position of things
to such an extent that the mind of the player requires to be continually
open to adaptable ideas. But it is safe to say that command of and
control over the ball will solve many of the problems which present
themselves.
A player is always fairly master of the situation so long as he feels
 Players should be Versatile 13

that he has the ball completely under his control. Now it is not neces-
sary that to accomplish this he should have the ball within afew inches
of his toe or almost tied to his feet. Iadmit that afast man who can
reduce the space between himself and the ball, to bring it always within,
say, a couple of feet while yet travelling at top speed, will possess abig
advantage, but the art of wing
play is to have a definite idea of 1
what you intend to do with the
ball, presuming things go all
right, and also to maintain direct
sympathy with the ball, even
whilst it is some yards in front
of one. The knowledge that is
followed with confidence that the
ball is always really in posses-
sion of the player will carry him
tlirougli many difficulties. It is
the motive power of his energies,
the current showing him the
shortest and best cut to the
goal. It follows that every
player who wishes to become at
all an expert in the game must
have more than one string to his
}pow. It is the man who can l
adapt himself to the altered posi-
tionsand situations, with new and Photo ; Afaclure, Macdonald
& ICo., Glasgow

fresh ideas, that succeeds in these FINLAY sPEEDIE

strenuously contested football Rangers F.C.

days, for if aplayer has only one

sort of movement on the field, and can only beat his man by a sort
of rule of thumb, he will soon find that just as the batsman knows
a bowler's weakness, or a bowler remembers what sort of ball will
most puzzle the batsman, you can be sure that the defending players
will immediately read him like a book, and make him of very little
service to his side.
As to what a wing man should do in the direction of centring or
shooting, everything depends upon the position of the players at the
time, but it is always advisable to adapt oneself to things as they qre
14 Association Football
found existing. A wing man who never attempts a shot, and who
always requires to "shake hands "with the corner-flag before centring,
will soon find that he invites far closer attention than he would if he
left the defence in complete ignorance whether he intended to shoot,
centre, or pass. It is the player of originality and initiative, the man
with cool self-possession, -who knows just what he can do, and just what
he ought not to attempt to do, who can measure up, not only his own
speed and capabilities, but those of his opponent to anicety—this is the
type of player who «°ill make his mark. As to centring the ball ;here
again the wing man requires to use his own common sense and intelli-
gence. For instance, if your forwards are on the small side and the
backs tall, it is hardly advisable to send in ahigh centre; whilst, on
the other hand, if your centre, say, is a six-footer, he will have a big
advantage in heading through from a ball which is some five feet from
the ground. Ido not think that the centres which come across, right
on alevel with the line, are always the best. The protection now given
to goalkeepers almost allows him afree hand in fisting out such centres,
whilst there is the danger of being given offside, for all referees do not,
unfortunately, measure up quite accurately the angle of the ball, or the
position of the player, when these close centres come along. A style of
play which is coming to the front is for the inside man to make arapid
change to the outside, the latter making abee-line for goal, and if tackled
rapidly transferring to the unattended player who has one on the wing.
This has some advantages, though it may be confusing to the attacking
side, as well as tending to slacken the game. There are certain lines
laid down in football for each player, according to his position, and these
must always be more or less observed, but Iam convinced that the more
a player makes a study of the game—say as Mr. L. Roose is said to do
in the matter of goalkeeping—the more successful he will be. These
are the men who will be sure to come to the front in the end, and with
our football crowds in turn becoming more observant, and also increas-
ingly intelligent in all points of the game, there seems to be an even
greater popularity for football in the future than even in the past.
 I•

SECTION VIII

THE DUTIES OF A FULL BACK

BY HERBERT SMITH

IT was the late Lord Beaconsfield who said that the duty of the Opposi-
tion was to oppose. In the same way one may say that the duty of a
full back is to defend. Yes, but bow? There are many methods of
defence. One effective method of defence is to attack, but is it ever
the duty of a full back to attack? Surely. One's forwards and half-
backs may be swarming round the opposing goal. It is then the duty
of at least one of the full backs to get within shooting distance of his
opponents' goal, so that if the ball comes out he will gently lob it back
into the goal-mouth. Better than defending one's own goal is to prevent
the opposition getting away from their own end of the ground.
A full back may also attack by "placing "the ball properly to his
own forwards, or by ajudicious kick to aspot where one of his own side
may first reach the ball. It is not always in one's own half of the field
that the best work is done. A full back on the half-way line may pick
up many unconsidered trifles and nip in the bud many a promising
sortie of the opposition.
It is, of course, in defence of his own goal that afull back gets most
work to do; it is here that the stress and strain is felt, that the battle
is fiercest, that the fight is fraught with momentous consequences. A
forward may mare many mistakes and be forgiven. A half-back may
fail to stop an oncoming rush, but a full back must not fail or falter
without grave issues to his side. If a.
full back miss his kick or fail to
stop his opponent, the error is often irretrievable. The goalkeeper may
cover the mistake or he may not, but the full back is already in the
pillory.
What, then, is the first essential of asuccessful full back ? It is not
tall kicking, it is not fearless tackling, it is not indeed any physical
quality. No one can hope to be a first-class back who has not a cool
- 15
16 Association Football
head and asteady disposition. The back who loses his head is simply
of no use to the game. There are doubtless times in the heat of afierce
contest when even aman with his brain "packed in ice "will waver for a
moment, but the back will generally be successful just in so far as he
keeps his eye clear and his brain cool. There are, of course, moments
when aback works almost auto-
matically ; there are certain
things that he does almost by
instinct; but the great issues of
a game are usually settled by
the defenders who never give
way to panic. A footballer need
be as brainy as a master of
chess. Given steadiness in a
back one need not necessarily be
a big kicker to be a sound de-
fender. There are, of course,
occasions when the ponderous
kick comes in useful, but, gene-
rally speaking, aback who kicks
afair length and kicks accurately
will be far more serviceable than
the man who lunges wildly at
the ball irrespective of direction.
A good back will take care
that he does not kick too far—
Photo :Reinhol[l Thiele &- Co.
say over the goal-line or to the
B. BATTLES toes of his opponents. Some
Celtic and Scotland of our best backs have been
very moderate kickers as regards
length, but then their direction was accurate and their judgment perfect.
Iwould therefore say that accuracy comes first and strength afterwards.
Again Iwould say, never take unnecessary risks. If aback has time
to stop the ball, it is always preferable to taking aflying kick. Nor
should he head the ball if he can with equal ease get his foot to it. It
is always better to play for safety than to sacrifice soundness for
the brilliance that appeals to the gallery. To volley the ball perhaps
nearly the whole length of the field may look pretty, but if it be not
likely to benefit one's side the temptation must be pushed aside.
P&Of0 by HILLS &- SAUNDERS, OXFORD.
HERBERT SMITH ,
READING AND ENGLAND.
 Combination in Defence 17

In regard to tackling, every man may have his own devices. I1Iy idea
is that the back should act quickly. He should decide whether he is to
go for the man or the ball. Personally, I always prefer trying for the
ball. It is wonderful what one can do if one fixes one's eye on the
leather and determines to get it. Quick, decisive tactics are always to
be preferred to a hesitating manner. If, however, the ball has been
passed out beyond one's reach it is essential that the forward be
properly obstructed. One may at times force one's opponent to put the
ball into "touch "or, better still, over the goal-line. Anything is better
than allowing him to "middle" the ball in front of goal. If one has to
tackle two or more forwards at once, the difficulties become increasingly
great, and in these circumstances the only chance of stopping the run is
to intercept the ball. To merely obstruct one of two opposing forwards
is of little use. In these cases the ball should always be the object
aimed at. If close to goal it is always better to mark the inside man than
the outside man, for the simple reason that there is comparatively less
danger from the shooting of the extreme wing man.
So far I have been speaking of backs acting in isolation, but, of
course, true full-back play will always be carried on in conjunction with
the rest of the team, and especially with one's immediate partner and
the goalkeeper. The backs should always act in relation to each other.
If one cannot get the ball it is usually possible to "block" one's
opponent and leave the ball for the other back. At times aback when
obstructed will do well to pass back to his partner, but as this movement
is always fraught with danger, it should never be indulged in with an
unmarked opponent anywhere near. To pass back to a goalkeeper is
often more dangerous still, but there are times when it must be done as
the least of two evils.
Many goals are given away by misunderstandings between two
backs and between backs and goalkeeper. It is necessary, then, that these
three should be thoroughly en rapl)w-t. To prevent misunderstand-
ings between backs one should always be ready to cover the mistakes
of the other, and it ought to be arranged that one of the two is to
fall back, while the other goes forward to meet the oncoming foe.
It is also important to give the goalkeeper plenty of space to see the
ball and to operate in. Don't crowd in upon your goalkeeper. Many
agoal has been lost through the backs playing on top of the custodian.
There are times when a back may find it a convenient defensive
movement to put the opposing forwards offside. With alittle judgment
VOL. II. B
18 Association Football
this is often easy to accomplish, but, generally speaking, Iwould only
adopt this expedient when everything else was likely to fail. It is, I
think, a manlier game and more in the spirit of football to save one's
goal by kicking, heading, or tackling, than by the subterfuge of making
the opposition break the rules.
The full back who is merely adefensive player has not learned the
game in its entirety. He must learn to part with the ball to the best
advantage. At one time he may have to pass it adroitly to ahalf-back,
at another he may have to drop it at the feet of aforward on his own
side who is in a favourable position. He must try to keep his own
side busied with the attack. There are occasions, too, when he should
be on the outlook for apass back from ahalf or aforward. Above all,
afull back must be plucky. He should never hesitate to dash into a
scrimmage if he has achance of securing the ball. To act quickly and
resolutely at all times, never to lose heart, to keep encouraging the
men in front, to play the game in the spirit as well as the letter are a
few of the minor duties of afull back.
 :!1

SECTION IX

HALFBACK PLAY

BY JAMES W . CRABTREE

SPEAKING very broadly, and perhaps just a trifle loosely, one might
say that the lialf-back line is the backbone of afootball team. Imake
this reservation because it would avail no team to have the finest
"backbone " ever known, if the forwards were incapable of shooting
goals, or if the two backs were inefficient and the goalkeeper incapable.
You must have all departments fairly up to form if you are to have
a team worth calling such. But given general competency all round,
the half-back line is possibly the most important section of the team,
in that the halves are there to fill a dual purpose. You know what
the functions of agoalkeeper are; if his side are attacking, he is usually
shivering and waving his arms as the cabman will, in the vain effort
to restore circulation. No one expects him to go and give the forwards
a lift. The full backs, too, are there to defend; defence must ever be
the primary consideration of aback. But the half-backs are privileged
persons. It is quite as much their duty to attack as to defend; they
should have a slight leaning in favour of defence ;the robbing of an
opponent is a cardinal point in a half-back's football faith. Give the
ball to the man on your own side who is best placed to receive it, if
you can ;by all means look after your forwards. But better do any-
thin g than allow an opposition forward to get off with the ball. Kick
out if you like; clear skilfully, scientifically, and advantageously if you
can—but clear. But the man who can only tackle will never rank as
agreat half. The halves have not only to check the opposing forwards,
and so relieve the backs of agreat deal of work, but if they are to be
regarded as worth their salt they have to aid their own forwards to
attack.
The halves are the connecting link between the backs and the
forwards; they are the most vital part of apiece of complex machinery;
19
20 Association Football
and if anything goes wrong with them the whole mechanism is thrown
out of order. Generally speaking, I have never known a team attain
to any real eminence which had not an intelligent and powerful half-
back line. You know how highly I think of the Corinthians, yet I 1
believe it was a slight deficiency at half-back that prevented certain
Corinthian elevens being recalled
as we recall North End of old,
Sunderland of the middle nineties,
and Aston Villa of 1897- Ihave
seen Corinthian teams which, had
their half-back line consisted of
Robertson, Russell, and Graham,
or Reynolds, Charles Perry, and
Groves (modesty prevents my
adding Reynolds, Cowan, and
Crabtree), would have stood little
dan ger of being defeated by any
club side in the country. That
is my opinion ; it may or may
not be the opinion of others.
What, then, are the qualifica-
tions—the essential qualifications
—of a good half-back? They are
multitudinous. He must be a
skilful tackler. He must be up to
J all the wiles and dodges of a
Photo :Reinhold Thiele
clever forward ;nay, he must .be
J. CRABTREE up to all the tricks which aclever
Aston Villa and England wing pair can spring upon him.
He must have almost unerring
judgment; he must divine what a forward's intention is before that
intention can be translated into action. He must know when to
cover a hard,-pressed comrade without leaving his own wing—the
wing it is his positive duty to bold in check—too dangerously open.
And when he has tackled a man, and established a clear success,
he must be able to place the ball to a comrade with unfailing
accuracy. Not only that, but he must know which man out of
the eleven is best circumstanced for receiving it. That he must
find out in the tenth of a second; nay, he must know it intuitively;
 The Tireless Half-back 21

lie must feel what his duty is. If you think that is an easy matter,
allow me to say that it is the most difficult thing in football. Some
men would never learn how to act almost intuitively. It may be to a
large degree agift ;Ioften think it is.
Then, again, a half-back must be physically perfect or he cannot
last out the game, and the half
who is blown half way through
the second portion will find that
he is letting his side down badly.
One season I used to find half-
back play very exacting. The
half is the most hard -worked
man on the field. Backs get
plenty of rest, and often forwards
do, for the ball cannot be on both
sides of the field at once. But
the half-back has to follow the
ball more than any forward; he
has to follow it consistent with
the maintenance of an ability to
be in his place should a very
long pass place the wing men he
is dealing with in possession of it.
It would not do for the
average half-back to follow the
ball as Needham does. To play
Photo: lU G. Taylor, Sunderland
Ncedham's game you want Need-
ham's matchless ability. I have HUGH WILSON

3rd L. R. V. and Scotland

seen Ernest Needham leave his
wing open in a way I should
never have, dared to do, and I have over and over again expected
to see disaster result from his absence from position. The goal
has been invaded, and when every one thought that the ball
would be put through, the errant Needham has dropped from the
clouds, or sprung out of the earth, just in time to head away, and
receive a storm of applause. But Needham is Needham, and he
plays his own game ;some of us have to exercise more care than he
appears to the casual spectator to exhibit. It would not do for the
youthful cricketer to mould his style on Ranjitsinhji, because Ranji
22 Association Football
can do things which no other batsman dare attempt. Far better copy
A. P. Lucas and learn Ranji's tricks one by one, if you can.
We can all be good players, but we can't all be wizards, and Ranji
and Needham are wizards. Johnny Holt had a wonderful knack of
knowing what he could do and what he had better not attempt; he -vas
aNeedham with twenty-five per cent. more caution. Frank Forman is a
man for the average half to copy; he was always sound in his methods.
So was Charlie Perry ; he -vas one of the soundest halves that ever
played the game. John Reynolds -vas of adifferent order; he would
do things which made you wonder if you had ever seen aman like him;
often he had to be brilliant or fail, for he was never a fast man—at
least, not in my time; but no one quite knows how many generations of
footballers John Reynolds saw, come and go. Probably James Cowan
was the safest half that ever played the game; if ever he did make a
little miscalculation—which was avery rare occurrence—his great speed
always got him out of what seemed likely to develop into adifficulty.
Then a half-back should be agood shot ;if he is a deadly shot, so
much the better for his side. Few half-backs shoot as well as they ought
to do. William Groves was a great shot; so was Hugh McIntyre, of
Blackburn Rovers. If the posts had been three feet higher, James
Cowan would have been an ideal shot; very often he used to get just
over the bar, but of course James had shot some fine goals. Albert
W' ilkes shot very accurately as a rule, and one of the best halves of
the day as agoal-getter is Abbott, of Everton, who, when with Small
Heath, looked like making asecond Fred Wheldon at inside left forward.
By the way, -Thy was not Fred Wheldon signed up as ahalf-back? I
believe he would have made atip-top man in the intermediate line. If
ever he fell back when the Villa were being pressed, his tackling used
to strike me as being quite out of the ordinary.
A half-back's duty is to keep the game going. How finely Groves
used to play behind Dennis Hodgetts and Steve Smith, and how grandly
Needham combined with -Vheldon and Spikesley in that international
at Glasgow in 1898. The old North End halves were always extra
forwards when their sides were attacking. No forwards alive, however
clever they may be, can ever beat down apowerful defence if they have
to make all their own openings. What apower Archie Goodall was to
Derby County! Iwonder how many goals Steve Bloomer has scored
from Archie's passes. Yet Archie Goodall is not an ornamental half.
I doubt if any half-back that ever lived has played fewer poor games
 Famous Half-back Lines 23

than Archie Goodall. David Calderhead, of Notts County, was another

centre half whose form could always be relied upon. Tom Crawshaw
is another great worker, and Morren, of the United, always knew what
to do with the ball when he got it. J. R. Auld, the Sunderland captain,
was another half of infallible judgment.
Of famous half-back lines we have had, Imight write at great length.
Idoubt if Robertson, Russell, and Graham have ever been beaten as
a trio. Hugh Nilson, Auld, and Gibson were a good trio, but not so
clever as the one Ihave mentioned, although prior to the throw-in being
altered I think Hugh Nilson was the most dangerous individual half-
back playing. He was asuperb footballer. It often used to strike me
that if the Scottish Association had not been so narrow-minded they
might have had the finest international trio that was ever put together,
and might have had them for years, too. Hugh Wilson, Cowan, and
Groves !—what aline it would have been! Needham, Alorren, and Ra.b
Rowell were pretty good—little and ",00d ;but give me the North End
trio, for Ibelieve in men of build, skilful thou ghthe United trio were.
Of the earlier halves Iremember, James Forrest and Geo. Howarth
were two of the best I have ever seen, and Jack Keenan, of Burnley,
was a capital man; only his misfortune in running against aman like
Forrest deprived him of the highest honours.
 SECTION X

FOOTBALL JOURNALS

HOW SOME FOOTBALL PAPERS ARE PRODUCED

THE" Alan in the Street," who is intensely interested in football, must

now and again wonder how football papers are produced, more especially
those editions that are selling on the street afew minutes after the con-
clusion of the match. In aprovincial town the production of afootball
edition is comparatively easy, chiefly because the country paper is
largely interested in the one or two important clubs in its district. The
provincial paper "spreads itself "on its few home clubs, and only "fills
up" with matches played at a distance. In the provinces the local
football grounds are seldom more than amile distant from the newspaper
office, and it is quite easy to send off copy during the progress of the
game by bicycle, or, if the distance be greater, by telephone.
One or two of the Glasgow papers used to employ pigeons, and a
few country papers do so still; but the pigeon is a slow, clumsy, and
uncertain messenger. Practically all the up-to-date papers now use the
telephone for local reports. In the provincial towns, say Nottingham, or
Sheffield, there are two big clubs, but, as a rule, they seldom play at
home on the same day, so that the Nottingham or the Sheffield football
edition has seldom more than one match to report fully. Papers in
these towns, however, are exceedingly well done, and in point of "make-
up," knowledge, and general reports, compare favourably with the
London football papers. Personally, Imust award the palm to Glasgow
football papers for length and completeness of reports, although the
Edinburgh press is not far behind. Manchester is practically the head-
quarters of football journalism, and in this city the game is splendidly
reported on Saturday night, chiefly by the aid of the Sunday Chronicle
and the Umpire. It is here, of course, that the footballers' paper is
printed and published—I refer, of course, to the Athletic lATews, which
makes its appearance on Monday morning. It is with Saturday evenin(
papers, however, that Iwould like to deal. A football paper published
94
 Telephones and Cyclists 25

on Monday does not have to struggle so hard against time. It is "time"

that is the bugbear of the Saturday night journal. In Glasgow they
publish several editions, the last, opublished about 7. -o, being acomplete
paper, and dealing in more or less detail with all the matches of the day.
Many of the provincial papers are published from 6.3o to 7.30 P.m., and
in these instances time is again
the great enemy. What, then, are
we to say of the London foot-
ball editions that are frequently
selling on the street at q..30 P.TI.,
or even sooner, when matches
have begun early ?
It is difficult for any one un-
acquainted with London to under-
stand the difficulty of producing
a football paper in London on
Saturday night. In the first place,
London has at least a dozen
important clubs whose matches
require reporting at some length.
The nearest football bround of
importance is the Crystal Palace,
some six miles from Fleet Street,
where the papers are printed.
The football grounds vary from
six miles to twelve miles distant
from the ilewspaper offices. Dis- Photo : ".Fry's Alagazine"

tance is not now amatter of such JOHN CAMERON

importance as it was afew years Tottenham Hotspur

ago before the telephone came on

the scene. At one time cyclists had to ride hard with the copy from
places like Plumstead, Brentford, and Park Royal, through the traffic of
London—distances of from ten to twelve miles—and even in those clays the
paper was printed within afew minutes of the present hours of publishing.
In addition to the dozen o-r so of tiny matches to be reported in the
metropolitan district, the London papers have to report at some length
practically all the Southern League matches, and of course they have to
(lo something about the matches in the First and Second Divisions of the
Football League.
 26 Association Football
For the London matches the telephone is laid on from the ground
direct to the office. This means a dozen private telephones which are
only used for football matches. The rental of those private lines in
London alone will amount to something like X200 per annum. For
reporting Southern League matches out of London telephones are also
necessary, but in this instance they are sometimes shared with one or
other of the News Agencies. This arrangement reduces the cost, but,
on the other hand, there are "trunk calls" to be paid for, so that the
actual cost is about the same as a private telephone. At the time of
writing, Christmas 19o5, there is one football ground in the London
district that does not possess a telephone. -Would it be believed that
the football papers of London have been trying to get the Post Office
to erect a telephone on this particular ground for the past two years,
and they have persistently refused on the ground that they have not
a telephone exchange in the district! How is this for Government
enterprise ?
It is a remarkable fact that though there is no telephone on this
ground, the Football Star gets its matches telephoned all the same! I
dare not at present say how it is done. Imerely point out some of the
difficulties of London papers, and how they are overcome when seemingly
impossible.
The old process of telegraphing news is useless for up-to-date football
papers, although here and there we are driven to send messages paid for
at the private rate of ahalfpenny per word.
The room where the news is received is like atelephone exchange,
and indeed the Football Star and Football Evening Yeivs have each so
many telephones that they have private telephone exchanges of their
own inside the building. A staff of specially trained clerks is engaged
for Saturday afternoons, and each man has his ear glued to atelephone
for the greater part of an hour. Each man writes clown the report of
one match only, and each slip of paper as he writes is taken off to the
composing room to be set up in type by the linotype machines. Before
the introduction of this machine it would have been practically impos-
sible to print six or seven columns of matter in an hour. A whole page
of seven col umns ,sa y 12 ,00 0 wor ds, i
s now f
requently set up in thirty

minutes. After this there is all the correcting and revising to do, the
pages to be "made up," the plates cast in the foundry, and the printing
machines to be "cloth ed," th at i s to say, fi tte d w i
th the cylindrical

plates of molten matter.

 !0

How Reporting is Done 27

Just think of it—the whole process of taking 12,000 words over

telephones, writing them down, getting them set in type, getting the
type "cast" so that duplicates may be made to any extent, getting
some twenty machines all fitted with the duplicate plates before you
can begin to print, and even then doing all this in alittle over an hour.
It looks difficult to do it under any circumstances, but to do it without
making mistakes seems impossible. Yet by careful organisation the
whole thing is done week after week with scarcely ahitch. If, however,
a stranger were to come into anewspaper office while afootball edition
is going to press, he would think he had struck a regular inferno.
Imagine a room not much larger than an ordinary dining-room fitted
up with about twenty telephones less than a yard apart, with no
partition between, and the men's elbows touching. In the same room
are several tape machines belonging to rival News Agencies, all ticking
out brief reports of matches, half-time scores, and results.
The telephone bells are ringing continuously as they get switched off
and on to various grounds, and often when aman is busy in the middle
of an important report of amatch lie will suddenly get "cut off" by a
"trunk call." It is then that the patient sub-editor might tear his
hair—if he has any left—in wild despair. But of course the sub-editor
does nothing of the kind. If the chief of the staff were to lose his head
for a single moment the result would be chaos. One has to learn to
take troubles philosophically and make the best of them. Meanwhile
Time, the great enemy, is speeding on. The last page must be set,
cast, and put on the printing machines before most -of the matches are
finished. A blank column is left in the page for late results. When
football matches begin at 3 o'clock the results begin to pour in about
4..30, and we would consider ourselves unlucky if we did not have
all the important results from all parts of the kingdom telephoned
to us by 4..50, or, say, from ten to fifteen minutes after the finish of
the last matches.
It is considered acalamity if, for some reason or other, an important
game has been delayed for five minutes. The paper may be on all the
machines, and the printer waiting for the fateful word "Go." We may
be waiting for a Cup tie between Aston Villa and Sunderland. The
paper cannot go to press without it. There is a silence in the office
still as death. The seconds are ticking off, the minutes are creeping
past, and men stand with telephones to their ear, and others are hang-
ing over the "tape "machines which send out results. The nervous
28 Association Football
strain is almost unbearable. Every minute means that our parcels -will
lose a train somewhere, and the papers will arrive at their destination
very late.
To be late anywhere means loss of sale . and much heartburning
between publisher and newsagents. Hundreds of boys and men -waiting
for papers in the street are getting impatient. At last the important
result arrives, and the printing machine begins to pour out copies by
the thousand. Iought to have explained that the blank column left
in the page for late results is filled up by means of curved steel boxes
which are -wedged into the printing machines. Every box contains
about twenty-five lines, and four boxes are frequently used. In the
printing of the Football Star nearly Z.Io,000 -north of machinery is
brought into use, and over 6000 copies aminute are produced.
The publishing-room and far out into the street is filled with avast
crowd of young men called "runners, cyclists, men with Star carts,
;5

cabs, and motors. Several policemen are called in just to see fair play,
but no crowd could possibly be noisier and better behaved at the same
time. The papers come up from the printers hot from the machine on
never-ending lifts. These lifts, with "arms "about ayard apart, never
stop. The publisher and his assistants are busy seizing the papers as
they come up, and throwing them over the counter in huge lots straight.
into the arms of cartmen and others who have handed in their orders
earlier in the day. The papers are counted and folded by the machines,
so that the publisher has only to find their rightful owners. He has
also to be careful about catching his trains. In another room are a
score of expert packers making up huge parcels for the various railway
stations. There are over Soo rail-way stations in London. The cyclists
and motors are usually first served. They go away with -what are
called "off lots "to various centres to catch the early buyer, and these
are followed up by the vans, who bring the stock for the district. An
ordinary bicycle carries 3o quires, -weighing about so lbs. of paper.
He dashes through slippery streets amongst the traffic at break-neck
speed, and he rarely meets with an injury. Their cleverness in avoiding
collisions is marvellous. Some of them ride from i o to zK miles with
their load, and they usually arrive far in front of the lots that go by
train.
In the provinces it is the custom ' of the inhabitants to -walk into
town on Saturday night, and therefore it is quite easy to serve
them with newspapers. In London it is just the reverse. Every one
 How Papers are Distributed 29

practically lives in the suburbs, and the City of London on Saturday

ni gh tis like apalace of the dead. Excepting for the west End theatres
and music-halls all the population is miles away. The people have there-
fore to be chased by bicycles, motors, and light vans to their various
haunts. This is the real reason why football papers in London have to
go to press so early. And yet some strange things are done. It is
possible, for instance, to print the Football Star, pack it, send it by van
to Paddington Station—five miles off—book the parcel, and send it to
Reading, 40 miles distant, all within an hour. By this means the Foot-
ball Star is sometimes selling on the streets of Reading as soon as the
football paper which is published in the town of Reading. And it is
not to one place only that we are sending. The paper is being despatched
simultaneously to thousands of different centres. The organisation for
distribution is just as complex and as difficult as the organisation for
producing the paper. I have frequently been told that the London
football papers are not to be compared for completeness with the foot-
ball papers of the best provincial towns. Even so. The London papers
have to do in one hour what the provincial papers take three, four,
or five hours to do. Many a provincial sub-editor has sailed gaily
into a London office determined to work a revolution in the foot-
ball press. So far he has not succeeded. Mr. John M. Dick, of the
Football News, is a provincial man, and so is Mr. Alfred Gibson, of
the Football Star, but both have won their spurs as journalists and
organisers in London.
I

SECTION XI

GIANTS OF THE GAME

HOWARD SPENCER

THE present time, when Spencer has been accorded by his club
the rare privilege of the player—a second benefit—is one peculiarly
fitting for apersonal sketch of the man to whom not only the famous
"Claret and Blues," but the whole national game, owe so much.
To put it succinctly, Aston Villa typify all that is best in Association
football, and Howard Spencer typifies all that is best in Aston Villa.
In him, therefore, is crystallised the virtues, manly athletic both, of
the game. This may seem exaggerated praise. If it is so, I must
plead sincerity in my prejudice. I know the man, and write only of
him as Iknow him. He is not perfect. There have been times when I
have raised Cain, like Hans Breitmann, by suggesting that Spencer in
certain games was not the "best back on the field," though every other
critic has used that beloved "cliche "of the football reporter ;I have
had the temerity to hint that Spencer was, in fact, not far from being
the very worst back on the field. Isay this only to defend myself
against any charge of prejudice in this all too scant appreciation.
But in a tight corner I would ask for Spencer, at his worst, in
preference to any other full back who is playing football to-day. At
his best Icannot recognise another claimant for his position.
It is a superstition of the football world that Spencer never charges
an opponent. Now, Iknow at least one outside left who can tell you
that Spencer has been known to charge, and that when he does resort
to the brawny as opposed to the brainy side of football, he is—well,
his opponent, in the favourite colloquialism, "knows about it." But
Spencer has so many tricks up the sleeve of his jersey that he regards
the practice of charging an opponent off the ball as playing the game
very low down. He is like aconjuring adept, who wants to get rid of
some cards. He could throw them into the Ewigkeit of the wings, or
30
 He Von the Cup Three Times 3r

the flies ;but he prefers to lose them in true artistry. And, besides,
he wants them back—to prove to the audience that there is no
deception !
There is no finer sight on afootball field than to see Howard Spencer
falling back on his goal. Your average back will race at breakneck
speed to his lines, trusting to luck and his fellow-back to circumvent
the oncoming forward. Not so Spencer. If he cannot deprive his
man of the ball, he will try to cut him off. And how gracefully lie does
it! Watching every movement of his adversary, he falls back with the
kind of movement known in the army as the "echelon." The forward
is puzzled. He left Spencer on the midway line ;yet here the latter is,
waiting to repel boarders, right in the goal-mouth!
They say Spencer is waxing slow. It may be so. He celebrated
his thirtieth birthday on the 2-rd of last August. Three times has he
helped Aston Villa to win the English Cup—in i89J, in 1897, and in
1905. Ile assisted them to head the First Division of the -League four
times. He has half-a-dozen international caps, and the same number
of Inter-League medals. All these honours shed much glory upon
him, but they have agrim aspect too. They mean that lie is aveteran,.
and that some day in the comparatively near future Spencer must
retire from the field he has so splendidly adorned. It may be, Isay,
that lie is not able to get over the ground so quickly as he did ten years
ago ;but what he has lost in speed he has gained in intelligence and
generalship.
Villa have five first-class backs—Spencer, Evans, - Miles, Brown, and
Noon. The-last-named three are young men, and not aLeague club in
the country but would eagerly welcome any or all of them. Yet Spencer
keeps his place; not through sentiment—for there is less sentiment in
the composition of the Villa directors than in that of any other club
authority in England, when it comes to the selection of the team week
by -week—but because he is still the best back on their list.
Ispoke of sentiment just now. It seems difficult to believe that
only in the early part of last season Spencer was deposed in favour of
Brown, the Bolton Wanderer, and that but for an accident to the latter
Spencer might still have been cooling his heels with the reserves, if
indeed he had not adhered to his original determination of quitting
football at the end of last season. But the mishap referred to gave him
achance to show that Howard Spencer was still to be reckoned with as
afootball force.
 32 Association Football
How, after a shaky start, he improved at every successive display
until the English Selection Committee, who had nearly,forgotten this
football Joseph, cast covetous eyes at him again ;how Villa fought
their way up from an alarmingly tow position in the table to the fourth
place; and how, above all, they rode roughshod over all opposition,
with the exception of Everton, to the Crystal Palace, is it not all written
-

indelibly in the chronicles of the game ?

When Spencer, perspiring and begrimed, was lifted on to the dais
to receive the Cup, there was no prouder man in England. And there
was no man more self-conscious or modest. The "boys" had done it.
He "knew they would." I am sure he took aquite impersonal pride
in those same boys.
The captain of Aston Villa will probably be known to fame as the
most gentlemanly professional that ever kicked aball. He is something
more than that. He is probably amongst famous footballers the most
scrupulously fair player known to the game. There was a time, a few
years ago, when the Football Association deliberately dropped him from
acertain international match because he was not considered "vigorous "
enough to stop the Scots forwards. Surely this is the greatest uncon-
scious compliment that was ever paid to any player. -Not rough enough
for an international match ! In plain English that is what the ignoring
of Spencer's claims really amounted to. The Association probably did
not have this view of the matter firmly in its composite mind, but there
were a number of the Selection Committee who deliberately chose a
more vigorous and less skilful player.
All the more honour to Howard Spencer, who in all his long career
has never had afinger raised against him for his methods on the field.
And this is saying agreat deal. In these strenuous days of close com-
petitions, League football, and fierce Cup-tie struggles, in which the
passions of players are sometimes let loose, it says much for the Aston
Villa full back that he has never been known to lose his temper. His
power of self-restraint is prodigious! No player or referee has ever
accused him of awilful foul. Accidental penalties are given against all
players, but adeliberate foul does not come within the scope of Spencer's
temperament.
How then is it that this paragon of the football virtues is so effective ?
He does not charge his opponent so often or so vigorously as the law
allows, and yet he has been about the best back playing in England for
the past six years. He does not take advantage of the innumerable

f
A.4
 i

Photo by ALBERT W ILKES, West Bromwich.

HOWARD SPENCER ,
ASTON VILLA AND ENGLAND.
 IL

The Secret of his Skill 33

little tricks that even the most watchful referee might fail to see, and
yet he holds his own against all comers.
Ills secret, if it can be called asecret, is honest, straightforward play,
and sheer skill. When he has a man to tackle, he goes mainly, if not
solely, for the ball. The ball is his objective, the man is asubsidiary
matter. He might—one can hardly say he would—be an even better
back if he occasionally went more resolutely for the man; but he has
chosen the other plan, and who will dare say that he has made amistake,
or chosen the less noble method?
His knowledge of the game is great. Not for nothing has he played
all these years in first-class football ;not .for nothing has he led his team
to win the League Championship and the Association Cup. Ile usually
knows just one trick too many for the clever confident new forward
that faces him for the first time, and the "old hands "now know his
prowess so well that they take no liberties with the Aston Villa crack.
Spencer is in some respects the knight-errant of the football field. He
is one of aselect band who has done much to keep the game pure, sweet,
and clean. One of these days when the game reaches adignity and a
social status that it has not yet attained—a status equal to that attained
by the dramatic profession—one can almost imagine King Edward, the
royal patron of the Football Association, sending for the Aston Villa
captain, asking him to kneel, and sending him forth to the world as
Sir Howard Spencer!
They are very proud of Howard Spencer in Birmingham. He is
a home-grown product, for he was born in Edgbaston, the centre of
Midland light and leading. Every day the editors of local newspapers
get aquery as to whether Spencer was born in Handsworth or Edgbaston.
"IIandsworth "is often the reply, but Spencer, who ought to know, has
areasonable prejudice in favour of the latter.
May I intrude a tabloid biography ? Here it is: "Played as a
schoolboy with the Albert Road team, an Aston combination, helping
them to carry off several local cups; joined the Birchfield United;
then went to Aston Villa, and when only seventeen years old partnered
Welford in the first team, displacing Baird (who had disappointed the
directors), the new combination forming the most brilliant back pair
that ever played for the club; is 5 feet ro e inches high, and weighs
1 3 stones -1 lbs.

Spencer is acommercial traveller for a local firm of manufacturers,

and is abstemious in his habits to adegree. In his tastes he is quiet,
VOL. II. C

Y_
34 Association Football
but he can carry off a light waistcoat in "Ye summer time "with the
best, and likes a good cigar. He wields a pretty cue, and next to
billiards his pet hobby is indoor bowls. He is the foil for the jokes of
the irrepressible humorist, Alexander Leake ;that is to say, whenev er
the latter makes an outrageous statement he turns to his captain for
corroboration, which Spencer, with his gravely handsome face, always
gives—with the qualification that it must be so, though he cannot
remember the incident.
Howard Spencer hopes to help his club to win the English Cup once
more, and then he will retire from the strenuous life of football. The
Villa directors say, in effect, "Quite right, my boy, you shall."
But they rink knowingly at each other, for it is whispered that the
gentle Howard has made precisely the same pronouncement for the last
fire years. When the old warhorse sniffeth the battle from afar !

S. S. HARRIS

This wonderful player combines in himself many of the best attributes

of the old and the new schools of forwards. If one could imagine ablend
of 11". N. Cobbold, R. C. Gosling, R.. E. Foster, and G. 0. Smith, one
might piece together an epitome of S. S. Harris. He possesses afew of
the attributes of each of these players. He has something of Cobbold's
pertinacity, something of the close dribbling power of all of them, some-
thing of the deadly intent of Gosling, something of the pedal dexterity
of Foster, something of the scientific passing of G. 0. Smith, and agood
deal of the shooting powers of all these players. He may not fill so big
aplace on the page of football history as that occupied by C'obbold and
Smith, but he is essentially a personality, aman who is likely to domi-
natpe aline of forwards even if they were 911 internationals. At Celtic
Park on one occasion he practically won the game for England against
Scotland. He is not aforward who combines readily with men he is
not accustomed to play with, but amongst his own comrades, the
ou
Corinthians, he can keep the line n n in perfect unison. It is, how-
ever, his individualism rather than his powers of co-operation that make
him valuable.
Harris belongs to that somewhat rare class of forward who is capable
of winnino,amatch by himself. He is essentially ascorer. Tall, grace-
ful, perfectly poised, he seems to glide along the ground rather than
 J
Individual and Brainy 35

run. His movements, with the ball at his toe, are serpentine rather than
direct. He never attempts the hurricane rush of, say, aHampton. He
believes that the shortest way to goal is round his opponents rather than
through them. One could imagine him threading his way through the
mazy waltz as he slips one man, glides round another, and eludes athird.
He is a most fascinating figure to watch. Once the eye has been
attracted to him it is difficult to look at any one else. To a certain
extent he is to the football field what Ranjitsinhji is in the cricket field.
IIe seems to make everything so very simple. Grace, ease, fluency are
his natural movements. So it seems to the man on the grand stand; i
but his opponents will tell you that he has apowerful pair of shoulders,
and that to attempt to shift him off the ball is almost ahopeless job.
IIe appears to possess some of the clinging power of a leech. On the
ball he is aregular stickfast.
When amember of Cambridge University eleven the talent of Harris
was quickly recognised, and since he has graduated as a full-fledged
Corinthian and international player he has not disappointed his friends.
He would get more representative honours did he combine readily with
professional players; but Harris has not taken kindly to the rather
stereotyped methods of the paid player. He finds it difficult to sink his
individuality, with the result that he does not part with the ball so
readily or so often as the professional alongside of him. And yet it
might be well for the game if we had afew more pl ayers ofth e class an d

calibre of Harris. The old Cantab introduces initiative and enterprise

into his methods. He also brings brains. It is not at all abad thing
for afootballer to think occasionally. The game is probably suffering
at the present time from certain hard and fast rules of play. At this
moment the chief business of a forward appears to be to pass the ball
whether his comrade be in afavourable position or whether he is not—to
pass almost for passing's sake seems to have become the rule. Harris, it
need hardly be said, does not belong to this type of forward. He can,
and does, pass accurately and well, and if occasionally he does not pass
often enough, is that, then, a more grievous fault than passing too
often ? The whole future of forward play may depend upon a satis-
factory answer to this question.
Certain it is that in S. S. Harris the game possesses a great and
an ornamental exponent. By "ornamental "Ido not mean aman who
goes in for useless fancy work--embroidery it is called. Everything
that Harris does has an end in view, and whether he is working for a

I
116 Association Football
position to pass out to acomrade, or whether he is making an opening to
shoot, all he does is done with a certain style that the French would call
the "grand manner." There is distinction and power in all his work.
As a shot at goal he has no superior. Even Bloomer is no more sur-
prising and no more deadly. Ris long shots all along the ground
travel like a flash of lightning. They frequently come at most unex-
pected moments, and many agoalkeeper, never dreaming of damage, has
had to deal with "abolt from the blue" in the shape of aHarris shot.
So far from fighting shy of professionals, Harris is now a playing
member of Portsmouth, and has assisted that club in Southern League
matches. Stanley, Harris was born at Clifton, and educated at •,Test-
minster School.

W. J. OAKLEY

The number of great amateur backs is perhaps proportionately larger

than that of any, other position on the field. One has only to mention
A-rnott, Dunn, Oakley, Harrison, the brothers Walters, Lodge, and
Herbert Smith to verify this statement. It would be difficult amidst
the multitude of professionals to name eight to equal the amateurs.
There are Nick Ross, Howarth, Holmes, Crompton, Spencer, Doyle,
Nick Smith, and Drummond, but the balance of talent undoubtedly
inclines to the amateurs.
In appearance Oakley was not a typical back. He was built for
speed rather than for resistance. One could imagine him as a great
forward, and doubtless had accident or inclination led him that way he
would have been equally great in attack as he was in defence. His
-

great speed no doubt contributed to his success as a full back, but it

was leis judgment and his pluck that gave him a niche amongst the
immortals. Any one can kick if he get time and elbow-room, but it is
not every back that can kick coolly and cleanly with a couple of fierce
forwards in close proximity. Oakley was one of those cool exasperating
men that never get flurried, that never even for an instant lose their
head, that never find themselves caught in two minds. He always
seemed to have a clear-cut course of action even when surprises were
sprung upon him. Perhaps he never allowed himself to be surprised.
Certainly he always gave one the impression of meeting every difficulty
with the only true solution possible. -NATith him on the field one bad
afeeling of safety for one's side that few men have the power to inspire.
 I

A Duel between Giants 37

He was not cool to slowness. On the contrary, lie was swift and
decisive in every movement, and determined in every action. He was
endowed with a mind above the common, and he used his brains as a
great mathematician to frustrate the movements of his adversaries.
There was amethod, a neatness, and apolish about his play that made
watchin g him an intellectual delight. There was nothing loose, slipshod,
or haphazard about his style. When he went out to meet aforward he
knew precisely what he was to do, and to every dodge of his opponent
he responded in terms of checkmate. Like every one else, he was
occasionally beaten by acombination of players, but very rarely indeed
did lie fail to hold up a single man. Perhaps J. Bell playing for
Scotland at the Crystal Palace gave Oakley the greatest twisting he
received during his career. On that day Bell was playing like aman
inspired, and the duel between those two was athing to be for ever
remembered. No back living could have done more towards holding
Bell than Oakley did on that day. In another England v. Scotland
match at Celtic Park Oakley was injured on the head in the first ten
minutes, and be played throughout suffering from a slight concussion
of the brain. He was so badly hurt that although his side lost badly
lie did not know who had won at the conclusion of the game. The
pluck of the man was wonderful, and his play in the circumstances was
miraculous.
Always first and last agentleman, Oakley was not only ascrupulously
fair player, but he never even gave one the impression that he could be
other than fair if he tried. Ile used his weight honestly and with fine
judgment, and if any one upset him lie never resented it. He had a
perfect genius for doing the right thing at the right moment. AVhether
partnered by a professional or an amateur, he always possessed the
instinct for combination. Nor did he ever commit the unpardonable
offence of "playing on top " of his goalkeeper. His great speed
allowed hint to take apparent liberties in "breaking up "the attack, and
he had a happy knack of picking up the ball with his foot out of a
melee and placing it gently at the toes of his forwards. He studied
the game with all the ardour of aman that loves it, and it was always
an added pleasure to him to be opposed to the best talent in the land.
His tall, well-knit figure, crowned with a broad forehead, large earnest
eyes, and rather sharp-cut face was ever apleasant picture to thousands
who knew him at his best, say in igoo, a stalwart of the Corinthian
Club, and one is glad to learn that he is now associated with G. 0.
38 Association Football
Smith, the great centre forward, in teaching young England the general
education that befits agentleman and also the particular education that
develops future international players.

ALEC LEAKE

If Howard Spencer is the idol of the 1 -, illa Park crowd, Alexander

Leake is its darling. In this distinction there is a subtle difference.

We read the other day of the ungrateful conduct of a Burmese
community towards its pet idols. They had mismanaged the weather
so shockingly that not a drop of rain had fallen in the district for
months. So the offending efliigies were soundly, beaten, and then
placed in a spot where the sun could get in its deadliest work, a
method of fitting the punishment to the crime that would commend
itself to acertain gifted librettist.
There are compensations, therefore, for the player who is not an
idol, but is loved by his club's supporters for the very humanness of
his qualities. Last season Howard Spencer—one must speak of
Spencer when speaking of the Villa, for the two seem indissoluble
was "dropped," publicly, because of a convenient inquiry, privately,
because he was suffering from loss of form. A new back, Brown
(not a Brown, but the Brown, because in the previous season he had
helped Bolton Wanderers to fight their way into the English Cup
final at the Crystal Palace, and it was no fault of his that the much-
prized chalice did not travel further north than Manchester), was
installed, and the crowd promptly deposed Spencer and put Brown
on the vacant pedestal. Here Brown remained until he met with so
serious an injury that the gentle Howard was recalled, with the
triumphant result that every football student must know of.
Now, it is impossible to conceive that the fifty thousand people who
follow the fortunes of Aston Villa could ever ha-ve viewed the deposition
of Alec Leake so complacently. Play he well or badly, there would be
"wigs on the green "if the Villa directors shelved him, even for asin gle
match. He is anative of Birmingham, it is true; but so is Spencer, for
the latter was born in that centre of light and leading called Edgbaston,
pronounced by the cognoscenti with the accent on the second syllable
and a long "a." The explanation may be that Leake is achild of the
people. His homely, good-tempered features are his 'scutcheon, and
 He makes Referees Smile 39

his voice inevitably betrays Birmingham descent—long and honourable,

but still Birmingham!
In writing of Leake we must touch first on the initial impression
he gives you, both on and off the field. And that is, one of un-
bounded and almost unshakeable good temper. He is probably the
best-humoured professional player who ever stepped on to a football
field. Your average professional is by way of being asaturnine spirit.
It may be that he is always chafing under the restrictions of the
maximum wage, or that he regards the duty of playing for a living
as one calculated to sadden the spirits of the most mercurial, but the
fact remains.
With Alec Leake football is a pleasure, asheer, unadulterated dish
of delight. He will crack a joke with an opponent while he robs him
of the ball. I have seen him make areferee smile, and the man who
can do that must possess what the ancients call the "vis comica" in no
small degree. It is the firm conviction of Mr. William MacGregor, to
whom the Villa club owe so much, that if Leake had not made football
his metier- he would have become a star in another firmament in the
music-hall profession. Yet his first and last appearance on the stage
was made at the Alhambra on the niglit of the last Cup final, when he
advanced to the footlights dandling the Cup itself before the admiring
gaze of a cheering audience. The long journeys of the team are made
gay jaunts to his comrades by the irrepressible humour of Alec, and the
bigger the defeat the more fun does he see in life. AVho can estimate
the value of such an example to players not favoured by nature with
the same free and open outlook ?
Leake is one of the oldest players in the League. He celebrates his
birthday every ii th of July, and already he has had thirty-four of these
anniversaries. Yet lie never played so well as last season, and it was
reserved for the spring of 1905 to see him endowed with the greatest
honour afootball player could obtain—three international caps and an
English Cup medal. His first team was that in connection with the
Green Lane Board School, Birmingham. Then he played for the club
which was run by the employes of Messrs. Hoskin & Sewell, alarge 1llid-
land firm. A season or two with Ding's Heath, and he became aprofes-
sional for the Old Hill Wanderers, playing forward in those days. He
helped the club to win the championship of the Birmingham and District
League in 1892-9;, when he had already made alocal reputation. Very
appropriately he was claimed by Small Heath, for he is anative of that
r•1

40 Association Football
populous suburb of the Midland capital, and for six years, as half-Mach,
he captained the club now masquerading as "Birmingham." As Small
Death, however, it will be known always to the faithful few who
followed its earl; and considerably mixed career.
Leake's reputation was now established in the football world, and
be n-as chosen to help the North against the South in i90 i, sub-
sequently figuring in the English team against Germany. Soon after
there came alittle disagreement between Leake and his committee, and
he left Small Beath to join the Villa, a defection that the followers of
the former club will never forget, though they may have forgiven.
So great is the wealth of talent at the command of the A"illy club
that it was not until last season that Leake won a regular place in
the team. -Now he is indispensable, even to Aston Villa. He is not a
brilliant" player, but his skill and doggedness more than compen-
sate for any lack of scintillating talent. Always where the battle is
thickest, finding time to help his backs and feed his forwards almost
with the same movement, and doing an enormous amount of unobtrusive
but telling work, no man would be more greatly missed from the Villa
playing scheme.
He is an excellent bowler, and in the season such records as eight
wickets for five runs on behalf of the team organised by the Rev. IV. T.
Strange, the verb- model of a many parson, who is president of the
Birmingham Youths' and Old Boys' F.A., come from him with almost
monotonous persistency.

If you asked him what his ho bby was, he would answer simply,
My wife and children."

JOHN GLOVER

If we --ere asked to name the least desirable of all occupations for

aprofessional footballer to follow, it would be that of publican.
This, at any rate, would be the popular verdict, and much is to be
said in its justification. Yet we cannot forget that at least half the
members of the Sunderland team in its greatest days landlorded it
over local hostelries, and the fact did not interfere -with their playing
abilities. In those days the wages of the men were not of the ani-
bassadorial order, and Secretary Tom Watson could tell some surprising
facts as to the emoluments of the stars in his Team of all the Talents.
Other times, other manners, and the only first-class player on the

I
 He Plays to Win 41
active list, to our knowledge, who is allowed to keep a public-house
is John Glover, probably the most useful player in the Birmingham (ne
Small Heath) team. For the expenditure of three-halfpence the
"faithful "may gorge their fill on the lineaments of areal live footballer
in mufti, in his shirt-sleeves rolled up in the manner common to all
landlords since the days of Joe Wilbur, and probably times much
earlier.
There is a good old homespun adage which tells us that though
one may live in astable one need not be ahorse. Similarly, one may
"run "aplace where all and sundry may "liquor up "without being a
drunkard. The Birmingham right-back, certainly, has proved that it
is possible for an athlete to act the part of Ganymede to the football
"gods" without injuring his own constitution and prospects. There
are many men connected with the game who could never be trusted
with such ready facilities for access to what Mr. Richard Swiveller called
the "rosy ";but Glover is astrong man—strong in appearance, strong
in physique, and strong in will-power.
Off the field, as on it, he looks aman whose chief characteristic is
determination. His thick-set brows give his eyes additional expression,
but the latter are the eyes of aman who means business. He plays to
win, and he works to win.
If you did not trouble to analyse his temperament you would think
him saturnine. Dark of hair and of skin, and with features that are
inclined to be heavy, he does not look the cheerful soul he really is.
Glover is aman whom you like better on acquaintance.
It is the irony of fate that his public-house is within afew hundred
yards of the West Bromwich Albion enclosure. Years ago he applied
to the directors of this club, then in the First Division of the League,
for a berth. They did not see fit to engage him, so—thinking, very
probably, about the quotation which associates a prophet and his own
country, for Glover is anative of West Bromwich—he accepted an offer
from Blackburn Rovers. How many times the Albion directors have
clone mental penance for their lack of foresight it would be interesting
to know. But we all make mistakes.
He did two years' brilliant service for Blackburn, and was then
secured by New Brornpton, at atransfer fee whose magnitude was only
whispered o£ Liverpool was his next club, and it is a matter of
common knowledge how lie helped them to win the League champion-
ship. It is not our purpose to deal with the merits of the affair which
I

42 Association Football
led to the suspension of Glover and two of his clubmates over their
departure to a south country club. The players have purged their
offence, and there were extenuating circumstances.
Glover has been with the Birmingham club for three seasons, but
he never showed better form than at the present day. He and his
companion Stokes are the smallest pair of backs in the First League
football, but last season only three clubs in the League had fewer goals
scored against them. Unless something unexpected happens, this record
will be considerably bettered at the close of next April.
The Birmingham left back bas almost childish faith in "Billy"
Bassett, whom he regards as the first outside right ZD
within memory-.
Glover and Bassett graduated with the same school team.
Thrice he has been honoured by selection for the right back position
in the English League team against that of the Irish League, and
there is no doubt that he will be a close candidate for that important
role in the present season's internationals, even though he may not
oust Spencer or Crompton. He is a tactician of the highest order.
Lacking the advantage of height, though he is stiffly built, he uses his
brains. He finds out what his opponent is going to do, and tries to
checkmate him. He has been a studier of the individual styles of
outside wing men, and varies his play accordingly. Glover recognises
that the method of defence that would discount the sinuous approach
of Hardman would be useless against a-forward like Hall, and he, to use
apopular colloquialism in the Midlands, "sets out his stall" to suit.
Glover, whose pet hobby is bowling—he has represented Stafford-
shire County four times—tells a story about Topham, the famous
Corinthian, that is worth repeating. When Glover made his first acquaint-
ance with Topham on the football field the former could not boast
even of the "too, too solid "that he possesses now, while it goes with-
out saying that he was no taller, while Topham measured six feet "by,"
fourteen stones.
On their first encounter Glover was brushed aside by the big
amateur as though he were afly. This nettled the back, and he lay in
wait for Topham, determined to knock the latter off the ball. The
psychological moment came. Glover has only a hazy idea of what
became of him after the concussion, but Topham went on his course
serenely. And Glover's sense of pride was scarcely soothed when the
Corinthian returned and remarked, in honeyed accents, "I must
really beg your pardon."

I
 A Famous Forward 43

W. N. COBBOLD

If one were to ask, Who were the three greatest forwards of all
time? no matter what other two were named, W. N. Cobbold would
perhaps come first to the lips. This is placing the Old Carthusian on
apedestal indeed, but there are few who knew Cobbold in his prime
who would not agree with the appreciation. One may doubt, of course,
whether the famous Cambridge forward would be able to cope with the I
modern half-back—the enfant terrible of the football field. One could
almost see Ernest Needham smile if he had to oppose Cobbold as we
knew him. An individualist, as the old Charterhouse boy undoubtedly
was, might conceivably receive short shrift from asmashing half-back of
the type of Alec Leake. There are those who think that the Cobbold
type of forward would thrive even in these days of ascientific trio of
halves who play the modern game; but the mere fact that there are no
players of the Cobbold type is at least anegative proof that they might
not be successful under the prevailing conditions of defensive play.
I was talking to Bethel Robinson quite recently on the subject.
Robinson used to partner Nick Ross in the Preston North End club in
the old days, and was known as aversatile player of avery high order.
Ile could play at half and at full back equally well. He played against
Cobbold frequently in 1884, when both men were in their prime, and
ltobinson's opinion is that there never was, and never would be, a
forward so clever and deadly as Cobbold. He regarded the Cantab as
the greatest forward of all time.
Now it is very difficult for a man who has retired from the game
for nearly twenty years to compare the men of his day with the players
of modern times. The tendency is to glorify the past at the expense
of the present. I feel sure that Cobbold, had he played at any time
during the past three years, would have had to alter his style to excel
as he did in the old days. His methods were the correct and effective
methods at the time he played, but Iam certain in my own mind that
they would not meet with anything like the same success to-day. All
the same, such was the masterly mind of the man, Ibelieve he would
have adapted himself to modern conditions and still have held his place
as aprince of forwards.
Jud gi ng him, however, by what he was and did, Cobbold must rank
44 Association Football
as a giant of no ordinary magnitude. I have said that he was indi-
vidualistic in style, but he also had the power of combining in a high
degree. In those days "dribbling " was the great game, and one
only passed the ball when one was completely hemmed in, and not
always even then. The chief difference between the forward play of the
old days and the present day
might be described in this way :
The old forward only passed
when lie could not do anything
else; while the new forward
passes because he cannot do any-
thing else.
Cobbold was not the last
of the dribblers, for he passed
on the tradition to the younger
generation of the Corinthians,
and R. E. Foster in particular
was a magnificent exponent of
the art. Of the present genera-
tion S. S. Harris is a very able
dribbler, but he too finds that
passing forms the major part
of the forward game. Amongst
modern professionals, J. Walton,
of Tottenham Hotspur, is the
only dribbler of note, and clever
Photo: Stearn, Cambridge
though he is, this fine forward
W. N. COBBOLD does not find dribbling pay
Corinthians and England against a really good half-back.
Dribblin g,like back-heeling, must
be used with great discretion against anything like apowerful defence.
AV NT Cobbold, however, was not amere dribbler. He was essentially
a scoring forward, and one, too, that made most of his own chances.
One could not, for instance, conceive a greater contrast in style than
Cobbold and Bloomer, both inside forwards. The former was almost
continuously on the ball, while the Derby man seems to be doing nothing,
and doing it well, for the greater part of the game. When Cobbold got
possession of the ball he seemed to keep it glued to his toe, darting
hither and thither as he pursued atortuous course towards goal. One
 s}

The greatest Goal-getter of the Age 4s

man was practically powerless to stop him. Two men might stay his
career by dividing their attentions between the man an d th e ball, but
they were not always successful even then. Very frequently Cobbold
would shoulder his way through a whole crowd of the opposition, and
emerge triumphant with the ball at his toe. He was built for hard,
strenuous play, but he did not go to work like a battering-ram. He
seemed to possess the knack of following what Herbert Spencer calls
the line of least resistance. If any one got in his way he would try to
get round him, but if not, his opponent usually felt the weight of a
ponderous shoulder, and he did not ask, "By your leave? "
In one respect at least Cobbold had no superior, if, indeed, he ever
had an equal—I mean in shooting at goal. He could shoot in any
position, and he sent the ball in like acharge from a hundred-ton gun.
He could shoot with several opponents clinging round him, and if only
he had two feet of daylight to aim at, he seldom missed the mark. In
this respect modern forwards have a lot to learn. For shooting there
is no Cobbold nowadays, nor any one approaching him. Why is it?
Must we again put it down to the prowess of the modern backs and
goalkeeper ?
Cobbold was powerfully built, strong on his legs, and with deter-
mination written all over him. It was probably this latter quality that
exalted him above his fellows. It is amazing what one strong deter-
mined man can do. Cobbold knew his own strength, and he never gave
up. He always fought till the last gasp, and it is curious how, if one
can survive the "last gasp," one's adversary fades away, for he too at
this time has usually shot his bolt. Great, daring, original, plucky,
fierce, chivalrous, the old Charterhouse boy has passed out of the arena
of football conflict, but those who saw his great deeds some twenty years
ago will always be inclined to repeat the scriptural reflection that—
"There were giants in those days."

WALTER BULL

The Tottenham Hotspur centre half-back is asplendid specimen of

his race. In many respects he typifies John Bull. Thick, beefy, square-
shouldered, bluff, good-humoured, NValter Bull could never be taken for
any other than an Englishman. He is no doubt proud of the fact.
In his style of play he also exemplifies the typical Englishman, He
•l

46 Association Football
is bold, honest, earnest, straightforward in all his work. Although a
brainy player, he is not subtle in the Oriental sense. His study of the
game has taught him that certain well-known cut-and-dried methods
lead to success, and these methods he adopts with as little variation as
possible. He is not aplayer who depends upon moods or waits for an
inspiration. When he steps on the field he has his work cut out, and
he knows exactly what he is going to do. He is never caught in two
minds; there is nothing tentative or half-hearted about him. He seems
to say to himself, "There is the ball—I am to get it ;" or, "There is a
man—I am to stop him." And he generally does!
It is apleasure to see Bull on his game. For the time being he has
only one interest in life. For him the game is everything, and the rest
of the world simply does not exist. With a ball about, the cosmos is
ruled out. He is almost as tenacious as a Scotsman. He has all the
worrying propensities of the terrier. He never gives his opponent a
moment's rest. The opposing centre forward who can escape the
attentions of Walter must be as impalpable as the ghost of Hamlet's
father. Bull sticks closer to him than abrother. But he is not merely
a "shadowing "half-back. He can shadow effectively and still take his
part in the general run of the game. He can in an emergency fall back
to assist the last line of defence, and he can at the right moment follow
up and press home the attack.
The more Isee of him the more I am surprised that he has not yet
received an international cap. He may not reach the same transcendent
note of Needham, Cowan, and other classics of the game; but there is
hardly a season in which at least one man of no higher ability is pressed
into international service. It is the fate of some men in all spheres of
life to be overlooked.
Bull is not aflashy player; but one has only to realise his gifts once
to perceive the genuine worth of the man ever after. He is one of
those remarkable men who never have an off-day. He is sometimes
comparative and sometimes superlative in his greatness. These are
the only variations in his play. With more speed he would no doubt
touch ahigher plane; but his judgment is so uniformly good that lie
saves himself the distress of too much running. He makes haste slowly.
Strategy is his strong point. When he was captain of Notts County
he represented England in an Inter-League match. Since coming to
London he has improved greatly, but no further honours have come his
way. At the present time he is probably the best half-back who has
 1

Never let his Side down 47

not worn an international cap. He is probably satisfied to play week

in week out before spectators who have learned to appreciate his real
worth.
As a half-back he is seen at his best in intercepting passes and
feeding the men in front. He makes passes with the accuracy of an -
accomplished forward. He can also shoot, and some of his long straight
drives have been the cause of many a goal. A man of his type and
temperament is invaluable to a team. He is steadiness personified,
and will never let his side down. He will never give his manager an
hour's uneasiness. When the call for action comes Pull will step into
the arena as fit as hands and brains can make him. Happy, healthy,
hearty, Walter is a man of other than football virtues, and the club
that claims him for aservant will never have cause to regret it.

BERT LIPSHAM

When Bert Lipsham came to Sheffield United in the season of

1899 it was generally conceded that the Bramall Lane organisation had
made an excellent capture. That was in the days when Mr. Harry
Stones was so busy strengthening the team, and when his efforts were
successful in building up a side which gradually forced its way right
into the very forefront of football. Of course much of this had been
accomplished prior to the arrival of Lipsham, but he stands out as one
of the men of note who were induced to take their places in the red
and white, and by whom some of the club's greatest successes were
achieved.
IIe played his early football with Crewe Alexandra, the team
which once secured no small amount of glory in the Association Cup,
and which only succumbed to Preston North End in the semi-final of
1888. Week after week there came stories of the brilliant wing work
of an outside forward in the team at Crewe, one who seemed to possess
wonderful powers in' centring, and who seemed to have shooting abilities
above the average. And more than one prominent club looked after
him, but it was left to Sheffield United and Mr. Stones to secure
him and to bring him to Bramall Lane. He came and has made
himself famous.
Sheffield has had many great exponents of left wing football in
the past. Spikesley followed Mosforth as the public's idol in the
4s Association Football
position ;afterwards came Priest, a product of Teeside, who shone
refulgent for a spell, and then died down to inside work as partner
to the newcomer from Crewe. And in this notable body of men
Lipsham takes his place worthily enough. in
He has always been good
to watch on the field, always been clever above the average, and
though a few years ago their
came a time when it was
deemed desirable to leave him
out, he quickly forced the com-
mittee to the conclusion that
a mistake in tactics had been
made, and that he was virtually
essential to the team's success.
He came back, and only ill-
health or bereavement has kept
him out of the side for asingle
day since then. Enthusiastic
in his football, Lipsham plays
the game as though his whole
being was concentrated on what
is immediately before him. He
always seems on tenterhooks
waiting for chances, and when
they come he invariably makes
the most of them. See him
standing on the wing, wide out
Photo :H. Jasper Redfern, Shefleld as is his wont, he is the most
BERT LIPSHAII keenly interested spectator in
Sheffield United and England the whole range of vision, watch-
ing every movement wherever
the ball may be because of the possibilities there are of its coming to
him sooner or later. He stands a figure full of tension, and ready to
be in action at asecond's notice.
Once in action he is worth studying by any one to whom the
beauties of the game appeal. His speed carries him through many a
difficulty, his skill clears many another, and so he winds his way
towards the corner flag. Let the back come across, it is pretty certain
that Lipsham will evade his rush by a quick doubling with the ball—
one which he executes with the greatest ease and apparent certainty;
 I

i
I

Shooting "Dead on the Mark" 49

and, before the back has collected himself and again prepared to
charge, the ball has been propelled into the goal-mouth with almost
unerring precision. It matters not which foot the ball comes to, it
is sent into goal with equal facility, and unhappy the custodian who
is not prepared for it.
Shooting is still Lipsham's one outstanding feature. There are
those who swear that he would be a greater forward still if he
eschewed shooting more, and gave more consideration to the require-
ments of his colleagues. But there is a glamour and a temptation
about hard-driven shots into goal which few forwards are able to
withstand when they have the ability to make such shots, and so
with Lipsham. His centres are as a rule like cannon shots—so fast
indeed that his colleagues in the line are hard pressed to take the
ball if the custodian has not first got it. There is nothing of the high
dropping centre about Lipsham's efforts ;his shots as a rule are dead
on the mark, aimed just beneath the bar, and more than one electrifying
goal scored by ashot of this kind stands to his credit. After all, aman
has to play the game which comes best to him; and though there may
be those who argue that Lipsham would be a more valuable winger
were his centres more easily converted, his own argument doubtless is
that many atime his thunderbolts have caused the custodian to barely
parry them, and that the rebound has seen the deadly shot driven
1101110.

He takes his passes with the utmost accuracy, and he has had scores
of machine-like passes from his captain. Indeed, Needham has had much
to do with Lipsham's splendour, and, watching him like a hawk, the
United skipper has touched the ball out to his waiting winger many
atime when the best considerations of his side can be served. But,
whilst this is all indubitably true, the fact remains that had it not
been for his own abilities, all the passes in the world would not have
made agreat player of this old Crewe lad, and it is to himself that he
owes most of his success—after that to his captain. The one pity,
blotting his up-to-date career, is the fact that not yet has lie contrived
to reproduce his best form in representative games. He has been
chosen fairly often, but so far it has been with Sheffield United that I
the real Lipsham has been seen, and there only.

VOL. II. D

I
i
50 Association Football

TOM CRAWSHAW

There are few more genuine footballers than Tom Crawshaw; there
are few who can claim a finer record for consistency and for sound
strong support of the club of their attachment. Crawshaw first of
all is a Sheffielder born and bred ; secondly, he is a Sheffielder in
football; and he is loved in the great cutlery city for both these
qualities. It is true that for a time there seemed to be a prospect
of Lancashire claiming him, as the County Palatine has claimed so
many Yorkshiremen in various fields of sport; but, as Crawshaw's fame
grew when a member of the Haywood Central Club in Lancashire, it
came to the ears of the Wednesday Club, and he was promptly induced
to throw in his fortunes with the football of his native town, and to
complete his reputation and put the coping-stone on his career whilst
wearing the blue and white of Wednesday.
He came, and in his comin g not only stren gthened the team, but
solidified his own reputation as one of the finest of all our centre half-
backs. That is twelve years ago; but time has dealt lightly with this
Sheffielder, and he still plays football of the best type, and keeps his
opponents terribly busy when they are striving to get the better of him.
Height has done much for him; he stands as near as possible six feet;
is lithe and strong—so lithe, indeed, as to cause some to regard him as
too slightly built for the position he occupies. The best contradiction
of that is the testimony of those who have tried to circumvent him, and
in their opinion Crawshaw's build is ideal, and he slips eel-like out of
many adifficulty.
Captain of the Wednesday team for the past year or two, he sets a
rare example to his colleagues by the amount of work he gets throu gh;
he stands second to no one in the untiring nature of his exertions, and
when the fortunes of the game are to all appearances most against his
side, then is Tommy most to be dreaded.
It is then that he comes through with those tremendous individual
rushes of his, carrying the ball at his toe, almost ploughing through the
opposition, and finishing, if there are none of his own forwards handy,
with ashot which sometimes finds the mark, but which is just as often
wide. In truth, Crawshaw is not a great shot at goal. He is a trier,
but when that has been said one has said all. And yet when this one
.
;,Q4
 Meads as most Men Kick 51

blemish has been debited to him, one can find no other to place along-
side. Speed is with him more than a mere name, for years ago he was
a rare sprinter, and won many ahandicap of smaller sort in the city,
whilst the turn of speed still possessed has worked the undoing of many
an enterprising winger even in the most recent days.
And in defence Crawshaw stands out high and resolute. He will
never go right back, believing that it is the duty of the two who
play there to preserve their goal and to assist the goalkeeper. Of
course that is when the other side is rushing goalwards ; it is not
so when corners are being taken, and when a chance ' shot may be I
successful. In those moments Crawshaw is supreme. His head seems
to be right in the flight of the ball from whichever angle it may
come, and his heading is the one overmastering and outstanding
feature of his play. He heads as most men kick, with the utmost
certitude and precision; he seems to know to a foot where the ball
will land when it is headed, and the others on his side have similar
knowledge. In that heading, and good heading, is an attribute which
is essential to every half-back who aspires to the highest class.
Crawshaw is to be congratulated on so much ability, and the light-
haired head has saved many a goal when the Wednesday stronghold
seemed down.
Ile took the place in the Wednesday team as centre half of a rare
old war-horse in Billy Betts, one to whom hard knocks were common
and to whom no task was too great.
But excellent as Betts was, Crawshaw has given Sheffield a greater
centre half, and his work is the very essence of soundness and style.
Capped against Scotland in 1896 and again in 1897, against Wales in
1896, 1897, and 1904, and against Ireland in 1895, 1896, 1897, and
1904, he has many honours in football, and right well has he deserved
them all. Never quite happy on a frozen ground, he was one of many
Eniglislimen who totally failed at Wrexham in 1904, when the ground
was hard as abrick, and when the Englishmen were badly shod for such
conditions. But when the conditions are normal, then Crawshaw is
seen at his best. He tackles fairly and fearlessly, he takes knocks with
a grin but with no animus, and goes about his work from the first to
the last with the one unvarying ambition to win. A genuine footballer,
one who in liis spare time finds opportunity for the cultivation of many
flowers, and whose chrysanthemums in the autumn are always well worth
a visit, Tom Crawshaw, the idol of that region of the city known as
•f

52 Association Football
"The Park," and the idol, moreover, of the masses who congregate at
Owlerton as they used to pack Olive Grove, remains one of the soundest
and most genuine footballers who ever claimed Sheffield for their home
and who wore the colours of a Sheffield team.

ROBERT CROMPTON

Robert Crompton, the Blackburn Rovers' famous right back, may

not be the finest player in the position recorded in football history, but
critical opinion is fairly unanimous that in the present year of grace
he stands head and shoulders above all possible rivals. A year ago
a series of accidents interrupted his triumphal career, but since the
opening of the 19o--6 season he has been in wonderful form, and has
added by his work before foreign crowds to the laurels already heavy
upon him.
"Bob " Crompton is aBlackburn "lad "who was born in 18 79, and
has therefore, beinb one of the abstemious, clean-living sort, some years
more of first-class football to look forward to. He had his first lesson
in football with the floss Street Board School team—a side which has
for years been either the winner or the runner-up for the local Schools'
Cup. When he left school, as an apprentice plumber he played in a
Sunday-school League team, and there he was "spotted " by John
Lewis and R. Birtwistle, of the Rovers' Club, who found it rather
difficult to persuade the big heavy youth to throw in his lot with
them.
Crompton was by near of making aname as a swimmer and water-
polo player, and as he would not think of sacrificing his amateur status
in that sport, he had to be signed as an amateur. And as an unpaid
player he remained for two seasons in the Rovers' ranks.
Crompton played as right back with the reserve team, but he had
really been booked as a budding centre half, and towards the close of
his first season (1 896-7) he got atrial in the place of Tom Booth, now
of Everton. He was not a pronounced success there, but when at the
opening of the next season Glover (who afterwards went to Birming-
ham) was badly hurt, "Bob "became the partner at back of the famous
Tom Brandon, and he has never been shifted. In 1899 he was made
captain of the team, which office he held until the present year, when,
at his own desire, he retired in favour of Evans, the goalkeeper.
 +)

A Terrific Dicker 53
I

During those five years he played for England against Scotland in

1902-3-4, and would have played in 1905 but for ail injury sustained

in a match against Aston Villa just before the selections were made;
against Ireland in 1902 and 1904; and against AVales in 1903 -4. He
also represented the football League in 1902-3 -4, it being generally
recognised during that period that hehad no compeer.
Physically Bob Crompton is one of the finest examples of the native-
born professional player. Standing 5 ft. 9z in., and weighing 12 St. 7lbs.,
he is splendidly developed, and a fine figure in shirt and knickers.
Wei ght and size such as his would seem to qualify hint pre-eminently
as a "bashing" back, but his nature and training are all against this
style of play—indeed it is a frequent cause of complaint with the
fiercer section of the club's supporters that he does not use his weight
against opponents more frequently. He can charge with effect, how-
ever, on occasions, but he is something more than amere rusher. He
studies his opponents' tactics closely, and develops an anticipation of
their moves which almost amounts to intuition. His kicking is
naturally powerful— probably his punts are the biggest things in
I,cague football.
Perhaps he balloons the ball rather too much for the perfect back,
and when attacking his feeding passes often have too much powder
behind them, but as arule he kicks in all positions in clean and good
style, and with either foot, although his right foot does the best work.
Ile is not aback who can be played upon with impunity or advantage,
for he always watches the ball in preference to the man, and it takes
avery strong charge indeed to knock him off his quarry.
When under heavy pressure Crompton comes out in his best colours,
and one of his finest displays was given in November last at Owlerton,
where, with his centre half missing, he and Cowell defied the might of
Sheffield Wednesday for sixty minutes, and preserved the lead gained
at the beginning of the game. Possibly the hypercritical may think
that at such times he is too prone to fall back into goal and thus hamper
the custodian, and there is no doubt that, owing to this habit, goals
have several times been scored against his side. It has to be remem-
bered as an excuse that he began his League football under the tutelage
of Tom Brandon, who in his later days was extremely fond of astay-at-
home policy, which he justified by almost miraculous resourcefulness
with head and foot.
In his early playing days Crompton put on a good deal of flesh in
 S4 Association Football
the summer, and it took him several weeks to fine down and arrive at
his best form. Latterly, however, he has kept himself in condition
with cricket and cycling, so that he has been able to start the season
at concert pitch. He is not much more speedy than the average back,
however, and concerning that afunny tale is told of his running in an
Inter-League match at Newcastle. Here he was opposed by Alec Smith,
of Glasgow Rangers, one of the fastest men of his day, and he surprised
everybody, by beating the latter in a fifty yards sprint, and finishing
with avery effective shoulder charge. -Congratulated after the match
upon the speed he had shown, he confessed that all the time he was
running neck and neck with Smith he had hold of the latter's breeches!
Prior to the present season Crompton somewhat frequently came
under the ban of the referee for offences within the penalty area, much
to his surprise and distress, for a more honest and sportsmanlike player
doesn't breathe. These penalties v-ere probably not all undeserved, but
there were not afew occasions on which he suffered innocently. In an
Inter-League match an Irish referee, who pleaded it was the practice in
his country, penalised him when the ball was kicked against his hand.
At Sunderland he was dropped upon for simply charging Hogg off the
ball; at Manchester he was punished for hands when the "offence" had
been committed by the goalkeeper; and at Trent Bridge, when he and
Humphreys were racing for the ball, and the latter knocked it down,
the referee mistakenly attributed the foul to the Rover. Such acci-
dents happen to all players at times, but two years ago it seemed as
though acruel fate was treading in the footsteps of the Rovers' captain.
In conclusion, Crompton is one of anumber of prominent Blackburn
men who have found it possible to play professional football and follow
their trades at the same time. The result is that, besides possessing
the affection of the football public, he has been able to accumulate a
snug little competence, and is now accustomed to drive down to his
training at Ewood Park in his own motor-car.

ARCHIE HUNTER

There was only one Archie Hunter. There will never be another, so
far as first-class football is concerned ;indeed, it is difficult to see how
another could arise. After all, men are products of their times. You
would require lost conditions to be restored before you could get another
Archie Hunter. The young professional of twenty-one, in receipt of ;64

I
 A Product of the Amateur Spirit ss
per week, is not going to be aleader of men; he is not going to act as
an inspiration. Archie Hunter was great mainly, if not solely, because he
loved football. Men do not love football in the same way nowadays ;the
professional does not always look forward with intense longing to the week-
end to come. Often he would shirk the week-end task if he could.
Archie Hunter was the product of the old amateur spirit. Because
agreat many Scots came to England for football purposes long before
the legalisation of professionalism, it has often been assumed that
Archie and Andy Hunter migrated to Birmingham with the specific
object of playing football with Aston Villa. But that was not so. As
a matter of fact, Archie Hunter did not know where the Aston Villa
ground was when he came to the Midland capital. In the season before
Archie came to Birmingham to fill a business position, the Calthorpe,
then the leading Birmingham team, had undertaken a Scottish tour.
They met Ayr and Mauchline, and Archie Hunter, who was a playing
member of the Ayr Thistle Club, had met them. Accordingly in the
first few hours' leisure he had he went in search of the Calthorpe ground,
but failed to find it. He told afellow-worker of his unsuccessful quest,
and that fellow-worker happened to be an Aston Villa enthusiast. They
were few in number then, were Aston Villa enthusiasts, but they were
ever a keen set. Ile promptly invited Archie to look up the Villa
players, and told him of the association of George Ramsay, a fellow
Scot, with the club. Archie turned out for the Villa, and who shall say
what his accession meant to them? But for his coming it is conceivable
that the Villa might have remained a purely local team, indeed, they
might have gone the way of hundreds of other clubs of moderate
strength. St. George's or Aston Trinity might have gone ahead
instead of the Villa.
What asensation Archie's play caused! Hundreds of new adherents
came each week to watch a forward the like of whom had never been
seen in Birmingham games. Ido not believe there has ever been quite
such afascinating player. Some men may have dribbled as well; others
may have shot as hard and as straight, but no forward that Ihave seen
ever dominated agame as Archie Hunter did. It was ablack afternoon
when lie could not get off, and as he had an employer who bad small
sympathy with football, he was never certain as to his movements on
Saturday afternoons. Often he left business in bare time to catch the
brake in which the rest of the team were waiting round a convenient
corner close to the place where Archie was employed, and on one
56 Association Football
occasion the Villa chartered a special train in order that their captain
might reach Nottingham in time for a match. That was an unheard-of
thing in those days, but whatever had to be done, Archie's presence
must be secured if that were humanly possible. Often in the early days
Archie used to play as "A. Centre," in order that it might appear to
certain of the outside world that he had not spent his Saturday half-
holiday on the football field.
Archie Hunter was aborn leader. He had asubtle influence on the
Aston Villa team, and he was the idol of the crowd. What aroar there
used to be as, just when it looked as though the Villa were destined to
commence the game with ten men, Archie would leap into the arena..
AV-hen he first came to Birmingham he always wore the regulation
football cap, a kind of skull-cap terminating in a point and a tassel.
What a picture of health he looked! He was awell-built and indeed
powerful man; like many young Scots he was raw-boned, and he was
prodigiously strong about the hips. When Archie turned round and
put his base into the ribs of an opponent the latter realised that there
was a man about. Archie knew how to charge, too; he was a nasty
player to adopt rough-and-tumble methods a6ainst. Occasionally
unscrupulous opponents used to court areturn charge, and usually they
wished that they had not opened the debate.

I
Archie wa.s a mild-mannered man; indeed, his bright, boyish face
was wreathed in perpetual smiles, but he was a man in earnest. Like
Nick Ross of later times, Archie Hunter went on the field "to play
fitba'," not to loll and dawdle about. He was loved by all honourable
and sportsmanlike opponents, and even the few less reputable adver-
saries he met did not like to risk a second exhibition of that manly
scorn which used to flash from Archie's eye when an illegal and under-
hand trick was played upon him.
Archie Hunter was a prince of dribblers. It was not an unusual
performance of his to start at the half-way mark, and dribble through
the whole of the opposing team! He would not lose the ball until he
had literally dribbled it between the posts. I have seen him do that
many times. The way in which, when apparently circumvented, he
would turn round and keep the man off -with his hind-quarters while he
adroitly put the ball back to acolleague, used to mystify every one; his
opponent seemed at a loss to know what to do. Archie was adeadly
shot too, while he knew all the tricks which made for effective com-
bination. People marvelled last year at the skilful way in which
 A Great Captain 57
Hampton, the young Villa centre, screwed the ball out to the wings.
Why, Archie Hunter did that as no man has ever done it since. A
dozen times in the course of a single game have I seen Archie, when
going at full speed, suddenly swing the ball out to Andy or Eli Davis.
It would go to an inch where it was intended that it should go.
But great as he was as a placer, he was much greater as acaptain.
"Now, lads! " was his invocation, and it seemed able to transform a
mediocre performer into an enthusiastic expert. He seemed to know how
to treat every one, and he got the maximum amount of work out of every
colleague. Ioften wonder what modern defenders would say if they had
to deal with a'dozen shots in the course of a match such as Archie and
011y Whateley used to get in? Goals are harder to get to-clay than
ever they were, Iadmit, but the shooting is paltry compared to what it
was in Archie's day. There is no player in Great Britain who has any con-
ception of the pace and directness with which Whateley used to shoot.
Earnest, terribly earnest, was Archie when leading an attack, but
what a grand fellow lie was at the festive board ! There used to be a
convivial gathering after every match in those days ;that was part and
parcel of the art of football. Whatever friction had occurred on the
field of play, it was never (or rarely) carried further. Archie was not a
great singer, but, like most men of character, he could make his hearers
feel that he was interpreting something 'to them. He could sing many
good old Scotch melodies well, but who among his friends of those days
will ever forget Archie's great song, "Where are all those bright hearts
now ?" Let me give you a stanza; the words and sentiment are ashade
above some of the modern ditties one hears at festive gatherings. It
was sung to the tune of "Do you ken John Peel ?" Here is a verse of
Archie's favourite contribution :—
•• Wbaur are a' these bright hearts noo
That were then sae leal and true?
Some hae left life's troubled scene,
Some still are struggling through,
And some hae risen high
In life's changeful destiny;
For they rose wi' the lark in the morning."

Some of the men who heard that song were rough in their way, but
the voice of levity was hushed when Archie was on his legs giving that
in true Scottish style. There was more pure enjoyment in the football
and the football gatherings of that day than there is to-clay or ever will
be again. We are all too mercenary now.
 Association Football
Poor Archie lies at rest in the Villa Corner at Wilton Cemetery,
Birmingham. Eli Davis lies there too, so do other Villa worthies.
There is a handsome tombstone to the memory of the greatest leader
the Villa have ever possessed; it was erected by the Villa Club in
conjunction with the Old Villans' Society. Archie died at the Royal
Exchange, High Street, Aston, and from his window he could see the
crowds making for Perry Barr. Gaunt as a skeleton, he was an Aston
Villa man when he could scarcely draw a breath. He would have his
bed wheeled to the window on Saturday afternoons, and there he would
watch the eager throng bustling towards the scene of his many triumphs.

Photo: Reinhold Thiele

TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR v. ASTON VILLA

E\GLISH CUP TIE AT TOTTENHAM

It was infinitely pathetic to see that wasted frame and to think wbat an
indomitable spirit it confined. Archie played with the Villa until he
was a long way behind his best form. He played until he had a
species of stroke while acting in aLeague match at Everton. That was
the warning-note that he must give up the pastime; he accepted the
hint and became amember of committee, but he was not the power in
the council room that he had been on the field.
The refusal of the Scottish Football Association to recognise the
claims of the Anglo-Scots deprived Archie of his international cap;
it also deprived Scotland of a great player; still it must be admitted
 A Pocket Hercules 59
that Scotland's need was not acute then. There were plenty of giants
in the land in Archie's day. But what would Scotland say to acentre
of t\ rchie's class to-day !

J. SHARP

The dashing outside right of Everton had the official seal set
on his fame when he was selected to play for England against
Scotland at the ,Crystal Palace in i9o5. Many a time in the course
of the previous five years he had just failed to catch the eye of the
Selection Committee. His form since joining the Everton Club in
1897 has always been bordering on the international standard, but he
probably played better last season than he had ever done before. He
is perhaps a trifle undersized—say 5 ft. 7 in.—for the highest type of
forward, and yet who dare put forward this plea in the face of the
success of the diminutive William Bassett, probably the best outsid e
right that ever played fo r Eng l an d. Littl e men frequently perform
well at outside positions where the rough and tumble of the game
is reduced to aminimum. Not that Sharp shirks the hard work or the
hard knocks that are inseparable from his profession. He is a strong,
compact athlete of the pocket Hercules type. He has speed, daring,
clash, and many other of the football virtues.
The elements of the game he picked up at Hereford, where he played
for the Thistle Club. In 1897 he joined the Aston Villa, and though
he played with the team nearly two seasons he did not assimilate the
Villa style. On coming to Goodison Park, Everton, he soon made his
presence felt, and getting ample opportunities, he developed his great
talents steadily and on the right lines. His name will be for ever
linked with the name and fame of the Everton Club. Everton is aclub
that has always been in the happy land of well-to-do, and naturally
the supply of good men is ample and to spare. A man must needs
play well to keep his place in the team. For years Sharp, bar injuries,
has practically been afixture. If Sharp is not in his place the side is
accounted as being below full strength. This of itself is a powerful
testimony of his abilities.
Sharp does not belong to the sensational order of players. He is
an artist because he does all his work with the ease and certitude. of a
inan who can touch the whole gamut of a forward's possibilities. He
6o Association Football
knows the game through and through. He is not, however, one of
those artistic beings who require some one to fetch and carry for them,
who only exert themselves when there are possibilities of individual
glory ahead. Sharp does not play for Sharp ;he plays for Everton.
At the same time he is not a. mere part of a machine. He
recognises his relation to the machine, and he can subordinate him-
self to its needs, but he also grasps the fact that the success of the
individual is necessary to the success of the whole. Sharp is a happy
blend of the Altruist and the Hedonist, of one who can go forward on
his own for the benefit of the team, and the man - who can subordinate
himself for the success of his side. Self-interest does not enter his
scheme of things. With him it is the team first, second, and last. Yet
when he does dash down the win g - with the ball at his toe no man can
better set a thirty thousand crowd on a full-throated roar. Dodging,
dribbling, feinting, passing, shooting, he is surely one of the neatest-
footed men playing the game. He has abeautiful control of the ball, and
awonderful eye for avulnerable part of the defence. Cool, resourceful,
determined, he makes the most of the smallest openings, and if oppor-
tunities do not present themselves he has a wonderful faculty, for
creating them. Bustling and pertinacious, he frequently succeeds from
very importunity. Difficult to dislodge from the ball, strong on his
legs ; boring his way through anything short of a brick wall, he is
frequently the despair of the best backs in the land. Give Sharp a
yard and ahalf to operate in, and he will perform evolutions to mystify
the greatest defence extant. He has the power of concealing his in-
tentions, of throwing his opponents on the wrong scent, and any attempt
to anticipate his movements is more likely than not to lead to disaster.
By close study and constant practice he has made the game his own.
He showed the same superlative qualities at cricket. At one time a
great fast bowler, he soon qualified as a great batsman, and is now one
of the mainstays of the Lancashire County team. Sharp is still young
enough to secure many more honours at both games.

A. G. RAISBECK

A great half-back, and especially a great centre half, is atower of

strength to any team. One wonders why with aman like A. Raisbeck
on the side the Liverpool Club ever could have lost its place in the
 Pulsating with the Joy of Life 6•
First Division of the Football League. Raisbeck is no more first-class
lialf-back. Ile is a man amongst a thousand. He is fit to be ranked
with the great ones of the football field, the men whose names will
go down to posterity. One can with perfect justice name him in the
same breath with James Cowan, Ernest Needham, and William Groves.
Ile has not perhaps the cool level-headedness of Cowan, not the
artistic touch of Groves, not the all-round polish of Needham, but he
bears to bring on the game a quality which none of these men possessed
in the same degree.
Ilis great forte as ahalf-back is a dashing, breezy versatility. He is
like an intelligent automaton fully wound up and warranted to last
through the longest game on record. To watch him at play is to see
a man pulsating to his finger-tips with the joy of life. Swift, rapid
movement, fierce electric rushes are to him an everlasting delight. One
would think he had discovered the secret of perpetual motion. He
keeps on and on and on and never flags. Yet his movements are never
aimless, never without apurpose, His thought is wedded to his action,
and the result is always "something attempted, something done."
A great centre half-back has immense responsibilities, and while
Raisbeck realises them, they sit lightly upon his shoulders. He is one
of those cheery players who covet hard work and plenty of it. If
Raisbeck is ever slack it is only when the opposition is feeble. To call
forth his greatest qualities you have to oppose to him the best and
brainiest in the land. Then it is that the light-haired Scots laddie
swirls and swims through the opposition like a flash of fire. He is
rarely content with doing what is generally regarded as his own portion
of the work. A centre half of the best type has a special license to
roam, to move out of his place to follow where danger threatens, whether
it be defending in his own goal-mouth or pressing home the attack in
the vicinity of his adversaries' goal. Ile is so fast and divines the run
of the play so quickly that he can be "all over the shop" and yet
never out of his rightful place.
Few men with his smashing style possess the ability to place the ball
accurately to their forwards, but Raisbeck in his most lurid moments
has all his wits about him, and can "feed " the men in front with
splendid judgment. When the light of battle is in his eye, and the
opposition looms large on the horizon, it is an inspiring sight to watch
this dauntless player go out to meet it with aconfidence which in aman
of lesser talents would be sheer egotism. No doubt Raisbeck is alive
62 Association Football
to his worth—what man of parts is not?—but he is not even touched
with the disease of swollen head.
He is usually seen at his best when playing for Scotland against
England. There you see six of the best half-backs in the land, and
if Raisbeck is not seen towering above the others, he never does less
than divide the honours with the pick of the others. There is no nation
that would not be proud to claim him for a son. His loyalty to his
club is surely another point to be placed to his big credit balance.
Through good and ill fortune, and amidst many temptations to desert,
he has stuck fast to Liverpool. He was with the club in 190 iwhen it
won the Championship of the League; he was with it when it lost
touch with the First Division ;and he perhaps more than any other
helped to restore the old club to its present prestige. A strong
muscular figure with a breezy personality, tall, well made, with the
weigbt in the right place, he is aman that once seen on the field is
not likely to be forgotten. Of the many sons of Scotland who have
crossed the border to play football, there is no one more generally
admired and respected than Alec Raisbeck of Liverpool.

FRANK FORMAN

When the history,of the football of these times comes to be written,

amon g the select little band whose names will stand out from the pages
with especial lustre, none will shine more refulgently, than that of
Frank Forman, the famous international player, who for several years
was one of the brightest ornaments of the Nottingham Forest team.
In every sense of the word Forman was agreat half-back. At his own
position at right half agreater player never kicked aball, yet such was
his versatility that he was able to do himself equal justice in any
position, as was often proved when the fortune of the game was going
against the side and an extra effort had to be put forward.
Forman came into the Forest team at a time when the celebrated
Nottingham "Recls "badly needed players of his calibre, and during his
career he was without doubt the chief mainstay of the club in the
arena. With his brother Fred, who in his day rendered the side
yeoman service in the forward line, Frank Forman joined the Forest
from Derby County, upon whose League list he had remained for some
time without obtaining the opportunities to which his exceptional
 Russell tS;-
Photo : ,Sacs, Lona*on
FRANK FORMAN

Notts Forest and England

 Frank Forman a Born Leader 63

abilities justly entitled him, and it was somewhat remarkable that so

astute a directorate as that controlling the destinies of the Peakites
should have allowed such a master of the science of football to slip
through their fingers. However, fate willed it so ,an d Forman was
not long in demonstrating his talents in the wider fi eld w hi ch League
football afforded him.
When he joined the Forest the team was captained by that fine old
war-horse John M`Pherson, who occupied the position of centre half,
and during the closing stages of the veteran's connection with the club,
Forman, playing as he did at right half, was both figuratively and
literally his skipper's right-hand man. The retirement of M`Pherson
from active participation in the game left the directors in no doubt as
to upon whose shoulders the mantle of the captaincy should descend,
and thereafter Frank Forman led the team. He was a born leader,
and his generalship, coolness, and knowledge of tactics enabled him to
assist his side out of many a tight place. With the disappearance of
APPlierson, Forman assumed the role of centre half which, during the
remainder of his association with the Forest, he rarely relinquished,
although sometimes chosen in international matches to operate in his
old position at right half.
There were many good judges of the game, however, who considered
that the centre place in the intermediate line was his true metier, and
with this dictum one who witnessed practically every match in which
Forman took part at the zenith of his fame is not disposed to quarrel,
for, a perfect glutton for work, he had the knack of being here, there,
and everywhere. But his propensity to "range " never led him into
indiscreet wandering, and he was invariably in the right place at the
psychological moment when his services were the most needed, as his
opponents found, usually to their discomfiture. One of the most reliable
players who ever donned a jersey, his "off days" were .few and far
between, and in his most brilliant moods he was asight to gladden the
eyes of the enthusiast, as with head thrown well back, squared elbows,
alert, well-poised figure, and fine carriage, he pressed his irresistible way
through the melee, encouraging his men with cheery voice and timely
advice to renewed effort.
In all departments of the game he excelled. As abreaking-up half
lie has never been surpassed. The best-engineered movements of the
smartest forward rank were apt to go astray when Forman was having
"a day out." A big, fearless, raking half-back, 5 feet i i1inches in
64 Association Football
height and twelve stone in weight, he was a sore thorn in the sides of
the "nippiest " forwards, and like the Roman warrior of old, he often
held the bridge in face of the most determined assaults. But even with
this predilection for tackling, he never forgot that another important
duty of a half-back is to feed his own forwards, and his passes went
with unerring certainty to the foot of the man for whom they were
intended. Countless were the openings which he would make for his
forwards in the course of a match, and his look of disgust when an
unlucky vanguardsman failed to take advantage of one of these chances
was most amusing to see. It was by no means an uncommon occurrence
to see him go straight through himself with the ball, in which case the
opposing goalkeeper cleared for action forthwith, for Forman was one
of the deadliest and hardest shots at goal among his contemporaries.
More frequently, however, he would try a long-range shot, and he
obtained in this manner some remarkable goals. -\A%hen his side were
pressing and a goal was unconscionably long in coming, he would
go among the forwards, often to bring about the desired result
by his own individual efforts, while in the taking oCpenalty kicks
he had quite an extraordinary series of successes until, quite at
the close of his career, one or two failures to "convert " appeared
to shake his confidence in himself and caused him to relinquish this
important task.
Although up to every move on the board, and thoroughly acquainted
with all the tricks of the trade, Forman was one of the most gentle-
manly of players, and it was a rare thing to see him take retaliatory
measures for even the most flagrant of attacks, while tenderness of
heart was one of his most conspicuous attributes, afact which received
eloquent exemplification upon the occasion when his colleague Bob
Norris, and sterling left half, broke his leg in the match against Aston
Villa at Birmingham, Forman being the unwitting cause of the sad
accident. Reticent and even retiring by nature, and thoroughly of the
type of man referred to in the well-known song, "He's all right when
you know him, but you've got to know him first," Forman's splendid
qualities as a man were thoroughly appreciated by those who enjoyed
his friendship. Although his personal characteristics prevented him
ever waxing exuberant over avictory, no club ever had a more loyal
servant, and "Frank's " demeanour in the saloon upon a homeward
journey was a thoroughly reliable barometer of the manner in «-hick
the team had acquitted itself. He completely identified himself with
 Nine Times Capped for England 65

his club, and the estimation in which he was held was conclusively
shown when, upon finally taking off the harness of the player, he offered
his services as a committee-man and was triumphantly,returned at the
head of the poll, the only, candidate to receive the solid support of
every one who filled up avoting paper that night. He was nine times
"capped" for England, his international appearances being in 1898,
1899, 19o1, and 1902 against Scotland, 1899 and 1903 against Wales,
and 1898, r899, and 1902 against Ireland.

WILLIAM MOSFORTH

Few footballers found awider appreciation or deserved the appre-

ciation more than Billy Mosforth, who, in the seventies, was without
question the bright particular star of left wing football, and left aname
which even now is remembered in his native city of Sheffield with
affection, and his performances are still spoken of with enthusiasm.
Playing with the Sheffield Wednesday Club at a time when the club
included in its ranks many footballers of rare ability, Mosforth, who
played outside left, gained for himself such areputation as has belonged
to few forwards, save perhaps to Bassett and Spikesley.
Brilliantly fast, he was a wonder in his cleverness, and had one
marked attribute which stood out above all else in his play. Indi-
vidualism at that time was much more marked than is the case to-day;
possibly the game has gained through the change, but players nowa-
days seem to lose something as well. And in those days of individualism
Mosforth shone refulgent. His lightning dashes down the wing were
as marked as the wonderful way in which, in spite of all opposition, he
would corkscrew into the very corner, and there, from the very flag, would
get in fast drives which, curling all the way, beat many acustodian and
scored wonderful goals. Every goalkeeper of note in those days had
those eerie shots to negotiate ;they came at all paces and in all manner
of quaint curves, but they were all dead on the mark, and Mosforth's
shooting from the corner flag was in no sense centring mistermed,
but shooting pure and simple. He asked for the intervention of
no centre forward nor needed none; his shots were good enough
to beat the custodian if he was not keenly alive to their coming,
and Wednesday's left winger in those far-off days was the idol of
Sheffield football.
VOL. TI. E
66 Association Football
-Zany atime did he play for his country. He took five caps against
Scotland, and on four other occasions represented England, whilst his
football every time was noteworthy. Once in one of many talks which
I had with him (for llosforth is still hale and hearty in Sheffield), he
went into the days of his football greatness, and told of many astirring
fight and experience. He told me of the unbridled enthusiasm which
used to exist in Glasgow when the Sheffield Association team used to go
north, how it was welcomed with an eagerness and an enthusiasm which
was universal; he spoke of his experiences at the Oval, "where the
going was always so magnificent," and went into some detail of the
match there against Scotland in 1879, when England won an ever
memorable match by five goals to four. That wonderful dribbler, E. C.
Bambridge, was then playing inside left to the Shefelder, and, with only
five minutes to go, the score was four goals all.
Then came ascore, and England promptly appealed for offside. The
Scottish umpire said "goal," the English one was just as confident that
it was "offside." And so the hapless referee, Lord Kinnaird, v-as called
upon. He was surrounded by the Scottish players, and - Mr. C. W.
Alcock came running from the pavilion to render him apparently
necessary succour. But the Scotsmen chased him back again, and
Lord Kinnaird stated that he thought the goal was "offside." The
consequence was that the Scotsmen were unable to settle down any
more, and, before the close, either Bambridge or -losforth put on a
fifth goal for England. "I don't know which of us it v-as," he said,
"but I know that they carried me off the field afterwards, so I must
have played pretty well."
One other reminiscence may be given here. It related to the Welsh
International of 1879, played like the other at the Oval. W. E. Clegg
v-as one of the chosen Englishmen, but he was detained in Sheffield
that Friday night getting together some evidence in favour of Charles
Peace, who was then awaiting his trial, and he had to travel to town on
the Saturday morning. The consequence was that through heavy snow
the train was delayed, and the amateur did not reach the Oval till the
game had been in progress fully twenty minutes. As 1llosforth puts it,
"that kind of thing would not go down nowadays, Peace or no Peace."
As amatter of fact there was "no Peace "very shortly after the decision
of this particular game.
Photo, FR7's \M 3GAZINE.
W . F. BRAWN.
AS
TON VILLA AND ENGLAND,
 Two Great Amateur Backs 6
7

A. M. AND P. M. WALTERS

It is doubtful if the game has ever produced a better pair of

defenders than the two old Charterhouse boys with the "meridian "
initials. Individually, each was a great back: collectively they were
superior to any club pair that ever took the field. Previous to their
time say 1885—combination amongst backs was practically unheard of.
It was left for the famous brothers, and W. L. Moon, the goalkeeper,
to work out and perfect a scheme in which the final three defenders
worked together. Their success was so marked that England selected
the two brothers to represent their country against Scotland in 1885,
1886, and 188-.
Both were fine specimens of athletic manhood. P. M. weighed
close on 13 stone, and A. M. just over 12 stone, while 5feet 11 inches
about represented the height of each. Both had a love of the game
that amounted almost to a passion, and for preference they liked a
good hard game against the best professionals in the land. The breaking
of "P. AL's " leg at Oxford made him take up rowing for a period,
but lie could not deny himself what he described as the noblest and
manliest game in existence. It was, however, a tragic accident in the
football field that made them retire from the game with their honours
thick upon them. Their younger brother was accidentally killed in a
purely amateur match in London, and the elder brothers, in deference to
their parents' wishes, reluctantly gave up the pastime. 1
1

The Walters were backs of the robust type. They dearly loved
to give or to take an honest charge. Provided one played fairly no
one could play too vigorously to please them. They revelled in the
manly vigour of the game. Both were splendid kickers and tacklers.
They were strong as lions. They were so fast that they could keep up
close behind their half-backs with safety. A. M. was particularly daring
in this respect. If he were hampered in his efforts he would, with the
greatest nonchalance, pass the ball back to his brother, and they rarely
or never made aserious mistake. They could pass to each other with
the accuracy of well-trained forwards. A. AT. was generally thought to
be the better back, but when they played together only the hyper-
critical could suggest any superiority.
In their tours with the Corinthians A. M. occasionally played at 1
half-back, and in minor matches he fancied himself as a forward.
63 Association Football
There is no doubt that the example of this magnificent pair of
backs worked wonders in the matter of defensive combination.
Hitherto all combination had been thought of only for attack, but
the old Charterhouse boys proved the virtue of combination in defence.
For perfect physique we have seen no one quite equal to them in
recent years, excepting perhaps Herbert Smith of Reading, who is also
an amateur. When the Walters were at their best the old Carthusians
used to take part in the Cup ties, and many a great struggle has been
seen between them and some of the best professional teams. One
notable match was in the sixth round of the Cup ties against Preston
North End, when the amateurs were only beaten by two goals to one
after extra time had been played. The match resolved itself chiefly
into a duel between the famous North End forwards and the equally
famous Charterhouse backs. It seems a pity that we do not see more
amateurs of the type of the brothers Walters in present-day football,
but there are few men who care to "rough it "—as A. Al. and P. Al.
undoubtedly did. It cost them a great -wrench to give up the game.
They loved it. They quite understood that football was not adrawing-
room game, and they had no wish to overburden it with rules to pre-
vent the rigour of the game. The continuous tooting of the modern
referee's whistle would have been agony to them.
It is rather curious that P. M. should have gone to Oxford Uni-
versity and A. AT. to Cambridge. Both got their "Blues" in the
same year, and they played against each other in the inter-'Varsity
match of r884.

I
 SECTION XII

A HISTORY OF MIDLAND FOOTBALL

ASSOCIATION football made asomewhat tardy appearance in the district

which, geographically speaking only, may be regarded as the hub of
the Allidlands. The pastime
flourished in Nottingham, Bur-
ton, and Derby before it ob-
tained afooting in Birmingham;
indeed there were several
flourishin(r clubs in the Black
Country several years before 4 .

the first Association ball wash

kicked in the ll idland capital. ,. }` '`', r4
"yp
g̀
A well-known Sheffield player
named Webster introduced the
galne to the Aston side of the
town, and very appropriately S 4y

its first home was the old

Aston Lower Grounds meadow,
the acknowledged headquarters"``
r <
of Midland sport. t aYi;

There Georcre and Snook,

the great pedestrians put up
their records ; there 11. L.
Cortis rode his 6o-inch "ordi-
nary Photo: Albert Wilkes, II'est Brontzuich
nary bicycle in a way which
F. W. BINDER
(relatively) no living wheelman
Chairman, Aston Villa
could parallel ; there Iroquois
Indians played lacrosse, the
national game of Canada ;there the Australian cricketers won their
match a;ainst an England eleven in four and a half hours ;th ere
Dr. 1V. G. Grace drew the Midland multitude which was privileged
 70 Association Football
to watch him when he was at the zenith of his powers ;and there was
founded the Birmingham Cricket and Football Club, the first club of
importance which played the Association game in Birmingham.
Actually the Association game was introduced to Birmingham by
two young Scots, Mr. J. Campbell Orr, who is to-day, after thirty
years' service, Secretary of the Birmingham District and Counties
Football Association, abody which he helped to found in 1875, and -Mr.
John Carson, amember of Queen's Park, Glasgow. _Mr. Campbell Orr
was a St. Andrews University man, and had been accustomed to play
the Rugby game; indeed, he narrowly missed gaining his Scottish cap
about 1871. The pair came to Birmingham to fill business appoint-
ments, and started the pioneer club of the city, the Birmingham Clerks'
Football Club. They played on Calthorpe Park, and the name of the
club was speedily changed to the Calthorpe. The first private field
they rented was in the Bristol Road, and was owned by Lord Calthorpe.
Among their early opponents were Moseley, whom they met at both
the Rugby and the Association code, for opponents in those days were
so scarce that they had not the privilege of picking and choosing the
opposition ;they had to take what engagements they could get and
be thankful for them. Thus to oblige Moseley they played under the
handling code, and 1loseley, to meet their wishes, condescended not to
touch the ball with their hands. But there were clubs in the Black
Country playing under all kinds of curious mixed rules, and i11r. Orr
can tell some good stories of the games they played under these bastard
regulations. Says he:—
The good people of Wednesbury were not content without a special code of
their own. When we arrived at their ground we realised that we had an awkward
task before us. The ground was marked out in a peculiar way. There were flags
placed between the goal-posts and the corner flag, and between these a kind of try
could be obtained. You were not allowed to handle the ball in the field of play, but
if ashot was sent in and the ball passed to the rear of the posts, it could be scrambled
after and a try could be obtained after the way of the Rugby game. Just as the
attacking side were competent to score a try, so the defending side had to touch
down to save. Naturally a game like this was quite to my liking, and whenever
there was arace for the ball Iwas able to bring my Rugby training into use. I got
on very well until in scoring a try Iran into the wire fence at the boundary of the
field. In these games at -Vednesbury tries were subservient to goals. If a side bad
a majority of goals they won ;but if the goals were equal, then a majority of tries
decided the day."

One of the earliest clubs formed in the Black Country area was
Tipton. They had a strong club there for some years; they were

4
 The Rise of the Albion 71

regular opponents of Aston Villa and the Calthorpe in the early days.
Then ANTednesbury had its club before Birmingham woke up to a sense
of the merits of the game. Wednesbury Strollers gained more than a
local celebrity, some of the recognised clubs of the country, such as
Sheffield and Notts Forest, coming to play them at their queerly named
ground, "The Trapezium," at Wood Green. Wednesbury, by the way,
early became the great stronghold of Black Country football, for the
town, small in size compared with some of its neighbours, at one
period boasted three first-rate local teams. The Strollers (the aristo-
cratic organisation), Allednesbury Old Athletic, for several years the
acknowledged champion club of the Midlands, and Elwells, the last
named aworks team, the members of which by dint of daily practice
on the field adjoining Messrs. Elwells' works obtained a quality of
combination which caused them to be held in high esteem.
Then Wolverhampton had its Stafford Road Works club, captained
by Charles. Crump, the respected President of the Birmin gham Asso-
ciation. He is the perpetual President, for he has held office uninter-
ruptedly since the formation of that body. A strong and vigorous
centre forward was Charles Crump; aman who believed in giving and
taking hard knocks. There were happily no drawing-room referees in
those days. The Stafford Road club had apowerful side, and the stern
fight they made with Wednesbury Old Athletic in the Birmingham
Cup final of 1877, the first year of the competition, is remembered
to this day by old followers of the game.
The game spread in Walsall too; indeed, there were about 18 77
more good clubs in Walsall than in any place in the Birmingham and
District area. Two of them, the oldest pair, by the way, were a class 1

above any of the others, viz., Walsall Town and Walsall Swifts. There
was fierce rivalry between them. The Swifts were the democratic
club; the Town contained the young fellows of good social position
in the town and district. Then Rushall Rovers were very strong,
and there were at least a dozen really serviceable teams in the place.
The game soon gained a footing in West Bromwich, where the Nest
Bromwich Club, captained by the gentleman now known as Alderman
George Salter, the Dartmouth, Sandwell, and other teams flourished.
That was before the formation of the Albion. Then there were clubs at
Albrigliton, Belbroughton, Shifnal, and Hagley ;for the last-named club
the Mon. Edward and the Hon. Alfred Lyttelton were wont to play
in the Christmas holidays when they were home from Eton. And two
72 Association Football
nice innocent-looking youths they were; both could hold their own
at any species of tactics which their opponents might see fit to adopt.
They were as strong as lions, and ,as fleet as antelopes.

THE ORIGIN OF ASTON VILLA

The seed which had been sown in Birmingham CD

produced an abundant
and rapid harvest. In a few years the city possessed such organi-
sations (in addition to the Calthorpe) as Aston Villa, Aston Unity,
St. George's, Excelsior, Small Heath Alliance (later Small Heath, and
latest of all Birmingham), and
a dozen other teams of more
than average ability. The Bir-
mingham club had astrong side,
but they relied for their talent
upon the pick of other clubs,
and many of their engagements
were played on week-days.
The Calthorpe's influence
waned. They could not charge
gate money, and that fact natu-
rally retarded their growth. As
Aston Villa and St. George's
throve, so they declined. Had
all things been equal, it is con-
ceivable that the Calthorpe
might have stood where the
Villa stand to-day, for Archie
Hunter really intended to play
for them when he came to Bir-
mingham; in fact, their ground
Photo: Reinhold Thiele
was the one he vent in search
J. DEVEY of when he arrived in the
Aston Villa
Midlands. But lie could not
find it, and at his place of
business he fell in with a Villa enthusiast who promptly told him
that there was a brother Scot captain of that club (G. B. Ramsay),
and accordingly Archie `vent to the Villa headquarters, and a Villa
 First Captain of the Villa 73

man lie remained to the day of his death. He was, in fact, the maker
of the club.
But who is there that is not familiar with the rise of Aston
Villa? Founded in 1874 by a
band of youths connected with r 1
the Aston Villa Wesleyan Chapel,
the club found a home at Wel-
lington Road, Perry Barr, the
field being discovered during a
Sunday morning walk by George
Ramsay and a brother Scot ,`

named Lindsay. George Ramsa y

was the first captain of repute ,
indeed, lie it was who taught
the novices the real science of
the game. He came upon them
when they were at practice, and
asked them if he might join in. t
;

George had learned the game in-

Glascrow , and his dribbling held '
them spellbound. This was the .•
man for them, and in a short
time he had accepted the cap-
taincy of the club. Who of the ` J
old gang of spectators does Photo: "Fry's Magazine"

not recall dapper little George J. W. BACHE

Ramsay, wearin g a small round Aston Villa and England

polo cap, dribbling as no man

at Perry Barr had ever dribbled before? George Ramsay disciplined
the club nicely, and then appeared Archie and Andy Hunter, and
tlfe Villa became a power in the land. Eli Davis and Howard
Vaugliton left Wednesbury Strollers to join the rising team, and what
a pretty left wing they made! With Harry Simmonds at back, Lee,
Pank, and Law at half (the last -named was a prodigy in tack-
ling), the Villa soon monopolised the Midland championship. Arthur
Brown completed the forward set, and when Andy Hunter, 011y
Whateley, Archie Hunter, Arthur Brown, Eli Davis, and Howard
Vaugliton constituted the front rank, the Villa were acknowledged
as one of the ablest sides in the whole country.
74 Association Football
They first won the Birmingham Cup in ISS I, and they have
carried it o$" twelve tinges since. They won the -Mayor's Charity
Cup in 1882, and have repeated the triumph seventeen times. They
have won the Staffordshire Cup six times, and their reserves have
also emulated their example as acup winning combination. In some
Df the old Birmingham Association representative matches there were
often eight or nine Villa men, although the Association had a wide
area to select from. Howard Vaughton and Arthur Brown were
their first Internationals, both playing against Scotland in 1882, and
since that time the following Villa men have gained Scottish caps:—
0. l hateley, AV. C. Athersmith, J. W. Bache, J. AV. Crabtree, lV .George,
D. Hodgetts, A. Leake, J. Reynolds, S. Smith, H. Spencer, F. Wheldon,
and A. 117a-es. James Cowan and J. Campbell gained international
caps for Scotland while in the service of the Villa.
The following are the leading players who represented Aston Villa
in 1905 :—
When George, the goalkeeper, a fine, manly-looping young soldier,
standing six feet one inch, came from Trowbridge unexpectedly to
play in a League match against the Albion at Stoney Lane, people
who watched the game that day thought they had never seen a
custodian like him. , ,He probably saved the Villa from a crushing
defeat. Two years afo ' he played in all three internationals, and he
was the one man on his side who did himself justice in all the games.
But he was ousted by Baddeley. He cannot get down to low shots
so well as he once could ;still, his goalkeeping in the games so far
played by Aston Villa this season has been remarkable. A capable
cricketer (he has played for Wiltshire, Shropshire, and -Varwickshire),
and a fine fellow socially, every one is proud of George, and wishes
that he --ere the clean-built young fellow he was when he first came
to the Villa. The club did not even think the suspension of a few
officials too big a price to pay for him.
Then there is Howard Spencer, who, on general form, has been
the finest back in England for something like ten years. The Inter-
national Selection Committee have apparently not thought this, but
many good judges of football hold the view. A polished, gentlemanly
player, Spencer, throughout his long career, has never been guilty of
any breach of football etiquette, and he is what all professional foot-
ballers should strive to be. His two caps against Scotland in IS9i and
1905, three against Wales in IS9i, i 900, and 1905, and one against
 Villans of the .Present Day 75

Ireland in z9o3, is a rather meagre list of honours for the most

polished back of the day.
.Tiles, an Aston youth, who learned his football with Aston St.
_.Mary's Club, has possibly supplanted Evans as Spencer's partner.
.Miles has something to learn, but he is a young back of promise.
There is no reason why he should not make a second Spencer, for
in Ills first few shows he evinced the possession of many of the qualities
which have made Spencer the great player he is. His play in the
final tic at the Palace made his reputation.
Wilkes occasionally came into the team at half, and although
he is not the player he was he is a useful member of the side. His
dashin g methods have brought him into many collisions, and these
have perhaps impaired his football ability to some extent. He, too,
is a footballer with a flawless reputation. He was transferred to
Aston Villa as a kind of make-weight when they secured Johnson
and Aston from Walsall, and when he once crept into the League
.eleven he finished up by getting his international cap. Pearson and
Windmill were the regular Villa wing halves.
At centre half we have the veteran Alec Leake, aplayer full of man-
nerisms, but one who gives nothing away during the actual progress
of the game. He is the veteran of the team, and unexpectedly gained
an international cap against Scotland two years ago. Small Heath
people smile when you talk about this, and vow that he was an in-
fi>>itcly finer half-Back when playing at Coventry Road than he is
to-day. Ile is avery good one to-day. Leake is a merry fellow, and
is popular on many grounds.
Brawn, a spendidly made fellow, with a long, raking stride, who
looked like playing against Scotland last year, rather lost his head
when lie got his international cap against Wales. He played awonder-
ful game in his first representative trial show, and every one thought
that lie was a certainty for future internationals.
In Hall, who came from the Villa nursery, as the Stourbridge Club
leas often been called, the team have picked up a man who is going
to be a player. At present he wants another stone and a half to be
thoroughly efficient, but lie is clever, has the true knack of the dribble,
and can shoot as well as any wing player can be expected to shoot.
Garratty is rather adiamond in the rough. He is, however, agreat
Nvorker, and is now ail indispensable member of the team.
In Bache the Villa have a superb forward. I-le tries to dribble
6 Association Football

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78 Association Football
too closely, and dallies kith the ball too much, but he is a talented
player. Until Hampton came Bache -as one of the few-real goal-getters
the Villa had, and although he -wastes a good many chances, he is a
great player.
damp₹on, the wonderful young centre forward, is specially described
in "Giants of the Game."
The -\-ilia have usually held aleading place in the League; indeed,

to the end of 190.E -3, they had obtained more points in that competition
than any other club, viz., 622 against 595 for Everton, and 379 for
Sunderland. but Sunderland's average of points each season is slightly
higher than that of the Villa. Fire times have the Villa carried o$
the Championship of the League, and four times have they 'won
the English Cup. In 1897 they equalled Preston North End's unique
performance. and won both the League Championship and the English
Cup in the same Season.

WINNERS OF THE FOLLOWING TROPHIES, viz.:

E'N GLISH CT-TP - I

SS; (Finalists I
S9z), IS95, IS9; ,1905.
LEAGUE CH3-3iPIOSSHIP CUP-IS94, IS96, IS97, I&99, 19oo (Runners -11 P 1903)-
BIrMIIN GIT a-r A_-\-D DIS TEICT LEAGUE CH A-
%FPIO_-NZHIP - IJ93, I&96, 1900, 1 90 3, 1 90 4: 190 5.
MAYOR' S CH ARTTY CUP -I SS2, ISS3, ISS7 (Joint Holders with Walsall Swifts, 1SS3), ISS6, Isss,

ISS9, IS90, IS91, IS93, IS97, IS93, IS9S, IS99, 1901, 190, Ioo7 (Joint Holders with Small
Heath, 19o5•.
BIMID GHAX CUP-ISSO, IScS2, ISS3, ISS7, ISS3, ISSS, ISS9, IS90, IS91, IS96, 1599, 19o3, 1904,
ST'AFFOEDSI TRF CUP-ISS1, IS91, ISo3 = 1597, IS96, IS99.

SHVP.TF`F OF LONDON CIT aP.ITY STM-LD-(Joint Holders with Queen7s Park, Glas-ow, IS99), 1901.
BASs CHARTTY CUP- IS93, 1894-

WALSALL CUP-ISo9.
'WESTBrzos« im CH3EITs Cup--(Joint Holders with Albion, ISS9).

Founded ISM i] [Reconstructed 1596.

WEST BROMWICH ALBION

Next to Aston Villa, West Bromwich Albion have had the most
eventful history of any Midland organisation. Formed in 1S7 9 by
aband of West Bromwich lads, they called themselves Afiest Bromwich
Strollers, but after-wards adopted the name of the Albion. They
practised upon a piece of -waste ground, and most of their early
home engagements were fought out on Dartmouth Park. 1•'ell can
.Tames Stanton and other originals recollect the lads clubbing together
to buy a ball, and barin g got together the needful they trudged off
4 ­-WA

!I

The Great Cup-fighters 79

to Wednesbury to buy the football, for such an article was not to

be found in West Bromwich. By dint of sheer application and
enthusiasm they gradually left all the other local clubs behind, and
after humbling their last great rivals, the Dartmouth, the latter went
under (as a football body), and the Albion occupied their ground, the
well-known Four Acres enclosure.
Zany stirring Cup fights were decided there. What a terrible
set the Albion forwards were when they came sweeping over the brow
of that hill and down the incline, carrying everything before them!
Dreaded opponents were the Albion in those days. Finally, the same
band of lads (how well they stuck together !) gained anational standing
by beating Aston Villa, and the strongest clubs hastened to recognise
their merit. Then came their great leader, Jem Bayliss, and with him
and such stalwarts as Spry Woodhall, Tom Green, J. J. Wilson, Pearson,
Ezra Horton (" Ironsides "), Darkey Timmins, Harry Green, A. Aldridge,
and the redoubtable Bob Roberts, they feared no one. Many dreaded
them. Finally came the wily W. I. Bassett, and the English Cup was
brought to West Bromwich. At one period the Albion were constantly
appearing in the Cup final; they were the Cup-fighters of the country.
Twice they threw Preston North End out when the latter were at the
height of their glory. Once the Albion defeated them in a semi-final
at Nottingham, and in the following year worsted them in the final
at the Oval. That was the greatest surprise of all time, but who
shall say that the Albion did not deserve their victory ? Very
t.
clear to them, too, was their triumph over their near neighbours;
pil
Aston Villa, in the final of 1892. On League form the Villa were
the better team, but the Albion were the cleverer side in that match
and deserved to win. There was a talk about the Villa goalkeeper
selling the match, but the Villa could never obtain a tittle of evidence
in support of the assertion. But the Birmingham mob were not so
judicial, and they smashed the windows of the hostelry kept by the
maligned custodian. In the League the Albion have never done well; 1;

consistency is not their strong point.

The frequency with which the Albion found their way into the
final tie of the National Cup was the talk of the country. They first
qualified for the final in the season of 1885-86, when, after a stern
fi ght at the Oval, they drew with the most redoubtable of all Cup-
fighters, Blackburn Rovers. The game was replayed at Derby, and the
Rovers won by two goals to nil. This was the Rovers' third successive
 Association Football
I
so

win, and the final was the first that had been played out of London.
But the Albion were at the Oval in the following season, and again
they were doomed to disappointment and defeat, for Aston Villa, led
by the redoubtable Archie Hunter, won by a couple of goals to nil.
Now the Albion had overthrown the all but invincible North End in
the semi-final at Nottingham, and had great hopes of winning the
Cup, but it was not to be.
There were two very fine semi-finals that year, and in them Midland
clubs achieved a remarkable dual triumph. While the Albion were
beating North End, the Villa vanquished Glasgow Rangers, whose
team was almost aScottish international eleven, by three goals to one
at Crewe. Rarely have two finer and indeed historic games been decided
upon one afternoon. The Villa, however, had a particularly talented
side at that period. But for the third successive year the Albion
fought their way to the final, and this time they reaped the reward
of their indomitable pluck and skill. Defeat again seemed in store
for them; they had to oppose North End in the final, and North End
were thirsting to avenge that reverse at Nottingham. To say that
North End were confident is to put the position mildly. One of their
modest requests was made to Major llarindin, and it was to the effect
that they might be photographed with the cup before the game started.
The major, with true military bluntness, asked, "Had you not better
win it first? " That is just what they could not do. They had all the
best of the game; that point is cheerfully admitted by the Albion.
They bad ten shots to the Albion's one. But it required something out
of the ordinary to beat the Albion's great goalkeeper, Bob Roberts, and
the end was approaching before they equalised the score. Then anice
pass by Bassett produced a goal from the foot of Spry Woodhall, and
the Albion triumphed at the expense of the greatest combination the
football world has known.
What excitement there was in the Black Country! How the team
were feted when they returned! Bayliss and his men were the heroes
of the year, and the only dash of bitter there was in their cup of
rejoicing was that a few writers away from Birmingham would refer
to them as "the plucky Birmingham Club." Birmingham club, indeed!
that was enough to make the average Albionite grind his teeth with
anger. After the Cup final three matches were played by the Villa and
the Albion for the championship of the Midlands, and the Albion won
two of these and lost one, the goal record being ten to four in their

I
 d
If

The Vagaries of the Albion 81

favour. A tour in the North followed, the Albion naturally being

agreat draw wherever they went. They met Renton "for the Cham-
pionship of the World," the talented villagers having just carried off
the Scottish Cup. The match was played in a blinding snowstorm,
and the Albion lost, but they were inclined to blame the elements for
their defeat. Mr. Louis Ford, one of the most astute men ever con-
nected with football management, was justly proud of the fact that the
English Cup was won by ateam of Staffordshire lads on awage-list of
;65, i os. per week.
On the formation of the League the Albion were naturally honoured {
i
with an invitation to constitute one of the competition, but the League
was not the kind of struggle altogether congenial to the club. They
finished sixth in the first season, and fifth in the following year, but in
the third year, i89o-9 i, they were last on the list. They had one of
the longest runs of failure ever known in connection with the body,
for between October 25, i89o, and March 7, i891, they never won a
League game. They were re-elected, however, only to finish twelfth
(out of fourteen) the next season. But they were still a great Cup-
fighting side, and in the season of 1891-92 they startled the football
world by beating Old Westminsters, Blackburn Rovers, and Sheffield
Wednesday in the English Cup. Then came two fierce draws with
Notts Forest in the semi-final, but at the third attempt the Albion
played havoc with the Reds at Derby, Bassett giving one of the most
wonderful shows in his notable career.
In the final the Villa, who were strong favourites, were beaten at
the Oval by three goals to nil, and football form was utterly confounded.
The Albion were again unsuccessful in the League for several seasons,
but in 1895 they were again in the final of the Cup competition, and
the Villa beat them by agoal, scored by Chatt under aminute from the
start, to nil. Bassett put forth many heroic efforts to turn the tide of
defeat in that game, and made himself more than ever the idol of the
metropolitan crowd. A remarkable match was played on the Monday
after the Cup final, for the Albion in the League required not only two
points but afive goals to none victory to escape the indignity of partici-
pation in test games. Sheffield Wednesday were their opponents, and
the Albion won by six goals to nil. There were some caustic comments,
of course, but Iwill say little about the match. It is beyond dispute,
however, that if one team in the country could bring off asensational
result that team was Nest Bromwich Albion.
VOL. II. F
 l

82 Association Football
In the following year the Albion were in the test games, but they
emerged successfully. Finally, however, they lost their place in the
League, but they had a-wonderful season in 19OI-2, heading the Second
League table, and scoring more points than any club in that competition
had previously obtained. Then faulty management again caused them
to lose their place in the Senior Division, and now they are doing their
best to regain lost laurels.
The Albion have had many fine players. In addition to those
named, one recalls Roddy TM'Leod, Bassett's most famous partner ;
Nicholson, a very sturdy back; W. Williams, one of the stoutest
defenders of his time; Reader, agoalkeeper who had an exceptionally
long career; Hadley, aneat and effective half-back; and Cave, who fell
avictim to consumption. The Albion have reared agreat number of
talented footballers, and have indelibly left their mark on the history
of the pastime. They owed much to Tom Smith, their secretary in the
old days when George Salter was such an enthusiastic president, and
then Louis Ford served them well. The late James Couse was one of
the best friends the club ever had; and, coming to present-day history,
more than casual mention must be made of the unselfish work done on
behalf of the club by Harry Keys and AIT. I. Bassett. The club are
mali-in g an earnest effort to get back into the First League, and sooner
or later they will doubtless realise their highest ambition.

THE BIRMINGHAM CLUB

Small Heath we know no more; Birmingham are a power in the

land. But there are those who do not like the new title, and deem
that the club made a mistake when they, adopted it. However that
may,be, the club is one which cannot be overlooked when the chances
of high honours in the various competitions are being estimated. The
club is one of our ancient institutions, for it was founded as far back as
18 75, and is therefore almost as old as Aston Villa. The club took
form in the year mentioned owing to the association of a number of
young fellows in the Holy Trinity Cricket Club. These young men
were anxious not to get separated during the winter months, and they
conceived the idea that the new pastime would be useful in that way.
The pioneers of the club were Messrs. AST. H. Edmunds, AlTill, George,
and Tom Edden, and Frank and Tom James. Most of these are still
enthusiastic supporters of the club.
 From •: 5 to k3 00 8
3

Pieces of unoccupied ground were more numerous in Small Heath

then than now, and they had quite a convenient playing pitch, free
of expense, on some waste ground in Arthur Street. There were not
many Association clubs in the district at that time, but, after a few
practices, they fixed up an engagement with Holte Wanderers. It is
worthy of note that the Small Heath eleven on that occasion consisted
of W. Edden, Arthur AVright, Fred James, Tom James, G. H. Edden,
AST. H. Edmunds (captain), T. Edden, David Keys, C. Barmore, C. Barr,
and J. Sparrow. For a couple of years the club was satisfied with i
somewhat primitive arrangements, but then they removed to an i
enclosed ground in Ladypool Lane, Sparkbrook, and there they used
to get a few hundred enthusiasts to watch diem. A considerable per-
centage of these enthusiasts still patronise the club's matches.
It was in 1877 that the club went to their present headquarters at
Muntz Street, Small Heath, and they paid ;65 per annum for what the
landlord now demands / -3oo. The form of the club was remarkably
good. Arthur, Fred, and Tom James, Sam Gessey, and Will Edden
were the shining lights, and of the first twenty-two games played on
the ground not one was lost. Considering that their opponents in-
cluded Saltley College, Coventry, Walsall Swifts, Nechells, Redditeb,
Harold, Harborne, Heathfield, Lion Works, and Arcadians, the side
must have been a capable one.
Small Heath Alliance, as they were called in their early days, were
blessed with some capable players at an early period of their history.
From 1878 to 1885 Arthur James, the captain of the club, ranked as
one of the most brilliant wing forwards in the Birmingham district.
He often represented the Birmingham Association in their inter-associa-
tion matches with London, Sheffield, and the Scotch Counties. There
was a stern competition for places in those teams, and Arthur James
and the famous George Holden of Wednesbury Old Athletic constituted
apowerful right wing. Iwell remember the scene there was at Aston
Lower Grounds when Arthur James went through the Sheffield defence
single-handed, and scored a sensational goal, which won the match. The
spectators could not restrain their enthusiasm, and at the close of the
game Arthur James was carried shoulder high from the field. James I
was possessed of remarkable pace for a short sprint; at fifty and sixty
yards no footballer of his time could equal him. Will Edden kept i
goal for the Birmingham Association against Shetheld, London,, and
the Scotch Counties.
 84 Association Football
The first of the long series of games between Small Heath and
Aston Villa took place on September 27, 18-9, when at Coventry Road
asomewhat indifferent team of the Villa were beaten by one goal and
one disputed to none. NV edo not hear of disputed goals now, but clubs
then often used to win by five goals and three disputed, to three goals
and one disputed. Wednesbury Old Athletic, then the strongest team
in the Midlands, met Small Heath in October of the same year in the
Birmingham Cup, and the Old Athletic did an almost unprecedented
thing. They offered Small Heathy to change the venue of the match
from Small Heath to Wednesbury. Five pounds meant a great deal to
Small Heath Alliance. They accepted the money, and then -rent and
beat the Wednesbury men before their own spectators! This win gave
the Alliance agreat lift.
Arthur James was presented with a gold watch and a purse at a
gathering held in 1882. How times have changed! At that period
the Small Heath players used to be regaled with tea after the match
at a cost of sixpence a head. They rushed madly into luxury on one
occasion when Notts Forest paid their annual visit to Coientry Road.
The committee authorised a dinner at the Midland Hotel after the
match at a cost of half-a-crown per head. In t882-8- the club won
their first Cup, Wednesbury Old Athletic being beaten at Walsall in the
final of the Walsall Cup. The Heathens were successful by four goals to
one, and it was quite anotable -Tin, for the Old 'Uns were a formidable
side. In 1884-85 Mr. Alfred Jones became secretary, and the club ran
I into the semi-final of the English Cup. They beat Burton Wanderers,
I Darwen, Derby County, Davenham, and Redcar, all the games being
played at Small Heath. In the penultimate stage they had to face
Nest Bromwich Albion at the Aston Lower Grounds, where in several
inches of snow they were beaten by four goals to nil. Bob Roberts,
the Albion goalkeeper, was pelted with snowballs by the disappointed
members of the crowd.
Chris Charsley, their great goalkeeper of the future, had joined the
club by this time, but was not eligible to take part in the Cup semi-
final. The club adopted professionalism, and at first the players were
paid according to the gate, half the nett proceeds being handed to them.
Small Heath were the first club in the country to adopt the limited
liability principle; in July 1888 they left the Alliance out and became
Small Heath, Limited. Only 216 shares, however, were allotted. Will
Devey, a brother of John, captained the club at this time, and was

I
 Fred Wheldon joins the Villa 85

possibly the cleverest centre in the Midlands. Ted Devey was also to
be. found in the half-back line. Harry Morris, Fred Speller of Great
Marlow, and Cesar Jenkyns were redoubtable players of this era.
Jenkyns was chosen as leader when Will Devey left to join Wolver-
hampton Wanderers. At the end of the season 1888-89 the club were
made members of the Alliance, but for a time they met with poor
success in that competition. Fred Wheldon came from Langley Green

AN ATTACK ON GOAL.

Victoria in i900, and for many years he was one of the most brilliant
forwards in the whole country. He then left for Aston Villa, the
transfer fee being to all intents and purposes £'350.
In 1892 -93 Small Heath won the championship of the Second
League, but were unsuccessful in the test match at Stoke against
Newton Heath. The club was second in the following season, Liver-
pool heading the list, and Darwen being ZD
beaten in the test battle at
Stoke, Small heath became members of the First League. There was a
dinner to celebrate the great occasion, and each of the players received
a gold medal. The club fared moderately in the best company, but
86 Association Football
finished eleventh. 1895-96 was apoor season indeed, and in the Second
League in the following rear the club had to be satisfied with the
fourth position. But in 19oo-I the club main qualified for the First
League, only to fall into the Lower Division once more. Again it
revived, and during the last three seasons the club has remained in
the Senior Division, and Ido not think there is any prospect of the club
meeting with any serious misfortunes. They now have the strongest
side the club ever boasted.
Small heath's list of notable players is not a great one. Dennis
Hodgetts was associated - with them for a short time, but he was aA -ilia

man, and will always be recalled as such. Charsley was a great goal-
keeper. At the close of his long career he was presented with apiano
and apurse. He was always a strict amateur. Charsley is now chief
constable of Coventry. Fred NVheldon was the finest forward the club
ever had, and Harry - Morris, `V. -' alton, and Ceesar Jenkyns served
the team well. Alec Leake was arare captain until he had amisunder-
standing with the directors and went to the Yilla. Among officials the
names of Walter AV. Hart and Alfred Jones come easily- first.
Just afew words as to finance. The first gate taken in Laclypool
Lane was 4s. 3d. ;this was in 18-6. The first gate in Muntz Street
was 6s. 8d. ;this was in IS- -. But in 1S; 8 aCup tic with Calthorpe,
then one of the leading clubs in the district, produced /2, 1Ss. 2d.
Small Heath's share of a Birmingham Cup tie at Brownhills in 1SS2
was 10 d. In 1884 the receipts were 299, less /_104 paid to visiting
teams. By 1896 the figures had grown to Z3971, a handsome income
for those days. In is 86, when the club got into the semi-final of the

English Cup, their share of the gate was / -4. 3s. ;the Association took
all the rest. In the first year that professionalism was introduced the
players only received Z- o, 14s. 9d.
In Robinson, Birmingham have a capable goalkeeper, and from the
custodian right through the eleven is a sound and even brilliant one.
Opinions seem to differ in various centres as to the ability of the eleven.
In some parts of the North of England they are invariably described as
arough, dashing team, but those who see them most frequently cannot
conscientiously subscribe to this doctrine. They are an affgressive'team,
and their forwards bundle into the goalkeeper without ceremony. The
halves are strong, dashing fellows, who are prepared to give and take
hard knocks; but the forwards are a diminutive set.
In goal, Robinson, late of Coventry City, has won fame. He occa-
 Stars of Birmingham 87

sionally gives the club's supporters ashock by rushing out to meet the
ball, and he has a somewhat risky style. But figures cannot lie, and
they make out Robinson to be a most serviceable custodian. He has
a wonderful knack of bouncing the ball and so avoiding opposition ;
indeed, it is doubtful if there is a cleverer man in the country at this
particular trick. Robinson is rather on the small side for a goalkeeper,
but he has exceptional agility. He makes afew bad mistakes occasion-
ally, but Small Heath would not change him for many men in the
country.
In J. Glover, late of Blackburn Rovers and Liverpool, and Frank
Stokes, formerly of Reading and Burslem Port Vale, Birmingham
have secured an excellent pair of backs. They are agreat improvement
on the pair they displaced—G oldieand Wassell. -Glover, who learned
his football at Nest Bromwich, and still lives there, is a strong, sturdy
back ;he kicks safely and tackles consistently well. Stokes is one of
the most skilful defenders in England to-clay; possibly there is not a
better left back playing. He is full of skill and resource, and makes
as few mistakes as any man now engaged in the game.
At half-back the club is represented by a powerfully built, alert,
and trustworthy trio. Beer, formerly of Sheffield United, ranked only
second to Wolstenholme as aright half-back last season. He is acham-
pion penalty kick taker, and is thoughtful for the forwards in front of
him. Wigmore has made an excellent captain; he has introduced a
spirit of good comradeship which, in the opinion of those who conduct
the affairs of the club, has contributed materially to the success of the
side. The players are a band of brothers, a statement which could
not be made truthfully of many teams connected with the League.
AVigmore does not get his foot up so high as he did. Occasionally he
comes under the ban of the referee, but he is of immense value both
as acentre half and as aleader.
In Dougherty, who came to Birmingham from New Brighton at the
collapse of the Tower, the club possess one of the most improved
I
men in League football. Originally a rough-and-ready player, he has
developed unlooked-for science, and not only is his tackling astute,
but he feeds the clever left wing admirably. As he is of English
parentage he should have a chance of getting his cap. I
Birmingham have a sharp and incisive attack. The men are on
the small side, but if they are little they are good. The only position
in which they have not been represented by a tip-top player this
88 Association Football
season is at outside right. This post has been successively filled by
the Veteran Athersmith, once the fleetest and most dangerous wing
man in the country; M`Roberts, a veteran --ho has been converted
from a centre to a wing player—not a desirable transposition, by
the way, in afootball sense: and a young player of undoubted ability,
but who is at present short of experience, Viz., Tickle, late of Bourn-
brook. Of late Green has made regular appearances in the position.
The inside men play the game on sound lines. Both Mounteney
and Wilcox, inside right and inside left respectively, plan somewhat
behind the outside men. Both shoot at goal sharply; they mare their
openings, and take full advantage of them. Green is a sturdy little
fellow-, for -
whose transfer Barnsley pocketed a substantial fee. He is
an ideal partner; his whole heart is in the game, and he has been
of special value to his side.
On general form there are few- better centres in League football than
Jones. He is amidget, but he stands upon a strong pair of legs, and
is excessively dangerous at close quarters. He played for the League
against the Irish League with some distinction, and in most games be
has been seen to advantage, although he is occasionally off his form.
!'Wilcox, -whom Birmingham acquired from Bristol Rovers, is another
polished and scientific footballer. He makes the speedy Field an
unselfish partner, and he can burst through himself as well as most
men. He adopts the old backing-up style -which the inside men of
Queen's Park used to shoe us years ago, and like Anderson and
Richmond of old, he --ants careful -Watching ; for just --hen you
think he is going to pass the ball out to the - wing he surprises you
by shooting a goal.
Is there afiner outside left playing than Field? His average form
has been magnificent. He is very fast, and clever -ithal. He rarely
makes amistake -with acentre, and his consistency is more pronounced
than it used to be.

WOLVERHAMPTON WANDERERS

Wolverhampton N\ auderers have not filled the bill so completely at

any, time—save in one never-to-be-forgotten season—as Aston Villa
and -Vest Bromwich Albion have, but, considering the poverty of their
resources, they deserve to be spoken of with honour wherever football
 Charles Crump at Centre Forward 89

is played. All through their career the Wanderers have been struggling
against financial burdens, and the probability is that they will be
engaged in that struggle for many more years to come. But the club
are determined to cut their coat according to their cloth, and as they
cannot afford to compete with more wealthy clubs in the football
market for players, they have to be content with the smart youths
which the Black Country can and does produce in satisfactory num-
bers. Only once have the Wanderers been seriously behind in their
finances, and then they appealed to the generosity of Wolverhampton I
sportsmen, and their debt was liquidated forthwith. And if they
should be compelled to incur another, that will probably be liquidated
just as readily.
The Wolverhampton Wanderers Club was founded in 1877 by John
Baynton and John Brodie, both of whom are still connected with
football as referees, although their playing days have long passed.
The youths who formed the club were mostly connected with St. Luke's
School at Blakenhall, a suburb of Wolverhampton. They played on a
field near Sir Alfred Hickman's house, and Baynton was captain, and
George Worrall secretary. A club called the Wanderers joined forces
with St. Luke's, and the title of the combined team became AVolver-
hampton Wanderers. Among the most active players at that period
were Dick Baugh, Charlie Mason, A. -Lowder, and John Addenbrooke,
the present secretary. Griffiths and Hadley, the two best players of
Wednesfield Rovers, which collapsed in 1882, came over to the Wan-
derers, and the club began to be known outside astrictly local area.
Their first match of importance was in 188;, when they met the
Stafford Road team, then regarded as the premier club in Wolverhamp-
ton. It was connected with the Stafford Road Railway AlTorks, and
was captained by Mr. Charles Crump, now so well known as the
President of the Birmingham Football Association. Crump played
centre forward in those days, and many other notable men were in-
cluded in the Stafford Road eleven, notably J. Whitehead, aright wing
forward, who was often chosen for Birmingham Association games.
Stafford Road were the Birmingham Cup finalists in 1877 and 1879,
bein g beaten on both occasions by Wednesbury Old Athletic, who had
always been accepted as one of the strongest sides in the Midlands.
F. Ray, their goalkeeper, was at one time without an equal in the
Birmingham district. But the Wanderers gained an emphatic victory
of five goals to one; from that moment the Wanderers became the
90 Association Football
accepted champion team of Wolverhampton, and the star of Stafford
Road just as steadily declined. -Not only did the Wanderers triumph
at the first time of asking, but they --on the return match by two
goals to nil.
On anew ground near Dudley Road, AV,olverhampton, the Wanderers
found a convenient home, and there Stafford Road --ere met in a Cup
tie. •Ir. Crump's men led by two goals to nil at the interval, and
people began to think that after all there was going to be a fight for
the championship of the Black Country capital. But the Wanderers
scoring four times in the second half, -on by four goals to two, and that
result drove the last nail into the coffin of poor old Stafford Road.
In 1 884 the Wanderers won their first Cup, the AVrekin trophy,
-without losing agoal, beating Hadley, Shropshire, in the final by eleven
goals to nil. They first entered for the English Cup in ISS3—S.I, and
beat Long Eaton Rangers by four goals to nil in the first round, but in
the second they,--ere thrown out by,Weduesbury Old Athletic. In 1885
the Wanderers were further strengthened by the addition of Harry
Alen, the greatest centre half-back of his time, and Tom Hunter, a
capital forward, from Walsall. When the season of i886—S7 arrived,
the Wanderers demonstrated their right to be regarded as one of the
leading teams in the country. They met Aston Villa in the third
round of the English Cup at Perry Barr, in the December of 1SS6.
Every one thought the Villa would --in comfortably, but the call of time
found the* scores level, and after an extra half-hour two goals stood to
the credit of each team.
In January 1887 the teams met at Dudley Road, and again two
hours -were required for the purposes of the match, and even then a
draw was proclaimed. The Football Association, for some extraordinary
reason, ordered the match to be replayed at Dudley Road. Again the
men rent at it hammer and tongs for two hours, and yet again the
match was left undecided, each team scoring thrice. On the last
Saturday of January, however, the Villa --on at Perry Barr by two
goals to nil. As the Villa Avon the Cup that year, and defeated Queen's
Park and Edinburgh Ilibernians in hollow style, this series of games
proved what a powerful side the Wanderers had become. There was
ag ate of io,000 at Perry Barr for the match which the Villa managed
to win, and every one talked about that gate as though finality in
regard to football attendance bad been reached. Charlie Mason, the
sturdy back, gained his international cap, and the Wanderers lost only
 The Fallowfield Fiasco 91
nine matches out of forty, while they carried off the Birmingham
Charity Cup.
Chosen as one of the original teams to form the League, the
Wanderers more than justified the confidence which other clubs mani-
fested in them, for they finished third, only one point below Aston
Villa, who were second. They- reached the final of the English Cup, too,
that season, and, although beaten by Preston North End by three goals
to nil, they were an excellent side, for that was North End's invincible
year. The team which met the Invincibles was made up of J. Baynton
in goal ;Baugh and Mason, backs; Fletcher, Allen, and Lowder, half-
backs ;Hunter, Wykes, Brodie, Harry Wood, and Knight. Six of the
eleven men gained international caps.
Then in 1889 the Wanderers left Dudley Road, and took up their
quarters at the well-known headquarters of professional cycle racing,
the Molineux Grounds. The Wanderers had been putting up aunique
record in the English Cup competition. For three successive seasons
they reached the semi-final, and for four successive years they were
beaten by the ultimate winners. But their turn came in 189- - "Then,
after beatin g Bolton Wanderers, llliddlesbrough, Darwen, and Black-
burn Rovers, they met Everton in the final at Fallowfield, Manchester.
There was an enormous (Tate; indeed, those who were present at that
match will never forget the scenes they witnessed. The crowd was
unmanageable. It was estimated that there were quite 40,000 people
there, and the gate-money was a record for the time -Z, 2559. Harry
Allen had the honour of captaining the Wanderers, and he also had the
honour of shooting the solitary goal which settled the destination of the
Cup for that season. Every Wanderer was an Englishman, and most
of them were reared in the neighbourhood of Wolverhampton. The
crowd destroyed the barriers and encroached upon the field of play, but
the match was got through, and the Wanderers won the Cup for the
first and only time. Their team was W. C. Rose; Baugh and Swift;
Malpass, Allen, and Kinsey; R. Topham, Wykes, Butcher, Wood, and
Griffin. Topham was an amateur, and his enthusiastic football was a
source of much strength to the Wanderers. He put awonderful force
behind his shots, and one of them at Fallowfield sent apoliceman, who
was standing near the goal, flying into the crowd. Sir Alfred Hickman l
and Lord Dartmouth witnessed the match, and popular feeling ran high
when the team returned to Wolverhampton. There is a permanent
memento of the Wanderers' success in the Cup, for aspeculative builder
 Association Football
purchased the Dudley Road ground, erected several rows of houses upon
the site, and called them Fallowfield Terrace. A replica of the Cup in
stone is to be seen in front of the terrace. In 1895-96 the Wanderers
again went into the final, but Sheffield Wednesday beat them by two
goals to one. Harry AV' ood and
Baugh played for the Wanderers
in all their three finals.
In the League the Wanderers
have `not been so successful as
they could desire. They did
well in the first season, but
more than once they narrowly
escaped qualifying for the test
matches. They have never had
much ready money, and in 189 . -
they had to face adebt of X889.
So successful, however, was the
effort made to put the club on
its legs that they finally pos-
sessed a balance in hand of
;62 1. This season their League
prospects are not particularly
rosy, and the club stand in sore
need of afew more good men.
Among the notable players
Photo :"Fr 's _1T—a.rne"
associated with the Wanderers
T. BADDELEY Harry Wood must take first
Wolverhampton Wanderers and England
place. He was a veteran when
he left Wolverhampton .for
Southampton, but events proved that he had many years of foot-
ball in him. He played against Scotland in 189o, and again in 1896,
and he was -without doubt one of the finest inside forwards the
game has known. He has been a model footballer in every respect.
Harry Allen was agreat player, so was John Brodie, and Charlie Mason,
A. Fletcher, G. Kinsey, R. Topbam, and W. C. Rose were among the
best men of their day. In later years the great star has been
T. Baddeley, who has long possessed a great reputation as a goal-
keeper. Jones and Betteley are two strong backs, and Wooldridge,
Beats, and h_iller have earned distinction forward. But the Wanderers
 Tom Baddeley's Great Game 93
to-day could do with some of the giants of old both in attack and
defence.
Wolverhampton Wanderers are content to go along in quiet and
methodical fashion. They have never won the League Championship,
and they never expect to win it. On the other hand, they have never
been in the test matches, and have rarely, in fact, been in danger of
losing their place in the First Division. They pay no big transfer
fees, and they exact none from other clubs. They have few stars;
Tom Baddeley, their famous custodian, is one of the few members
of the team who could be so styled, although Jones and Wooldridge
have bad the satisfaction of playing in representative games; indeed,
Wooldridge is one of the soundest players in the country. hiller, their
outside left, has also been honoured, and at one period he sc"rcely
had asuperior in his position.
Taking their men in order we have Tom Baddeley, probably the
most famous custodian connected with the game to-day. It was said
that Baddeley wanted to go away, and certain it is that the
Wanderers had some difficulty in getting his signature prior to last
season starting, but he came round all right, as we all thought he
would. Baddeley does not like the manners of the crowd; he is not
the only player who has kicked at it. Tonks, one of the nicest fellows
and one of the best forwards they ever had, left the club for the same
reason. Why cannot onlookers be courteous to the men who serve
them well? Baddeley's great day was that on which England played
Scotland at Sheffield four years ago. He did wonders that afternoon,
for he was the last hope of a bad as well as an unlucky side. There
is not too much altitude about Baddeley, but he is sturdy and his
agility is wonderful. He came from Burslem Port Vale, but he has
not been awanderer on the face of the football globe.
J. Jones, their right back, is a fine specimen of manhood. He is
apowerful and determined bicker, and a useful tackler. There is not
that grace of movement about him which Crompton and Spencer
I
possess, and one would not dub him a great back. But he is an
uncommonly useful one, and this season he bad the satisfaction of
playing for the English League against the Irish League at Belfast.
He comes from Wellington (Salop) ; most of the Wanderers' players I
hail either from the immediate Wolverhampton district or from Shrop-
shire. Jones has a useful partner in Betteley, also a local product.
He is not so powerful as the Salopiau, but he has sound ideas on

••:7ai ••3P.
94 Association Football
the subject of defence, and he and Jones make an excellent pair; in
fact, their excellence is as apair, for neither can be termed a brilliant
performer.
The Wanderers are often pushed for a man for a certain position,
and they,transformed Whitehouse from areasonably good outside right
to a reliable, consistent, and almost clever half-back. Al -hitehouse
has for some considerable time been their right half, and he has played
more useful games than brilliant ones. He is one of a hard-working
trio, and v-hen the -Wanderers' defence is at its best it wants a great
deal of breakin g through. hitehouse is also alocal product, and bids
fair to last along time.
There -was a time, and that not long ago, when G. 'Walker bade
fair to develop into one of the soundest backs in the- League. He
gave one really remarkable exhibition against Aston Villa in a League
match at Aston. Surer kicking has never been seen on that ground
than Walker showed that day. He is a finely built young fellow, but
just when the AVanderers had reason to think that they had found a
back who would serve them well for years, Walker lost his form. He
was tried at centre half, and there found it again. He was not an ideal
centre half, such as James Cowan, of Aston A"illa, used to be, nor «-ill
he be remembered in Midland football in years to come as Charles
Perry, of West Bromwich Albion, is recalled to-day, but he was ahard,
untiring, and bustling player. He tackles well. follows up the game
fairly, and occasionally is even a source of trouble to the opposing
defence. He has not, however, made the mark that people thought
he would make.
W. Annis was for long a fitture in the Al'olverhampton eleven.
It Would be difficult to speak eulogistically of Annis's play; but, on
the other hand, it would be equally difficult to find a man in League
football who played for so long a period as Annis and yet nave
so few poor shows. It is rather a difficult task to write anything
special about Wolverhampton AVanderers, because there is such adead
level, such a uniformity about the men and their work. In the case
of Annis it is only necessary to say that he was a good, honest foot-
baller. He was always in form, and always eager and enthusiastic.
Many a man might have a worse epitaph. This season James is a
coming half.
Baynham is a little slim fellow, who, some half-backs think, is
easily knocked off the ball. So he is, but you have first to catch
 A Born Goal-cretter 95
him. Baynham is as fleet as a hare. He made a great reputation
in the ranks of Halesowen, and was regarded as the cleverest wing
forward in the Birmingliam League, one of the great football nurseries
of the country. This reputation was quite good enough for the
Wanderers, who like young Black (country lads. So they requisi-
tioned him, and he has undoubtedly been a source of strength to
the side.
Adam Haywood was well known in the South prior to leaving
Queen's Park Rangers and settling down in grimy Wolverhampton.
Born near Burton-on-Trent, there is not much of the alien about Hay-
wood. Prior to joining the Wanderers he was with .AVoolwich Arsenal,
New Brompton, and Queen's Park Rangers. He is a little one, only
standing 5 feet 5 inches, so that he and Baynham formed a puny
wing. But it is only puny in respect of avoirdupois; the pair were
as clever as most wings in the country, and Haywood made himself
very popular in Wolverhampton. He is a capital shot at close
quarters.
When Beats left Wolverhampton for Bristol the important position
of centre forward had to be filled. Who was to fill it ? Various men
were tried; but some were too little and some were not clever enough.
y
So the strapping, dashing inside left, Wooldridge, was called upon to
fill the breach. That meant the splitting up of one of the best wings
in the League, viz., that formed by 1ooldridge and Hiller. But it
had to be done. Wooldridge has not made quite such a head player
as the AV,anderers hoped he would, but he has proved an efficient
centre. Strong, fast, and vigorous, he is a constant source of danger
wherever he goes. He is aborn goal-getter.
Smith, the inside left (whose place is now occasionally taken by
Bevin, acoming footballer, is scarcely anotable player in the ordinary
acceptation of the term. He has filled more than one position in the
Wanderers' team, and he has filled those positions with credit. He,
Aooldridge, and Miller make a useful trio, their understanding being
all that could be desired. Smith is not particularly clever with the
ball, but he holds his own when his side are on the attack, and is a
normally useful member of a normally useful side. Breatwell and
Corfield have this season been a useful wing pair.
96 Association Football

DERBY COUNTY

Derby County are among the comparatively modern clubs com-

pared with the Notts organisations, Sheffield Wednesday, Aston Villa,
and Birmingham, but they have longevity on their side when con-
trasted with such mushroom organisations—using the term chrono-
logically merely—as Newcastle, -Manchester City, and Manchester
United, and yet Derby has always been identified with football. The
Ashbourne Carnival on Shrove Tuesday is known all the world over,
and at Derby a similar game invariably took place on the same day,
the sides being formed by the men of rival parishes. The Derby
County Club was preceded by Derby -Midland and Derby Junction,
both of whom had teams which were feared by opponents. Derby
County were at the outset associated with the Derbyshire County
Cricket Club, and played on the racecourse. The Hon. AV. M. Jervis
and Mr. Arthur Nilson were actively identified with the movement
which led to the foundation of the club, and Mr. William Morley, who
perhaps deserves to be called the founder, was determined that it
should start with a talented side. Most clubs are content to begin
quietly, and to gradually consolidate their forces, and gain in position
and affluence, but Derby County was founded as a first-class club
in 1884, and it has remained a first-class club ever since. Naturally
the club started with a great advantage over other rivals, and it
practically absorbed the Derby Midland Club, while a little later
Derby Junction went the way which so many once ambitious football
organisations have gone.
An excellent team was obtained for the first season. Such names
as B. W. Spilsbury, George Bakewell, and Haydn -Morley played for
the County in the opening match against Great Lever. Spilsbury
played centre forward, and it is worthy of note that for the Bolton
club the pivot was a young Kilmarnock forward named John Goodall.
It was his first game for an English club, and Derby County that after-
noon saw what abundant promise his play possessed. John Goodall,
the finest centre forward of his time, later joined Preston North End,
and then in the season of i889-90 went over to Derby County, for
whom he rendered most loyal and able service. L. Cooper and
L. Plackett figured in the forward line, and Walter Luntley, the old
Forest back, kept goal in some of the earlier games. But there was
 Cricketers and Footballers 97

no lack of good talent for Derby even in the earliest times. B. W.

Spilsbury did wonderful work for them. I remember when they met
Small Heath in a Cup tie at Coventry Road practically half the home
team made a point of waiting upon Spilsbury, feeling convinced that
if they could only hamper his movements they would have a great
chance of keeping their goal intact. They did hamper Spilsbury's
movements, and the end, I suppose, justified the means. George
Bakewell was a fleet outside right; indeed, he was for some years
one of the most dangerous forwards to be found in football. Com-
paratively early players were two redoubtable cricketers, Frank Sugg
and William Storer.
Frank Sugg rendered good service as a half-back, and had a good
head for sport of all kinds. William Storer was a centre forward with
any amount of pluck; indeed, he was quite a terror to goalkeepers, at
«•hom he went with something akin to recklessness. A very hard-
working and indefatigable half-back was AV. Roulstone, and the names
of George Evans, A. Latham, Hickinbottam, Haydn Morley, and Staley
naturally recur to one's mind. A very efficient servant of the club
was Higgins, of Kilmarnock, a really able centre forward. Higgins
was indeed one of the best players of his day, and displayed much
consistency of form. Then who does not recall the man who for so
many years was at the top of the tree so far as the art of goal-
keeping went—J. AV. Robinson—who, until he decided to migrate to
the South, was deemed irreproachable as a custodian ? George Kinsey
was an international half, and two sound reliable backs were Methven
and Leiper. Methven is, indeed, one of the wonders of the football
world. Ile is possibly the oldest player connected with First League
football, and, although he may be a trifle slower than he once was, he
is still a force in Derby County, and, indeed, League football. He
has wonderful judgment, and for the past twelve or thirteen years his
consistency has been equal to that of any player ever associated with
a League club.
But the greatest name associated with Derby County football is
that of Steve Bloomer. He is a Cradley Heath lad, being born there
in 1874. At an early age he went to live at Derby, and he learned
all his football there. He won fame when very young. He was a
member of a boys' team which won a local shield, and his name was
favourably mentioned as that of alad who was likely to come on. In
1892 he showed considerable promise, and the Derby County Club gave
VOL. II. G

t•.k
98 Association Football
liim an engagement, paying him the not extravagant sum of seven
shillings and sixpence per reek. But when he had his chance of
showing what he could do he was not slow to take it, and it was
speedily realised that in him the County had obtained a forward of
phenomenal ability.
Stephen Bloomer came into the County ranks fourteen years ago a
pale-faced, altogether delicate-looking stripling—the wrong sort, as it
seemed, for the strenuous life of aprofessional League footballer. As
crafty as an Oriental, and as slippery as an eel, and much given to
dealing out electric-like shocks to a goalkeeper at the end of a sinuous
run, he speedily came to be regarded as aterror to opposing defences.
"Such abeautiful player, it's almost ashame to `go 'for him Such
was the eloquent testimony to his abilities g or iven by the late "Dai "
Jones, tit elsh International back, and sometime valiant member of the
Bolton Wanderers and iTanchester City clubs. It was his remarkable
self-confidence which enabled Bloomer to get in close touch with fame
sooner than most players, and the "awfu' conceit "which he had of his
own abilities encouraged him to get off the line of harmony with his
fellows at times, his great notion being that their interests should be
made subsea ient to his.
Bloomer is unquestionably the most dangerous forward of the day.
He is peerless as agoal-shooter, and rarely indeed has he failed to dis-
tinguish himself in international games. Many think that the inter-
national with Scotland in 1896 might have been won had Bloomer been
playing, and it is beyond question that a grave error was ' made in
including Humphreys in preference to him in the international with
Scotland at Sheffield in 19o-. Hp to the end of the season Of 19o.I—j
Bloomer had secured twenty-one international caps, a record for any
English footballer. And there are probably more to come, for Bloomer
is shooting as well to-day as ever he did. Little wonder indeed that the
Derby Club should have decided to present Bloomer with anational testi-
monial. Of course he has had his benefit; this testimonial is intended
to be anational affair in the widest sense of the term. Bassett always
speaks in terms of unequivocal admiration of the virtues of Bloomer as
a partner. When the pair were at their best, England's international
star was in the ascendant indeed.
But John Goodall can scarcely be said to rank second to anv one.
He and A-rchie were splendid fellows to the Derby Club, and A-1chie
had a most eventful career with the team. He was a character, and
 Derby County and the League 99

was rather more difficult to deal with than docile brother John, but
there can be no doubt that his heart was always in his work when he
turned out for Derby County. John Goodall is held by many to have
been the finest forward that ever played the Association game. He
was wonderfully clever with the ball, and he was possessed of perfect
judgment. He always did the right thing, but that was not always
the thing which the opposing back was wont to credit him with doing.
The success of the unique Preston North End team was in no small
degrce due to Goodall's judicious and astute leadership and strikingly
clever manipulation of the ball.
Archie Goodall is another player whose career is pre-eminently
connected with Derby County. Archie was a wanderer during the
early portion of his career, and he has again become a nomad late
in life, but he was true to the County for a long term of years.
Originally connected with Liverpool Stanley, he was with Aston
Villa for a brief period, and then he went to join brother John at
Derby. Ile became a great centre half, but in reality he could play
anywhere. His staying power when he was a veteran of veterans was
remarkable. Not a great and glorious player of the Crabtree type,
Archie was a combination smasher of the best kind. He had a head
which seemed to have a fascination for the ball, and he ever showed
judgment and acumen of a high class. Archie had awill of his own,
too. They wanted the team to go to the seaside for special training
one season when they were well in the running for the English Cup.
All the team went save Archie. No, he would not go. Quite legiti-
mately, he said that he had always kept himself fit, and had always
turned out ready to last as well as any man on the field, and that
being so he declined to be taken away from his pursuits in Derby.
A. Goodall is now assisting Wolverhampton Wanderers.
In J. May, who has gone back to Scotland, the County possessed
aclever half, and they have one to-day in Ben Warren. Richards and
Davis have done good work forward.
Derby County have, on the whole, done fairly well in the League.
They were among the original members, and twice in the early days
they filled alowly position and were re-elected to the body. In 1894-5
they had to play Notts County in a dreaded test game. It was a
stern battle, the Derby men winning in the last few minutes. But they
have had their triumphs as well as their trials. They were third in the
League in 189;-4, and in 1895-6 they had the distinction of finishing
100 Association Football
second to Aston Villa., who had a lead of four points. It is highly
probable indeed that had they not been forced to go at full pressure
for both the English Cup and the League Championship they -would
have won either one or the other. They had to fulfil their last five
engagements -without Bloomer, and who shall estimate his loss to
them ?
In the English Cup the team have had rank bad luck. They have
frequently made their way into the semi-final stage, and in two con-

A THROW IN; FROM TOUCH

BLoomER RECEIVING THE BALL

secutive seasons they qualified for the final at the Crystal Palace. In
18 97 - 8
they met Notts Forest, and -w ere deemed to have an outside
chance of winning. But the Forest played bright and sparkling foot-
ball, and won bx- three goals to one. Nothing daunted, Derby County
again appeared at the Palace in ISSS-9, but again their play --as not
up to their average form, -whereas Sheffield United played one of their
best games, and were, victorious by four goals to one. In 19o•-3 the
County qualified for the final for the third time, but although many
fancied their chance against Bury, they cut up -worse than before.
Fryer, normally such an exceptionally fine goalkeeper, was off colour,
the Derby forwards could do nothing right, and the Bury for-wards
 A Model Full Back IOI

gave one of the best shows ever seen from a front line in an English
Cup final. Six goals to nil was the extent of Derby County's beating,
and it was the heaviest defeat any team had ever sustained in the English
Cup final. To reach the concluding stage three times in six years was
ahighly creditable feat on Derby County's part, and therefore both in
the Cup and the League the team have had little to grumble about.
The County are now represented by an excellent team.
ATaskrey, the goalkeeper, is, like most of those who have preceded
him in the County goal, a Derbyshire man, having been born at
Cliesterfield just over twenty-two years ago, and he possesses all the
collier's contempt for hard knocks. His marvellous self-possession and
assurance when he came into the team, when things were going badly,
was rather remarkable, considering his short probation with the reserves.
Like his predecessors, also, he is built on lofty lines, measuring 6 feet,
I
under the standard, while he stretches 6feet 5inches from finger-tip to
finger-tip. From the elbow to the finger-end he can show an abnormal
measurement of 21 inches.
Metliven, right full back, amodel of the well-preserved warrior, and
a club loyalist of the first degree, came to Derby from Edinburgh St.
Bernards, and has sported the County colours regularly since i8g i. Is
there an older man playing first-class League football- Saturday after
Saturday ? Cool, collected, and consistent, the wonder is how this
fine player, of irreproachable character and habits, was not selected to
play for Scotland when at his prime. He can time arush and stop a
forward with the best, and no club directorate could wish for a more
painstaking or devoted servant. In the summer "Jimmie " is an
enthusiastic cricketer, and captains the Derby Nomads.
Chas. Morris, the left back, is of the dashing and vigorous order, and
his methods are anice foil to the more calculating cleverness and style
of his partner. A fine pair truly, and the Welshman is bang on top of
his form just now. A native of Chirk, Derby were fortunate in finding
him there five or six years ago. He is a lifelong teetotaller, but was
once refused at Manchester—through talking Welsh. Has represented
gallant little Wales several times, and will again. A weighty member,
and combines the rigidity of the stone wall with the flexibility of a
rubber ball.
Warren, the right half-back, is a local production hailin g from
Newhall, and is arare successor to Jack Cox. Can give and take hard
knocks with the best, and is essentially vigorous and determined,

1
IO2 Association Football
and finds the shortest cut for goal. He is avery useful man to any
side, and of 'the sort -
that -
never gives in. If he has afault it is that of
being indiscriminate in-his playing, but latterly he has improved in this
respect.
Ben Hall; the -centre half, vent to Derby from Grimsby Torn --hen
the latter dropped into the Second Division. It was abig order for him
to fill Archie Goodall's place, but he has done it with immense satis-
faction. He relies upon cleverness rather than weight, and is regarded
as one of the smartest centre halves of the country. He wa.s born at
Eccleshall, Sheffield, and is avery gentlemanly and popular player;
also an exceptionally good cricketer.
R. E. Hounsfield was practically unknown until quite recently, but
is now regarded as one of the best outside rights in the country, and
certainly one of the speediest. He was educated at Sheffield Grammar
School and Repton, and after being associated -with Sheffield Wednesday
for a season he threw in his lot with Derby, and made his debut at
Preston in the best company. He has long had an ambition to play
for aLeague club, and since that has been qualified. He has improved
beyond measure since being partnered with Bloomer.
Archie Hunt, quite a raw young centre from Whitwick (the vicar
of which parish is a sort of football nursery gardener to the County
club) is essentially a plodder. -Now and then he passes well, and has
some capital ideas, without necessary cleverness to execute them. That
will come, as he is only nineteen, and jumped from. Midland League to
first-class football less than two months ago. He is very quiet and
sedate, and has not yet worn the country "greenness "off.
Richards is a Castle Donington youth, and, next to Bloomer, the
cleverest forward in the team. He is rather inclined to selfishness, and
was consequently dropped as alittle object lesson. He can play in any
position, and is probably a better half-back than forward. He, too, is
one of the unassuming sort, and loves the game. He is also a good
cricketer, and makes alot of runs for Kegworth.
George Davis, another young local, --ho sprang into prominence
through his clever combination with Richards, is a potato merchant
of Alfreton. He trains assiduously, and has an Irish and a Welsh cap.
He has been very unfortunate in the matter of injuries, and never
played up to form since he fell so heavily on the track at Birmingham,
and was carried off.
Tom Paton, who has played centre forward in most of the matches
A
Tom Fletcher the Amateur 103

this season, came to Derby last year from"' the land o' cafes." A
native of Larkhall, he was a prominent member .of Glasgow Rangers.
A master in the art of dribbling, he can play :in any inside position.
The Derby crowd have never appreciated him at his .proper value, but
Tom, who is the happy possessor of an even temperament,.-heeds little.
Alfred Wood came to Derby this season from- Aston Villa, and he
has proved a valuable acquisition to the side. Born in- -the Potteries
in 1885, his first engagement of importance was with Burslem Port
Vale, and he afterwards played for Stoke, of which club-he was for a
time captain. -Ile was transferred to the Villa for Not ashowy
player, he is hard working to adegree and very trustworthy.
John William Davis, although. he played in one' or two matches
last season, has only established himself as amember of the team since
September last. He is a clever outside right and has made Bloomer
acapital partner. He passes with judgment and centres with unerring
accuracy. He is a Derbyshire lad, and until he joined Derby County
last March had only played in local football.
Tom Fletcher, the brilliant young amateur who accompanied the
Pilgrims Association team to the United States, has played in pretty
well every forward position, but he has shone best at centre. Fletcher
is in business with his father, who is in a large way of business as a
lace manufacturer, and after his prolonged tour in America he has some
difficulty in getting away for out-matches.
Frank Middleton, a Whitwick man, is as clever and speedy an
outside left, when in form, as one could wish to see, but several times
this season he has stood down in favour of Lamb. The latter, who is
anative of Alfreton, only came to Derby last October, a"raw recruit"
who has more than justified the County's action in securing his services.

NOTTS COUNTY

Nottingham was the home of Association football long before the code
was introduced to the Birmingham district. Naturally, there was always
great rivalry between Nottingham and Sheffield, this rivalry being
inspired by the great cricket fights there had been between Nottingham-
shire and Yorkshire. When the Association game, therefore, obtained
such astrong hold in Sheffield, it naturally soon spread to Nottingham,
and as far back as 1862 some young men, nearly all of whom became
 IO4 Association Football
either notable citizens or notable sportsmen later in life, used to practise
football in The Park. Among them were A. B. Baillon, the famous
Richard Daft, F. C. Smith, Major Hack, and the brothers Hodges.
They -were a fine set of men, and their football was not child's play.
The, played diligently and earnestly on The Park, but in the season
1863-4 they removed to The Meadows.
The Meadows at Nottingham have always been given over to sport,
and avolume might be -written of the doings of notable men, cricketers
and footballers, who have commenced their sporting career there. Mr.
Blake Baillon was the first captain, and the amber and black shirt soon
became an honourable uniform in Nottingham. Daft, who had aglorious
physique, was avery fine forward, and among the backs was the greatest
batsman of his time, George Parr. F. C. Smith was also a talented
footballer,
It was not until 1867 that the famous E. H. Greenhalgh joined the
club. He exercised a great influence upon the team, and was, in fact,
one of the most adaptable footballers of all time. Notts encountered
such elevens as Sheffield, Trent College, Newark, and Sheffield Norfolk,
and even the redoubtable Wanderers, the first winners of the Association
Cup, were glad to give the Nottingham men agame. E. H. Greenhalgh
soon had a-national reputation, and in 1872, when the first international
between England and Scotland was played at Partick, the Notts skipper
was picked for the important position of three-quarter back, the man
whose special duty it was to give the goalkeeper special assistance. In
January 1875, Notts had become so enterprising that they made the
journey to Glasgow to meet the world-famous Queen's Park. They came
in for aheavy beating, Queen's Park scoring six goals to nil. -Later in
the year Queen's Park came to Nottingham, and could only make adraw
of one goal each, so that the wearers of the amber and black jersey were
unquestionably making headway.
In 1875 Arthur W. Cursham was introduced into the Notts team.
He became the most brilliant outside right of the day. He had formerly
belonged to the Nottingham Law Club. The Law Club bad astrong
team and met with considerable success. But they did not last long,
and one of the finest jokes ever perpetrated in connection with football
was made concerning them. They were indeed a vigorous lot, and it
was said that the reason they broke up was because their charges were so
terrible that no one would play them. Harry Cursham, who bad pre-
viously assisted the Thursday Wanderers of Sheffield, came into the team
 Six Notts Internationals 105

ayear later. The Curshams were magnificently built fellows, and Harry
had along career with the County. The Nottingham club has been more
famous than any other team in the country for the profusion of brothers
it has had connected with it. There were Arthur and Harry Cursham,
three Greenhalghs, two lTorses, two Ashwells, two Dobsons, two Sheltons,
two Jessops, and two Oswalds.
But the club had its seasons of moderate success, and in 1881 acrisis
came about. Members were few in number, and it was suggested that
the time had come for the winding up of the body. But Mr. Arthur
Ashwell, one of the ablest men connected with the club, would not hear
of the organisation being disbanded, and he was the proposer of aresolu-
tion to the effect that it should be continued. Arthur Cursham seconded
this, and the club went on with renewed vigour. At this time the
Forest were in high feather, and one of their most brilliant men was the
lengthy Notts cricketer, William Gunn. Gunn was one of the ablest
forwards of the day, and it was a great blow to the Reds and 'a huge
gain to the chocolate and blues, when William decided to throw in his
lot with Notts. H. T. Aloore, another famous Notts sportsman, who was
as good at cricket as football, and that fine type of athletic manhood,
Stuart Macrae, also came on the scene, and in the season.- 1882-3 the
County worked their way into the semi-final of the English Cup. A
very fine team they had, with Gillett in goal; H. T. llloore and A. T.
Dobson at back; H. Chapman, S. Macrae, and C. F. Dobson at half;
and A. AK Cursham, S. G. Smith, H. A. Cursham, AK Gunn, and E. H.
Greenhalgli, forwards. Six of these players were internationalists against
Scotland, and C. F. Dobson gained his Irish cap. It was indeed alusty
eleven ;but they chanced to meet an exceptional combination under the
title of Old Etonians, and they were beaten by an odd goal.
Notts were now one of our greatest sides, and in the season 1883-4
they were never defeated at Trent Bridge, and again qualified for the
semi-final. Their meeting with Blackburn Rovers, the winners, at the
old Aston Lower Grounds meadow, Birmingham, aroused widespread
I
interest, and there was a tremendous gathering for those days. I
remember the match well, because Notts County were most unpopular
at Birmingham at the time owing to an incident which occurred in a
previous Cup tie with Aston Villa. The Villa looked like beating them I
at Nottingham when Harry Cursham, it is alleged, in the excitement of
the moment, fisted out ashot which would have scored a goal for the
Willa. "The long-arm incident" it was called, it being contended by

I
I
r I

zo6 Association Football

\ToLLs people that the go alkeeper, the ever- famous Notts cricketer,
AFordecai Sherwin, fisted the ball out. AVe can all laugh over the inci-
dent now, whatever happened, because, even supposing that Tarry
Cursham did fist the ball out, he is not the only man -, ho has done so
in the heat of the game. The Rovers v-on, greatly to the delight of the
Midland crowd. by a goal to nil, but it was a harder game even
than the final -with the Scottish champions, Queen's Park. Notts
played very fine football that afternoon, Gunn shining in particular.
In the following season Notts County had the good fortune to beat
Preston North End, then almost invincible, by two goals to one at
Trent Bridge.
Then came the professional era, and Notts, unlike the Forest, were
not left stranded by the new movement. They promptly registered
William Gunn, 3I. Sherwin, Harper, En,n,ett, E. T. Moore, and
A-. Peters as professionals. Thanks largely to the diplomacy of their
-widely kno wn secretary, lfr. Edwin Browne, Notts wined aplace in the
League on the formation of that body, but they did poorly, and had to
be re-elected. They three- Sunderland out in the semi-final of the
English Cup in 1891, but in the final they lost by three to one. to
Blackburn Rovers. In i89- Notts, who never shone in the League,
lost their right to a place in the Senior Division, and being beaten by
Darren in a test match, fell into the Second League. They finished
third, and staggered football humanity by -inning the English Cup.
They are the only Second League team to be identified -
with such a
performance. They were left in the final with Bolton AVanderers, a
First League club, and the match took place in March 1894, on the
Everton ground. N otts owed their victory to the superb play of one
man, and it is doubtful if any one forward has ever done more for aside
than Logan, formerly of Aston 7,illa, did for Notts that day. Time after
time he dribbled right through the _WI anderers' defence, and the County
won by four goals to one. The team that accomplished this remarkable
performance should be given. It -
was as follows:—G. Toone; T. Harper
and J. Hendry ;C. Bramley, D. Calderhead, and _•_ Shelton ;A. •fiatson,
A. Donnelly, J. Logan, D. Bruce, and H. B. Daft. Notts had four years
in the Second League, and they again fared badly in the Senior League
in 18 97 -8 .

But they have always managed to keep their place since, and
in 19oo-1 the; did their best performance, totalling forty points,
and finishing third to Liverpool and Sunderland. Generally speaking,
 . ,Brilliant Harry Cursham IO7

however, they have been indifferent League fighters, and they have
not qualified for the English Cup final since 18 93 -4-
Of the wonderful band of internationals in the late seventies
and early eighties I have spoken. H. A. Cursham was the most
versatile player Notts had during that period, for he was at home
anywhere, and he was an indispensable member of the English eleven.
Coming to more recent times, the man whose name stands out in
connection with Notts football is James Oswald, the celebrated centre
from Third Lanark. He was regarded as a great capture, and was I

indeed a skilled player. David Calderhead, a Scottish international,

was amost exemplary footballer. He earned the goodwill of every one
in Nottingham both as aplayer and as agentleman, and no man since
the professional era gave Notts such loyal service. Walter Bull, their
old centre half, was also awilling servant, although not such a great
player as Calderhead. Then Alf Shelton was one of the most sterling;
halves that ever donned their jersey, and Harry Daft will always be
recalled as amost versatile left-winger. In that one season, however, he
was amost skilful dribbler. George Toone was a tried goalkeeper. and
played against Scotland in 1892, when England had amost formidable
side; in fact, some people say it was the best side that ever represented
the country.
The County is at present represented by arather mixed team.
Since the days of George Toone the County has never been par-
ticularly strong in .goal, and although Reilly, the old Portsmouth
custodian, was engaged for this season, be has seen his best day, and the
probability is that in time he will be succeeded by Albert Iremonger,
a younger brother of the famous cricketer and international back.
Iremonger has all his brother's height, reach, and coolness, and should
develop into afirst-class man.
Griffiths and Montgomery are the recognised backs, but the one is
still somewhat lacking in the quality which goes to make areally first-
class man, and the other has seen his best day ;indeed aserious illness
which overtook him in October has played sad havoc with him. Notts
were unfortunate in their summer engagements for the full-back
position, as the Association on appeal from Millwall cancelled the
registration of Stevenson, one of the finest backs in the south, while I
Robertson, who was transferred from Dundee, scarcely realised antici-
pations in the early matches, and immediately after being dropped
sustained an injury in a reserve match that has kept him out of the
r

108 Association Football

field since. In young Wilkinson, a local youth, the club possesses a
very, promising reserve, but he lacks experience, and in the present
-

position of the club it is imperative that a man of resource should

be found to partner Griffiths.
_Nroats are fairly -
well served at half-back. The captain of the team,
11. L. 3Tainman, sets an example to the side by- the manner in which
he throws his heart into his
/ 1 work. He is one of those un-
tiring players - who is always
doing his best. He is full of
perseverance, and all round is
an excellent half -back. He
tackles fearlessly- and skilfully,
=_ and renders every assistance
to the forward line, whilst in
defence he is atower of strength,
usinj his head with capital effect.
One of the most fortunate
F - AT enoaaements 1otts ewer made
as -when they secured Cray -
thorne, from Coventry, prior to
the campai 0n of 190 - Crab
thorne * oined the club as an
inside left and in several matches
partnered Gee, but it was not
until force of circumstances com-
pelled the directors to include
P3cVto: E. D. _11C7,1 111, Bin;zi;zaizar.! him in half-back line
his real position was found. As
J. C. NIPBELL ORR aleft half Cra-Ythorne has proved
himself avery fine player indeed.
He is speedy, a splendid tackler, and above all one of those players
--ho realise that the duty of a half is to push work into his own
forwards as well as to look after the men who are opposing him.
F. P. Emberton, a tall stripling from Stafford, is the recognised
right half of the team, and if he has not vet made all the improvement
that was expected of him at the commencement of the season, he has
the advantage of youth on his side. Emberton was not called upon
until the club was hopelessly, in the mire last season, but he did so
 A Welsh International Player 109

well that before the end of the campaign he had firmly established his
position. Emberton is a hard-working player and a good tackler, but
apt at times to hold the ball too long in the vicinity of his own goal.
Notts are probably better off in their forwards than in any other
department. At centre they,have A. W. Green, aWelsh international,
who is as good a shot at goal as can be found. Very rarely indeed
did he miss from a penalty kick under the old rules, but this season
Dean is the recognised penalty kicker of the team. Green is an artist
in dribbling, and bewilders opposing halves and backs by his tricks.
He is atrifle lacking in speed, but notwithstanding this drawback he
makes admirable runs. He is alittle inclined to selfishness, but there is
some excuse for his style of play, seeing the great command he has over
the ball. His greatest fault, from aspectator's point of view, is to stand
quite still when beaten, and it occupies him along time to get back into
his proper position.
P. Humphreys, the inside right, has not played such good football as
he did prior to his selection for the England and Scotland match two
years ago. Ile knows perfectly well how to go through on his own
account, but he has to some extent lost the necessary qualification—
speed. Ile is skilful and is not afraid of work, and has proved his
versatility by some fine exhibitions at centre half when deputising for
his captain. He makes use of his weight, and he and Green are some-
what prone to be offside.
An outside right who has a future before him is Jerry Dean, who
was formerly connected with the Wellington Club. Dean can play
either outside or inside, but the former is his true position. He has
this season made rapid improvement, and there are few men who can
stop him when he fairly gets going. Sturdily built, a skilful dribbler,
and a good shot, he is now looked upon as one of the best men in
the team.
On the left wing E. Gee is still agile, notwithstanding his bulk.
He is one of the most consistent players, and he retains his cleverness.
In the open he is very skilful in outwitting adefender, and his runs are
full of life. Ile finishes badly, however. He generally waits until an
opponent is on top of him, and more often than not his centre rebounds
from him. As a matter of fact, for two or three years he did not score
agoal. This season he has already obtained four.
Gee has already had two partners this season in W. Tarplin, a
product of the Birmingham League, and J. Poppitt, who formerly
IIO Association Football
played for Swindon and Wolverhampton Wanderers. Tarplin is a
rare bustling player, and Poppitt a zealous -worker, but neither man
is quite of the standard of the older members of the front-rank.
Notts are not strong in reserve halves and forwards—T. •
tialn NN right,
formerly of Burslem. a centre half; R. Fountain. a young forward from
,'Scarborough; and a local outside left named Harrison, being the only
men with any reasonable pretensions to qualify for first-class football.
How weak they are may be gathered from a glance at the Midland
League table.

NOTTS FOREST

Nottingham Forest cannot claim to be the oldest club in their town,

but their record is little inferior in point of length of rears to that of the
County. As aside they have bad their ups and dm us ;the club was
nearly ruined as the result of the refusal of the committee to adopt pro-
fessionalism -when the game entered into that phase of its existence. -
The Forest Club --as founded in 186 5 by abody of young fellows who
had for several years utilised the Forest, as the great public recreation
ground is called, for the purpose of a game -which was locally termed
spinney," but hick in most parts of England and throughout
Scotland is kno« u as "shinty," and was the original form of the now
elaborated pa time of hockey.
1ti hen the boom in football in Sheffield came about, the contagion
naturally soon spread to Nottingham, and these y oung fellows debated
as to whether they should still keep to "shinney," or should patronise
the co ming pastime. Most men are conservative, and there was some
opposition to the suggestion that a football team should be started.
Finally, one of their number, J. S. Scrimshaw. -was asked to call a
meeting of the fraternity at the Clinton Arms Hotel. That gathering
was
- a momentous one. for it meant, as things transpired, the formation
of the Forest Football Club. A-mong the original founders were
W. R. Lvmberv. who has had such a long and honourable connection
with the club, C. F. Daft, T. G. HoWitt, J. R Rastall, T. Gamble,
J. G. Richardson. R. P. Ha -
wkesley, and W. Bro -
\ti u. It is -worthy of
note that - W. Brown acted as financial secretary until his death a
few- years ago ; so that his connection -
with the club --as both long and
honourable. Charles Daft --as the elder brother of Richard Daft ; and
the father of the --ell-known hurdle racer, C. F. Daft.
 r

Notts Forest v. Notts County III

The first order the club gave in the matter of outfit was for adozen
red flannel caps. They started as The Reds, and The Reds they have
been ever since. But it became aquestion of choosing between shinney
and Association football, and the vote went in favour of football. Mr.
J. S. Milford was the first bon. secretary and treasurer, and the play
soon became systematic and regular.
The first meeting with their only rivals, Notts County, was naturally
a momentous event. It took place in 1866, the match being decided
on the old racecourse on the Forest. There were no regular rules then : I
each side was a law unto itself, and the game the two Notts clubs
played was far more like Rugby than Association football. The descrip-
tion given of the only goal which the match produced is suggestive of
the handling rather than the dribbling code at any rate. We are told
that the clubs fought away all afternoon, but nothing tangible was
scored "until, close upon the call of time, there - was asort of steeple-
chase across the goal-line and over the railings nearest the grand stand
between a player named Hugh Browne, of Notts, and W. H. Revis, of
the Forest. The latter touched down the ball, and the place kick,
which was taken fifteen yards at right angles to the goal-line, being
successful, the Forest were proclaimed the winners of the first great
match between the rivals. There was no cross-bar used, the ball had
merely to go between the posts."
In 1868 that splendid friend of the Reds, AV. R. Lymbery, took
office as hon. secretary; he proved an enthusiastic worker, and the club
went ahead rapidly. The rules of the game were now taking form, and
Notts naturally joined the Sheffield Association, whose regulation in
regard to offside was materially different to that of the Football
Association. The Foresters found as opponents Newark, the Notting-
ham Manufacturing Company, Sheffield Norfolk, and their near rivals,
the County. It was in 1870 that the Forest launched their first
athletic festival, a sports meeting which has scarcely been rivalled in
the provinces since that day. It is said that the first cycle race, which
was called a velocipede race, took place at the Forest sports in 1870.
The winner was J. Cumberland, who rode a mile in 4 mills. 45 secs.
S. W. AViddowson, always one of the greatest hurdlers of the day,
was acompetitor at the sports, and W. H. Revis, the hero of the goal
against Notts, won the prize for kicking the football, the distance
being 161 ft. 8in.
It is worthy of note that the Forest were responsible for the
II2 Association Football
introduction of the football shin-guard. This was the idea of S. AST.
Widdowson, who registered it and brought out the article in 187 4-
It was during one of the thrilling contests between the Forest and
Sheffield Norfolk that the whistle was introduced. This was first used
in 1878 on the Forest ground. The Forest were perfecting their foot-
ball, too, and they learned much from the famous Royal Engineers,
who undertook the first football tour in history. Among other matches
they appeared at Nottingham and played the Forest, and beat them by
two goals to one. But then, as the Engineers were at the top of their
form at the time, this was a fine performance on the part of the Reds.
Major 1llarindin, the future President of the Football Association, kept
goal, and two great internationals, Captain Renny-Tailyour and Captain
P. G. Von Donop, were in the team. The Forest were much impressed
by the methodical way in which the Engineers played, and it was from
them that their first conception of combination arose. Towards the
end of the seventies the Forest eleven had a peculiar formation; they
had agoalkeeper, two backs, two three-quarters, and six forwards.
1878 saw the dissolution of the Notts Castle Club, and as most of
the leading members joined the Forest, the latter became very strong.
In 1878-9 the Forest sent in their entry for the English Cup competition,
and were drawn against Notts, whom they met on an enclosed ground
at Beeston where agate was possible. This eventful Cup tie was played
on November 16, 1878, and, greatly to the surprise of the clubs con-
cerned, five hundred people turned up to watch the match. The
Foresters won by three goals to one. Here is their first Cup team :—
Sands (goal) ;S. AV. Widdowson (cover goal) ;E. Luntley and C. J.
Caborn (backs) ;A. J. Bates and A. M. Holroyd (three-quarters) ;A. H.
Smith, A. Goodyer, J. P. Turner, F. AIT. Earp, and W. Luntley (for-
wards). Sands, Widdowson, E. Luntley, and Goodyer were given
their international caps, and well they deserved them, for the Forest
were unquestionably the strongest club in the provinces. They beat the
then powerful Sheffield club in the second round, and they defeated the
Old Harrovians in London in the third. This was the first appearance
of a provincial team in the third round. They then beat Oxford
University, also a powerful side, at the Oval, and so reached the semi-
final stage, where they were defeated by Old Etonians by two goals
to one.
In the following season, 1879-8o, the Forest played at Trent Bridge,
and they again reached the semi-final of the Cup competition, but
 Triumph of Frank Forman 113

Oxford University beat them by a goal to nil. However, the Reds

were very strong at this period. They were not heard of again
conspicuously in the Cup until 1884 -5, when for the third time they
got into the semi-final stage. They still had the assistance of the
veteran Sam Widdowson, and they drew with Queen's Park at Derby.
The match was replayed at Merchiston Park, Edinburgh, where Queen's
Park won easily. This is the only English Cup semi-final that has
taken place in Scotland.
Then came the professional era, and the Forest, refusing to march
with the times, deteriorated rapidly. They looked like passing out of
the ranks of first-class clubs when in 1889 Mr. Harry Radford was
made secretary, and he insisted upon the club being conducted on
up-to-date lines. For the season of 189o -1 professionals were engaged,
and they made fairly rapid headway. They were at the head of the
Alliance tournament in 1891 -2, and were made members of the First
League in 1892 -3. Thus in a few years Notts regained their lost
position, and that in face of the fact that Notts County were in the
League, and that there was a prejudice against having two clubs from
one town connected with that body.
The Forest left Trent Bridge in 1881, and looked like being stranded.
But they first of all constructed the old Park Side ground on the Lenton
side of Nottingham at a cost of Z3oo, and then later they made the
Gregory ground at acost of ;65oo. But they had got out of the run
of the people, and that is a grave error for aclub to make. There was
no hope for the club where they were, so at last the committee secured
the Town ground on the way to Trent Bridge. This meant an outlay
of ,CI000, but that was good finance. Later still they constructed the
splendid ground they now occupy just off the bridge, and there is no
more conveniently situated field in the country.
Notts Forest tried hard to win the Cup in the old days, but it was
not until 1897 -8 that they had their reward. Then, under the leader-
ship of that magnificent player, Frank Forman, they worked their way
into the final for the first time on record. Their opponents were Derby
County, and they won comfortably by three goals to one. Their
victory was very popular, for they had been trying hard for that
Cup every year since 1878. No team ever tried harder; no team ever
met with more unexpected reverses. Every one was pleased when the
gallant Reds triumphed, for they had always been, and long will be, a
«ell-liked side.
VOL. II. H
114 Association Football
Looking back at the list of great players -who have sported the red
jersey of the Forest, one can safely say that they have never been
-without high-class representatives. In the old days they had Sam
Widdo--son, Caborn, AV. T. Hancock, E. and W. Luntley, Sands, Earp,
Goodyer ; and later came Tinsley Lindley, Sandy Higgins, Albert
Smith, and edam Scott. In more modern days the Forest have had
Frank Forman, Fred Forman, Spouncer, Norris, Shearman, Iremonger,
and Linacre. There have been few greater footballers than AViddowson,
and few greater than Tinsley Lindley. Adam Scott --as, for his weight,
one of the most remarkable backs that ever played. A solid back --as
_1Z'Leod, of Cowlairs, the baldest man that ever played first-class
football. W. Gunn, of course, must not be forgotten, although he --as
rather aNotts County man than a Forester. Then there --ere Burton,
who obtained his Irish cap in 1889 ;Calvey, one of the most disappoint-
-

ing men the club ever acquired; Tom Danks ;and C. H. Richards, echo
--as capped against Ireland in 1898.
Nottingham Forest have now probably a better team than at any
time since they -von the English Cup. In Harry Linacre, aveteran in
football but still -well on the right side of twenty-five, they possess
England's custodian of last season, and a man who on his day has no
superior. Standing six feet, possessed of a lone reach and the true
instinct for the direction of a shot, Linacre has thoroughly earned the
highest honours in the game, and he ought to be good for many more
years of service. He is anephew of Frank and Fred Forman, and like
his equally famous uncles, --as born at the village of Aston-on-Trent.
C. T. Craig and W. W. Dudley are now the recognised backs of the
team, the latter having stepped into the position filled for so many
seasons by James Iremonger. The famous cricketer is still one of the
signed players of the club, but he has only appeared in one League
match this season, and is quite content to stand by. Craig, -who is
a Dundonian, has been - with the club four seasons. He is a splendidly
built fellow-, a sure kick, and a resolute tackler, but -withal one of the
most scrupulously fair players it -would be possible to find. He is seen
at his best when matters are looking blackest for his side, and has no
superior with his head in the League.
Dudley is essentially the home-made article. Before he got his
opportunity through an injury to Iremonger, he had several seasons
-with the Forest Reserves, and came into League football with a repu-
tation for dash that he has fully maintained. Indeed, in his early
 A Terror to Goalkeepers I I5

days he was, perhaps, too dashing, and his rushes frequently carried him
out of position, but, taking his cue from Craig, he has settled down, and
should be destined to take high honours. He is somewhat deficient
in height, but has proved that inches do not count for everything.
After Frank Forman's retirement the Forest intermediate line com-
pletely broke down, but in Wolfe and Fullarton two players of fine
physique and great ability have been secured, while T. Clifford, of
.Motherwell, a brother of the Bolton Wanderers half, would have been
a regular member of the side had it not been for an accident to his
knee sustained durin g the Forest's Argentine tour last summer. Wolfe
came from Swindon, a club that has furnished the Forest with -.Morris,
A. T. Jones, and Davies, and was formerly connected with Woolwich
Arsenal. He has made himself a great favourite in Nottingham by his
gentlemanly bearing and his skill and versatility on the field. He has
the true instinct of ahalf-back, can work in very little room, and when
he parts with the ball, does so to his own forwards.
John Fullarton, who plays in the centre-half position, was formerly
a member of the famous Queen's Park Club, and travelled south vacs
Sunderland, for whom he played two or three seasons. Like Wolfe, he
is a finely built fellow, a safe tackler, and apast master at getting the
ball to his own forwards.
George Henderson, who has at different times filled all three posi-
tions in the intermediate line, is quite the veteran of the team. He
has had avaried experience, havin g done duty with Preston North End,
Swindon, .Millwall, and the Airdrieonians, but is still ahalf of ability.
Grenville Morris, who is serving his seventh season with the Reds,
has been the life and soul of the front rank for so long, that when
he has occasional absences the attack seems altogether out of joint.
Morris, who was born at Builtli, is probably the finest inside left that
modern football has know-n; equally good as an individualist and in
combination, and a splendid strategist. He is not quite so fast as he
was, but is still a class player, and a perfect terror to goalkeepers and
full backs, who occasionally subject him to trips and fouls that do not
redound to the credit of the game. Morris has played for Wales
against Scotland and England, and would have had a record number
of Welsh caps had he not preferred to put his club before his country.
He took his benefit last season at atime when the Forest were in very
bad odour, but still received over ;62oo, and is now in business in the
city as acoal merchant.
I16 Association Football
As his partner he has generally had Alfred Spouncer, the only link
left between the present Forest team and the men who won the Cup
in 1598. Spouncer, who graduated with Gainsborough Trinity, aclub
which has produced such fine players as Fred Spikesley, Brown, the
Sheffield United centre, and Harry Walkerdine, at one period England's
coming inside left and nov, a prosperous journalist, is not quite as fast
as he was, but is still worth many ayoung one. He naturally knows

A HALT TO REPAIR DAMAGE

Morris's play better than any other man, and is still his most effective
partner. Played for England against Wales in Igoo.
T. D. Niblo, the old Aston Villa and Newcastle United forward, has
generally figured in the centre for the Reds, and when he can be prevailed
upon to play an open game and keep the ball on the move, no better
man could be desired. But unfortunately Niblo is so clever with the
ball that he prefers to take too much of the attack upon his own
shoulders, and as a result throws the whole machine out of gear. He
started the season at outside left, and would probably have been there
still but for the accident to Shearman.
The latter headed the Forest's scoring list last season, but owing to
a serious injury to his ankle sustained at _lliddlesbro' in September, has
been out of the team for over two months. Shearman, who ,joined the
-5%-

A Magnificent Dribbler II7

Forest as an amateur from Shepherd's Bush, is a type of forward

reminiscent of the eighties. Big, strong, fearless, and a magnificent
dribbler, he shines better individually than in combination, and when
he gets going in those marvellous rushes which mark his play, he
generally finds the goalkeeper something to do.
In the absence of the Shepherd's Bush man the Forest were com-
pelled to fall back upon E. J. West, ayouth from Hucknall, a Notting-
hamshire mining district, who was on Sheffield United's League list.
For a modest "fiver " the Blades parted with the Hucknall lad—he
will not be twenty until March next—but it is doubtful if as many
hundreds would buy his services now. Nest may fairly claim to be
the find of the season. He has scored in nearly every match in which
he has played, and as he is one of the few men who know how to
shoot with a live ball it is easy to understand his success. He
is not built on big lines, but is generally there when there is any
bustling to be done.
As outside right, J. Craggs, formerly of Sunderland and Reading, is
now doing good service. He completely failed to realise anticipations
when engaged from Sunderland last season, but has latterly put on pace
and adequately filled what had for two or three years been aweak spot
in the Forest team.
The above may be said to be the regular members of the League
team, but the Forest have plenty of reserve force to fall back upon.
J. D. Barnsdale, an amateur of the best type, who formed one of the
Pilgrims in the recent American tour, is willing to assist them if wanted
at half-back—the centre position is his best—and there are also Sam
Timmins, the general utility man of the team, who is now in his fifth
season, and Clifford, the Motherwell half, for the intermediate line.
Forward, Holmes, Whitchurch, and Davies, and at back James Iremonger
is available, but since the departure of Newbigging to Reading there has
been no capable understudy to Linacre as custodian.

STOKE

It was due to Old Carthusians that the Stoke Football Club was
formed as far back as 186-, and though there is little of the Public
School element about the club to-day, it does at all events boast an
amateur in goal, one who is doing splendid service, and recalling the
 TIg Association Football
masterful excellence of Rowley in the days of long ago. Those clays
found arare triumvirate in Stoke football. Rowley, Clare, and Under-
wood became as famous in their day as Sutcliffe, Jones, and Somerville
were a little later for Bolton Wanderers. For a few years the Old
Carthusians at Stoke played acurious kind of game wherein most things
were permitted, and then, ten years after the club's formation, came the
day when T. C. Slaney had to leave school and take up more serious
matters. Those serious matters, fortunately for Stoke and Stafford-
shire, included football, and Mr. Slaney threw himself into the cause of
II

the club with intense enthusiasm.

It is not abit too much to say that to alarge extent the prosperity
of the Stoke Club is due to his indefatigable efforts when its infancy
was not yet accomplished, and when friends staunch and strong were
essential to its continued prosperity. Captain of the team, he also
found time to act as secretary to the club in those days, an office not
so onerous as now, and when there was not required so cute a know-
ledge of the laws, and when officials had a little time in which they
might indulge in the practical pursuit of football on the field as well as
follow 'it through the medium of the Association's records. Even then,
too, Mr. Slaney's work must not be dismissed too lightly. Indeed, it
calls for high praise and strong credit being given to him. It has to be
remembered that these were times when men played for the love of the
game, when enthusiasm such as Mr. Slaney had was of paramount value
and necessity for the well-being of a club, and bit by bit other good
men and true became associated with the club till there came the birth
of the Staffordshire Association, and with it the institution of cups for
which Stoke might compete. Little things in the history of the game
are still with us. We recall the tremendous English Cup trouncing
which Preston North End once gave to Hyde, scoring 26 goals in the
match, if memory serves aright, whilst in the same way Stoke became
distinguished through the wholesale defeat of Mow Cop in this Stafford-
shire Association Cup. The Mow Coppers were beaten to the tune of
26 goals to nothing, and did not get into the next round! Cobridge
was at this time a fairly thriving rival to the older club, but never
quite achieved the same distinction. It was in the eighties that names
of men as well known in football as that of Mr. Slaney himself began
to crop up in connection with Stoke football.
Mr. Harry Lockett took over the reins of office in 1884, and before
he resigned, seven years later, had also been chosen the first secretary
 i

A Great Triumvirate I19

to the then newly born Football League itself. There may be those
who argue that the work of the Football League was a shade too much
for Mr. Lockett's shoulders, but he made Stoke an admirable and an
indefatigable secretary during his reign of office. He saw his club find
a place in the League so soon as that organisation was formed, he saw
aspecies of professionalism brought into the club, and saw all the best
clubs in the country visit the Pottery centre and play with varying
success on the Stoke ground. Half-way through Mr. Lockett's secre-
taryship William Rowley came back to Stoke after a spell of service
with Burslem Port Vale, and then was set up the mighty and very I

often invincible triumvirate of which mention was made in the opening

paragraph of this article. Subsequently mine host in Stoke and also
secretary to the Stoke Club, Rowley quickly made for himself a great
name amongst the best of England's goalkeepers with two stalwart and
very strong backs immediately ahead of him. Tom Clare was the
picture of afull back, strong, tall, and muscular; Underwood made him
asplendid partner. What was far more to the liking of the locals even
than the strength of this defence was the fact that all three members of
it were born in the district, and that thus their triumphs were Pottery
triumphs and not those of the imported player. Charging was no
foreign article in the creed of the two backs; they found aforward in
their way and cleared him out of the path just as "Morning" and
"Afternoon "Walters used to do in earlier days than those of Clare
and Underwood.
As for Rowley, he never kept goal against Scotland, and thus, like
Levey, missed the one great honour of the Association year, but he had
many other distinctions, and a broken breast-bone amongst them, one
of many of Fortune's ruder knocks which came his way. Scotsmen
began to arrive mysteriously in the Potteries at the outset of the season
of 18 88-9, for this was the year of the institution of the Football League,
and, with Stoke finding aplace in the original circle of the combination,
it was deemed advisable to make the side as strong as could be managed,
though at that time there were no test matches—subsequent bugbears
of many despairing clubs—to worry over even in the hour of continued
failure. Leaving the progress of Stoke in the League for amoment,
and indeed it need not be dwelt upon at any substantial length,
inasmuch as Stoke's League glories are but indifferent, the career of
the club as such may be dealt with.
The present headquarters of the club, the Victoria Grounds, came
120 Association Football
into possession of the club in the early eighties, nor has it been since
disturbed in its tenancy, a welcome and rather a novel fact in these
days of stirring change. What the Victoria Grounds are now is atotal
change to what was the case only,afew years ago. Time was when the
accommodation was extremely primitive, and when the playing piece
was very often little more than aquagmire. But though, often enough,
even now the ground is bad, and though very often in wet weather
pools abound, the surface is far better, and more suitable for the kind
of matches played there than it used to be, and visiting teams do not
dread its inequalities as of old. When Derby County and Everton
played their semi-final there in 1897, aspacious new stand was put up
on the far side of the ground, and this is now a prominent part of the
structural accommodation, whilst much has been done in other ways,
thanks largely to the energy of Mx. Will Heath and the work of the
present secretary, TMr. Austerberry, a former journalist, who has for
some years been controlling the destinies of the club.
Apart from the men whose names have already been mentioned in
this necessarily brief account of the rise of Stoke, the club has had
players of distinct note in its ranks, and reference to the flying winger,
Jimmy Schofield, is undoubtedly deserved. He was the hero of many
sensational performances, and his goal-shooting was magnificent. He
and Sayer, a splendid product of the Don Valley football, going to
Stoke from the little village team at Mexbro, were men who richly
deserve honourable mention here, and both had a lot to do with the
progress of the Stoke Club in the mid years of its association with the
League. Not only in the League, however, where, as a matter of fact,
Stoke's performances have not been nerve-stirring, but in the more
strenuous contests for the Cup has Stoke done good work without being
equal to the acquisition of the highest honours of all. Stoke has not
borne away the championship of the League, nor has it won the English
Cup, but in both competitions it can look back on single achievements
which were brilliantly, secured, and which saw the team in splendid
form.
In one ever-memorable season Stoke beat Preston North End at
Stoke in the first round by 3goals to nothing, beat Aston Villa in the
second round also at Stoke and also by 3 goals to nothing, and then
went to Trent Bridge and lost by the only goal of the game. That
match was historic in that it was through a deliberate case of fisting
out of his goal in the last minute by Hendry when Toone was beaten
 Great Days of W. Maxwell I2I

that the penalty kick was brought up and subsequently introduced as

part of the game. In this case of course a free kick was given to
Stoke right in the Notts goal-mouth, but Toone saved and Notts won.
Further than that, Stoke once secured aplace in the semi-final, meeting
Derby County on the ground of the Wolves, and being beaten by
goals to 1, that brilliant forward, Willie Maxwell, now disporting
himself with Bristol City, scoring the first goal for Stoke, and his side
being then unable to score again. This was the only occasion on which
Stoke found a place in the later stages of the great competition, but
there is still hope springing in the Pottery breast, and the magnificent
commencement to the present season's tourney, though it has not been
maintained, gave rise to great enthusiasm round about the headquarters
of the club. Its history is not confined to one man or two, but the rise
and progress of the club has associated with it the names of many who
have done much for Staffordshire football in past years, and who are
still remembered with kindly recognition to-day. L. R. Roose, the
dashing amateur goalkeeper, is doing good service to the present-day
team.

Ihave dealt here with the recognised first-class clubs only. There
have been many strong teams which have failed in the struggle for the
survival of the fittest. Birmingham had its llitchells St. George's,
aclub which brought out such sterling footballers as Dennis Hodgetts,
Frank Coulton, John Devey, Harry Stansbie, Whitehouse, the Aston
Villa and Grimsby goalkeeper, and Davis, later of Sheffield Wednesday.
Then Birmingham Excelsior, which included an international forward
in the late George Tait, used to meet some of the best clubs of the day.
Football is in apoor way in Walsall now as compared with what it was
when the rivalry between Walsall Swifts and Walsall Town was at its
height. The Swifts have included such admirable players as Alf Jones,
the international back, C. H. Hobson, one of the cleverest goalkeepers
ever known, H. Yates, Harry Wood, David Wykes, Tom Hunter, and
awhole host of effective forwards. Gersh Cox was the best of many
capable footballers connected with the Town.
AlTednesbury Old Athletic, which gave England their famous inter-
national outside right, George Holden, and AlTednesbury Strollers were
also smart teams. Then Long Eaton Rangers won the Birmingham Cup
in 1887, and Saltley College produced some of the most famous of
Midland players in the seventies and eighties, including Tom Slaney
I22 Association Football
and E. Johnson of Stoke, George Copley, Tom Bryan, and C. S. John-
stone of Aston Villa, John Brodie of Wolverhampton Wanderers, and
John Adams of Walsall. There was a famous club at Shrewsbury,
which included the two international centres, H. W ace and J. G.
-

"Tylie, and J. Hawley Edwards. They won the Birmingham Cup

in 18-8.
 SECTION XIII

FOOTBALL IN SHEFFIELD

LONG before the offside rule had begun to worry crowds and referees,
long before. such innovations as goal-nets and shin-guards were dreamed
of, and before the game was hedged round as is the case to-day by rules
bearing on its various details, football was flourishing exceedingly in
Sheffield. The Sheffield Club, whose proud deeds during the season of
1903-4 are still in memory when the Amateur Cup was won, stands out
as the oldest football club in the world, and still possesses much of its
old vitality and all its genuine amateurism. It has had scores of
splendid sportsmen associated with its fortunes during its history of
fifty years, and still is the minute-book of 1857 treasured amongst the
records of the game.
For years Sheffield Club stood alone as pioneer, but Sheffield
Wednesday came into being in 1866, and Sheffield United followed
twenty-three years later. But all this time, though fate designed
that the two organisations last mentioned should bear the banner of
Sheffield's football greatness from the nineties onwards, Sheffield Club's
splendid isolation had been lessened by the creation of many rival
organisations. Many of those which flourished in the eighties and
thereabouts have died out of general memory, but they were fine clubs
in their day, and Sheffield, as a football centre and as one of the recog-
nised homes of the game, stood out prominently. Lockwood Brothers,
afactory club connected with one of Sheffield's great works, had afine
record, and, playing on aground up Ecclesall Road, now covered with
myriad houses, used to play that hard kind of game which brings
victories in its train without any undue roughness attendant.
The Albion, a team which contained much of the better class
amateur element, if the term may be used as is intended without
offence, was a power in local football ; Surrey, Walkley, Oxford,
Exchange, Pye Bank, Providence, Broomhall, Park Grange; Heeley,
123
124 Association Football
who used for years to wrestle with Sheffield Wednesday for all the local
championships—these and many other clubs sprang into being and in
their time played big parts. But as the growth of professionalism
came about there came acorresponding diminution in the power of these
other local clubs—the pick of their players were drafted into the two big
professional teams of the town,
and Wednesday and United
dominated all else. Gradually
Sheffield Club's earl y para-
mountcy lessened, and it came
to be Olive Grove and later on
Bramall Lane where the bulk of
the Saturday afternoon crowds
congregated, and where football
of the best kind could be antici-
pated. But these other clubs,
dying down in the growing day
of the paid player, had done
their duty -well.
They had awakened a fine
appreciation of football in the
district, they had created aliking
for the game, and had up to a
certain extent educated the public
in the arts of football—a know-
ledge and an education which
Pliolo: H. JasVer Redfern, Sheffield
stood Sheffield in rare stead for
F. SPIKESLEY many years to come. Before
Sheffield Wednesday and England the days of the League, Shef-
field Club used to meet the
chief teams for fifty to a hundred miles round, and many stirring
games were played on another old Sheffield ground down Attercliffe
way, now given over to other uses; and the part played in these
-

matches by variouswell-known citizens of the present day, notably

Mr. AV. F. Beardshaw, President of the Sheffield Chamber of Com-
merce ;Alderman H. AIT. Chambers ;and Mr. H. B. Willey, is still
well remembered. Inter-Association matches were also played. Football
then was entirely of what is humorously known as the "friendly " as
opposed to competition kind, till the Football Association Cup came
 l

Mosforth's Five Internationals Its

along and gradually embraced in its scope the chief clubs of the
district.
Of players in those far-off days pages might be written ;of the
brothers J. C. and W. E. Clegg, of whom the former is Chairman of
the Football Association to-day, and the latter one of the most highly
respected men in the city, a past occupant of the Lord Mayor's chair
and an alderman of the city; of W. H. Carr, a tall and useful
goalkeeper who played against Scotland in 1875 ; of Jack Hunter,
one of the greatest half-backs who ever kicked a ball, and who died
at Blackburn not so long ago ;of W. Mosforth, still very familiar in
Sheffield, and perhaps the greatest of all the left-wingers, with the
wonderful aptitude for scoring goals direct from the corner flag
without the intervention of any other player. Mosforth played for
his country five times against Scotland and four times against Wales,
and tells many tales of those stirring days of international history.
Then J. R. B. Owen also played against Scotland; W. Betts,
Wednesday's centre half, who is still well remembered as cast-iron
and a player whom no hurt could stay, a hardy half-back who had
very much to do with Wednesday's early triumphs; T. H. Sorby,
one of Sheffield Club's old heroes, also comes into the list of local
internationals; Teddy Brayshaw, hard as adamant and quite as diffi-
cult to oppose ;Jack Hudson, cheeriest of players, and a rare worker
—all these stand as members of the old brigade who earned their
places in England's teams and did rare service for their country.
Nor do these exhaust the list. There have been very many
others in more recent years, though they have not been so closely
associated with Sheffield ; they have been merely Sheffield players
through the accident of their club's enterprise. Thus Ernest Needham,
though a Staveley man, comes in as a Sheffield United player; and
Rab Howell, little as ever footballer was, but few more plodding
or safe. He, with Harry Johnson and Mick Whitham, came from
Ecelesfield, a wonderful nursery of the game, and where the late
Dr. ratty lived his life in one living, succeeded by the Rev. Frank
Pawson, the brilliant Cantab, who also played for his country, and
who is also aborn Shefiielder.
To this long list of Sheffield's international players one has to add
such well-known men as T. H. Crawshaw, a splendid successor to Betts
as Wednesday's centre half; Ruddlesdin ; Spikesley, whose brilliant
wing rushes are still in vivid memory, and who followed Mosforth
126 Association Football
as Sheffi eld's bright particular star on the left wing ;Thickett, now
managing the affairs of Bristol City; Harry Davis; Bernard Wilkinson;
Foulke, now disporting himself at Chelsea, and doing fine service; Bert
Lipsham, a Crewe product and afine winger; Harry Lilley, aparticu-
larly painstaking back from Staveley ;Common, who was then with
Sheffield United; Brown, United's present centre forward, who was the
youngest international ever capped when he led on England's attack
at Wrexham in 1904; Hedley ;Morren, who followed the late Billy
Hendrey as United's centre half; and Priest; whilst that fine, strong,
and resolute product of junior football with the Hastings Club, Fred
Thompson, also played against the Canadians in z89 i, and did lots of
capital service with Sheffield Wednesday as full back. Here then is the
list of Sheffield's internationals, and it will be generally admitted that
it works out into one of some magnitude, and the names included bring
back memories of scores of mighty games.
But they do not exhaust the list of great players who have been
brought into the game in the city. One recalls the Tomlinsons of
Heeley, Bob Gregory of Wednesday, W. H. Stacey, H. Muscroft, T.
Bishop, Peter Andrews, Daff Davy of Sheffield Club, brilliant Alf
Liddell of the same organisation, the Butterys, and scores of lesser
lights might be mentioned to whom Sheffield football has owed agreat
deal in the past, and who, in their time, have played many parts, and
always played them well. The recalling of these men brings up
straightaway the story of Sheffield's participation in the League tourna-
ment, and here one is provided with a story of rare interest, whilst
associated in the same way is the tale of the city's struggles for the
Cup, equally absorbing to all followers of the game.

SHEFFIELD WEDNESDAY

It may be interesting to take the Cup performances of these two

teams first; the League came later, and after all, though headship of the
League may be regarded as atruer test of aclub's real abilities, the fact
remains indisputable that it is the Cup ties which make for excitement,
and cause the liveliest interest. Hardy to adegree, ever resolute when
there was anything to be fought for, and this may be said without the
slightest hint of their being in any sense pot-hunters, the members of
the Wednesday team have always been noted Cup-fighters. They had
 w

Great Cup Tie Battles 127

shown of what they were capable in earlier days when they had beaten
all that could be brought against them locally ;they had won every-
thing that was to be won within their own area, and then went further
afield, and for some time failed in their ambitious purposes. They set
their hearts on winning the English Cup—a trophy which, in those far-off
days, was asouthern perquisite, and which had not been carried off by
any northern or even any midland organisation.
But times were to change. A long list of purely southern successes,
lasting from 1871 to 1882, was followed by a northern and a midland
epoch which, with one exception when the Spurs carried off the honours III

at Bolton in 190 i,has lasted unbroken. Thus, whilst the Cup of cups
rested in southern camps for eleven successive years, it has since then
been won elsewhere twenty-two times out of twenty-three. It was ,the
introduction of the paid player which brought about the change, and
Sheffield Wednesday took its share of the accruing honours. Victories
in the Wharncliffe Cup, a handsome trophy presented in 1878 by the
Earl of Wharncliffe, in the Sheffield Challenge Cup, and other local
trophies had roused awidespread interest in the team, then by far the
finest in the district, and its battling in the great national competition
was followed with absorbing closeness.
In the season of 1881-82 the club reached the semi-final, and, if
supporters of the Wednesday Club are to be believed, their team should
have fought in the final instead of Blackburn Rovers. The teams met
at Huddersfield—it is not often that we find Association Cup ties
played on established Rugby grounds in those days—and the game was
drawn, though the general opinion was the Wednesday should have had
the verdict. Another Rugby ground was utilised for the replay—
Whalley Range, Manchester; and here the Rovers rode roughshod over
their rivals, winning by 5 goals to 1. From that point Wednesday
made fair progress in the competition without reaching so important a
stage for the next e ig ht seasons ;but, more recently, the records of the

semi-finals are studded with the name and fame of Sheffield.

In 18go Wednesday beat Bolton Wanderers at Perry Barr, the then
ground of Aston Villa, and were subsequently routed by the Rovers at
the Oval by 6goals to 1—Haydn Morley, adiminutive Derby full back,
alone playing his game, and being carried off the field at the close. It
is still said in Sheffield that a spell of "special " training indulged in
by the Wednesday men at Matlock was responsible for this wholesale
reverse. However, neither club nor team was despairing of the Cup
128 Association Football
even then. Sheffield United was by this time coming on, and, bit by
bit, was gaining ahold on local affections, though its early struggling
in the Cup brought little that was at all comforting. But Wednesday,
with their ranks regularly reinforced so soon as places had to be filled,
but for the most part managing to keep the bulk of the team together
year after year in wonderful fashion, fought their way into the semi-final
again in 1894, Bolton Wanderers winning a hotly contested game at
Fallowfield, where Spikesley's speed brought him beneath the undeserved
ban of the referee, and he had two goals disallowed which ought to have
given his side the victory.
Then in 1895 Wednesday fell at Derby in the semi-final before
West Bromwich Albion by 2 goals to o;in 1896 AlTednesda- made
their thud successive appearance in this stage of the competition, and
this time meeting Bolton Wanderers, again also for the third time in
semi-finals, brought off abrilliant Victory at Nottingham by 3goals to i,
and followed this up by victory in the final at the Palace over the
Wolves. What the consummation of long-deferred hopes meant to the
city or town as it then was no one knows who was not in it. For many
years the club had been battling almost alone for the credit and honour
of one of the game's oldest strongholds, and in this year of 1896
triumphed. It was a tremendous game, in which the brilliant wing
work of Fred Spikesley brought about the -victory by 2 goals to i, and
in which little Black for the Wolves once equalised - with a wonderful
hook close to the post. The present team is—
Lyall came from Jarro -w-on-Tyne, but is a Scotsman of some few
weeks' residence. Played for his country against England last year at
the Palace and kept afine goal. Is safe as ahouse, though occasionally
apt to run out. A brilliant man at high shots.
Layton did well for Chesterfield in the old days, has clone far better
for Sheffield Wednesday since then. Kicks tremendously hard, fairly
forces the ball forward, and can still sprint to some purpose. Tackles
with rare grit, and on his day aresolute and difficult back.
Burton, alocal who, quite young, has the possibilities of the highest
honours right within him. Kicks well but intelligently, holds his ring
well in check, and falls back on his own goal in times of stress with
considerable judgment. Played agreat part in last season's Cup ties.
Ruddlesdin is aBirdwell man, collier born and iron-hearted. Won't
give up so long as he can see to play, and is ahalf-back of distinct class.
Shoots hard and low, deceptive shots which are usually well on the
 The Idol of the Team
mark, and feeds his forwards neatly. Has been capped more than once,
but did not find his form against Scotland last year.
Crawshaw, the idol of the team. Another local, one who plays the
game for sheer love of it. Injury makes no difference to him, and he
plods on to the end. Heading is his strong point, shooting his one
weakness in adual sense. One of the finest centre halves that English
football has known, and never gives in.
Bartlett, another Tyneside youth, modest to a degree, though with
ambitions. Class bulges out all over , him, and his methods are full of
cool calculation and skill. A very clever half, of whom .the best has not
yet been seen.
Davis, the second of the name who has distinguished himself for
Wednesday, came from Barnsley, and since then has represented his
country more than once. A rare bustler, has fine speed, and centres and
shoots superbly. Has something of atemper, but has been sorely tried.
Chapman has not yet earned any international honours, but in the
opinion of many Sheflielders he has deserved what he has not got. A
very plucky forward, one full of the tricks of the trade, and who shoots
perhaps straighter than his comrades. Makes Davis an ideal partner,
but has anasty and regrettable habit of getting crocked.
Wilson, a Scotsman, who on his day hardly has a centre-forward
rival. Shoots best from an angle but then magnificently, some of his
finest goals having been scored when success seemed impossible. Passes
with rare power and accuracy to his wings, and has led many adespairing
rush; goalwards with success.
Stewart, like Bartlett and Simpson, comes from the Tyne's banks.
Came into the Wednesday front line after Malloch had failed to satisfy,
and after settling down became one .of the deadliest goal-getters of the
team. Clever with combination, but shooting is his one strong point.
Is apenalty kicker of repute and experience.
Simpson met with anasty head injury last season at. Plumstead, and
has not been in the team regularly this season. A great galloper down
his wing and centres with complete accuracy. Modest and unassuming,
he gets through any amount of work, and takes the place which
in years past belonged to Fred Spikesley as Sheffield's idol on the
extreme left. .

VOL. II. I
•J•

130 Association Football

SHEFFIELD UNITED

The scene of a victorious Cup team to Sheffield has been repeated

since then, but possibly never has it been so remarkable, and the town
gave itself over to jubilation over so signal a triumph, and so well
deserved asuccess. Martin Earp, the Notts Forest amateur, who was at
that time assisting the Wednesday Club, acted as captain, and played a
hard good game in its defence. Having reached the summit of its
ambition, the Wednesday team did not figure too prominently in the
competition during the next few seasons, and gradually the Sheffield
United team, which had been forging ahead year after year following its
incorporation in 1889, made its own fame in the same great struggle.
As a matter of fact this new club made a disastrous start, for in
the second round of the competition proper it was thrashed by the
Wanderers at Bolton by z3 goals to ion the traditionally muddy Pike's
Lane ground, where Howlett could not see his ankles for mud, and
where his spectacles were continually blurred by a driving storm. But
that is a tale told nowadays with a laugh, for since then the junior club
of Sheffield has dug deep into Cup records, and in 1899 found its way
into the semi-final for the first time in its history, and struggled straight
away into the final through a tremendous victory over Liverpool on the
Derby ground. Many who travelled the country with these teams
worrying over a settlement of this semi-final will recall the varied
incidents of their tour; how the teams met first of all at Nottingham,
where Needham kicked a wonderful goal and so equalised ;how they
toured next to Bolton and played in what was surely one of the most
extraordinary matches ever fought out. The game was tremendously
fast, both teams were trained to the hour, and within eight minutes of
the finish the score stood 4-2 in favour of Liverpool, and everything
was over. Reporters had their scores filled in only waiting for the final
burst on the whistle, when there came one of those Homeric rushes and
efforts which ever characterised the United teams in Cup ties. In the
small confines of those eight short minutes they swept the Liverpool
defence ruthlessly aside, and Priest scored two magnificent goals, beating
Storer, then in the Liverpool goal, completely, and thus ended the game
with four goals each. There has seldom been such ascene as came on the
Burnden Park ground at the finish of the game, and further sensation
set in at Fallowfield on the following Monday. Here the crowd surged
0
 United at the Crystal Palace 1 31

round in threatening fashion right from the start; even before aball
had been kicked it was plain that there was alikelihood of disaster, and
many of the officials of both clubs failed to find entrance to the over-
loaded ground. True to general expectation, the ground was rushed
before the game had been long in progress, and the game had to be
stopped, Liverpool leading by a goal, and to all appearances having it
well in hand, for at least four of United's team, including the gigantic
Foulke in goal, were unfit to play as the result of the previous struggles.
The tour closed at Derby, where a single goal victory to United
carried them into the final, but not until the most strenuous struggle
had been gone through that the Association game ever knew. It Was
in that year, and largely as the result of this tremendous series, that
Thickett, amongst others in the team, turned up at the Palace in the
final very far from well, and there that the strange and delightfully
inaccurate stories were put in circulation as to the nature of his injuries,
which will always live in the memories of those to whom sidelights on
the game are valuable. The series of semi-finals was not without its
monetary satisfaction to the clubs concerned, and the four matches
brought in no less asum than 23156.
And then in the final at the Palace, United, making a first appear-
ance in the honours stage, triumphed over Derby County by four
goals to one, though at half-time the County stood agoal to the good,
and though Steve Bloomer never had such high hopes of agold medal
on his watch chain. TMore processions in Sheffield followed, and United
took equal place in the local mind as Cup-fighters. Indeed for some
time afterwards they eclipsed their older-established rivals, who were
under acloud so far as the Cup was concerned; and with an interval
of one year United came again into the semi-final in their old brilliant
fashion, and, triumphing over Aston Villa in the semi-final after adrawn
game, also drew with the Spurs in the final, and then with half their
team unfit to play succumbed to the overmastering brilliance of Brown
at Bolton, and there lost by three goals to one. That was the year in
which the Cup went south again; but apart from this one detail the final
that year at the Palace was rendered notable through the magnitude of
the crowd.
It was the largest crowd that can be legitimately claimed as having
been present at afootball match, and was returned as being over 1io,000
strong. It assuredly presented one of the most magnificent sights pos-
sible on the splendid ground. Still United's ambitions were not satisfied.
132 Association Football
The Cup has money in it, and the great ground at Bramall Lane has
plenty of claims for large and generous expenditure, and in the following
year the United team again came through to the final, playing some
wonderful matches en route, and just beating Derby County in the semi-
final after two dram games, in neither of which the ultimate winners
deserved their share of the spoils. In the final the club had once more
to meet a southern side, and Southampton, then at the zenith of their
fame, were strongly,fancied for the trophy. But though they drew, they
had no right to a draw, and only a singular decision on the part of a
sorely worked referee enabled them to make the scores level. The re-
played tie was again at the Palace, and here United got home for the
second time in the history of the Cup, and beat the Saints by the odc.
goal in three to the tune of further Sheffield jubilation.
But that was the last time Sheffield's streets have been packed
with enthusiasts welcoming home the Cup. Not since the evening
in April 1902 has the procession passed through those thoroughfares
with areception at the Town Hall at the finish, and banquets and pre-
sentations as afterthoughts. Like Wednesday, after their Cup victory,
United fell on evil times following their triumph over the Spurs, and
they have not been prominent since. Still with akindly thoughtfulness
for the city's enthusiasm the Wednesday team took up the running so
soon as United lost, and those who have records of the game beside them
will readily remember how. in 1904 and again in i90 Sheffield Wednes-
day reached the semi-finals without being able to gain entrance to the
final itself.
At that time Wednesday were fighting hard in the League as well
as in the Cup, and it -was largely due to their magnificent exertions in
the former competition, where they finished top, that they failed to find
their form in the semi-final against l.Tanchester City at Goodison Park,
where they were roundly worsted. But last spring, meeting Newcastle
United on the ground of the Manchester City club, at atime when the
United were strong favourites for the Cup, Wednesday played them so
hard agame that only the most brilliant of defences and asharp chance
shot by Howie brought about their discomfiture. So ends Sheffield's
records in the later rounds of the Cup. They are glorious annals, and
amongst them all one recalls the thrilling nerve-trying series of semi-
finals against Liverpool with most interest and appreciation.
Thus we reach the League and its records, and here also the two
great Sheffield clubs have made big marks. May it be said that it was
 Fighting for a Place in the League X33

almost a disgrace when, on the formation of the League in 1888, no

place was found in it for arepresentative of Sheffield, so old acentre of
the game. Other clubs, other centres, of smaller influence and slighter
lustre, were included in the charmed circle, but Sheffield was not. As
a matter of fact it was left to Wednesday to find entrance to the com-
bination through its first exten-
sion in 1892 together with Notts
Forest. But Wednesday's pro-
gress and performances in the
League, brilliantly though the
club had done in one season of
the Alliance, were not on a par
for many years with those in
the Cup; and for some time
after its admittance into the
biggest combination that the
country held, the club hung
rather lower in the table than
its admirers cared for, or than
was commensurate with the
quality of football being played
in other fields. Sheffield United
also found admission to the
League a difficult matter, and
had to fight very hard for their
place. k
They asked to be given a Photo: Willis, Chatham.

place in the Alliance in 18go, C. J. LEWIN

Council, F.A.
but their application failed, and
they went triumphantly through
the Midland League. Then they took on the competition of the Northern
League, did splendidly in that, the first places going to the two Middlesbro'
clubs with Ironopolis on top of all. In 1892 an application was made for
aplace in the League, then being extended, but it once more failed, and
the club entered the Second Division determined on securing one of the
two top places, and thus having their chance through the medium of the
then existent test matches of forcing their way into the upper circle.
They finished second in the Division, and beating Accrington in the test
match at Nottingham by a goal scored by Drummond, one of the old
134 Association Football
brigade from Preston North End, sounded the death-knell of Accrington
as afirst-class organisation, and at the same time made their path clear
to the First Division.
It can be ,truly- said that from the day of their entrance, Sheffield
United have never given rise to forebodings as to their right to such
a place. They have held the championship once, in 1898, when they
secured forty-two points out of a possible sixty, and they have also
finished second twice, in 1S9i eleven points behind Aston Villa, and
in i9oo two points behind the same club. In their progress they have
been in at several notable victories. They defeated the Wolves by
seven goals to two in 19o-, Bury by eight goals to none in 1895, and
in 19o; accounted for 'Manchester City and Derby County each by the
singular score of five goals to three. Sheffield Wednesday have of late
done even better than their rivals, and in i9o-, and again in 1904,
finished head of the League and roused atremendous amount of interest
in their doings. They went off with such a burst in the early part of
the next season as to make it quite probable that they would break all
records and carry off the championship for three seasons in succession.
However, so much honour was denied the team largely through the
unfortunate disablement of one of their best forwards, Chapman. Still
each club has won the League championship, and each has won the Cup,
and so much distinction is not readily secured, in these days of stress
and keen riN-alry.
Just a reference to the men who have carried the flags of their
respective clubs to the front during these times of fierce competition.
The Sheffield Wednesday Club unquestionably owes much to its present
honorary secretary, '_NMr. A-. J. Dickinson, who has -worked prodigiously
for his club, and borne the slights of fortune with the same equanimity
as he has received the victories in Cup and League. Mr. John Holmes,
for many years chairman of the club, is amongst the soundest sports-
men in the country. Mr. Arthur 1Tixon made Wednesday- an excellent
treasurer for many years prior to his death, and whilst Mr. J. C. Clegg
holds the unique position of a place on the Board of both Wednesday
and United. he has as colleagues on the former many gentlemen closely
identified with all that is best and brightest in Sheffield, notable ex-
amples being Alderman George Senior, Alderman W .E. Clegg, Councillor
Hughes, and many other city fathers. The old ground at Olive Grove
had to be relinquished several years ago through '1Tidland Railway ex-
tensions, but a splendid enclosure has been prepared out at Owlerton,
 The Men who Carry the Colours 135

far from the smoke of the city, and, the freehold of the club, has been
admirably fitted with stands, and is to-day worth many times more than
the club gave for it, were commerce to override the claims of sport.
As for the United, it too owes much to many men. Mr. Chas.
Stokes, the father of the club, as he also is in some measure to AYednes-
day, still holds aprominent position. The early days saw the reins of
office in the hands of Mr. J. B. wostinholm, but it was that gentleman's
assistant, Mr. Harry Stones, who did most of the work, and he has had
a far greater share in the present prosperity of Sheffield United than
has generally been recognised. Mr. Stones' work was unsparing and
untiring for many years, and the fruits of what he did have been well
reaped since his retirement. The present secretary is Mr. Nicholson,
ahard-working and painstaking official who has his office on the Bramall
Lane ground, and finds work in plenty throughout the year.
Others of whom mention must be made are Mr. T. Bott, who for
years was accustomed to take the away training of the team into
his own hands, and to whom United's magnificent Cup performances
were in no small degree due; Mr. J. Smith, who has been unremitting
in his zeal; 111r. J. Tomlinson; and Mr. Bingham; whilst the Board has
as its chairman Lord Hawke, the ornament and idol of Yorkshire county
cricket. The team is now composed of the following :--
Leivesley, a Staveley product like his captain, took the place of
Foulke in goal. He is cool as a cucumber, scoops low shots out well,
and has a pretty knack of divining the intentions of the most skilled
sharpshooter. A good man in his place.
Groves, a light-haired, light-built back, from Lincoln City last.
Seems scarcely strong enough for such a post, but defies his critics by
much excellent play. Dicks cleanly, though skying the ball too much,
is arare and fearless tackler. Tried at Bristol in an international trial
match, but was hardly asuccess.
Benson, his partner, also light-haired, but not light built. A
splendid specimen of a footballer, magnificently developed. Dicks
hard and true, tackles right honestly and right well, and covers his
goal admirably. Came last from Southampton.
Johnson, an Ecclesfield product and a good one, though verging on
the veteran stage, like his skipper. Has had many caps and has worn
them well. Clears from the face of his own goal grandly, is fearless
against the speediest forward, and shoots hard but not too straight. A
splendidly strong half-back and impassable on his day.
136 Association Football
Wilkinson, a cricketer of some repute, though not so good as his
brother, who plays for his county. Bernard is the"United's centre half,
and a brilliant centre half on his day. Accident has laid a_ heavy hand
on him in times past. Few centre forwards are happy -Then pitted
against him on his day, and he picks up the prettiest passes which are
meant for his opponents' wings. A delightful little player to watch.
Needham, box of tricks and .crammed with strategy. Old as foot-
ballers go, but always sound as a nut—has arare nut on him and uses
it. Greyer than he used to be, there is still no diminution in his
enthusiasm, and shoots, tackles, passes, and defends as finely as of old.
Hero of many honours; has gained the respect and admiration of
every one.
Bluff, not an outside man yet, but is being manufactured by careful
tuition. Vastly clever with his feet, passes to ahair, and gets the ball
in front of goal with fine accuracy. A clever shot, and another excellent
recruit secured from Southampton.
Donnelly, one of the most dashing inside forwards that can be found.
Gets many goals by his go-ahead methods, and snaps up passes with
unfailing eagerness and general precision. A fine shot at goal and a
genuine worker. Takes Peter Boyle's place as the only Irishman in
the team.
Brown made history in being the youngest footballer to take his cap
for England when he played at Wrexham. against Wales in 1904. A
dead shot, he is always well marked by opposing defences, but still finds
the net fairly well. Passes well out to his wings, a real sound centre
forward, and very quick to take the ball. A Gainsboro' man, one of
many who have left the town to do other clubs good.
Drake, a hard worker and full of dash, but one who has systematic
bad luck with his shots. A local lad coming from the vicinity of
Rotherham, and one who takes the place of Fred Priest in the -front line.
Lipsham, best known for his lightning shots at goal. A brilliant
winger, whose deserts have not yet been fully recognised. Gets up a
rare turn of speed and centres superbly. A dead shot, but often takes
the ball to the flag ere planting it in. Came from Crewe, and has been
arare find for his present club.
 SECTION XIV

FOOTBALL IN LANCASHIRE

LIVERPOOL AND EVERTON

NOT so long continued as has been the case in some other cities,
Liverpool's interest in the winter game has nevertheless been profoundly
marked, and year after year, ever since the far-off days of the St.
Domingo Club, from whose ashes Everton rose, the interest has grown
and broadened till to-day we have come to recognise the great seaport
as famous for something else besides shipping, and as celebrated for its
footballers as well as for its toffee. Yet the distinctions of the gauge
have not been as marked or as many as Liverpool's prominence amongst
our great centres has suggested should have been the case. Not once
has the Cup of cups been carried to the banks of the Mersey, and
only twice has a team from those banks even made its appearance
in the final.
In the League, too, the same tale of comparative insignificance has
to be chronicled. It is true that Everton carried away chief honours in
the season of i89o-91, and that Liverpool copied that excellent example
just ten years later. But these two bi g performances stand out by
themselves as starring the history of football in the city, and it is one
of the curiosities of the game to recall this fact whilst we also bear in
mind the scores of brilliant players who have found places in one or
other of the teams, and who have helped to make the greatness of their
respective countries in international warfare. For, unlike some other
towns and cities of our country, Liverpool has at all times shown some
sort of liking for the Scotsman.
It has by no means confined its allegiance to players of its own
country, but has recognised that good men, very good men as amatter
of fact, are to be got from the other side of the Border, and has not
hesitated to go there for such as were needed. It is this fact which has
very often helped to make their teams redoubtable ;it is not half so
137
138 Association Football
easy to find aready reply to the puzzle of Liverpool's comparative non-
success in the greater struggles of the game.
As amatter of fact, Liverpool for more years than most people can
remember was given over hand and foot to Rugby football, was one of
the hotbeds of the handling code, and followed it with amazing zest and
interest. But as the claims of the Association game began to grow, as
it became more and more obvious that there was something in it, the
good people of the Lancashire city began to consider what could be done
to set Liverpool in its proper place amongst the other cities of the land.
In very truth its commencement was humble enough, and for some time
the game was left in the hands of trivial organisations and tiny circles
which gradually broadened, and which bit by bit attracted to themselves
public interest. It may with some show of reason be said that this
stimulus first became obvious with the merging of the St. Domingo
Football Club into the Everton Football Club, a high-sounding name
even then, a far higher sounding name to-day, and one whose greater
importance has been achieved through magnificent care and systematic
good government.
Later on there came other claimants for popular favour. Bootle
grew into being, had acareer of some worth, and died before the ever-
growing power of Everton ; and Liverpool itself came into being
with the early nineties, or thirteen years after the extinction of the
Domingoes, and the creation of Everton. But Liverpool as aclub may
be left whilst for a moment we consider Liverpool as acity. It was
in the season of 1879 that Everton's team first took the field—as a
matter of fact records prove that its first match was played on 23rd.
December 1879 ; and in the following season membership of the
Lancashire County Association was secured, and the first Cup tie in the
history of the club was played. Still dealing with history, it may be
added that in 1884 the club went to Anfield Road, that it removed
thence to Goodison Park in 1892, and that when the League was formed
in 1888 Everton found a ready place within the circle, and in the first
year of the combination's existence finished sixth with 20 points against
Preston North End's 40.
So much for bare history :now for a consideration of the causes
which led up to the present splendour of the club. It plays in royal
blue and white knickers at the present time ;but only a process of
decided change has brought about the existing uniform, as, other
writers have told before now, past seasons have seen these Evertonians,
 41' w. "MAMOM- .w.*_rr wiser. M

Some Giants of the Past 139

whom we now dub the "Royal Blues," wearing blue and white stripes
(the original colours), black with a scarlet sash, salmon jerseys and
blue knickers, and gorgeous ruby shirts with dark blue trimmings, a
magnificent garb which many of us can still recall. Simplicity now
waits on the club in the matter of colours, and - never did an Everton
team look better, fitter, or more business-like than at the present time.
Just for amoment, what of the great players who have been associated
with the present Goodison Park organisation ?
It had as its first Scotsman, M`Gill from the Glasgow Rangers, and
he acted as its first captain. James Trainer played with Everton's
second team, and soon afterwards migrated to Bolton ;there and at
Preston to make for himself aname as custodian whose superior has yet
to be unearthed. Trainer consequently cannot be put down as one of
Everton's players in the sense of being agreat player for that club, but
it was only one of those irritating accidents of fortune which prevented
him from playing his own magnificent part in the Everton goal and
lending that club his incomparable aid. But if Trainer has to be left
out, what a catalogue of great names can be conjured up as old
Evertonians ! Nick Ross, surely one of the finest of all full backs,
stalwart and magnificent; Edgar Chadwick, still playing, but in the
Evertonian days of his association with Alf Alilward a veritable
marvel, and again down south doing splendid service ; the pocket
marvel, Johnny Holt, one of the most determined centre half-backs
of his inches that the game ever knew, and who in spite of them
played against Scotland in 189 i, 1892, 18 93, 18 94, and 1895, whilst he
was also capped against Wales in i890 and 1891, and the Irish forwards
met him in 1892, 1894, and again, when associated with Reading,
in 19oo.
Still further may we go into this digging out of great names. We
find Dan Doyle, doughty Scotsman that he was, and averitable giant
in times of stress ;Fred Geary, a Nottingham man, slight and light,
but wonderfully speedy, Lind a fine forward; Bob Kelso; A. Hannah;
Latta, who played afine wing game, and who subsequently wisely gave
the game up and went into the making of yachts as his own master.
Then we get the master of all centre forwards, John Southworth, prince
of dribblers and afine shot, aman calculated to make almost any team,
and who was reasonably dreaded by every one of his opponents, in
whatever class. Bob Howarth also comes into the list, whilst a
finishing reference to Jack Bell must not be forgotten. That most
1 40 Association Football
cheery soul is still playing football in the League, a member of the
Preston North End team, and still showing something of that mar-
vellous dash `which once almost brought the Cup home after the
finest final that the Palace has ever seen, and whose trickiness is
still manifest. All these names suggest pretty clearly that, once the
management of the club had made up its mind to go in for the
Association game, it was not inclined to go half way, but to procure at

Plwto ;Howard Barrett, Southwell

EVERTO\ v. ASTON VILLA

whatever cost and monetary sacrifice the very best men that could be
obtained.
All this being so, it may be well to see what the players did in
return. The first enclosed ground was at Priory Road, in the Anfield
district, and the first gate which the treasurer of this very ambitious
organisation had the satisfaction of handling amounted to fourteen
shillings, neither more nor less. In 1884 the club's first trophy was
won, this being that of the newly established Liverpool Association.
The new ground at Anfield Road, the present headquarters of Liverpool
Football Club, -was inaugurated by alocal Derby against Bootle, wherein
the takin gs were close on Zoo, and from that sum in 1885 to the
 Owners of an •8000 Ground 141

£' 1144 against Liverpool in 1896 is afar step, and one which serves to
indicate fairly clearly the sort of progress which the club made in the
intervening years.
It had moved from Anfield Road to Goodison Park, opened by the
President of the Association, Lord Kinnaird, ever willing to do what-
ever he can for the good of the game which he has both played and
helped to rule so well. It may be parenthetically mentioned that the
club owns the freehold of the present ground, one whose measurement
is 29471 yards, and which cost Z8o9o. It is a wonderful ground, as
every one knows who goes about the country, and probably the only
serious rivals which it possesses in the whole of England are the
headquarters of Aston Villa and the Crystal Palace. Bramall Lane is
magnificent, but it pales beside the others because it is only athree-side
ground, and thus loses something of its compactness. Owlerton, the
headquarters of Sheffield Wednesday, is also a great enclosure, but it
seems to lack something of the wonderful completeness which attracts
so much at Goodison Park and Aston.

GOODISON PARK

On such a piece of turf, surrounded by such mighty and well-

planned stands, it is no wonder that big football is usually played.
That this is so the records of the game serve to show,and so much may
be claimed, though disappointments have been so general in both the
Cup competition and the struggle for the championship of the League.
Yet though the latter honour has only been won once, and that many
years ago, it is by no means to be taken for granted that the club
was not playing a prominent part in the struggle year by year.
Second in i89o, beaten two points by North End ;third in 1893, when
Sunderland were giving a taste of their finest form ;second in 1895,
beaten five points by the Wearsiders ;third in 1896; second in 1902,
beaten again by Sunderland, this time by three points; and third and
second respectively in 1904 and 1905—these are achievements which
sliow that Everton has almost always been close up though practically
always just missing the major honours.
Every one remembers what aHomeric struggle there was last season
when Newcastle United finished first with forty-eight points, Everton
had forty-seven, and Alanchester City, forty-six; and Everton had hard
luck in being deprived of victory. They had had the Arsenal well
142 Association Football
beaten when fog put an end to the game prematurely-,and on its being
replayed on 22nd April the Arsenal -Ton by two to one, and so cost their
victims the championship. It did not look as though such a result
would accrue at the time, but subsequent results made this momentous
issue quite apparent. Fairly often have Everton been associated with
heavy,scoring in League matches, and the brilliance of their football has
often given them tall goal crops.
Always a fine side to watch, always playing the game on its best
lines, and ever strong and resolute in the whole of their work, the
players have done many things to keep the interest of the great city
well alive. The records show us that Everton scored seven goals against
Burnley in the season of i89o-9 i, eight each against Darwen and
Sheffield Wednesday in IS93 -94, seven against Stoke in iS9 J-96, eight
against Stoke in 1889-9o, seven each against Sunderland and the
Albion in 1893-94, whilst scores of six have been common enough; and
ever memorable will be the remarkable game played by Everton at
Owlerton last season against Sheffield AVednesday, when in the first half
the visitors put on five goals by football of an amazing character, and
then, losing their custodian through accident, lost five themselves
in the second half, and the game ended in a five-goals tie. A
great side on form throughout the League tourney, and a fine Cup-
fighting team too, though so far unsuccessful in securing its name on
the trophy.
There are those who aver that Everton do not make up agreat Cup-
fighting side. Those who hold such views should have been at the
Palace in the final of 1896-9i when the Villa won by three goals to two
after the finest final that has yet been fought, and one --herein the
quality of football could scarcely have been of a higher standard,
especially considering the excitement engendered by the various occur-
rences. The Villa led, Everton equalised; the ATilla led, Everton
equalised; and the ATilla led again and won ! This is abrief epitome of
the progress of the struggle, but not even full details could tell the full
story of that mighty match in which the heroic efforts of one man alone
—letting all the others go—deserved to win the Cup for his club and
yet failed. Irefer to John Bell, -Tho never played agreater game, and
-Those magnificence was in every one's mouth. That match alone
should suffice to make Everton's reputation as aCup-figbting team, and
no one who saw the game would readily decry the possibilities of the
team when playing in that particular competition. Not only has the
..« . WAVS
 Everton's Cup-Tie Struggles 143

team been in the final twice, it has made its name and prowess felt in
many asemi-final.
In 1893 two drawn games against Preston North End—two
tremendous struggles they were—gave Everton the eventual right
to play in the final against the Wolves. The game was played at
Fallowfield, where occurred one of several scenes on the virtually
unprotected ground, and where the Wolves, playing a tremendous
game, won by the only goal of the game. Then came the 1897 final
already referred to, in which the Villa won, and where Everton had
gained entrance through ahard-earned but decisive victory over Derby
County at Stoke. And then last season, when Everton, finding
themselves drawn in the semi-final against Aston Villa, played their
old opponents to a draw at Stoke, and then going on to Nottingham
lost two goals early on, and then for half-an-hour in the second half
had the Villa defence in so complete atangle as to make their victory
assured. But it did not materialise, and the Villa scrambled home to
win the Cup once more. So much for Everton. It has made no vast
inroads on the highest distinctions of the game, but it has played arare
part in the season's work, and stands out as one of the best-governed
organisations in the whole country. It deserves success, and what has
already come is no guide to what may yet be expected.
The Everton Executive in their time have probably had to do with
more "brilliant failures " than any other League directorate. It is no
secret of course that they themselves do not stand out each as an
individual item in a model management. On occasions some weird
notions on the subject of team-building have emanated from the Goodison
council chamber. Little wonder perhaps that the forwards who were
shuffled about nearly every fortnight had faint chance of denying the
soft impeachment heard some time back that the club had not got an
attack worth arow of pins. This season, however, matters have turned
out for the better. The front line is now fit to match with the rest
of the team, and the whole bids fair to emerge successfully from the
League tourney and to strike abold blow for the Cup. The experience
of the past in the competition last named unfortunately has been a
shattering of hopes and ambitions just when honours were within grasp.
A magnificent pyrotechnic display, with massed bands blowing in
triumphant key, had been arranged for the night on which the "Blues "
were so fondly expected to bring the Cup back from Fallowfield nearly
twelve years ago ;but alas for them it was Harry Allen, the captain of

3
 s . .W

144 Association Football

the "Wolves," who kicked the winning goal that afternoon, and luck
has never been kind since. Everton have abeautifully balanced team.
The question is, Will it stay the course through? The team is now
composed of—
Scott, a versatile Irishman, who came into the Everton goal on
Roose deciding to go to Stoke. Is an old Cliftonville player and
full of pluck. Played often for his country and is best under hot fire.
Balmer, the younger of two great brothers, both backs. This
is probably the better of the two. Dicks a wonderful length, and is
dead sure. Tackles well, and altogether afine lusty back. A local lad
like his brother.
Crelley, another local player, one who had to fight hard for his place,
but is now recognised as one of the most reliable members of the team.
A powerful kick and adetermined and safe tackler, whilst he covers his
goal excellently.
M.akepeace, still another product of local football. Came into pro-
minence last season, when he swiftly gained aregular place on the side.
Cannot now be left out: plays too well. Has already gained honours
with the League, and will yet do so for his country unless his critics and
friends are sadly out in their reckoning.
Abbott, a Birmingham man who used to play for Small Heath in
the old days, but he has made his name with Everton. One of
a great line, and one who has made hard straight shooting from
long range quite a speciality, some of his shots being like cannon
shots, and often scoring when his own forwards are completely
I inoperative.
Booth, who has never yet played up to form for his country: never
plays below it—or seldom—for his club. A strong, clever half-back
who went to Everton from Blackburn Rovers. As good with the cue
as with the football, and reputed one of the best billiard players in big
football to-day.
Sharp, the little Lancashire cricketer, still fleet of foot and still
as popular as ever. Carries the ball splendidly along the line and
whips it into goal like arocket, though not so straight up. Only like
a rocket for its speed and for its power in "getting there." A fine
winger, who played against Scotland last year at the Palace, and who
still sighs for his English Cup gold medal.
Oliver, awell-made youngster, who went to Everton from Brentford,
and on the occasion of his League debut scored three goals. Is highly
 A Split with Everton 145

spoken of, and though hardly aregular member of the team, looks like
being so soon.
Young, aScotsman who went to Everton, and proved the best find
the club has had for some time. A fine shot, and big enough to work
his way through most defences. Often does so, and asure shot.
Settle. Little, but extremely good. Has played at Bolton and
Bury, and went from Bury to Goodison Park six years ago. Has done
wonders since then. Few more dangerous men close in goal : scores
when the goalkeeper isn't looking—so it seems ;but whether looking or
not, the goalkeeper is often beaten when this diminutive marvel finds
the ball at his foot. A delightful combination player, and one who,
taking the highest honours, has well deserved them all.
Hardman, a Blackpool amateur who has done fine service for his
club, and who was put into England's team against Wales last year and
did well in spite of a nasty injury. Full of brilliant speed, can centre
well, and shoots, as most amateurs do, with electric force.

ORIGIN OF THE LIVERPOOL CLUB

The Liverpool Club owes its existence to asplit with Everton as to

the rental of the Anfield Road ground, then the club's headquarters, and
which was the property of Mr. John Houlding. Everton decided to
move, and at ameeting of gentlemen who were on Mr. Moulding's side,
held at that worthy's residence in the spring of 1892, it was decided to
form an opposition, not in name but in fact, to the older organisation.
The name of Liverpool was conferred upon it, the Football Association
decided that it was agood name and not calculated to do the existing
Liverpool Rugby Club any harm, and after some slight delay, owing to
property on the Anfield Road ground, the fledgling secured membership
of the Football Association and also of the Lancashire Association.
It showed its appreciation of the latter honour by securing the
championship of the combination in the first year of its existence,
wlnning seventeen matches out of twenty-two and scoring sixty-six
goals. The club was - in excellent hands, there was an infinite fund of
enthusiasm behind it, and though the team for the first year or two
was very largely composed of Scotsmen, the inevitable leaven began
to creep in, though Liverpool has ever held a kindly feeling for the
Northerner. As amatter of fact the first team was exclusively Scotch,
VOL. H. K
146 Association Football
and finely it played, though often enough before empty benches. But
success breeds success of another kind, and it was not long before the
public began. to find out that not only at Goodison Park was fine
football to be seen, but on the old ground of the Everton Club
as well, and before long the
ambitious purposes of Liverpool
began to have some reason be-
hind them.
At first when, quite a babe
in football, the club made appli-
cation for membership of the
First Division of the League, the
representatives of that organi-
sation smiled affably but said
"No." However there came a
different story as time went on.
It was impossible for the League
to remain or to be blind to the
many excellences of this very
pushful child which was grow-
ing up so fast in the great city.
In the first year of its history,
in addition to the victory in
the Lancashire League already
referred to, the Liverpool Cup
Photo: "Frys A1agaznze"
-was won without a goal being
J. cox scored against the winners' de-
Liverpool and England
fence, and aplace in the Second
Division was secured in the
second year of Liverpool's existence. But prior to that the club had
found out what responsibility means.
Before the second season opened the cups of the Liverpool and the
Lancashire Associations were both stolen, and close on Z13o had to be
disbursed from a by no means healthy looking exchequer to replace
these trophies. What kind of a team this was which gained aplace in
the Second Division of the League in the second year of its history it
showed right away, and refusing to lose asingle one of its twenty-eight
matches, won the championship in a walk. Six were drawn, but the
superb fi gures of fifty points out of a possible fifty-six stood to the
i
 i

Liverpool Win the Championship 147

credit of the club when all was finally reckoned up. In that year the
Second Division included such clubs as Woolwich Arsenal, Walsall,
Small Heath, Burslem, Grimsby, Newcastle United, Notts County,
lliddlesbro' Ironopolis, and Ardwick, now 1llanchester City, so that
Liverpool's victory was by no means one without merit.
This brought the club into the first class with aflourish, and indeed
at this time it was being much talked about in football circles. In
addition to the League honours which had been secured, it had had the
distinction of defeating Preston North End in the English Cup, whilst
the crowning mercy came when in the accruing test match Newton
Heath, on whose ashes Manchester United has arisen, went under at
Blackburn, and so entrance to the First Division of the League was
made certain. What the club has done there is matter of history. It
quite failed to repeat earlier successes in its first year, and finishing last
of all, met with defeat at the hands of Bury in the test match. Thus,
if the Liverpool Club was abubble, the bubble had been pricked in a
single season ;but it was no bubble. Back in the First Division so
soon as was possible, the team finished fourth, and for eight successive
seasons Liverpool remained in the First Division, and were worthy
members of that class.
In 1898 -99 the second position was won, whilst two years later the
championship itself was secured. What a finish there was in the last
month of the season of 1898 -99 every one must remember; how on
loth April Liverpool had forty-one points and two matches to play, and
the Villa had thirty-nine points and three matches in hand, of which the
last was against Liverpool on the Villa ground on the last day of the
season. Liverpool gained two more points from the Rovers, but the
Villa finished superbly. On 22nd April they defeated Notts County by
six goals to one, on the 24th they discomfited the Albion by seven goals
to one, and then, with both teams equal in points, came the crowning
game of all. But Liverpool found the marvellous dash and enthusiasm
of the Villa too much for them, and succumbed by five goals to nothing,
the Villa thus claiming the championship by two points, the product of
this final game, and havinu finished their season in almost incredible
fashion, scoring eighteen goals against two in their three last matches,
all of which were played on the Villa enclosure.
The League has known nothing greater than this, and whilst
Liverpool could be condoled with upon their undoing, they fell before a
team which just then was playin g football of a stamp which had no
 -W

148 Association Football

parallel. Liverpool has been well served by fine players during its
history. T. Wyllie of Glasgow Rangers was one of its earliest men of
mark; others that may be enumerated prior to the formation of the
present side are the Hannahs ;Miller of Dumbarton, Sheffield Wednes-
day, and Derby County ;the two M`Queens ; and the ever-striving
James Ross, one of the finest inside rights that ever touched aball, and
who was one of the brilliants in the palmy days of Preston. Goldie of
the Glasgow Clyde was alater recruit, together with Allen, the big and
very clever centre forward whom Foulke once stood on his head in the
mud, and for which offence a penalty was given against the Sheffield
United custodian, from which Allen scored. Poor Allen is dead now,
but he played a big part in Liverpool's fortunes so long as he was able
to play.
Writing of football in the city of Liverpool, one must not close
without fitting reference to the men who have made the city famous in
this way. Mr. Alderman Houlding has done splendid service for both
clubs, and has ever spent such money as was requisite with alavish and
a ready hand. Mr. J. J. Ramsey in connection with Liverpool, Mr.
M`Kenna, and Mr. Tom Watson, the present secretary for the same.
club, and Mr. R. Alolyneux, ever courteous and self-sacrificing, Dr.
Baxter and Mr. Cuff—these are names indissolubly associated with
the fortunes of Everton. Football in the city has been strongly
supported, but that has become possible largely through the fact that
it has also been strongly controlled. The following are the members
of the team :—
Hardy, who has superseded Doig in goal, is aChesterfield lad who
joined his present team last summer. A safe, clever goalkeeper ; one
who never fails through showiness. Essentially sound, and saves
penalties as though brought up on them. A decided acquisition to
the team, which has not lost amatch whilst he kept for it.
Dunlop, one of the longest, finest kickers in the League. A
tremendous punch, and always seems to hit the ball where it should
be hit. Can steer it eighty yards down the very touch-line as easily
as he can lift it into the centre of the field, and one of the most
accurate kicks we know. Wonderfully fine tackler, and one of the best
Scottish backs doing service on this side.
West, an old Barnsley man who made a big name for himself in
Second Division football, and who is making a bigger now in bigger
company. A brilliant kick in any position or extremity, and a fine
 Best Goal-Scorer of the Day X49

tackler. Got shot through a pistol accident last year, but plays as
though he has forgotten all about it now.
Parry, a well-capped Welshman, who has also been with New
Brighton. A resourceful and untiring half-back who seldom plays
below his form.
Raisbeck, one of three great light-haired laddies who used to
represent their country in great matches, the others being Robertson
and Boyle. A brilliant half-back, grand with his head, but bad to beat
anyhow. His quiet methods against the cleverest centre forwards have
often given him what looked an impossible success.
Bradley, who was transferred to Liverpool from Stoke midway
through the present season. One of the most tireless half-backs in the
country. Not brilliant, but a rare worker and a very worrier to the
opposing wing.
Goddard, outside right, went from Glossop for a big price which
many other clubs also wanted to give for his transfer, but were too
late. A very fast winger, who sweeps the ball in at a rare pace and
scores with ripping shots. Played at Tottenham in an international
trial match the same day as Vivian Woodward, but was not asuccess.
Robinson, his partner, the old Sunderland man, agood forward, and
one who plays to his partner with unfailing skill and determination.
Hewitt, who is taking the place of the injured Parkinson as centre
forward; a rare worker and a fine shot. Scored three goals against
Middlesbrough up north, and is aprolific goal-getter.
Raybould, from Ilkeston, Chesterfield, and New Brighton ; aplayer
who seems to know by intuition where the goal lies, and usually heads
the goal-scoring list for his club. Dashing and skilful, he makes many
openings for himself, and invariably utilises them well.
Cox, awily winger built much on the same lines as Meredith. Is a
L.iverpool lad who has played for Blackpool, and who uses afine turn of
speed and centres grandly. Played against Scotland three years ago,
and did splendidly against avery powerful defence.

BLACKBURN ROVERS

Room for the Rovers! Bonnie lads of Blackburn—and some parts

of Scotland—who were the darlings of the gods in the eighties, and
champions among Cup-fighters Always to be remembered as the first
ISO Association Football
club which attempted to break down the monopoly of the Old Boy
brigade at the Oval. The glamour of their later run of successes—
five times Cup --inners between 1884 and i go i—still clings to the
blue-and-whites, and there are men in the team fully worthy of ranking
-with those celebrities of the past—Fergie Suter, Hughie lI `Intyre,
Jimmy Forest, Jimmy Brown, and others, whose names are still as
familiar as household words in the now unromantic vale of the Black-
water. It is rather unkind, yet one cannot help reproducing that pfean
of praise which (published in advance) was to have been sung in com-
memoration of their victory over the Old Eton boys:—

THE OLD ETO\ Ik- S.

All hail, ye gallant Rorer lads!
Etonians thought you were but cads:
They've found at football game their dads
By meeting Blackburn Rovers."

Unfortunately the Rovers lost. There was some wagering on the

match if you like, and it is afact that more than one man had to turn
cottage property into ready cash in settlement of debts of honour. And
yet the refrain holds good for all time, and will, we trust, be sung of the
deeds of the descendants of those famous warriors in many asoul-stirring
triumph to come :—
"Here's success to all the team,
Who carry the palm, who are the cream
Of footballing, and raise the steam
To always win for the Rovers."

The feats of arms of the Rovers are by far the most glorious on
record. Other clubs reached a level of excellence, gained a few
transitory triumphs, and then faded away. The career of the Preston
North End, as agreat and representative club, cannot be compared to
the Blackburn Rovers. The early triumphs of the Rovers, and the
methods by which they obtained those triumphs, paved the way for the
introduction of an eleven wholly professional, and run on systematic
business-like lines, pure and simple, as the North End Club was in the
days of _Major Sudell. But North End have one solitary English Cup
triumph to show; the Rovers have had their name emblazoned upon the
national trophy on five occasions.
Ihave elsewhere done full justice to the prowess of the old Public
Schoolboy teams—London Wanderers, Old Etonians, Royal Engineers,
and Old Carthusians—but in their time Cup-tie strife was not so strenuous
 1"WWW 4000 IM IMM!W

The Golden Age of Football 151

as it was when Blackburn Rovers came prominently into the competition:

Powerful clubs had sprung up in many parts of the country by the
time the Rovers had to be reckoned with as aforce in the competition.
This meant that no club would ever win the English Cup again except
as the result of solid worth; form which had sufficed to secure the Cup
in the seventies would not stand achance under the altered conditions.
This fact must not be forgotten in estimating the worth of the Rover
elevens which six times appeared in the final—five times successfully—
in aperiod of ten years.
The period embraced by those years (1882-91) was without doubt
the golden age of football. In that period the Old Etonians, Queen's
Park, Preston North End, Notts County, Aston Villa, Bolton Wanderers,
and Nest Bromwich Albion were all at the zenith of their power. All
these clubs, with the exception of Aston Villa, were more powerful at
some period or other than (relatively speaking) they have ever been
since. 'That is a fact which makes the performances of the Rovers so
unique. During that period Queen's Park and Preston North End were
excessively strong, and yet the honours of the competition rested not
with them, but with the Rovers. The blue-and-whites were indeed.
born Cup-fighters; we shall probably never know their like again.
The Rovers shaped like acommanding side from the inception of the
club. They did not lose amatch in their first season. That in itself
would be a remarkable fact even under normal conditions, but the
performance was quite exceptional in that, as the club had no ground,
the whole of their games were decided on the field of the teams they
opposed. That was a greater disadvantage to the Rovers than would
appear to the casual modern reader, for fields then possessed remark-
able individuality, so to speak. Those of my Midland readers who
recall the old Saltley College ground, the old Small Heath ground,
and even the old Aston Villa ground, with its miniature Snowdon near
the top goal, will understand what I am driving at. Naturally I do 1
not remember so well the grounds on which these early Lancashire
matches were played, but I will wager that they all bad their little
peculiarities; peculiarities which, roughly, meant at least a couple
of goals to the home team.
Formed in 1874. by Mr. John Lewis, the eminent referee, the
Rovers did not obtain their ground on the Alexandra Meadows until
1876. Mr. Lewis, Mr. Birtwhistle, and Mr. Walter Duckworth, who
played in their first match, are still loyal workers on the club's behalf.
152 Association Football
One of their most notable members, although not aregular player, was
A. N. Hornby, the greatest Rugby expert in the North of England, and
an indispensable member of the English international fifteen. Air.
Hornby was an old Harrovian, and was therefore not a stranger to the
Association game, for Harrow was, in Hornby's day, the great nursery of
the dribbling code. Did it not furnish the game, when in its infancy, with
C. AIT. Alcock, Al. P. Betts, and other stalwart exponents ? The game
with Partick Thistle, at Blackburn, in 1878, when Hornby played such
a fine game at half, is still recalled by old Association enthusiasts.
Fergie Suter, later agreat back for the Rovers, was in the Partick eleven
that day.
_Malvern School, also a great nursery of Association football—the
leading Midland clubs always used to meet Malvern School in the early
days—did a great deal for the Rovers. It supplied them with three
great players in Fred AAT. Hargreaves, D. H. Greenwood, and John
Hargreaves, at a time when what I may call trained footballer§ were
very scarce in the North of England. Iwell remember Greenwood
and John Hargreaves being at Malvern ;the Calthorpe, Birmingham's
leading club, used to play at Malvern regularly. Hargreaves and Green-
wood were contemporaries at Malvern with F. AV. Stratford and R. B.
-

King, two of the finest schoolboy half-backs ever seen out; Stratford
subsequently played for the Wanderers. Here is a criticism written
of Hargreaves while he was a boy at _Malvern in 1877, two years
before he turned out with the Rovers : "J. Hargreaves is second
to none in style, and his stature enables him to pass freely under the
arches made by the legs and arms of others. He has the true knack of
the dribble, and we shall be surprised if he is not very good another
year." He was good in other years—indeed, he, Greenwood, and Fred
Hargreaves were all internationals later. Fred Hargreaves was the
first of the Rovers' glorious band of internationals, he. being awarded
his cap against Wales in i 880.
The Rovers of this day owed a great deal to the energy of their
officials. They were, Ishould say without hesitation, the first club to
have a really representative list of fixtures, and in the seasons of
1879-8o and 188o-81, their enterprise set the whole football world
talkin g. 'Then Fergus Suter left Darwen and partnered Greenwood,
and Hugh M`Intyre came from Glasgow to help Fred Hargreaves, the
Rovers found themselves with a magnificent defence ; whilst the
acquisition of Douglas (late of Renfrew, who had been living at Barrow),
 Lost but Two Matches in a Season 153

Jimmy Brown (one of the greatest centres of all time), and George
Avery made the forward line the most talented in the whole
country.
It was not until 1879-8o that the Rovers entered either the Lan-
cashire or the English Cup competitions; but they were not long in
getting to work. They reached the third round in the national
struggle, and went right through to the final in the county com-
petition—Darwen beating them --o—and thus holding the Cup for
the first and only time. That defeat probably stirred the Rovers on
more than any defeat which ever fell to their lot.
But the hours of their great triumphs were at hand. In T88o-81
the Rovers had awonderful season, playing forty-one matches, of which
they lost but five, while they scored 214 goals to 52. This was, how-
ever, merely preparatory to greater triumphs in the next season, which,
despite the one great and overwhelming disappointment, was in many
respdcts the most notable season the Rovers ever had.
In T882 the club migrated to the Leamington ground, and aseries
of the most brilliant victories ever associated with football fell to them.
They fought their way into the final of both the English and the
Lancashire Cup competitions, and when they appeared to oppose the
Old Etonians at the Oval they had played thirty-five matches, of which
they had won thirty-one and drawn four. They had all the best of the
play, but they were beaten, and it was evident that they were suffering
from the effects of their severe exertions of the season. They lost by
a goal to nil. They were. a sorely disappointed side, but they made
some amends for their failure by beating Accrington in the final of the
Lancashire Cup by three to none. They only lost two matches that
season.
The Lancashire Cup was again won in 188-, but the English Cup
was not, that distinction falling to the, lot of their townsmen, the
Olympic. But their triumphs were about to begin.. After a great
game with Notts County at Birmingham in the semi-final—and what
old llidlander does not recall that struggle—the Rovers again appeared
at the Oval. The opposition was tremendous. Queen's Park, a great
side even without extraneous assistance, had practically an international
eleven. But the Rovers beat them, and those goals by Jimmy Brown
and Forrest were cheered as no other goals at the Oval had ever been
cheered. The Queen's did not take their defeat so well as they have
generally done—for on the whole there has never been amore sports-

:rr.
 Association Football
manlike club—and they insinuated that Major Marindin had not been
quite just to them. But the Rovers were the more effective side, and
deserved their success. What delirious excitement there was at the
dinner after the match, and what a hero Brown was on the return
of the eleven to Blackburn, where they had a reception which could
not have been more frantically
r •,1 enthusiastic
In the following year the
same clubs were in the final,
; 2 L •, and again the '
Rovers won, and
k 4 won deservedly. Queen s Park
'r never entered again. For the
third time in succession the
~• Rovers carried off the Cup.
They met the plucky Nest
Bromwich Albion in the final,
tmk
e

and at the call of time neither

= side had scored. Then, for the
first time in the history of the
' competition, the final tie was
decided out of London and at
Derby the Rovers were un-
doubtedly the better side, and
' r won by two goals to nothing.
'Three seasons went by, and then
in 18go, with ateam from which
Photo: J. Russell &a Sons Jimmy Brown, Douglas, Herbert
C. SAGAR Arthur, Hugh M`Intyre, Sour-
Manchester United and England butts, and Fergus Suter were
missing, but which included
Harry Campbell (of Renton), John Forbes, J. Barton, G. Dewar, and
James and John Southworth, the Rovers defeated Sheffield 111ednesday
by the record score of 6-1. In the following year they beat Notts
County 3-1, and so won the Cup five times in eight seasons, using only
twenty-eight players to accomplish this remarkable performance. For
their three great successive victories the Rovers only called upon
sixteen players—a tribute to the prowess of the footballers serving
the club.
On seven occasions have the Rovers carried off the Lancashire Cup.
 I
i

Played with a Dislocated Knee 155

Their versatile half-back, James Forrest, had the distinction of playing

in the whole of the five finals, and has been the only modern footballer
to win five final tie medals. C. H. Wolaston, of the Wanderers, had a
similar experience, but it was scarcely gained under the same conditions.
In these clays of levelling up the present team does not quite occupy
its old commanding position, but it is still representative of much that
is best in Association football. The following are the players :—
R. O. Evans, the captain of the team, has gained for himself a
position amongst the highest flight of goalkeepers. Cool, calm, and
collected, he is a master beneath the bar. High, low, or wide shots
come alike to him. Skilful to a degree, he is quickness personified, and
rarely indeed does he misjudge the flight of the ball. Bold and daring,
lie is one of the most fearless players that ever stepped on afield. Two
seasons ago the Rovers won at Liverpool by the odd goal of the match
mainly through his brilliant exhibition, which made such an impression
upon the crowd and roused them to such a pitch of enthusiasm that
at the finish of the contest they swarmed on the ground and attempted
to carry him off. Another example of his pluck was seen when Evans
was keeping goal for Wales against Ireland at Cardiff' in igo1. Not
Iona after the start he had the misfortune to dislocate his knee.
Realising, however, what his absence would mean to his side, he had
the joint bound up with yards of linen, and stood his ground until the
conclusion of hostilities, an act which will ever be remembered by his
compatriots. During the season Evans guarded the Principality's
charge against England, Scotland, and Ireland, and this winter the
selection of the same honour rests between the Rover and L. R. Roose.
Evans was born at Wrexham in 1881. He was initiated in his present
art by the town club, who won the Flintshire Cup in 1902 without
having a goal recorded against them, eloquent testimony to Evans'
greatness. In East Lancashire the Welshman is considered the finest
custodian the Rovers have had since the days of Herby Arthur—a
compliment which Evans cannot fail to appreciate.
The Rovers' best "find " of recent years is Arthur Cowell, their
left back. Last season this player was associated with the Lancashire
Combination club, Nelson. Whilst with that organisation he impressed
the Rovers' officials to such an extent that they signed him. His
sterling exhibitions with the reserve eleven led to him being promoted
to the premier team against Notts County on the 23rd September.
From that date he has retained his position, keeping out of the eleven
1•6 Association Football
the Scottish international, Jack Cameron. Up to the present time he
has not given a single indifferent display. He is always powerful, yet
to see him on the field he looks a mere stripling. Cowell, who is the
youngest defender in the Lea gue, being only nineteen years old ; is a
wonder. In the possession of resource and dash, he infuses into his
play any amount of spirit. He times his movements to perfection, and
his kicking and tackling is of the strongest order. Before joining
Nelson, Cowell played for St. Peter's in the Blackburn and District
Sunday School League, in which Bob Crompton (international), Fred
Blackburn (international), now of West Ham, .Arnold -fihittaker (Inter-
League player), and -files Chadwick, were schooled in the game which
they now make their profession.
-Tiles Chadwick, the outside left, is the youngest forward playing
regularly in the First Division to-day. He has climbed the ladder
of fame very quickly, yet, thanks to having his head screwed on
the right way, the speed of his ascendency has not upset him. Three
seasons ago he commenced playing with a Blackburn junior club called
Spring Bank Rovers. Then he went to Blackburn St. Philip's, -with
whom he gained a gold medal, owing to the team winning the Sunday
School League Cup. Darwen next got hold of him, and after serving
them one season he came to the Rovers, whom he has represented in
every League game since the beginning of September. For a player
of his size he is one of the pluckiest performers imaginable, and he
never shirks a back, no matter how, strong or big he may,be. Though
quite a yo -
ath, Chadwick is a polished player. Backs find his habit
of putting the ball past them and then racing after it exceedingly
awkward, for Chadwick drops in the most deadly centres. A teetotaller
and anon-smoker, Chadwick promises to have abright career.
Adam Bowman, the inside left, is the Rovers' crack marksman.
Last year he was the club's top goal-getter, and this season he also leads
the way. He is a marvellous shot, and whenever he gets possession
within firing range there is eager expectancy among the Ewood Park
spectators. One of the strongest, if not the strongest, shots in the
League, the majority of his goals are scored from a range of upwards
of twenty yards. Once when playing for Everton Reserve he
registered six goals ;but whilst he has not equalled that performance
in the First Division, he would have surpassed it if only those shots
could be counted which were only inches wide. The curious thing
about his long shots is that he never appears to exert himself—he does
 ..►

Some Scots "Rovers " 157

the trick with the minimum of effort. Prior to becoming connected

with the Plovers, Bowman was associated with Everton for two seasons,
but was given little chance of shining with them, and, to use his own
words, was glad to leave them. Born in Forfarshire, in his teens
Bowman played for a junior club called the Celtic. Then he went to
the Perth Football Club, who gained the Athol Cup by beating Vale
Athol by seven goals to three in the final. Bowman scored four of
those seven goals, one more than he recorded against Birmingham at
Blackburn this season.
James Robertson, the inside right, is another of the Rovers' young
forwards, for he has yet to attain his majority. He was transferred
i, from the Vale of Leven Football Club in May with the reputation of
being one of the best players that club had turned out. He was drafted
into the Rovers' first team at Sunderland on 21 St October, and with the
exception of one match he has retained his place since. He religiously
plies Whittaker with passes straight to his feet, and this has enabled
the little flier to show his true form. Robertson, though he uses his
]lead too frequently, does not dally with the ball, but instantly sets
off for goal until such time as it is necessary to feed his other colleagues
or attempt a shot himself. Critics believe that Robertson will develop
into arattling exponent.
W. Davies, the centre forward, is aplayer who threw in his lot with
the Rovers last April. Liverpool were bent upon securing his services,
but throu gh the gentle persuasions of Evans, his captain, he came to
Blackburn, where he is happy. Davies is a short and dogged player,
a man full of dash and determination. He has a particular habit of 1.

charging goalkeepers, and frequently comes under the ban of the referee
for offences in this direction. Very nippy, lie easily eludes defenders
and opens out the game with long passes in a style deserving of the
highest commendation. Davies, like Evans, was born at Wrexham,
and for the town club proved a prolific goal-getter. Whilst playing
for them in one match—a final for a cup—be charged the opposing
custodian into the net five times. He has twice represented wales
against Ireland, and the odds are in his favour of again appearing for
the Principality this season. He is undoubtedly the best centre the
Rovers have had for many years.
William APIver, the reserve custodian, was a member of the
Darwen (Lancashire League) team when the Rovers persuaded him
to join their ranks as an understudy to Walter Whittaker, and after-
r

158 Association Football

wards to Evans, the Welsh international. Though not tall for a
custodian—he stands 5 feet 8 inches—he can deal with high shots as
efficiently as low ones. He is cool, alert, and active on the field,
and is never caught napping.
Robert Crompton, the right back, is one of fortune's favourites.
To whatever he turns his hand or foot success seems assured. Built
on the lines of a pocket edition of Goliath, he has plenty of speed,
courage, and confidence, and is a mighty kicker and fearless ;but,
as a good skipper should be, a scrupulously fair tackler. On his
form of the last four seasons lie has no superior as a right back, and
on his play in the current season he has no rival. He is always in
deadly earnest in the field, and occasionally talks to the men with
a vigour and directness which are refreshing, although at his own
request he has been relieved of the captaincy this year. He has thrice
led the English international team against Scotland, twice played
against Wales, and once against Ireland; while he has had Inter-League
honours three years in succession. By trade he is a plumber, and
in partnership with another he has brought out a patent which the
Blackburn Corporation have adopted.
Samuel AVolstenholme, the right half-back, a veteran with all his
wits, came from Everton. It was said that the Mersey City club
parted with him because he had seen his best day, but he has shown
consistently good form with the Rovers, and proved that he has
excellent football in him yet. His running is very deceptive, for
when he seems to be moving somewhat slowly, he is, as a matter of
fact, travelling very few yards outside "evens," as opposing forwards
frequently enough discover. He has an eye for an opening near goal,
and can shoot straight and hard. Like Bradshaw, he supports his
wing men with admirable passes, and is an adept in tackling.
John Birchall, the centre half, joined the club from Blackpool in
July igo;, at a time when matters were looking "glum " at Black-
burn. He has a long, raking stride, very similar to Sam AT'Clure's,
whose position he filled this season until he got a leg broken in the
match against Sheffield Wednesday. Birchall is here, there, and every-
where during the progress of a match. He never seems to tire, no
matter how fast the game may be, and is avaluable man indeed when
forced back into goal-mouth. Off the field he has no recreations in
winter, but in summer he indulges his fondness for cricket. He has
played for the Prescot Club.
 A Grand Shot 159

William Bradshaw, the left half-back, who came from Accrington

Stanley three seasons ago, has made history quickly. His stay in the
reserve string was very short, and he is now rightly considered to be
one of the best players in his position in the League. He is not a
showy fellow, but uses his brains, and never passes the ball wildly. He
is light of build, but successful application of scientific methods enables
him to make ample amends for this shortcoming. He tackles splendidly,
and "feeds "with almost unerring judgment. He is, moreover, agrand
shot, and can, if required, play an effective forward game. Apparently
he has modelled his style after that of Jimmy Forrest—the best half-
back the Rovers ever had—though he could never have seen that
celebrity. Local opinion is that he should receive international honours
this season.
Arnold Whittaker, the outside right forward, is a little 'un and a
good 'un. He is the speediest man in the team, can dribble better
than any of them, and can shoot with the best. He has been somewhat
unfortunate in not getting his cap against Scotland. If lie has a fault
in the field it is that he often sticks to the ball too long instead of
making his centres while the opposing goal is unprotected. But his
value to the team has been amply demonstrated, and emphatically
so this season, when he has had an unselfish partner in Robertson.
Whittaker is a partner in a drapery business, and when football and
drapery are not requiring his immediate attention, he is generally to
be found on the bowling-green. A typical Lancashire lad is Arnold,
"home-like and gradely."

PRESTON NORTH END

Perhaps the most wonderful Association club of all time began its
career as a Rugby organisation. It was in 1881 that Preston North
End changed from the Rugby to the Soccer game, and they received
their baptism of fire from the Blackburn Rovers, who defeated them by
sixteen goals to nil. It was not till 1884 that the club began to cause a
sensation in the football world.
North End obtained a start which their contemporaries were not
able to make up for nearly a decade. By initiating a new system of
football they obtained aunique position, and after that all was easy, for
while their supremacy lasted they were able to introduce the best foot-

- r
y. ... .`fiw .:Y.a h+S:4t-r .h1.__ . ..rK••.- .. ,.s-• ..
16o Association Football
baller of the day into any position which, in the opinion of the manage-
ment, required strengthening. The club went along swimmingly, on
the principle that nothing succeeds like success. But how did they get
such a formidable lead? Simply by being in advance of their time.
Veiled professionalism had existed in the North and Midlands, but
more particularly in East Lancashire, ever since the very early eighties.
Where you get big gates, you must almost of necessity get profes-
sionalism. There may be exceptions to this, but they are very raze.
Men used to get money when they wanted it; some few clubs paid their
players surreptitiously on amore or less fixed scale. But the rules of
the Football Association made it diffi cult then for any club to openly
avow its professionalism, and even to withdraw the men from their
avocations and put them through some such preparation as was given
to professional boxers, or runners, or oarsmen. Not only was it difficult;
it was practically impossible. Then professionalism was illegal, and it
was no use for a secretary to get together the strongest eleven in the
world if lie could not find opponents for them.
But Major Sudell, one of the ablest men the football world has ever
known, was shrewd enough to take the risk. It was a risk; of that
there can be no doubt. He determined to run a team of out-and-out
professionals—men who should make football their calling, and devote
themselves to it assiduously rather than spasmodically. That he chose
his team with marvellous precision and acumen cannot be doubted, but
it was the thoroitghness of their training, and their complete subordina-
tion of self to the interests of the side, which made North End supreme.
The man who studies every trick, who leaves nothing to chance, will
always beat the man who enters into competition with him unprepared.
The North End team—men of great natural ability, one must admit—
found themselves constantly pitted against elevens composed of men
half-trained or wholly untrained—men who saw afootball match once a
week, and who were semi-irresponsible. There was method in all that
the Preston team did, and their condition, their knowledge of combina-
tion, and the general understanding there was between the three lines—
forwards, halves, and backs—produced abody of footballers whom their
opponents were not meeting on equal terms. That is my estimate of
the causes which led to North End's wonderful supremacy. Of course,
the men were matched by amaster-hand; _Mr. Sudell did not pick up
men in any haphazard kind of way. The other clubs found too late
that ateam had arisen which was miles in front of them, and it was not
TM—R-t_I. OWUR l7e,
41 •
IA-m IT.IniMlF
 I

Shall we See their Like again ? 161

until they ran their elevens on the same lines that they began to make
up the leeway.
In what lay the strength of North End ? First and foremost, every
man in the eleven was aspecialist. I am quite sure that the bulk of
the men improved beyond measure after they came to Preston, but the
native talent was in them from the beginning. But there have never
been finer goalkeepers than W. C. Rose and James Trainer. Nick
Ross was possibly the finest full back that ever played. Apart from his
ability in kicking and tackling, there was an indefinable "devil "about
I Nick Ross's play which no man has ever possessed. We have had some
masterly backs since, but none of them have had quite his "devil."
When Nick Ross went for the ball, somehow or other the forward who
I either had it or hoped to get it felt that Ross was destined to annex it.
And he used to get it seven times out of ten. He had exceptional will
power; when you saw Nick Ross you knew that there stood aman in
earnest. When he stepped upon the field to play football, his whole
heart and soul were in the game. No man has ever played it with
greater zest and earnestness.
Both Bob Howarth and Bob Holmes were splendid backs; steady
and reliable, they were just the men to partner such adashing, fearless
fellow as Nick Ross. Few more judicious backs than Holmes have ever
been identified with the game.
Then what a matchless trio of halves the club had! Robertson,
Russell, and Graham. They could play any kind of game. If it came
to roughing it, the three could hold their own in any company. Graham
had to retire from the game as the result of accommodating certain
members of an amateur team who believed in playing the game with
charging "all in so to speak. Russell too was alion-hearted fellow,
and their skill was more than equal to their strength. All three were
perfect tacklers. Graham did some wonderful feats against clever
wing pairs, and few men ever broke up an opposing combination better
than Davie Russell, while all three combined perfectly with the skilful
quintette in front of them. When North End were defending, the
halves were found assisting the backs, but when the attack was pro-
ceeding—and usually North End were attacking—the halves acted in
perfect unison with the forwards. I remember what a magnificent
fellow Davie Russell was when stripped. Sandy Robertson was as
hard as nails; few men have ever maintained such a high standard
of excellence as the old St. Bernards man.
VOL. II. L
 -

162 Association Football

It is doubtful if any team have ever given such thrilling exhibitions
of forward play as North End. It was North End who initiated the
principle of play which obtains to-day. But the teams they met were
not able to play North End at their own game ;if they had to meet
modern defences it is quite certain that they would not have harvested
such crops of goals as they obtained. They scored twelve goals against
Bolton Wanderers when the redoubtable James Trainer, afterwards
welcomed into the North End fold, stood between the posts for the
Trotters. This of course was a greater feat than their oft-spoken-of
record against Hyde in the English Cup, when they ran up a total of
twenty-six goals. Another match, not so well remembered, was their
meeting with Renton, which, prior to the rise of North End, had been
universally spoken of as the finest team in the world. North End beat
the Scottish Cup holders by seven goals to nil !
Of course, North End were at their very best when they induced
John Goodall to leave Great Lever and throw in his lot with the
Deepdale contingent. John Goodall was the one man North End
coveted at that time, and they were not happy till they got him.
John Goodall was a much finer centre than Sam Thompson had been,
fine dribbler though the Lugar Boswell man was. John Goodall was
emphatically the finest centre of modern times.
Then John Gordon and James Ross have an immortal reputation as
awing pair. The way in which Ross used to draw the men off Gordon
and then shoot the ball out to him as Gordon stood ahead just on-side
as arule—and the manner in which Gordon heeled or passed the ball
back to Ross and left him with a clear opening, have never been
paralleled. Then what astrong, robust, dangerous pair lied Dewhurst
and Drummond were! Dewhurst used to draw the men towards him
just as Ross did, and Drummond used to hug the touch-line. No man
ever played closer to it; I believe he was a greater adept at it than
Bassett. Bassett had acleverer knack of running outside the touch-line
than Drummond had any idea of, but the margins between the touch-
line and the rails behind which the spectators stood were as a rule
much smaller then than they are to-day. There were no grounds
such as the Crystal Palace, where a man may avoid a charge by
running half-a-dozen yards outside the touch-line, in the days of old
North End. The present-day team, with Bond, the international
player, as a leading forward, bids fair to do well on its return to the
First Division of the League.
 A Fine Centre Forward 163

BOLTON WANDERERS

The Bolton. Wanderers Club will always be associated in kindly

memory with the name of Mr. J. J. Bentley, President of the Football
League, and who for many years did yeoman service on behalf of the
club, whose headquarters at the time were at dirty, dear, and dilapi-
dated Pike's Lane. What aground that was in the old times, especially
when any weight of rain had fallen, those teams whose bad fortune it
was to play there knew full well, and the Wanderers, revelling as they
always have done in heavy going, have pulled off some mighty perform-
ances on the famous old ground.
The Bolton Christ Church Club was formed in 1874, and three years
later was merged into one whose name became the Wanderers, nor has
that name been altered to this day, though more than one effort has
I been made since then to drop the Wanderers and call the club by the
town name alone. But the Wanderers, in between the time of the
name being first given and the effort to lop the latter part off, had done
much to endear the name of the club to its members, and so the
suggested alteration was negatived, and the "Wanderers "or "Trotters"
remain to-day. What is more, the club has possessed itself of many
high honours, and remains one of the best-known organisations in the
whole country. To the neighbouring village of Turton much of the rise
of the Wanderers is due, for there was rare enthusiasm in Turton, for
whose team Mr. Bentley, as he has often told us, was aregular playing
member for some time; but, as the Wanderers increased in power and
importance, so did the refulgence of Turton fade.
Like Aston Villa, the colours of the Bolton Club have been many,
till, after many vicissitudes, they have been toned down to white, the
wear of the present day. It was not long before the Bolton Club had
U

its forces strengthened by the inclusion of several Scotsmen of repute,

of whom perhaps the most notable was W. G. Struthers, a fine centre
forward from Glasgow Rangers, and one who for several seasons was
closely associated with the club's successes. Alen came south from
Arbroath also, and bit by bit the native element was ousted from the
Wanderers' team and Scotsmen predominated. 1llany of them found
employment in the mills of the neighbourhood, and Mr. 1llakant, who
for very many years takes up abig part in the records of the club, was
himself responsible for much of this extraneous employment.
 164 Association Football
But Bolton Wanderers were not Scotch mad. They knew good men
when they saw th em ,an d so th e team cont i
nua ll y found fresh faces

within its limits. Thus Derbyshire provided a goalkeeper of distinct

usefulness in Tom Hay, brother of the present chief of staff at Lord's
cricket ground, and who came from Staveley. Later on they found
another goalkeeper of merit and more than mere merit in James
Trainer, whilst later still came the giant in Rugby football, Sutcliffe,
from Heckmondwike. Exce ll en tas H ay was, he fades before the lustre
of these other two, who -were destined to make history as custodians
of the very highest class, and to prove th at th ey had no superiors
in their position. Denny Davenport went to the Wanderers, a Bolton
lad who developed into a great for-lard, and it is claimed in Bolton
that the Wanderers, with all their wealth of fine players and with
rare enthusiasm existing in their management, were to a large extent
responsible for the legislation eventually brought about through which
professionalism was allowed and the paid player became part and parcel
of the game.
Mr. Bentley's reign of office as secretary opened in 1885, and the
Wanderers under his control, though their. wage-list did not reach
twenty pounds per week, gained many honours. Th ey carr i
ed off th e

Lancashire Cup and the Derby Charity Cup, in addition to several other
distinctions of a minor character, and gradually forced the nam e ofth e
club into the very, highest circles of the game. Financial trouble s
came, as is the case with most clubs, and it --as very largely due to the
splendid work of llr. Bentley that the club was, after some years of
stress and sad anxiety, brought to a position of soundness and placed
in a position whereby the support of the outside public could more
effectually be relied upon, and through which happiness and freedom
from monetary,troubles was secured.
It was a signal but a -well-deserved honour when the Football
Lea gue was formed and --hen th e ••' an derers were. amongst the first
five clubs to be invited, and for some seasons they --ell justified the
position thus given them. Later in their history came that mighty
triumvirate, Sutcliffe, Somerville, and Jones, one of the greatest that
has been known in co nnecti on w ith League f oo tb all , and one whose

deeds have been sung on many an occasion. Stalwart and very strong,
they formed an almost impenetrable defence, and the muddy grounds at
Pike's Lane were particularly adapted to their style of play. By this
time, Sutcliffe, though coming direct from the Rugby game, where he
 A Welshman and a Scot 16 5

had gained the highest possible honours, had made his name in connec-
tion with the other code, and, perhaps through his Rugby knowledge,
he found the taking of the ball quite easy, and his work in goal was
brilliant year after year. Di Jones was one of the many Welshmen
who figured in the Bolton team coming from Chirk, and few backs
so strong or reliable have figured in the League. Somerville, more
polished and possibly more resourceful than Jones, subsequently

MILLWALL v. EVERTON (
ENGLISH Cur TiE)
A GOOD HEADER

became and still is the secretary to the club, and has done sound good
work for it off the field as well as on. He was a great full back, and
hovered round his goal in times of trouble like a hawk waiting for
the inevitable pounce. And then came the culminating point in the
Wanderers' history in the opening of Burnden Park, the present head-
quarters of the club, and which dates back to 1896. It is aspacious
and excellent enclosure five acres in extent, and capable of accommodat-
ing something like ;5,000 people. The playing piece is dead level from
end to end, but has acurious whale-back surface, so that those who are
166 Association Football
sitting at one side of the ground only have the upper half of players on
the opposite wing in their vision. It is claimed that this formation
is beneficial from the standpoint of drainage, but those who are
unaccustomed to it find it at first somewhat of ahandicap.
Right away from the institution of the League in 1888 the
Wanderers maintained their place, till in the season of 1898-9 they
finished next to the bottom, and had to stand down in the following
season. But the year after that found them back again, only to drop
out once more at the end of 1902-3, when they only claimed abeggarly
19 points as the outcome of a possible 68 points. That was due to
a terribly bad start, one which, during the past two seasons, has to
some extent been copied by their neighbours of Bury. In this most
disastrous season the Wanderers did not win amatch until January 17,
when they beat Notts County at Trent Bridge by three goals to one.
From then to the end of the campaign they won fourteen matches in
the League, but the damage had been done before then, and there was
virtually no hope of achieving a rescue for the indifference of the first
four months of the whole season.
In the following season the Wanderers, full of hope, did not rise to
expectations, and only finished seventh; but last season avery different
state of things was seen, and the First Division was again entered after a
campaign whose successes reflected the greatest credit on both team and
management. In the season 27 of the 34 matches were won outright,
and second place was secured to Liverpool with a difference of only
two points, and with 56 points out of apossible 68. This season opened
most disastrously, but bit by bit the team settled down to splendid
work, and at the end of the year, or half-way through the whole season,
was rightly regarded as one of the strongest and best-balanced sides
in the whole competition.
Nevertheless, and whilst recalling all that has been so well done
in the League, Bolton Wanderers will perhaps be most affectionately
regarded in that town for what the team has done in the progress of the
English Cup. As far back as 1882 the team was seen to distinction,
and in 1883 ran into the fourth round, then playing adrawn game with
Notts County, and succumbing ZD
at Pike's Lane before something like
20,000 people, the half of whom, as has been related, "saw the game
from an adjoining hill." Always a hard-to-beat side, the Wanderers
went on striving to gain a place in the later stages of that great
competition, and though beaten in the enterprise year after year, at last
 Cup-Tie Fighters
had their ambitions realised when, in the season of i89o, they went to
the old ground of the Villa Club at Birmingham and were there beaten
by Sheffield Wednesday in a soul-stirring struggle. They had their
revenge four years later, when they triumphed over the Wednesday
men in a similar stage of the struggle at Fallowfield, only to go under
to Notts County and poor Logan, at Goodison Park, the County at
that time being in the Second Division, but achieving a great and a
memorable victory by four goals to one.
Two years later the same two clubs, Bolton Wanderers and Sheffield
Wednesday, again came together in the semi-final, and again Wednesday
triumphed, this time by three goals to one, and not for another eight
years did the Boltonians reach such agiddy height in the big struggle.
Then for the second time in their history they ran into the final,
beating Derby County by asingle goal, and then losing to Manchester
City at the Palace, also by the only goal, one scored by Meredith, and
in a game whose evenness was in total contrast to general expectations.
Very eager in Cup ties, the Wanderers have always been more dreaded
in such matches than in battles of the League, and with such ateam as
is at present representing the club it is not saying too much to suggest
that this present season may easily find the long-standing ambitions
of Dolton people realised, and the name of the club at last engraved
on the Cup of cups. If so much honour should come the way of the
club, it will have come in no sense too hastily, and Bolton Wanderers
stand out to-day amongst the most redoubtable and distinguished
organisations in the world of football. Well-managed and with a rare
record of great names, it is only requisite that the Cup itself should
be won to put the coping-stone on the history of a prominent and a
successful club. The Wanderers, after a sojourn in the lower Division,
are again fighting great battles in the premier Division of the League.
 SECTION XV

PHASES OF FOOTBALL

BY AST. PICKFORD

HOW TO KEEP GOAL

IT is a curious fact in human nature that it is always easier to attack

than to defend. I do not, of course, mean that it was easier, in the
days of old, for men to storm a fortified town than for the defenders
to remain behind their huge and frowning battlements, and to drop
heavy and pointed implements and boiling pitch on the attackers. Nor
do Imean that it is easier for men to carry entrenched works in modern
battles than for those behind the works to keep them at bay with
Mauser bullets. I am referring rather to personal antagonism, where
men meet face to face. As, for instance, afight with the fists. Here
it is painfully clear, or at least it always was to me, that it is easier to
sail in hammer and tongs, like a thunderbolt let loose, than to stand
your ground parrying arain of blows. The French have asaying that
it is the first blow that counts. That is striking testimony to the
superiority of attack over defence. This superiority is evident for
several reasons. A man who attacks can select his time and method of
doing so. He may wait, delay, dodge and trick, and choose the most
opportune moment for the final shot. The man who defends has to
shape his defence according to the plan of attack, and consequently
has to act more promptly and with less time to prepare himself. A
goal may come in ascore of ways, each different from that expected by
the goalkeeper. He may be on the look-out for ahard shot, and get a
slow one. He may shape himself to repel a header, and be put out of
his stride by akick. The ball may be passed along aline of forwards,
and the goalkeeper be on pins lest every change in its position means a
goal. It is allowable, and indeed a point of the game, for players to
deceive one another as far as feinting and so on goes, but in every
168

i
 Qualities for a Goalkeeper 16 9
instance save that of the goalkeeper there is a chance of the next line of
defence saving the situation, but the goalkeeper has no one to help him,
and though he is endued with extra powers as to the use of his hands
and so on, he is the last of the defence, and the fact that it is so must
be a source of worry that the
forward, the half-back, and the
back never know. This mental
trouble that the goalkeeper has
is vastly greater than that of
any other player. Besides, the 4'
fact that if he fails all is lost, iL
and that there yawns behind
him a gulf twenty-four feet wide x •
by eight high which offers vast
openings for a small leather ball.;
to pass into, and that he never x - g

knows what is going to happen,x

and that the attack concentrates 4^

as it nears him, he has the isola-

tionof his post to fight against, '• r •
and the inaction of much of his
part in the match to overcome. Or
If his side are attacking, he is
free to relieve his mind of re-
sponsibility, but he rapidly cools
and coagulates, having no run- Fhoto: "Fry's Magazine"

ping about or other exercise to C. T\ 1. ASHCROFT

keep his limbs supple. Then Woolwich Arsenal

when the attack comes insidi-

ously toward him he is constantly on the horns of adilemma as to what
to do. No, thank you, Iam not wishful to be agoalkeeper.
Iam thinking that a man to be agood goalkeeper must be born to
it. Build and weight, and agility and quickness of ear and eye and
touch, a strong arm, tense muscles, excellence of judgment, coolness,
imperturbability, quick-wittedness, and the calculating brain, are all
required for a goalkeeper.. He must also be fleet of foot and courageous.
And these things cannot be manufactured, nor all of them gained by
practice. There must be the groundwork of them, or the goalkeeper
cannot be the result. Any one can keep goal, but there are very few
I7O Association Football
goalkeepers. But all these qualities are of no avail without great
experience. If it were possible to train a man to keep goal without
him having ever seen afootball match, he would be utterly lost on his
first performance in the real game. Many men shine in practice and in
kick-about who would be utter failures in amatch, just as it is so much
easier to score goals when kicking the ball in practice than it is in real
play. The best goalkeeper is generally admitted to be the one who
makes the most effective use of his hands. There are men whose
accuracy in meeting a shot with a kick is marvellous. I have one in
my mind now whose chief claim to the title of goalkeeper lay in the
fact that he was as safe as ahouse in kicking out low shots. It came
of his having originally learned to play half-back before he played in
goal, but he never made the most use of the defensive implements—his
hands—that the laws allowed. Always to use the hands in preference
to anything else should be the first motto for the goalkeeper. Whether
the ball comes in low or high, fast or slow, or there seems to be time
or it is atoss up, if it is possible to use the hands it should be done.
Except the closeness of the attack and the improbability of being able
to get at the ball with the hands warns the goalkeeper, he should never
fail to try and grasp the ball. There is no other way of fielding aball
with such accuracy and safety as by the hands. TMany a goal have I
seen lost by carelessness in this, and in big matches, too, where goals
and results are serious things.
For many high and hard shots at about the face height, punching
the ball is an excellent means of defence. It has an advantage in many
cases over catching the ball, in that it removes the ball far more quickly
from the danger zone, and though one cannot place the ball with any
accuracy when punching it, as can be done by throwing, the operation
is often more useful. In the case of high shots coming in, it is plain
that to catch the ball, recover one's feet, and throw it, involves aseries
of moves that, when forwards are on the run at record gait, means
some slight loss of time. The punch obviates this. By it a goal-
keeper can reach higher in the air, and stands no risk of being caught
with the ball in his possession and hustled through the goal. When
you think of the fact that a goalkeeper who never grasped the ball
could never be charged for "holding," the punch also carries with it no
little advantage. But if there is time the grasp is always safer. As a
rule, tipping the ball is not wise. The result is only to divert its course,
if ahard shot, by alittle, and not to stop it. But ahigh shot may be
 Y

•
Don't Run Risks I7I

tipped over the bar and a goal saved, though a corner kick is given
away. I hold that to do this, or in any other circumstance, a goal-
keeper has no right to grasp the cross-bar, and so, though Icould offer
advice as to the utilisation of the bar for purposes of defence, Iwill not do
it. "Carrying "the ball is avexed question. The laws say that agoal-
keeper must not "carry "the ball. The definition of "carrying "is that
it is taking more than two steps while holding the ball, or "bouncing
it on the hand." To be. able to carry the ball a couple of strides is
often of great value to a goalkeeper, but the breach of "carryin g "
means afree kick—always a source of danger near goal. Therefore a
goalkeeper should use his brains in regard to carrying. To bounce the
ball down on the ground may be done at the goalkeeper's will. It is
not an offence. But unless the man is very expert, it is aterrible risk
to run, and a goalkeeper should run as few risks as possible, seeing
that he is the last of the defence, and that his mistakes are not to be
remedied. What agoalkeeper may not do is to walk or dodge about
bouncing or tipping the ball from hand to hand, or bobbing it about
on the hand. The rules do not make any definite height for bouncing,
but Ithink that bouncing is not throwing, and that agoalkeeper who
throws the ball up any considerable distance and catches it again is
not bi-eaking the rule as to carrying. If an opponent runs up, and he
throws the ball over his head, and then runs round and catches it, he is
not carrying the ball. There is a tendency to construe carrying too
harshly, Ithink, and no need for it.

THINGS THAT TROUBLE A REFEREE

Of all the troubles that surround the referee there is one that is a
nightmare to him in his sleeping hours and a constant worry in his
wakeful moments. Few of us there are who have not experienced it.
It is the battle between his duty to the game at large, and his desire to
stand well with all men and advance in his profession. It is sometimes
thought—very often, I think, and very erroneously, I know—that a
referee lies on abed of roses. He gets his free and luxurious (!) travel-
ling, his change of scene and air, his welcome admission to football
matches, and is paid a fee. Hot tea—and sometimes cold whisky—is
placed before him, directors' cigar-cases have a most joyful way of
opening in his presence, and he is sognebody at any rate wherever he
I

172 Association Football

goes. Well, there are attractions in the life of a referee, though Ihope
the whisky bottle is not one of them; and, when things go smoothly,
it is an enjoyable, and sometimes remunerative, way of spending one's
Saturday afternoons and holidays.
Then there comes a time in the career of all, or, indeed, of nearly
all, for it will be admitted that the referee who is fortunate enough to
escape it is fortunate, when occasion demands that he should incur the
odium of sending a player, or players, off the field of play for mis-
conduct. The referee probably takes a high stand in his first trial of
this kind, and performs his duty valiantly and with determination, if
he has any grit. Probably he - waxes wroth at the stigma attaching to
foul play, and his heart beats high at his being in the position of a
minor Hercules cleansing a small Augean stable in his own might and
authority. He has made arighteous example of a foul player, and has
rid the game of one of its scandals. He takes his mental stand on
Law i- and pays no heed to the adverse yells from the spectators—a
5

proceeding, as likely as not, in greatest volume from the half-crown

covered stand. Like the village blacksmith, he has done something to
earn his night's repose. He pays no heed to the remarks that reach
him as he leaves the ground, and his breast swells with importance as
the officials of the home club, whose player has been ordered off, pay
him servile obeisance, and regret that he found it necessary to put the
law, in force with regard to poor Tompkins, who had never got into
trouble before, and hope that he won't be too hard on him. He sym-
pathises with the officials, but points out that he was there to perform
aduty and was bound to do it. Thus he takes his leave, in due course
reports the player, helps to lay the case against him, and hears with
some pleasure the vindication of his action by some responsible com-
mittee suspending the offender for a more or less—usually less—
lengthened period.
Let us, by amagic use of the literary art, transfer ourselves to the
next monthly meeting of the combination, whatever it is, at which the
referees for the ensuing period are appointed. That referee's name is
mentioned for another match, and is received with significant silence.
"All right," says one, "you can have him, but if you do you'll have
one of your men off. He got poor Tompkins a fortnight for doing
nothing at all, and the club lost their next two matches in consequence."
Opinions pass that the referee is not "safe," and he is shelved. Now
it is useless for you and me to criticise the action of a committee that
 Boycotting Referees 173

would, without further evidence, boycott a referee. Human nature is

the same in football as in individuals, and the "ordering off referee "is
not liked. We may all agree that it is playing the game very low,
that it is dragging it through the mud, that it is an abortion of justice,
that it is lynch law, or the like, but it is there. What is the effect on
the referee ? Is it not that he feels that in doing his duty he is
damaging his prospects in getting matches ? He may say that he
does not care; he will do his duty at all hazards, but such a one has

Photo: B✓laden Bros.

GOALKEEPER THRONING OUT OF GOAL

indeed a very fine spirit, and I fear that such backbone is not as
common as it might be. While the -Teak-kneed referee may be seriously
injured by such means, even the strong one is liable to deterioration.
The boycott has a subtle effect. Even if it be not open, even if it
exist only in a man's imacrination, its influence is evil, for when next
that referee finds the circumstances repeat themselves, under which he
ordered Tompkins off, he is tempted to temporise. Hitherto he has
followed in his action the rules laid down for him by the authorities;
be has tried to give his awards without considering either their effect
174 Association Football
on the game or on himself; he has done it automatically; but now
he realises that penalty kicks that change the fortunes of a game, and
the suspending of players in the middle of a busy season, are not loved
by club managers. If. he hesitates he is in danger, and perhaps he is
already lost.
Let me say aword of encouragement to him at this juncture. 10
referee who maintains his self-respect and his independence, and who
is at the same time capable and consistent, need fear. He is lost if he
allows expediency or unworthy thoughts to sway his judgment. At
the same time, this evil of the boycott does exist, and the question is
how to remedy it.
This is agigantic task, and would need almost a revolution in the
system of referee appointments. It means the weeding out of all
incompetent men, and then the automatic appointment of the first-class
remainder to the big matches by bodies absolutely independent of interest
or feeling. Where shall we find such a body that would, on the one
hand, ruthlessly root out the inferior referees, and, on the other hand,
carry out the tremendous work of appointing to all the important com-
petitions playing under Association rules ? It is easy to set up an
ideal system, but difficult to live up to it. And even if one could so
arrange matters it would not entirely do away with the grievances of
clubs, and some of them. Iam bound to admit, real and genuine. Who
would like to say, for instance, that it is wise to send areferee at once
to aground on which, as aresult of adecision of his the previous reek
or so, there had been a riot among the spectators, ascene among the
players, or a row with the officials ? It is almost as hard for a man,
genuinely concerned for the interests of the game, and them alone, to
say -which is the right course to adopt. Whether to ignore what has
happened, and send areferee among unwilling play=ers, and to a hostile
ground, or to ignore the referee and study the tempers of the locals?
Iam not sure that the referee would care to go. Re -would be a man
of wonderful boldness if he did, and some might, and with a certain
fairness of argument, say that to do so would be adirect incitement to
trouble. How action of this kind can be the bent course to take, Ifail
to see. Why should a referee, whose presence is distasteful, be forced
down the throats of a club? Is it not wiser to allow time to heal
up old sores and restore confidence between spectators, players, and
referees ?
 I

The Art of Dribbling 175

THE PASSING GAME

Football possesses many charms, and I would be the last to despise

the artistic and attractive merits of individual play, but, after all, what
makes the great difference between the watching of an ordinary amateur
or junior match, and the watching of a Southern League game between
the best of the clubs, is the combination that one sees. It is the
machine-like performance of the team that is one of its greatest delights,
at least to my eyes. How the game has changed in style since the
days when Air. C. W. Alcock, of the London Wanderers, and Mr. C.
Crump, of Wolverhampton, were dashing youngsters—i.e. about forty
years ago—is difficult for the younger generation to realise. Iremember
Mr. Alcock telling a yarn once about a match in which R. W. S. Vidal,
of Oxford, who reigned about 1573, scored three goals in succession
from the kick-off without a single opponent touching the ball. Ihave
seen Jimmy Brown, captain of the Blackburn Rovers, take the ball
the length of afield of play single-handed. E. C. Bambridge, of Wilt-
shire, who used to play for the Swifts, and was in the English team v.
Scotland for years in succession, was so notorious for his one-handed
wing play that he became the terror of all half-backs he met. It is
difficult for footballers of the present day to understand the almost
marvellous "sleight of hand "(to use a phrase which, while it applies
to the hands and not the feet, expresses my meaning) which some of
the old school possessed. With the ball at their toes, their subsequent
performance resembled more a feat of jugglery than the playing of
football as we understand it now.
One of the cleverest of the old English internationals, Hubert
Heron, who also played for the London Wanderers, had a reputation
that even in those early days extended as far as Glasgow, where in one
of the English matches the Scottish right half devoted the whole after-
noon to knocking him over, as the easiest way to stop him. When
long past his football prime, Ihave seen Heron gii•e most extraordinary
exhibitions of trickery with the feet. Even now, in these more prosaic
days, the art of dribbling and dodging is not lost entirely. Many pro-
fessional players use it as an aid to more useful methods. It is some-
times advisable as a change from the regular tactics of the zigzag pass.
Thus one sees Bloomer, in those occasional flashes of brilliancy that
illuminate his play, surprise the opposition by doing exactly what no
 Association Football
one expects him to do. His deftness near goal is of a remarkable type.
The day of dribbling is practically gone, and its use is not to be recom-
mended save as an uljunct to the combination game. What tells in foot-
ball and tells all through amatch, in the long run, is accurate, quick, and
thoughtful passing, which accomplishes the required end with aminimum
of hard work. As far as Iam able to
judge from what I have seen, the
Scottish teams, Glasgow Rangers and
the Celtic, play the forward combina-
tion better than any other teams; but
I think that for combined play, of
•-- only of forwards to each other, but of
rY '
N r. the defence to the attack, and vice
versa there are Eng lish sides that are
i
`
5 ..
better exponents. It is this deg, elop-
=1 •t ment of the game from individual effort
to a scientific study that has made it
Y w one of the most interesting to watch.
A thorough understanding is wanted
between the players to accomplish it.
It is rather a fault in some teams that
q; nearly approach the ideal, that the com-
,• :• = bination between backs and half-backs
is so neglected. Indeed I cannot task
z' my memory with any team that carried
the machinery of the play to that
Photo: Reinhold Tniele c' Co . height.
o It is the usual custom to ad-
S. SMITH vise backs to kick bard and at si ght,
Portsmouth and England and to condemn half-backs for pass-
ing the ball backwards. On general
principles, this advice is sound, and for these reasons. A back is the
last line of defence, as the goalkeeper cannot be considered to be a
"line." He is usually tormented by approaching forwards, and more-
over his half-backs are mostly far up the field, backing up their forwards.
Thus, to clear the ball well out of danger, and to do so -without hesita-
tion, is awise course. But it may be carried to extremes, and we often
see a kicking bout between opposing backs that is of no more value
to either side than the flying of kites. With regard to the halves,
the playing of the ball towards their own goal is greeted by a
n"1•., n,•M1 y,
••tea,
 Keep the Ball on the Floor 177

chorus of disapproval which helps to stop, almost entirely, what

might be made avery useful practice at the proper time and place.
The team which has the better understanding between its players both
across the field of play and between the ranks is the more likely to
succeed in the long run, provided that the men are the equals of
their opponents in speed and stamina.
Correct passing includes several salient points. First of all the pass
must be to the best placed comrade, no matter where he be situated.
It must so place the ball, and at such a speed, that the player the ball
is sent to has no need to readjust himself to it, but may take possession
of it as he runs, or stands, without delay. Secondly, all players must
so manoeuvre as to be in a position to draw apass with the greatest
benefit to their side. Between forwards, the pass ought to take the
ball to aspot where arunning player may receive it and sweep on with
it in his stride. It is, unless aplayer is standing still and unhampered,
not awise thing to pass the ball direct to him, but alittle ahead. In
the same way a series of short passes, concentrating the defence and
blocking up thereby progress in that part of the field, may,be followed
by along pass to a comrade who is on the opposite side of the ground,
or to a half-back who is following up, and who may drive the ball
forward again as an opening presents itself. The triangular passing
between two wing forwards and ahalf-back is wonderfully effective, and
the value of keeping the ball low is easily seen—what the Scotch call
keeping the ball 'con the floor." It is easy to theorise, but no old
player who is constantly watching good football can help doing it; and
lie probably, if he has played his football with intelligence in his day,
is better able to pronounce an opinion.

SOME MISAPPREHENSIONS REGARDING FOOTBALL

It is inevitable that common errors should creep into the game of

football, as they do into everything else. The majority of people who
watch and are interested in the game cannot possibly understand all its
fine points, and no one expects them to do so. It is therefore not at all
to be wondered at that misconceptions abound. One of the commonest
of these is that areferee is compelled to use awhistle. So accustomed
are people to hearing the sound of this instrument at all crucial points
of the game, that they naturally invest it with legal sanction. As a
VOL. II. DS
 178 Association Football
,- .
matter of fact, the -word is not to be found in the laws of football at
all. The referee is not anywhere instructed to use awhistle. All the
rules say is that in certain phases of the game the referee must give a
"sio-nal."
0
Thus he has to 0crive a sio0 nal to start agame
b
for the taken 0o•
of afree kick, Vic., and before a penalty kick, at half-time, and at the
close of a game. Custom has allowed this to be done by the sound
of awhistle. That is all.
It is not compulsory, and, indeed, not always advisable. It is a
well-known fact that some referees do not sound a whistle at all in
the case of a penalty kick, but use the word-of-mouth "go " instead,
the reason for this being that the act of placing the whistle between
the lips may tend to start the players before the actual sound, whereas
no one can tell at what moment he is about to say "go." In this way
the worry of players encroaching is avoided. mother very simple
error is that a game begins with the referee's whistle. This has even
been held by important legislators quite recently who have not taken
kindly the correction of their mistake. A glance at the rules will
show that a game begins when the ball is kicked in a certain manner,
which is quite a different thing. The referee's whistling is asignal to
kick off, but the game begins and time is reckoned from the actual kick.
By sounding his whistle the referee in effect says, "I'm ready; you can
start as soon as you like.
The offside rule is very complicated to the average person, and the
common error is made that a player cannot be offside when he has
three of his opponents in front of him, i.e. nearer their own goal. This
is not the case, however, for a player might be offside with eleven
opponents in front of him ! It is not likely, but he could be. This is
accounted for by the fact that if a player has not three opponents in
front of him when the ball is last played by one of his own side, and
he is behind it, he is then offside. Obviously he remains offside until
some one else plays the ball, and if in the interval the rest of the team
ran back on goal he would still be offside. Many areferee has been
reproached by players, jeered at by the crowd, and at times, Iam sorry
to say, criticised harshly in the papers for some such decision, wl, en all
the time he was perfectly right. The linesmen are also the cause of
much misunderstanding, as numbers of people imagine that they are
compelled to trot up and down the touch-line, and may not go inside
the field of play. Yet there is nothing to prevent a linesman being
in the field of play if he thinks it necessary. It is sometimes a great
 "Oppw- w-
w

UN 4--NkW
 J. CAMPBELL,
CELTIC AND SCOTLAND.
 Take Care of your Referee 179
advantage to do this, as for instance a melee in goal, on the facts
of which a neutral linesman is often valuable to a referee.
The rights of players are much misunderstood. It is commonly
believed that a referee can order a player off the field of play whenever
he likes. But he can't. If he did so, and could not show that it was
done in strict accordance with the rules, he would be liable to get into
trouble. It is only for "violent conduct "that aplayer may be ordered
off without a previous caution, and for ordinary "ungentlemanly con-
duct "and play "likely to prove dangerous " he is entitled to a pre-
liminary caution before receiving marching orders. I should not like
players to take advantage of this fact, and for their benefit might add
that the words "violent conduct" are very much in the discretion of
the referee, and that they include bad language. Another general
misconception is that after a game is over players and others may say
what they like to a referee. This also is not the case, for a referee is
protected by the rules, and ought to be by the players, &c., after a
match. A player received two months' suspension for calling areferee
a cheat an hour after a match, and many clubs have been suspended
for not seeing that a referee left their town in safety ! Players them-
selves, who are well aware that it is misconduct to fight during a
game, imagine that when time has been called they are free to settle
their quarrels with the fists. "All right—you wait till after the match,
and I'll show you how to use your fists," is not an uncommon remark
on the field of play, but it is abreach of the peace, and punishable by
suspension.
It seems to be asimple error for clubs to think that by giving three
days' notice to their opponents they may scratch amatch, and that they
have done all the law requires of them. It is, however, very rare indeed
that such anotice is held to be sufficient. Clubs are at times compelled
to scratch, but when they do so it is clear that they are liable for at
least the out-of-pocket expenses their opponents have been put to. If
bills are only put up three days before a game, it is clear that the order
has been given to the printers days before that, while various other
contracts may have been entered into by the club. Seven clays is a
good notice generally for friendlies; but even here, if the opponents
have already been to expense in playing the first fixture, of which the
scratched match would have been the return, they are entitled, even in
common football law, to either another date or half their expenses for
the first match.

IrY

y•.L\'V, ••.t, h' ray,`%•rf.• :

Y ... •.• r•;cs •:
:`sY•mt'•7.•"'.x'."c+,••.L'' .
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1
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 ISO Association Football
It is a common misconception that a professional is a player who
receives pay for playing; but it is not always so, because the mere
fact of aplayer putting his witnessed signature to a professional form
makes him a professional the moment the form has been registered at
the Association offices. 1of asingle halfpenny may have been paid to
the player, but he becomes a pro., and cannot get out of it ; except
by a very tedious process. It is not generally known that a person
who has been suspen ded ma y no t even act as secretary, or sit on the

IN THE -NET

Goalkeeper a fraction of a second too late

committee, or %Vl ite aletter, or do any,work for the club at all, in addition
to being prohibited from playing. He ceases for the time being to take
part in the management of the name. This would not, however ;prevent
him, if he held money belonging to the club, from being accountable for
it, and from paying it over, or, if he were the treasurer, from paying bills
that were necessary. There is acommon idea that goal-posts must be
of wood, and that goal-nets are compulsory, but no mention of these
things can be found in the rules. Rind one of the commonest errors is
that, supposing one team ready to start to time ;and the other not ready,
they can kick off. score a goal ; and claim the match as won by them.
This course of procedure has no more foundation in fact than that the
moon is made of green cheese.
 WHAT ARE A LINESMAN'S DUTIES?

This seems an interminable question. It is certainly one much

debated in football circles. It is not even a hardy annual; it is an
evergreen with strong roots. Ihave heard it talked to shreds by the
side of a glorious lake—one of England's most magnificent sheets of
water, gazing on which one would almost have thought Law 14 would
have dissolved into amere phantom. I have known it discussed in a
sheltered nook in the height of the dog-days, under the luxurious shade
of leafy trees, with birds twittering around. It has invaded the old-
world sanctity of Shakespeare's country, and been hotly bandied about
by cyclists travelling in the heart of England's finest road scenery. I
expect to hear it on the summit of Snowdon—nay, it may be that in the
hereafter we may hear that sweet song again." What is the point of
difference ? It seems to be crystallised in this:—Should linesmen be
mere assistants to a referee ;or should they be endued with larger
powers? Now, on this Itake my stand on the Laws of the Game. If
we analyse Law 14, what does it give us ?
1. There shall be two linesmen.

2. They shall be appointed.

3. All they do is subject to the decision of the referee.
4. Their duties are to decide when the ball is out of play.
5. Which side is entitled to the corner-kick.
6. Which side is entitled to the goal-kick.
7. Which side is entitled to the throw-in.
S. To assist the referee in carrying out the game in accordance with
the Laws.
9. Any undue interference by a linesman shall be reported by a
referee.
1o. And by an interpretation of the Association, it is desirable that
in important matches linesmen shall be neutral.
II. Neutral linesmen must call the attention of the referee to rough

play.
12. Or ungentlemanly conduct.
I3. And generally assist him to carry out the game in a proper

manner.
There, in these thirteen points, you have the view of the Associations
of England, Scotland, Wales, and Ireland as to the duties of alinesman.

- s_AsS 6 •'fft%M?rti '7;,•';.l''j :'.+••%i• .- - i' 'lka;1.:

:i (!.3`a PiY.n.;.T: wY.if+• '`'•':' .3YY.•: •.'4yy5... .
r

182 Association Football

3Iy first point is that linesmen not neutral do not come within the
argument. Such officials are bound by stringent clauses, the only clause
about which there is any doubt being the exact meaning of the words,
"To assist the referee in carrying out the game in accordance with the
Laws." If the words, "when asked by the referee," were inserted, it
would better express my idea of alinesman who is not neutral than a
column of argument. I am prepared to admit that most linesmen are
honest; that those who are not always honest are honest in the main;
that avery few are rankly dishonest, and that even they are only so
when the point for decision is a serious one. Iam sorry to think that
there is one unreliable linesman at all, but Iam sure of it, and even if
there were none it is not in accordance with British ideas of fair-play that
a person interested should be the judge in a case in which he has some-
thing at stake. This would naturally, and without unduly discrediting
a man, be the case if he is a club member and linesman where that club
is engaged in a match. To be judged by one's peers is by no means a
bad principle. No one can estimate the true facts of a matter like the
man who is on the same plane. On the whole, waiving questions of
morals, temptation, and possibilities, linesmen, when not neutral, should
obviously not have, too much work to do, if only that public confidence
vrould not be with them to so great an extent as it ought to be. It is,
therefore, with neutral linesmen that the question crops up, and here we
must sink suspicion, and assume (and we generally get) honesty. Ideal
with the point on its pure advisability in the interests of the game. Now,
if you consider for amoment Ithink you will admit that, given a good
referee, linesmen have little need to act on their own initiative outside
the four corners of Law 14. Conversely, given a poor referee, do you
presume that one or two good linesmen would make up for his defici-
encies? Clearly the game worked by an able referee without linesmen
is likely to be better carried out than the game worked by two linesmen
and no referee. If Iam taking any one out of his depth, I am sorry;
but it is mere logic and incontrovertible. There is a third state of
things where both linesmen and referee are bad, and a fourth where they
are all good. Iwill not take a fifth, where one linesman is good and
the other bad; but simply those four primary possibilities :—
z.Good referee, bad linesmen.
2. Bad referee, good linesmen.
•. Bad referee, bad linesmen.
4. Good referee, good linesmen.
 Wanted: Strong Referees 183

In what order of merit do you place them? Iput them as follows :-

4, 1, 2, 3- Now, Iam going to concede that where all three officials are
good, able, and first class, the "assist-the-referee" idea may go to consider-
able lengths. In no other case does it apply with any force. But don't
you see that the instances where you get areferee and linesmen all first
class are comparatively rare ? If we were to assume that in the English
Cup competition proper, the League, Southern League, and a few im-
portant county cup final rounds and in the better district Leagues it is so,
we get, even then, a. mere handful of matches. Unfortunately those
who argue for more powers to linesmen, meaning of course in these big
matches, get their arguments read by thousands of officials who take
them to apply to the game generally, which they don't. Thus areferee -•4x.

in ajunior League looks to his linesmen to act in the same way as if it

were the final for the Cup, where usually the co-operation of the officials
is astriking object lesson in the advantages of afreer hand. The general
application to all linesmen of aprinciple that only applies to the few is
a thing which I hold to be asource of no inconsiderable danger in the
control of football. Many of our best legislators, writers, and officials in
the football world see very little of the game except under high-class
conditions; but if, like the Sultan of Bagdad, they would disguise them-
selves and see what life outside the palace gates is like, let them put in
a month at minor matches, and they may have the disadvantages of
"operating linesmen "powerfully impressed upon them. What we want
first are stronger referees.
To the strong referee the linesmen are not so necessary. He does
not lean on them, nor is he continually consulting them. He knows his
own mind, and has force enough to have agame conducted as he wants
it. If he is wise he makes it understood that he expects co-operation
from his assistants, but he never troubles them unless in real doubt. On
the other hand, the opportunity of shouldering some of the responsi-
bilities on to others is apt to tempt some referees not so adamantine as
they might be, and we see such an instance as occurred in a League
match Isaw, when the referee gave adecision, and then, owing to the
outcry, weakened, consulted the linesmen, and, backed up presumably by
the triple opinion, reiterated his original aNN-ard. If he felt sure, then
lie had no need to consult. If he were in doubt, he had no right to
decide. Having decided, and doubted, and consulted, and decided again,
his authority weakens, and the players, quick to see the weak point,
harp upon it. Iadmire the referee who has the pluck to say, "Gentle-

V
WNARE %`
0

184 Association Football

men, that was amistake of mine," and I also admire the referee who,
having made amistake, sticks to his decision; but neither, as a matter
of diplomacy nor with any hope of apleasant future on the field, must
do either of these things often. Tableau.—Referee :"Wonder what
that blooming linesman's waving his flag for ? Suppose Iought to stop
the game. Hang the chap." Linesman: "Well, Idid hold up my flag
for offside, but that blooming referee went and gave apenalty kick."

A SEAT ON THE "BOARD "

At the end of the season, when most of the big clubs have failed
to win the English Cup, .or the various Leagues and so on, and have
nothing tangible, so to speak, to show for the money spent, one comes
across agood deal of criticism of football club directors. These gentle-
men took the place of the committee-men of the pre-company period.
Naturally the introduction of limited liability methods into the game
brought with it other innovations, and of them that of governing a
football company by directors is one of the least understood. Any one
who wants an experience that - will turn some of his hairs grey, if not
the lot, should obtain a seat on the board of one of the big League
clubs. If lie survives his first season he will probably become case-
hardened, but he will find it avery trying business. The public who
have no more to do than go and see the matches in which their
favourites take part have avery cloudy idea of the football directors'
worries. While the gates keep up and the club wins atrophy or two,
all goes well; but directly the team begins to lose and the gates drop,
the director feels the fluctuations of public opinion like a thermometer
notices the variations of the temperature. A football director's duties
are so many and so varied, he finds it so hard to please every one,
that it has long been a standing surprise to me that men of business,
money, and position give the time to the work that they do. It is a
gratifying sign
ZD
of the way in which football collars the enthusiasm of
those most unlikely to be infected. At the bottom of the minds of
most directors is a powerful love of sport. It must be powerful or it
would not last out the trials of a single season. There seem to me
to be few recompenses. There are practically none of a monetary
character, and yet we meet men of keen commercial instincts who
devote as much time to running a football team and get far more
trouble out of it than to their own private business concerns.
 i

No Money, no First-class Football 85

Financial troubles attack most football clubs, even in the most

favoured towns. It is commonly believed that clubs like Aston Villa
and Everton have no monetary worries at all. On that head I can't
speak personally, and I should say that as regards the ever-present
problem of whether there will be sixpence in hand at the end of a
football season, or a deficit of
Zi000, it may be that there are
some—very few —organisations
not bothered on that account,
but a big majority who are. It
is not so bad, as arule, while the
season is on, provided that the
cost of the team is not beyond
the means of the district, because
money comes in more or less and
wages can be paid if less favoured
tradesmen have to wait, and there
is no lack of hope in the breast
of the director. But when the
close season is on and summer
wages are to be met for four
months, happy the football com-
pany that has a balance at the
bank. Club directors have to
make themselves liable for over-
drafts, and have to find the
money, or initiate the way to Photo : FVlllis, Chathann

get it. If gates won't provide J. GRANT

it, bazaars and other dodges have Council, F.A.

to be resorted to.
A howl goes up when directors put on ashilling gate. Inever could
see why, because it is so trifling a sum to the great number, would be
spent in beer and other things, if not to gain admission to an especially
important match, and the football public must know that it is not done
without cause, and that the cause is the need of funds. No money, no
first-class football, is an axiom. Cutting down gates to meet the popular
taste is not likely to result in winning the English Cup. Rivalry
between two clubs in the Midlands once led to one of the clubs announc-
ing a twopenny admission. The only result was that the people who
186 Association Football
patronised the match grumbled because the price of the beer sold in the y
refreshment bar was kept at the old figure. On the other hand, if the
directors, finding that they can't pay their way honestly, decide to
transfer Tompkins to Aston Villa for Z-oo, and snooks to Tottenham
Hotspur for ,/'? 5o and a match, there is another howl of rage against
them. They are accused of selling the club, and of all sorts of mal-
practices, and stand avery good chance of seeing a shoal of indignant
letters in the papers, and of bein g hooted on the ground they subscribed
to make, and on the stand they gave security to the bank in order to erect.
A man never realises until he becomes aTown Councillor or a foot-
ball club director «hat apublic character he has become. He is liable
to be talked to by every one he meets in the streets, and is aware that
his name and his knowled ge of the game, and his dealings with the
players, and -what he makes out of the club, and so on, are discussed in
every public-house in the town. If he is sensitive and objects he gives
it up, but if he sticks to his guns he will soon find how fickle the public
is. One week the team loses, and there is nothing but abuse of the
directorate. The next the team wins, and the directors could drink at
the expense of every third man in the place for six days. This sort of
thing fortunately leads both directors and players to regard the spec-
tators less and less as they gain experience, but it takes time to arrive
at so blissful acondition of mind.
In addition to all this, the football director has special calls made on
him. In the old days players did pretty well what they pleased, except
when wearing the club's uniform, but to keep a set of young men in
good condition needs more than acasual inspection. There are all sorts
of little affairs got up to keep the men employed. The director is
expected to turn up smiling at a smoking concert, and pay pretty
heavily, too; he is an interested onlooker at billiard handicaps, and
keeps a close watch on the liquor question on both occasions. He is
expected to turn up at training times, and if the players can once get
him with his coat off, they will stiffen him so well that he can't sleep
for aching all night. On the long railway journeys the director is both
mentor, philosopher, and friend, and should be equally well up at solo,
and private lectures to the team. If lie is a doctor, he is supposed to
keep the whole batch in health free of charge all the year round. If he
is achemist, he supplies drugs at below cost price. If he is a publican
or atobacconist, woe betide him. If he is a mere moneyed man, then
he catches it. Every time one of the team wants help, he is the man to
 What to do with "Old Hands" 187

go to. M`Jones' wife has had a bad illness. The director pays the
rent. Simpkins wants to get married. The director advances him a
tenner. O'Sullivan's grandfather departs of old age. The director
lends him afiver to get asuit of black and go to the funeral. Rogers
has anew baby. The director presents him with abassinette. Sproggins
gets fined for being drunk and disorderly. The director attends, and
gives him agood character, and pays the fine. M`Dougall injures his
knee-cap. The director takes him to Manchester to the specialist. And
so on, and so on.
He must always wear abuttonhole and asmile. If astorm of snow
wrecks the best game of the season, or if frost ruins all the home
matches in January, he has to seem cheerful. As the season draws to
an end, avery unpleasant task looms ahead. It is to say who of the
team is to stay on, and at what wages, and who is to be parted with,
and who is to fill the vacant places. The players want to know these
things. It cuts both ways. Generally a director wants to get rid of
men who are anxious to remain, and is very desirous of retaining men
who want to go, or don't much care either way. It is an anxious and a
difficult time, and the directors who are on such excellent terms with
their men that they want to keep the lot, and the lot want to stay, are
thrice blessed, as they are saved athreefold difficulty, that of dismissing,
of retaining, and taking on. If the condition of the eleven at the end
of the season is such that the directors find themselves obliged to search
for men for the coming season, then the task is a hard one. On the
whole, directors have such atroublesome time of it, that they ought to
be pitied rather than blamed. But the pity of it lies in the fact that as
soon as adirector's connection with aclub ceases he is at once forgotten.
He may have raised the club from nothing to the championship, and
have spent time and money for the sake of sport. It is all no use.
Football popularity is evanescent.

THE LINE OF DEMARCATION

Of all the vexed questions of the day in football, both in the

Association and Rugby worlds, that of "What is an amateur ?" is
the most debated, and seems the most likely to cause difficulties in
the future. Of the Rugby amateur I hesitate to speak freely, but of
the Association amateur in all his different chameleon shades Ihave long
188 Association Football
been a student. The subject is fraught with difficulties ; it bristles
with points like the most aggressive of porcupines, and it leads
to dissensions and differences of a serious character. Taking my
own definition of an amateur football player, I often wish
- that
all were amateurs, and that no gate money had ever entered into
the scope of the game; but, at
- -.- --• the same time, I hold strong
views, and the longer Imix with
football the stronger they get,
that professionalism was, and is,
a development that could not
.
t _ have been stopped, and that it
is the duty of all who would
honestly and boldly place the
welfare of the game, as a game,
first and foremost, to accept the
fact and make the best of it. It
•.• is not that I like professionalism
-` in itself, but that I detest sham
k s °. + amateurism, and that I am
' .. anxious to make the line of de-
marcation as plain as it can be
Y '_ made. Unfortunately, while the
'- line is there already, it is so
+ obscured by rubbish, so covered
— - - by malpractices, so heaped up
Photo: R.opaZ Central Photo Co., Bournemouth with expediencies, that it would
W. YIC SFORD require asmall army of reformers
Council, F.A. armed with pick and shovel to
clear it. Isay the line is there.
It is "plain as the nose on your face." One has only to look at the
Football Association rules to see that.
Rule 28 says :"Any player registered with this Association as a
professional, or receiving remuneration or consideration of any sort
above his necessary hotel and travellin g expenses actually paid, shall
be considered to be a professional."
And yet Ihave heard it argued that the rule is the positive reverse
of plain, and that it is on the contrary most dubious. Let us look at
it for a moment. Obviously a player registered as a professional must
 What is an Amateur ? 189

be held to be one though he may not receive a farthing in payment.

Such player agrees, and attests it with his signature, to be styled apro-
fessional, and there is an end of it. It is the remainder of the rule that
causes the trouble, and dissecting it one gets the following points :—
i. Any player. Now we hear alot of talk and see a lot in print
at times about professionalism being applied to others than players.
Thus one argues that the paid manager or secretary to a club should
be a professional, and is one in fact. Another contends that the paid
referee should not be ranked with the amateur referee. Others would
carry the thing so far as to place within the professional pale any
person who derives a cent from the game in any shape or form. The
discussion is academic, for the Football Association recognises the
application of the term only to players. The list of men who in
some way or other, perfectly openly, honestly, and aboveboard, receive
money from football, directly or indirectly, and who are not players, is
abig one, and to class them all as professionals would be an insult to
the intelligence and sense of the football community. The other points
in the rule are:-
2. Receiving

3. Remuneration or consideration
4. Of any sort
5. Above his necessary
6. Hotel (expenses)
7. And travelling expenses
8. Actually paid.
This seems clear enough, and yet broad enough for anything.
"Receiving " implies from his club, or supporters, or friends, or
admirers, or from any one because of his play. "Remuneration or
consideration of any sort " covers anything from sixpence, say,
to the title-deeds of a house. "Necessary " obviously ties the home
and travelling expenses down to very modest limits, though it is the
one word in the rule that is the weakest link in the chain. There
always will be a doubt as to what "necessary "means. By some men 1
wine to dinner is considered anecessary. Well, if it is paid for by them
it is an open question, though when one recollects the fate of the Royal
Artillery, Portsmouth, who were treated to cigars by the club, it makes
one doubt.
Straining the point the other way, it would seem that to keep within
the rule ateam should leave by the latest train that will land them in
Igo Association Football
time to start a match at the time fixed, and should be hurried away
the moment it is over; that they should be taken to hotels of a most
moderate tariff, and that the officials in charue should be able to prove
that the expenses paid were of the most economical character from start
to finish. It is clear that this is not intended to be the case; and yet
how far beyond it is it safe to go, and how far is deep water ? The
example of the Football Association itself, the makers of the rule, may
be quoted. They take a team to Scotland, who travel two days before
a match, and are kept, amateurs and professionals, for several days.
They travel in saloons when third-class is available. They take the
best hotels, when hostelries of lesser importance are open. Is all this
" necessary" ? Clearly it must be so if the Football Association do it.
The recognised amateur is obviously one who keeps within reason-
able limits the terms of Rule 28, who travels and lives much as he
would do if he were paying his own way, and is prepared to keep his
expenses down to a fair amount, and who takes no advantage of the
fact that he is, so to speak, aguest of his club. Of such a man one has
no complaint to make; but at the bottom, who is the real amateur,
supposing one were asked to prepare an exact definition ? Cut down to
bald facts there are three types of amateurs :—
i.Alen who pay for their sport.
2. Men who have everything paid or provided for them.
•. Men who actually lose by their sport.
The first class cost the club nothing. They take their football as if
it were their own amusement, pay their travelling and other expenses,
and are also ready to help the club in other ways. Of such is the salt
of the football world. How many of this kind can some of us remember
in the earlier days? I know men still interested in the game who
scorned to cost their club a halfpenny, and I say with confidence that
the genuineness of the enjoyment such players got out of their play far
surpassed that of the player who has everything found.
It is, however, plain that as football is not to be a class pastime,
such a clear-cut line as this would be unjust, and hence I look with
approval on the payment of expenses to those who cannot afford it,
while Ipositively admire the working man who loses half a day's work
and wages in order to assist his club. If Iwere asked who, of all the
amateurs, should be placed at the top of the tree, I should say, "Put
there the man who loses by his football, and give him alaurel wreath."
You say, "There are no such persons." I reply, "There are scores and
Photo by ALBERT W ILKFB, West Bromwich.
HARRY HAMPTON ,
ASTON VILLA F.
C.

?i
 Clubs Responsible for Conduct 191

hundreds." You say, "They only do it because their clubs can't afford
to pay them." Ireply, "That does not alter the fact. A man would
not do it unless he were a lover of football, and what does 'amateur
player' mean if it is not 'one who plays for the love of the game '?"

THE UNRULY SPECTATOR

It is avery awkward problem, and Iam not sure that Ican answer
it satisfactorily. At any rate, I cannot lay down any principle for
referees to act on in the way of deciding what he should do, because
only the Football Association has that power, and because, also, circum-
stances vary so very greatly. Let us see what the Football Association
says upon the subject.
The only mention of spectators in the Laws of the Game is in Law
13.,and is as follows :-

11 The referee shall have power to allow for time wasted, to suspend the game when
lie thinks fit, and to terminate the game whenever, by reason of darkness, interference
by spectators, or other cause, he may deem necessary."

Upon this point the Football Association have issued the following
rulings :-
11All clubs connected with the Association must have bills printed and posted in
their grounds, threatening with expulsion any person who is guilty of insulting or
improper conduct towards the referee."
[CAny misconduct towards areferee away from the field of play will be dealt with
in the same way as if the offence had been committed on the field."
"It is the duty of members of the Council, officials of clubs, and referees to report
to the Council all cases of misconduct likely to bring the game into disrepute."

The Referees' Chart contains the following instruction to secretaries

of clubs :—
"If you find the spectators on your ground beginning to annoy the referee, take
care that .you arrange for his protection both during and after the match. Club
committees should refuse admission to notoriously bad characters."

Incidentally, the following instruction to secretaries bears upon the

subject where the spectator is amember of aclub :—
"Bring before the notice of your committee any conduct on the part of a member
of your club which is likely to bring the game into disrepute. If persisted in, a club
ought not to allow any such offender to continue to belong to it, for not only may such
192 Association Football
conduct bring punishment on the player, but it gives the club a bad name, and may
lead to more serious trouble."

I would also like to quote Rule 42 of the Football Association,

which declares—
"Every association or club is responsible to the Council for the action of its players,
officials, and spectators, and is required to take all precautions necessary to prevent
spectators threatening or assaulting officials and players during or at the conclusion
of matches."

Ithink that this list exhausts the definite official pronouncements

on the question of spectators. It will be noticed that Law i-, while
it uses the words "interference by spectators," does not define the
phrase. It is popularly supposed to refer to spectators encroaching on
the field of play while a game is in progress, and many instances are
on record in which referees have terminated games on that ground.
If Isay that the term "interference "has awider interpretation, it may
be urged that there is no authority for such a deduction. Well, as far
as that contention goes, we have the plain dictionary meaning of the
word, which is "to interpose, to intermeddle, to enter into or take a
part in the concerns of others." The word meddle, which is now in-
volved in the matter, means "to interfere with matters with which one
should have nothing to do. To take part in another person's affairs in
an officious, impertinent, or offensive manner." That carries us a long
way in defining "interference," and I am disposed to think that the
authorities would hold that interference did not mean only encroach-
ment on the field of play. If it was so intended, why was not the
word encroachment used?
Now we come to the official rulings. The first I quoted refers to
insulting or improper conduct towards the referee, and it is a matter
of indifference whether it occurred inside the field of play or outside the
boundary lines, within the ground, or in the precincts of the ground,
or away from it altogether. The third ruling goes still further, and
refers to misconduct likely to bring the game into disrepute. It will be
admitted that the action of a spectator in loudly and with insulting or
offensive manner questioning a referee's decisions is misconduct likely
to have the effect named.
The Referees' Chart follows this up by giving instructions to club
secretaries as to their duty to protect a referee from annoyance, which
word brings the matter even to audder scope, because many things may
come within the meaning of the word "annoy "that are not specifically
I

Don't Challenge the Referee 193

meant by the words "interference," "insulting," and so on. In fact it

is aword that covers almost any species of conduct that would be better
understood, perhaps, by the term "ungentlemanly."
The Association Rule 4.2 uses the word "threatening." It will be
admitted that in many cases the fact of habitual, continued, and even
isolated offensive disagreement with a referee's decisions would come
within the meaning of the word "threatening."
I have taken some trouble to see how the laws, the rulings, and the
instructions combined make clearer what any one of them by itself
might not do. Bearing these facts in mind, what may we agree upon
in the matter quoted? First, I think that a spectator loudly and
repeatedly challenging the referee's decisions is a form of interference,
annoyance, insulting conduct, and misconduct likely to bring the game
into disrepute. That being so, it is -the duty of the home club to see
that it is stopped, and this should be done without waiting for areferee
to stop the game. Here we are on solid ground, and if I go further
and say that the secretary of such club failed in his duty in not having I
the spectator removed, or, at the very least, using his best efforts to
have the annoyance discontinued, Ithink most people will agree with
me. Nor is it going too far to say that a referee would be entitled in
such acase as that quoted to insist on the removal of the obnoxious
person, keeping to ourselves the right of suggesting that apreliminary
caution might have put matters straight, and that referees should do
what they deem to be their duty in adignified and calm manner, and
should not use threatening language.
As to the other questions, that of it being judicious for a referee
to take notice of offensive criticism must be answered in the affirmative.
No one has aright to use offensive criticism to areferee, and the club
that permits it, or does not do all it can to stop it, is liable to be
punished. The proper line of action for areferee in such acase would,
no doubt, be to stop the game and decline to re-start it until the
offensive criticism ceased. If the misconduct was not discontinued he
would be in order in declining to continue any longer. If it ceased and
the game was re-started, but the offensive criticism began again, the
referee would be entitled to demand the expulsion of the spectator, and
on the home club would be thrown all the responsibility of seeing that
this was done. All a referee has to do is to report the facts. The
question of punishment is one left in more powerful hands than his.
Tlicre is alimit, of course, to areferee's endurance ;but he should not
VOL. II. N
194 Association Football
be too thin-skinned. Spectators have aright to criticise so long as it is
done in afair and gentlemanly manner, but they should accept areferee's
decisions. Criticism to a certain point is not illegal, but beyond that
point it constitutes asource of annoyance to the referee, and an incite-
ment to others to misconduct, and should be stopped, and the persons
responsible for keeping the spectators in order are the responsible
officials of the home club.

HE WOULD BE A REFEREE

May Ipropound the question seriously to budding referees, whether

it would not be well if they considered the matter a little before
entering on the serious work that refereeing entails ? The points that
the budding referee should put to himself are :—
Am Iphysically fit ?
Is my eyesight good ?
Do Isuffer from nerves ?
Have Iawill of my own
strong enough to control twenty-two excited players and some thousands
of spectators ? Important questions these for areferee to ponder over.
If, before deciding to take on the arduous duties of refereeing, the
youngsters would ask themselves these questions and decide honestly,
Iam sure we should get many better referees. It is not sufficient to
kno•r the laws of the game, not even to be able to apply them—quite
a different matter, that—though I am afraid that most examinations
of young referees amount to little more. How aperson equipped with
the points of the game can imagine he can straightway go and referee
puzzles me. Iremember that aclub secretary told me once that in an
important match the referee absolutely refused to turn out. It was his
first appointment to a Southern League match, now some years ago, and
-Then he caught sight of the crowd of people lining the ropes, his nerve
gave way. The secretary was very kind and sympathetic, covered up
the affair, got the teams to agree to an old stager in the pavilion to act,
and all went well. But the budding referee, who had -passed well at his
exam., never held the whistle again. The shock of what he had to face
sobered him.
Having answered the questions put satisfactorily, young referees
would do well to remember that our best men have made their names
 Mr. Clegg on Paid Officials •9s
by giving the visiting side fair-play. The "home referee" is a despi-
cable person, and, luckily, very soon found out. There was one who
actually, when he gave agoal to the home team that was very doubt-
ful, and which he afterwards admitted was "offside," had the supreme
cheek to tell the captain of the visiting team that he would "make it
right "the next time he refereed on their ground ! Iam stating afact
within my own knowledge. That referee has gone down. He was too
much for the most case-hardened to stand. The man also who tries to
be "popular " comes under the same ban. To be successful in your
work avoid popularity, in the sense to which I refer. If you do your
duty as it should be done you will not be popular, but you will gain in
r time the confidence of the clubs, and players and officials, which will be
e more to your credit than the plaudits of the biggest crowd.
Mr. J. C. Clegg, the Chairman of the F.A. Council, in addressing a
few remarks to referees at a Referees' Conference, touched the right
chord when he said that a man's conscience was the best judge as t
to whether he had done right or wrong. Satisfy your conscience and
fear nobody. Mr. Clegg did not refer altogether to decisions given on
the field of play, for he realises that the best make mistakes, but he
referred to the general conduct of referees, Itake it, and surely a high
standard of private and public life is more likely to make aman appre-
ciated than a low standard. "I can't stand that man," said an inter-
national professional to me a season ago, referring to a certain referee. c
"Idon't mind achap being sociable, but when areferee joins us in the
pubs and stands us drinks, Idon't trust him." And when you come to
think of it, who would ? Then areferee should take the trouble to get
himself fit to officiate in a match where there is much at stake on
the hazard of his decisions, when a mistake may cost a club loss of
position, prestige, and money. Yet how few referees ever do this. On
the other hand Iknow many who go in for refereeing on purpose to get
the exercise. "Fine thing," one of them told me only the other day;
" all the summer Igot very podgy, but since September I've pulled off
nearly astone weight." All I- can say is that he never did full justice
to himself in September when the "pulling " process began. It is
unfair to clubs to go in for refereeing on purpose to get your weight
down. If your wind is not equal to a severe game, try what a little
abstention from smoking and drinking will do. One of the best
amateur forwards I ever met told me that he never smoked from
Friday night until after the match, and he attributed to that partly the

of
1_
196 Association Football
fact that he was never "done "at the close of any game. What is
sauce for the player should also be sauce for the referee. Ihave known
referees smoke cigarettes and drink whisky at half-time. How foolish.
Drop them, and try asmall cup of tea instead.
Another fault the buddin g referee should tackle is that of rushing
to amatch at the last moment, dressing in atrain, and so on; and when
your refereeing is done, why hang about aplace ? Why not get home ?
Hanging about aground or atown often leads to getting across players
or spectators of the home side, and the most unedifying results generally
follow. The less you mix with interested parties the better, and if you
do have to meet them—sometimes it is unavoidable—keep astill tongue
in your mouth. To be successful in refereeing you must put your whole
energy into a game, and be earnest and interested in what you are
doing. ,
Mr. John Lewis, one of the most respected of the craft, is also one
of the most earnest in his work. It is said that he is never known to
smile on the field of play unless it is one of contempt at some disgrace-
ful action. I don't say never smile. On the contrary, asmile goes a
long way if the hand is iron within the kid glove. Some people put
more energy into their recreation than into their life's work. That is
overdoing it. One sometimes hears old stagers say that if they had
given as much attention to their business as they did to football they
would have been better off when their football career closed. The
budding referee may be sure that he will never get a living out of
refereeing if he is sure of little else in this world. Therefore, don't
neglect the business of life during the week, but treat your refereeing
largely as recreation.

THE ENTHUSIAST IN FOOTBALL

Iwas once watching a junior cup tie. It was afew days after the
only heavy fall of snow we had had that season, and I was struck with
the fact that, while the fields all round the enclosure on which the
match was played were deep in snow, the playing pitch had been
scraped and swept wonderfully clean, and the accumulations from it
were piled up along the touch-lines like solid white banks. I re-
marked to one of the players that it was a smart piece of work,
and he informed me that it had been done gratuitously by a lot
 of
Th
she

fin
of
vai

G. LIVINGSTONE
Manchester City and Scotland
 A Crystal Palace Crowd 197

of the "unemployed," who had received free tickets to the game.

This set me thinking of the many ways in which football enthusiasm
shows itself.
The final tie crowd is in itself one of the finest examples you could
find. A very large proportion of the Crystal Palace crowd is composed
of provincials who travel, many of them, by night excursions from
various grimy manufacturing centres in the North and Midlands, being

A SIXPENNY BANK

dumped down in the heart of London when the streets are almost
deserted. After skylarking and sightseeing for afew hours, the crowd
find their way somehow to Sydenham. Ihave myself been in acarriage
containing twenty persons, but a friend of mine told me that, going
to the Bury v. Southampton match, there were twenty-six, including
himself, in one first-class compartment, and that he rode all the way
standing against the door with his head outside the window for fresh
air. Prior to that same match, which was timed to start at 3.3o P.M., I
walked round the ground at II.3o A.M., and found that at that early
hour most of the front places behind the iron rails had been occupied,
 198 Association Football
and people sat patiently with their lunch in their laps waiting four
hours to see agame of football. The inconveniences people submit to
in order to watch football are extraordinary.
When aparty of -Manchester people were returning from watching a
big Cup tie at Preston some years ago, they were surprised as the train
neared Bolton to observe a boy crawl out from under the seat, just
after the collection of tickets at Lostock Station. It was a lad about
twelve years old, out at the knees and begrimed with dirt. "Where
have you been?" he was asked. "To t' match at Deepdale." "How
did you get to Preston ?" "Same as I come back—under the seat."
"Had you no ticket? " "No; I'd no brass for one." "How did you
get into the ground ?" "Ob, I paid threepence there," said the lad
(with the air of one who thought it would be the height of meanness to
cheat afootball club). "Well," said one of the occupants of the carriage,
suppose we give you in charge when we get to Bolton ?" "Idurn't
care," replied the lad; "Ihave seen t' match."
Portsmouth people are all familiar with the Boilermakers' flag, which
got, Ibelieve, into some rough handling once at Bristol. The flag idea
is one phase of enthusiasm, and some West Bromwich people brought
one to Southampton to the Cup tie one winter. A Nottingham flag
aseason or two ago was taken to Derby County, where Notts County
had a League match, and flourished about just in front of the grand
stand. During the game some one on the stand leaned over and pulled
the flag away; but the man who held it, turning round, without more
ado hit the next man behind him a blow in the face, jumping to the
hasty conclusion that he was the culprit. After that there was some
fun, for the man attacked was the middle-weight champion of the
-Midlands, and it wasn't likely he was going to be assaulted by a
Nottingham man.
In the days when the Darwen Club was one of the strongest in
Lancashire, the matches for the Lancashire Cup between any of the local
clubs created the most intense excitement. On the Saturday Darwen
and the Blackburn Rovers had played a draw, and the match was
replayed 'on the following Wednesday at Darwen. It was rumoured in
the town early in the week that the mill-hands had asked for ahalf day
off, and had been refused by the owners. However, every one of the
Darwen mills had to stop engines on the afternoon of the match, for
there were not sufficient hands returned to work after dinner to keep
the machinery going. The manufacturers stormed and raged, but all to
 n

Twenty-seven Silk Hats X99

no purpose, for the Darwen populace was mad on football, and the hills
all round Barley Bank were black with people watching the game, for
on that ground there were splendid distant views to be had from outside
the enclosure.
Deep interest in local teams has led to some very queer bets being
made. When Blackburn Rovers were on top of their wonderful run of
success alocal enthusiast, well known in football circles, is said to have
backed them to win every match for a silk hat. At the end of the
season he had no less than twenty-seven in his possession. A com-
i mittee-man of anoted League club in the excitement of a match made
awager with a committee-man of the rival club that the loser should
stand on his head on the cross-bar after the match. The one whose
side lost actually tried it. In the presence of an admiring crowd he
climbed up the post, and very nearly broke his neck in performing the
ridiculous feat.
An enthusiast living in a country village in the New Forest once
took his usual holidays in April instead of in the summer. He was
entitled to ten days in the year, and he had them. In that time he
travelled about boo miles and saw no less than five big football matches.
Starting early on the Saturday, he reached Birmingham in time to see
Aston Villa play Sunderland. On the Monday he went to Sheffield
and watched the United and Blackburn Rovers. On the Wednesday
he witnessed aLancashire Cup tie between. Bury and Bolton Wanderers.
Then he made his way to London and witnessed the English Cup final
between Notts Forest and Derby County, and finished up on the
Monday with Woolwich Arsenal v. Millwall.
When Wolverhampton Wanderers beat Everton in the Cup final at
Fallowfield, Manchester, in 1893, the enthusiasm in Wolverhampton was
of an extraordinary character. A builder bought some ground near the
Wolves' enclosure and ran up a row of houses which he called Fallow-
field Terrace. -On a massive stone at the front of the terrace there is
a carving of the National Cup." Close by this terrace is Wanderers'
Avenue, with another cup graven in the stonework, and the houses
named after the chief players in the winning team. It is difficult to
imagine greater adulation than that !
But after all for sheer novelty it will be hard to beat the West
Bromwich supporter, a well-dressed man, who, when his team were
playing Aston Villa, had a fierce argument with aBirmingham man on
the respective merits of Bassett, and Athersmith, the rival outside right
200 Association Football
players, which ended in him offering his opponent afree kick behind
for every goal Athersmith could sc or e. Th e Vill a fli er got one, and

when the crowd were cheering his success, the disgusted "Throstle"
turned his back on the Birmin gham man and submitted to a vi ol
en t

and well-directed kick. AN'hereupon he courteously,raised his hat and

expressed his thanks for the performance.

REINSTATEMENT

Spring is the time of year for house-cleaning. The "spring clean "
is known to every family man as a period of sore stress and trial—a
time -when his belonaings, great and small, find curious new quarters,
and a visitation that takes him days, yea, ofttime weeks, to recover
from. Spring is also the time for "whitewashing " professionals, as
the process is termed: of giving back to players their amateur status.
The Football Association will accept the registration of any one at
any time as aprofessional player. No objection is raised unless some
breach of the draconic professional rules is apparent. No doubt the
receipt of a form signed by a Prime Minister and duly attested—
in ink, and not on a Sunday—might cause a momentary flutter, but
the Football Association Office is tolerably callous and indifferent
now, and the Prime ATinister would become a professional the
moment his registration form was received and its receipt acknow-
ledged. There are a few bye-laws to be carried out and one or
two formalities needed, but it is as easy to become a professional
footballer as it is to insure your life—easier, for there is no doctor
to pass.
Once registered, however, the player is considerably tied up,
"cribbed, cabined, and confined." He makes the best terms he can
with his employers, sometimes highly lucrative, often very moderate.
He can only play for the club that registers him. If he leaves one club
and joins another, he must be formally transferred and re-registered.
His name is in an alphabetical index kept at headquarters, his move-
ments from club to club are noted and published in official lists, and
his misdeeds are blackmarked against him. If he ceases his member-
ship of his club, and does not join another in proper form as laid
down by rule and schedule, he is debarred from playing at all, and
he is at every turn subject to pains and penalties. An amateur may
 How Pros may become Amateurs 20I

snap his fingers at a committee ; but the professional, unless he is

a very high prize indeed, dare not, and has instead to obey club
regulations and do what he is told.
Once a professional always a professional? Oh dear, no. The
beneficent authority that rules over him allows him to be reinstated
as an amateur on certain conditions, which are not at all onerous.
Any professional who desires to cast off the shackles, free himself from
the chain gang, and become an amateur and a free agent again—for
we are all born amateurs—may obtain a special form for the purpose,
and on filling it up and answering certain questions, so framed as
to give a fair epitome of his career and description of himself, may •r-

deposit it with the head offices during the month of May. His
application goes before a special committee of the Football Association,
who investigate the case, and recommend his reinstatement or the
reverse. The process costs the applicant a matter of five shillings
and a few odd postage stamps, and maybe an odd railway fare or
so in attending in person before some county association for pre-
liminary inquiry. It is not a difficult proceeding from the player's
point of view. This difficulty begins from the standpoint of the
Association.
It really does seem only right that reinstatement should be allowed
in some cases, but the meshes might easily be drawn tighter, and also
with perfect justice. Let us take several typical cases.
A. becomes a professional, and has, at an early period, earned big
wages for adozen years, is installed in a public-house or some business
of his own forethought, retires with honours thick on him.
B. also becomes a professional early in life, earns big pay, and
spends it recklessly till the time arrives when he can no longer
command asalary that will keep him in beer and billiards.
C. signs on under specious promise of a good living, which turns
out a frost—either his own play, or his club's ability to pay. He
prefers to remain in his own district to joining other clubs.
D. has been a professional, but has followed employment, and
removes to an area where there is no chance of further play as a
player.
E. signs on reluctantly, in order that all of a team may be on
the same footing, but club breaks up or turns amateur, and he does
not want to leave home.
F. is a professional, but gets promotion in his regular employment,
r

202 Association Football

or takes up work that the fact of his being registered handicaps
him in.
G. is an old professional, who has practically, retired, and whose
vicar wishes him to join and. stiffen out the parish eleven.
H. is sick and tired of professionalism, and desires to "live a
better life ?"
And so you might multiply the list. The above will, however,
be fairly typical of the applicants, and it is clear that in some cases
it would be a great hardship and a permanent handicap to a man to
have to remain under what some people term the stigma of being a
professional all his life. Would you reinstate B. ? I should say it
would be wrong to do so; but would not most of the others, according
to the character and position of the man, be fair cases for reinstate-
ment, remembering that on becoming a professional a second time
after reinstatement the gates of mercy are inexorably closed ? I
should suggest that the cases A., D., G., and H. are doubtful, and
everything would depend on the special circumstances, and that C.
E., and F., all other facts being favourable, might very well be
"whitewashed."
It must be remembered that whereas in rowing, swimming, cricket,
and cycling the prospects of professionals are limited, that of pro-
fessional football players is, or has been, great, and the remunera-
tion more or less certain. Unless a man is a champion, indeed,
the field for pecuniary gain in cycling, swimming, and rowing is
restricted. Moderate ability has no market. The prodigy often
finds little chance of lucrative work. In football, however, men
may continue their regular work, and receive loss of pay only or a
small payment per match, or they, may become out-and-out pro-
fessionals as a means of livelihood. There are many clubs willing
and able to pay something out of their gate receipts to retain a
moderate team, and so where the ordinary athlete finds little encourage-
ment to become a professional, the footballer finds it comparatively
easy. And furthermore, while the ordinary athletic professional is,
rightly or wrongly, placed in a lower social category, the same does
not apply with as much force to the football professional.
This leads me to the argument that reinstatement under careful
restrictions should continue to apply in football, but that it should be
made difficult and not easy. In the past the wholesale reinstate-
ment of all and sundry has justly given rise to considerable dis-
 Amateurs and Amateurs 203

satisfaction, and one is glad to know that the Association is becoming

stricter,and making its stipulations more severe. This is a good thing
if only it teaches men to think twice, or even thrice, before being
persuaded to append their signatures to the document that signs away
their own freedom. There is too much persuading going on. Some
clubs—prominent clubs are the worst—will get almost any promising
youngster to sign on in the hope that by netting a number one or
two might turn out internationals. It might be a good thing if
the minimum wage at which a player might be allowed to sign on
were fixed. I dare say that hundreds, perhaps thousands, of men
and youths on the official lists are not paid five shillings a week,
and that to my mind seems a travesty on professionalism. It is a
bold thing to suggest that, besides necessary travelling and hotel
expenses — actually paid — a working man might be allowed his
nett loss of time and still be an amateur. Take the following
cases :—
A., an amateur, who is paid by salary and plays for a good club,
loses nothing,gets all his expenses and the enjoyment of outings and
sport free of all cost.
B., an amateur,paid for piece- work, loses in hard cash so many
shillings when he leaves his job to play for his local club.
B. pays for his sport and A. does not. On strictly ethical grounds
which is the better amateur ?
However, that is trenching on debatable ground, but I trust I
have made the argument clear that reinstatement in some cases is not
only just, but what is altogether adifferent thing at times, justice.

SCRATCHING MATCHES

If all one reads in many papers is correct,it is only in professional

football that there are any abuses to be found ;but of all the nonsensical
statements made respecting the game, this is one of the most irrespon-
sible and the most unfair. Holding no brief for paid players and the
business aspect of that section of the game, yet I am more and more
convinced as time goes on that the most serious malpractices ,and those
which occur most frequently, are to be found among the "amateur"
ranks of the lower class junior and minor football. It is here that we
get in profusion the maltreating of playe,•s and officials, the callous
 Association Football
repudiation of liabilities, and the ungenerous treatment of opponents.
The better class and more responsible amateur clubs do in the main
comport themselves with a large amount of self-respect and courtesy,
while the stern hand of control and the publicity which surrounds the
professional organisations tend to keep them reasonably within bounds.
Many things come to light is connection with them even that show
that a percentage of abuses does
e 1% exist, but down among the little
clubs in a town or village the
players and officials hardly seem
to realise their obligations as
footballers. One of the most
serious complaints against this
class is the free and easy idea
they possess about the keeping
of fixtures. The time of the
Divisional Committee of their
County Association is taken up
` largely in investigating cases of
_ non-fulfilment of promises to
s p,
la y
pla •and in assessing g dama ges
•b
to be paid in consequence, and
V these cases are far more numerous
than many people imagine, while
manv are never brought to light
at all. -Presumably, players join
®• a club, form a committee and
Photo :Reinhold Thiele elect officers, with the express
BOWMAN intention of playing matches.
Norwich City Even in the most insi gnificant
of football circles, a club cannot
be run without certain expenses. For out matches, tram or brake
or railway fares must be paid, and youths in employments of various
kinds lose time or make arrangements. to get away from work
early to assist their clubs. It is to the- credit of the game and the
enthusiasm it invokes that young men are willing to make many
sacrifices in order to continue their pursuit of the pastime, and many
employers, Iam glad to know, realise the value of open-air exercise to
the juniors in their service, and make it easy for it to be indulged in.
Photo: "Fly's Dtagazine"
E. C. BAMBRIDGE

Corinthians and England

 The Ethics of Cancelling Matches 205

Even in the case of home matches there are necessary expenses, such
as the hire of aground, the cost of fixing up posts and bars, the purchase
of footballs ;and there are always the costs of working aclub to be met,
such as the use of rooms, postages, and so on. Therefore it follows that
any interference with aprogramme of matches causes more or less loss.
The loss is accentuated even if the gate be only in the form of a
collection. Supposing, therefore, that a team from one town has
arranged home and away matches with another ten miles distant, and
that it takes some form of gate receipts when playing at home, it is
obvious that if the away match has been played and the opponents fail
to turn up to play the return, there is adistinct claim for loss. It would
cost the visiting team who played the first of the matches arranged at
least ten shillings to reach their opponents' ground, and another five
shillings at the inside limit for tea or refreshments. This they willingly
spend in the anticipation of a return visit, of a gate that will in some
degree recoup them for their out expenses, and provide something
towards the regular outgoings besides. In this case it is difficult to
assess the loss of gate, and in junior football that need not be seriously
considered, as the game should be played more as asport than anything
else. But for not playing the return match the club in fault saves itself
another fifteen shillings, .and may also have received the benefit of a
gate at the home match. It is thus fair to assume that, at the least,
they should pay the cost of their opponents' visit. If this is not logical,
Ifail to see what is, and Ithink it establishes the fact that there is real
ground for complaint from a pecuniary point of view alone, apart from
the fact that players and their supporters are deprived of that after-
noon's sport that they expected to get and were entitled to.
The reasons for scratching are in most cases of avery flimsy char-
acter, and it is a form of football immorality that is most injurious to
the game. Iwill give some instances that came under my notice last
season. A club entered for a League, but having had two points
deducted from its score because of playing ineligible men—itself avery
reprehensible practice—callously scratches all its remaining matches in
that League. In two cases these were return matches that in honour it
was bound to play. In another case, by the carelessness of the captain
the full team did not turn up at the station, and the portion that did
declined to carry out the journey. Another club having arranged its
match card to play most of the matches at home in the earlier part of
the season, found that its players were disinclined to face the prospect
 2o6 Association Football
of five or six out journeys week after week, and calmly disbanded.
"Can't raise ateam " is considered to be ample excuse for sending a
wire on the very afternoon of the match, or a postcard which arrives
the same morning. This again is one of the worst features of this
miserable epidemic of scratching, that insufficient notice is given to the
home club. I can imagine few things more irritating than having
arranged with all one's players to turn up at a certain time, possibly
leaving posted bills, fixed on referee and linesmen, and anticipated a
little money to help to keep the club going. The evil consequences of
such late scratching is accentuated by its unexpected nature, but a
feature almost as bad is the indifference afterwards shown.
In almost every case that has cropped up where a letter of remon-
strance has been sent, and asking for an explanation, a rearrangement
of the match, or out-of-pocket expenses to be paid, it has been treated
as amatter of no consequence. A frequent phrase in letters from clubs
lodging complaints against others is, "I have written their secretary
several letters, but have had no reply." This discourteous conduct is
adding insult to injury. The least aclub can do in the best of cases is
to send 'a courteous reply, and it is also morally bound to accept the
consequences of the action of its officials. Such clubs are usually the
first to kick when they are treated by others in the same fashion. Such
want of courtesy is amazing. For specimens of the polite letter-writer
commend me to those of the secretaries of junior clubs where adispute
occurs.
This is adifficult problem. It is very plain that clubs ought to be
made to understand their obligations. Usually the orders of the Asso-
ciation as to the payment of claims are reluctantly met, and often in a
very nasty spirit, and Iam not at all disinclined to the suggestion that
fines should be imposed for bad cases of scratching. Unfortunately
these little clubs seldom have any money, and it is a bad feature
about them that when they get into difficulties the players desert and
leave the secretary and some of the more loyal of the committee to
bear the burden. It is customary for the committee to be held
responsible by name for aclub's debts being paid; but even this is not
always true justice, for often the scratching of matches is the fault
of the players, who trouble very little that their officials should be
suspended until an award is paid so long as they may transfer their
services to another club, and so escape all liability. It is a proceeding
so mean and despicable that Iam sorry to have to say that it is by no

I
 Rules for Junior Leagues Zo e

means uncommon. If some of the players were blacklisted until they

showed abetter understanding of right and wrong it would not be at all
abad thing for the game. Leagues have a very good remedy if they
like to exercise it in the interests of the game.

THE CONTROL OF JUNIOR LEAGUES

The cause of the most troublesome questions that disturb the world
of Junior League football is the carelessness with which rules are drawn
up. Ido not suggest that the following list of the regulations on which
League competitions might easily be based and with advantage embody
every desideratum, or may be called "model rules," but I have drawn
them up with the object of assisting the Junior Leagues and in accordance
with the new regulations of the Football Association, and in the hope
that they may be of some use to them.

RULES OF THE LEAGUE

DESCRIPTION OF LEAGUE

This League shall be called th e League. It shall consist of

(or not more than) clu bs, whose headquarters (grounds) shall be within
miles of (or describe area). Each club shall be affiliated
to its County Association, or to a District Association within whose area its head-
quarters (ground) lie, which is affiliated to the County Association. (If more than
one division.) The League shall comprise divisions, of (not more than)
clubs in the First Division, in the Second Division, and in
the Third Division (if required).

MEMBERSHIP

The annual subscription of each club to the League shall be which must
be paid on or before . Each club shall be liable for its share towards
the expenses of the League, and shall be at the disposal of the League if matches or
other methods of meeting the same are necessary.

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

The annual general meeting of the League shall be held in the month of
The officers and two delegates from each club that was amember of the League in the
previous season, and whose subscription for the ensuing season is paid, shall be entitled
2os Association Football
to attend. At least seven clear days' notice of the time and place of such meeting and
the business to be transacted shall be. sent to each officer and club. shall form a
quorum. The order of business at the annual general meeting shall be as follows:—
i. Presentation of annual report and statement of accounts, which must have
been audited.
2. Alteration of rules. (No alteration shall be considered or made of which
notice has not been given on or before to the Hon. Sec.
of the League, who shall place the same on the notice convening the
meeting.)
3. Election of new clubs.
4. Election of officers and Management Committee.
5. General.

GENERAL MEETI\ GS

A general meeting, at which the officers _and two delegates from each club may
attend, may be called on the requisition of any clubs, or at the order of
the Management Committee. At least seven clear days' notice of the time and place
of such meeting and the business to be transacted shall be sent to each officer and
club. shall form a quorum.

MANAGEMENT CO-Ir1IITTEE

The Management Committee shall consist of

and the Hon. Sec., and shall appoint a Chairman for the season. It
shall meet and shall have power to deal with breaches of the rules,
or matters not covered by these rules, to appoint any sub-committees, make the futures,
appoint referees, and conduct the business of the League. shall form aquorum.

APPEALS

Appeals from decisions of the League or Management Committee may be made

within seven days to the County Association by which it is sanctioned, and in
accordance with the regulations of such Association on the subject.

PLAYERS' QUALIFICATIONS

The qualifications of a player for a club shall be—

z. Birth within miles from Continuous residence
for within from
2. A player so qualified shall not be entitled to play until his signature to an
official registration form, attested by the Hon. Sec. of the club, has been
in the hands of the Hon. Sec. of the League for days. Each
registration shall be acknowledged and intimation given to the club of the
date on which the player is so qualified to play. Registration forms shall
be supplied to each club as desired, price each.
 Penalties for Poaching to g
(If a registration qualification is alone required, omit iand words 11 so qualified"
in 2.)
A player shall not be qualified to compete in the League who is (a) (describe any
personal disqualification as professionalism or age). (b) Who has played (describe the
League or competition and the number of matches in previous or current seasons the
playing in which it is desired should disqualify a player).

INELIGIBLE PLAYERS

A club playing an ineligible player shall have two points deducted from its score.

PLAYERS' TRANSFER

A player shall not sign a registration form for or play for more than one club
in the same season until or unless he is transferred to another club. A player desiring
to be transferred must make application in writing to the Hon. Sec. of the League.
On receipt of the application he shall be eligible to play for such club at the expiration
of days, unless within that period the club to which he belongs object to
the transfer and the Management Committee uphold the objection.

INDUCING PLAYERS TO LEAVE

Any club, or member of a club, found guilty of inducing or attempting to induce

abona-fide member of another club in the to leave his club shall be liable
to expulsion.

SCORING

Each club shall play home and away matches with each other club. A win shall
count two points, and a draw one point. The club scoring most points in the com-
petition shall be the Champion Club of the League. In the case of equal points the
best goal average shall decide. Each club shall take its own receipts, and pay its own
expenses in connection with League matches, and find proper dressing accommodation
for the visiting team on the ground if possible. All matches shall be played according
to the Laws of the Game, and the Rules, Regulations, and Bye-Laws of the Football
Association, and the home club shall take proper precaution to preserve law and order.

UNFINISHED AND RE-PLAYED MATCHES

In the event of any match not being played owing to causes over which neither I
club has any control, or being ordered to be replayed, it shall be replayed on a date
eventually agreed and approved by the Management Committee. Where gate money
vas taken on the original date, the home club shall undertake all the charges for
referee, linesmen, gate-takers, police, advertising, and printing, and if the gate money
is sufficient, the third-class fares of the visiting club. If the match is replayed through
fault of the visiting club their fare shall not be paid. Where no gate money was
VOL. II. 0
 2I0 Association Football
taken on the original date, the visiting club shall play the match without charge to the
home club.

REFEREES

The referee shall be appointed by the Management Committee from the official
list of the Hampshire Football Association (or shall be appointed by the Hampshire
Football Association Referees' Committee Division). The home club shall pay
the referee on the day of the match, and shall find dressing-room for
him apart from the players. In the event of the appointed referee failing to attend,
the clubs may mutually agree upon a referee, and the game shall then count as a
League match.

LINESMEN

Each club shall appoint its own linesman, unless the Management Committee order
neutral linesmen, when their expenses shall be paid by the home club.

CUP (SHIELD) AND MEDALS

The League shall provide eleven medals for the Champion Club, which club shall
also hold the Cup (or Shield) until the ist of March following, on
signing an agreement to return it to the League in good order and condition, to make
good any idamage, and in case of its loss by accident, or otherwise, to refund the League
the amount of its actual value.

PROTESTS

Any protest relating to the ground, goal-posts, or bars, or other appurtenances of

the game, shall not be entertained unless an objection has been lodged with the referee
before the commencement of the match. The referee shall require the responsible club
to remove the cause of objection, if this is possible, without unduly delaying the
progress of the match. Protests respecting the eligibility of players must be lodged
with the Secretary of the League within seven days of the match, or within three clear
days of the day of issue of the official monthly list of registered players. All other
protests or appeals must be intimated to the referee at the time the violations take
place, and full particulars, under each of the above conditions, must be lodged with
the Secretary of the League within seven days thereafter, accompanied by a deposit
of ,which shall be forfeited should the protest not be sustained.

MAKING FTXTURES

The fixtures for the ensuing season shall be made at a meeting of the clubs to be
held on or before (or shall be completed by the clubs, and notified to
the Secretary on or before ). Open dates -shall be allowed for
Cup ties.

i
 rl•
Duties of a Home Team 2II

NOTIFICATION OF RESULTS

The result of each match shall be sent by each club, together with the list of players,
to the Secretary of the League within

CLUB COLOURS

When two clubs play in the same colours , the home club shall play in some
distinctive colours.

FIELD OF PLAY

The dimensions of the field of play shall be not more than yards long by
yards wide, or less than yards long by yards wide . The home club shall
mark out the field of play in accordance with the laws of the game.

INELIGIBLE TO VOTE

No person shall vote at any meeting on any protest or objection that concerns his
own club.

POWER OF EXPULSION

The League shall have power to suspend from taking part in the competition,
or expel any club or member found guilty of a breach of their rules.

PARTICULARS OF CLUBS

Each club shall notify the Secretary on or before of the situation

of its ground ,headquarters ,dressing-
room, colours,and name and address of Secretary.

WITHDRAWING FROM THE LEAGUE

Any club withdrawing from the League shall be liable to a fine of

DURATION OF A MATCH

The duration of each match shall be ninety minutes ,unless shorter period be
otherwise mutually agreed, but no match shall be a League match that is not of an
hour '
sduration.

GOAL-NETS
Goal-nets must be supplied by the home club and used at every match.

Blanks are left in the above that could be filled in to meet the
requirements of the League, and any special features might be added
as "Bye-Laws."
 2I2 Association Football
The qualification question is also prolific of trouble. Outside the
more important Leagues that cover large areas there is not the simple
qualification for the registration of a player for so many,days solely.
When this is done it solves almost all the difficulties. Not all, for two
occur to me. One of these is that permission seems necessary for acase
of playing an unqualified person by inadvertence, and the other is the
actual start and finish of such qualification. It is possible that for the
want of thought, or the ignorance of aplayer, or his captain, or some
sub-official, an unqualified man takes part in amatch. In such acase

GOALKEEPER ON THE ALERT

ought not rules to make some difference between intentional and uninten-
tional breaches ? The other point is asmall one, but it has been argued
to my knowledge that the hour at which aplayer's form is delivered to
the League secretary, and not the day of delivery, counts. Thus, if
there is a fourteen days' registration, and a player's form reaches the
secretary at 3.30 P.Ai. on 6th February, is that player qualified to play
in amatch starting at 3 P. M. on loth February. It has been argued
that he could not, and that he could join in at the tick of 3.3o. The
general view is, of course, that the day of registration counts as one,
which would allow the player to take part in a match on the fifteenth
day, i. e. 2oth February.
 On Unfinished Matches 21 3

But in the case of localised Leagues, alocal qualification seems neces-

sary. My own view is that the simple registration, only for alonger
period, is the best; but all Leagues vary in the form and description of
residential birth and area qualification, and thereby have many disputes,
chiefly on what is meant by residence. The area problem is no small
one, for I have had disputes to consider that questioned whether ten
miles from such a point meant along the nearest highway, or "as the
crow flies." The latter of course. But in the case of aLeague whose
qualification was ten miles from the playing ground, it was proved by
actual survey maps that while one goal in the ground was within the
radius the other was not. Funny, isn't it? but true. You ask me what
Isaid ? Isaid that part of the ground was sufficient for the purpose,
and, further, that I would never strain at a mere fraction of a mile.
Birth, of course, offers no difficulties unless there is a dispute as to the
house aman is born in, though Iremember a case in which the father
and mother being appealed to, disagreed on the point. If it were me,
I should have taken the mother's opinion. Her memory would, I
expect, be the stronger. But "residence." Is a boy at school fifty
miles away qualified by his parents' home? Or is a young man at
Oxford similarly held to be resident at Slocum-on-Mud? Is abutler
who has to go with his master to London for the season in residence
also in the country, and has an apprentice two legal residences ? Is the
case of a carpenter who works outside the radius in the week, but
spends every week-end at his father's house, within the rule ? One of
the simplest tests is where a man has to reside to earn his own living,
or where he resides while doing that. That settles the schoolboy
and the apprentice question in the affirmative, but renders the butler
and the carpenter outcasts from the League. But you often get
these points complicated again, and who can settle them with perfect
justness ?
Unfinished matches cause a lot of bother. The simple plan of
replaying them in full in any case has the merit of meeting the
difficulty, but it does not appeal to the provincial secretary. And
cases of great hardship have been made out to my knowledge. In one
case ateam led within six minutes of time by five goals to nil. Was
it right to nullify that score and give the losers anew chance ? That
was a simple case of mishap causing a stop—nobody's fault. But a
similar one was caused by members of the beaten side refusing to leave
the field of play when ordered off by the referee for misconduct. Should
 214 Association Football
misconduct result in an advantage to a beaten side ? In other cases
Iremember the late arrival of a team precipitated the catastrophe. It
seems to be only just that where aside contribute by breach of rules or
I
misconduct to the incompleteness of a match some difference should
be made.
Transfers of players cause much trouble, though the process is
simple, and the questions of deducting points, appointment of referees,
and hearing of protests give rise to endless trouble. Much of this is
caused by the partial character of the average League tribunal. Ihave
always found that in junior circles, at least where the management of a
competition is vested in club representatives, it does not conduce to the
easy conduct of business and the proper disposal of difficulties. Of all
the tyrants Iknow club representation is one of the worst. It seems
aperfectly safe plan to give each competing club an equal voice in the
management. It seems to be fair, and all the rest of it, but neverthe-
less it fails. It fails also if club representation is partial. That is to
say, if there is a management committee composed of the direct repre-
sentatives of some of the clubs, and not all. To be put on aproper
basis the control should not be in the hands of the clubs directly,
but of an independent committee. But how to get this in the smaller
Leagues, or in the larger, is the puzzle, and it is adifficulty that no rule-
framer can very well get over. Its only solution seems to me at the
present moment for each League to have an appeals committee of
outsiders, or to have an appeal to the county or district association
they belong to. This would be acheck on reckless club-voting regard-
less of right and wrong, and help to bring about a better method of
deciding disputes.
A point that has caused great friction is the power of a League at
any time, on the report of anybody, and on its own initiative, without
protest duly lodged, and all in proper form and order, to consider and
deal with breaches of rules. A club will argue that as provision is
made for protesting there should be none possible outside it ;that if
they play an unqualified man and the opponents do not "twig it" in
time, the lapse of the stated period should secure them immunity from
punishment. This has been stoutly urged, and it has been upheld,
and so has the contrary, and even where no rule gave the League the
power in so many words. Obviously that power should be secured if
only to ensure that malpractices are not carefully concealed pro tem.
Anything that is in the better interests of the game, that tends to lessen

I
its abuses, and set ahigher tone and level of conduct, is worth doing,
and I think may be lawfully done. But it is hard to get the club-
bound representative to see it so long as he gains his point for the
moment. He will with perfect sangfroid argue precisely the other
way about if needs be a year hence. More careful drafting of rules,
and abetter spirit in administering them, is wanted.
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