Southampton & Sheffield United, 1902

April 19th, 1902.
Sheffield United were to face Southampton at Crystal  Palace and The Sporting Life was jam packed with statistics on the Cup Final teams.

	Age	Weight		Height
Foulke	25	21 st	133 kg	6 ft 2 1/2	1.89
Thickett	28	14 st 7	91 kg	5 ft 8 1/2	1.74
Boyle	25	12 st 7	79 kg	5 ft  9	1.75
Johnson	24	12 st  5	78 kg	5 ft  9	1.75
Wilkinson	22	10 st 9	67 kg	5 ft 5 1/2	1.66
Needham	29	11 st 3	71 kg	5 ft  6	1.67
Bennett	28	13 st 3	84 kg	5 ft  7 1/2	1.71
Common	21	13 st	82 kg	5 ft 9	1.75
Hedley	24	12 st 5	78 kg	5 ft 11	1.80
Priest	27	12 st 12	81 kg	5 ft  8	1.72
Lipsham	24	11 st 5	72 kg	5 ft  9	1.75

	Age	Weight		Height
Robinson	32	13 st 7	85 kg	5 ft 11	1.80
Fry	20	13 st	82 kg	5 ft 10	1.77
Molyneux	23	11 st 13	75 kg	5 ft 10 1/2	1.79
Meston	31	11 st 11	74 kg	5 ft 9	1.75
Bowman	30	11 st	69 kg	5 ft 7	1.70
Lee	23	13 st	82 kg	6 ft	1.82
A Turner	25	11 st 11	74 kg	5 ft 9	1.75
Wood	34	13 st 1	83 kg	5 ft 10	1.77
Brown	23	11 st 8	73 kg	5 ft 11	1.80
Chadwick	32	10 st 11	68 kg	5 ft 6	1.67
J Turner	29	11 st 5	72 kg	5 ft 7	1.70

The game finished 1-1, Harry 'The Wolf' Wood (playing in his 5th Cup Final) scoring a controversial equalizer for Southampton in the 88th minute. Wood was in an offside position when the ball came to him, reportedly tying his bootlace. The referee, Mr Kirkham, adjudged that the ball had come off a United player. Then followed the  legendary incident in which a naked Foulke berated Mr Kirkham who had to hide in a cupboard to escape the goalkeeper's attentions.

Southampton and England

When international football came to Southampton in 1901 the selectors included 3 Saints players in the line up:

Jack Robinson - goalkeeper
Willy Meisl remembered Robinson as being the man who revolutionized goalkeeping in the eyes of Austrian spectators, being the first they had seen to dive to make saves. Robinson played 11 internationals (conceding 11 goals and keeping 5 clean sheets). 

C.B Fry- right back
The legendary all round sportsman joined Southern League Southampton with the express ambition of gaining international honours. He played 25 Southern League and FA Cup matches for The Saints from 1900- 1902. In the old amateur tradition he played when free of other commitments. He was also a member of Corinthian FC and some records overlook his affiliation with Southampton. This was his only international appearance. 

Arthur 'Archie' Turner- outside right 
In this his second and final international appearance Turner went off in the 20th minute with concussion following a heavy challenge from Peter Boyle
He joined Southampton  in  1899, scoring 23 goals in 65 Southern League appearances. he later played for  Derby County , Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur.

Corinthians for England

Corinthian FC were formed very much along the lines of an Old Boys club. A de facto England XI for ex Varsity men, who were invariably products of the public schools' system.
Corinthian came into being in 1882. Professionalism was still outlawed, but the influence of the  northern and midland clubs who gave assistance to their working class players was on the rise. 6 of the England team to face Scotland in 1882 came from Lancashire, Sheffield or midlands clubs- the regions in which professional football was about to flourish.
N.L Jackson's reasoning for the founding of Corinthian FC is often reported as being to ensure that England were able to keep pace with Scotland on the international front. Their role, however, was also to preserve an amateur foothold in the higher reaches of the English game.
Amateurs, of course, could play for whomsoever they wished to. We read of England XIs in the 1890s as being 'entirely Corinthians' but one could be a member of Corinthian FC and play occasionally or go on tour with them whilst still being primarily a member of another club.
There have, however, been 17 men who represented England whilst Corinthian was their primary club.


Cecil White (left half) 

	apps
1888	2

Henfrey

Arthur Henfrey (half back / forward) 

	apps	goals
1891-96	5	2

Anthony  Hossack (right half) 

	apps
1892-94	2

Smith

Gilbert Oswald Smith (centre forward) 

	apps	goals	capt
1893-1901	20	11	14

Smith has been described as the greatest player of the 19th century.

Lodge 

Vaughan Lodge (fullback) 

	apps
1894-96	5

Lodge's parents were Welsh. It appears that he drowned himself whilst suffering from depression.

W.J. Oakley (fullback)   

	apps		capt
1895-1901	16		1

Middleditch 

Bernard Middleditch (right half) 

	apps
1897	1

Geoffrey Wilson (inside left) 

	apps	goals
1900	2	1

Foster

• Reginald Erskine 'Tip'  Foster  (inside forward) 

• 	apps	goals	capt
  1900-02	5	3	1

  
  
• The only man to captain England at football and cricket.

Fry

C B Fry (right back) 

	apps
1901	1

The legendary great all rounder.

Corbett

Bertie Corbett  (outside left)

	apps
1901	1

Corbett was the author of The Annals of the Corinthian F. C. (1906).

K.E Hegan (outside forward)

	apps	goals
1923	4	4

Later to become Lieutenant-Colonel Kenneth Edward Heg

Norman Creek (forward) 

	apps
1923	1

Creek was a  decorated pilot from the 1914-18 war and the author of  The History of the Corinthian Football Club (1933) 

  Basil Patchitt  (fullback or half back)

	apps
1923	2

Bower

Alfred George 'Baishe'  Bower (fullback)

• 	apps		capt
  1923-27	5		3

  
  

Bower was the last amateur to captain England and the last amateur to play for England in the Home Championship.

Doggart

Graham Doggart (inside left)

	apps	goals	capt
1923	1		1

I read a description of Graham Doggart as being a 'useful' footballer. His goalscoring record for Corinthian (1919-1933) suggests a degree of understatement there:  appearances 203 goals 207.

Ashton

• Claude Ashton (centre forward)   

• 	apps		capt
  1925	1		1

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