Our Leading Football Players,1888

The term Football was used in the Victorian press to refer to both Association and Rugby, sometimes creating the impression that the differences in the codes were negligible and that the games retained a common flavour.  In fact the South Wales and Yorkshire  press, though reporting almost exclusively on the handling code, hardly ever used the word Rugby in their columns. So , when the Boy's Own Annual featured a picture spread of Leading Football Players both codes were represented. I've italicized the Rugby players.  

 1  P.M Walters  (Old Carthusians, Oxford University & England)

 2  D Drummond - the only Drummond I could identify as playing top class Association or Rugby in 1888 was George "Geordie" Drummond of Preston North End.
 3  Sam Thompson (Preston North End & Scotland)

 4  J.R Dewhurst (St.Thomas's Hospital & England)
 5  Rawson Robertshaw (Bradford & England) 
 6  G.L Jeffery (Blackheath & England) 

 7  W.N 'Nuts' Cobbold  (Old Carthusians,  Cambridge University & England)

 8  T.W Blenkiron (Old Carthusians, Cambridge University) 

 9  H Springmann (Liverpool & England) 
10  E Wilkinson Bradford 
11  A. E Stoddart (Blackheath, England & The British Isles)

12    A.M Walters  (Old Carthusians, Cambridge University & England)

13  L Owen- I have been unable to identify this player. I can find no L Owen  playing for any of the major  Rugby teams listed in 1888 or thereabouts.  Association players of the era included G. Owen of Bolton Wanderers. and the brothers Billy and George Owen of Chirk and Wales. 

14  Fred Dewhurst  (Preston North End & England)

15  John Forbes  (Vale Of Leven, Blackburn Rovers & Scotland)

16  George Haworth (Accrington & England)

17  Patrick Hamilton Don-Wauchope (Fettes Lorettonian & Scotland) 

18  John Goodall (Preston North End & England)

19  W.F Holms (Edinburgh Wanderers & Scotland) 
20  H.B Tristram (Richmond & England)

World Team of the Decade-1880s

Just a bit of fun to stimulate some debate. I'm going to select a team for every decade from the 1880s to the 1930s. The inspiration? In November 1905 The Daily Mail chose a World XI to challenge another planet at football. I came across this when reading about Leigh Richmond Roose. 
As yet I have not been able to track down that 1905 World XI.
A difficult selection, as the 1880s was probably the decade in which the most profound changes in football took place. In 1880 the game at the highest level would have been almost exclusively the preserve of the old boys and amateurs. 
Three key developments shaped the decade:
 The emergence of the professional teams of Lancashire and the midlands.
The influx of Scottish professionals and the influence they had on the way the game was played.
The legalization of professionalism. 
Anyway, my selection for the 1880s- lining up in the 2-3-5 formation:

	Player	Team	Country
GK	Herby Arthur	Blackburn Rovers	England
In the 1880s the FA Cup was the measure of success in the domestic game and Arthur won it 3 years in a row with Rovers. Another considered was James Trainer of Preston North End.
RB	Nick Ross	Preston North End/Everton	Scotland
A pioneer professional, considered the best defender in the country, reputedly paid £10 a month in 1888.
LB	Fergus Suter	Blackburn Rovers	Scotland
One of the earliest professional signings in the game when he joined Darwen. Caused a stir by moving to neighbours Blackburn Rovers. Others considered were Walter Arnott ( Queen’s Park/ Scotland ) and P.M Walters (Old Carthusians/ England).
RH	Arthur Fitzgerald Kinnaird	Old Etonians	Scotland
Lord Kinnaird’s physical approach to the game may have been a bit old school even at the end of his own playing days, but his achievements cannot be overlooked. He could play in any position.
CH	Norman Bailey	Clapham Rovers	England
The first man to have a protracted run as England captain and the first to reach the magical figure of ten caps. A solid performer.
LH	Jimmy Forrest	Blackburn Rovers	England
The first openly professional player to represent England. Won the FA Cup 5 times.
OR	Billy Bassett	West Bromwich Albion	England
1.65 m in an era of physicality, Bassett was a winger who also scored goals.
IR	Fred Dewhurst	Preston North End	England
The team of the decade would have to have some representative from Corinthian FC, but Fred Dewhurst wasn’t your typical Corinthian- he was the only amateur in the Preston Invincibles line up. A prolific scorer at international level.
CF	John Goodall	Preston North End	England
I chose Goodall as one of the earliest in a long line of professional centre forwards who have been England superstars. I gave consideration also to Tinsley Lindley (Cambridge University, Nottingham Forest/ England) and Archie Hunter (Aston Villa/ Scotland).
IL	Jimmy Ross	Preston North End	Scotland
The Little Demon scored a goal a game in the first two seasons of the Football League. In his time at Preston he scored 250 goals in 220 appearances.
OL	James Brown	Blackburn Rovers	England
Brown was another leading figure in the FA Cup dominance of Blackburn Rovers. Charlie Bambridge (Swifts/England) was a contender.

I expect some criticism for the lack of Scotsmen in the team, and would welcome readers to submit their alternative selections.

Fred Dewhurst

Fred Dewhurst was a member of the Preston North End 'Invincibles', the leading professional side of the late 1880s described by one contemporary journalist as a 'machine',

For Preston Dewhurst appeared in the 1888 FA Cup Final , scoring in the 2-1 defeat to West Bromwich Albion. 
The following season, in which The Invincibles won the double, he again scored  in the Cup Final (in a 3-0 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers) and claimed 12 goals in 16 League appearances.
In League football  Dewhurst scored a total of 13 goals in 24 games.
 Unlike his teammates at Deepdale Dewhurst, a teacher at  Preston Catholic School, was an amateur. This enabled him to also represent the greatest amateur side of the day, Corinthian FC.
He represented Corinth 29 times (1884-89) scoring 14 goals.

Dewhurst played 9 times for England. He scored in 8 of these 9 games and hit 12 goals in total:

					G
1	13.03.86	Ireland	Ballynafeigh, Belfast	W 6-1	1
2	29.03.86	Wales	The Racecourse, Wrexham	W 3-1	1
3	05.02.87	Ireland	Bramall Lane, Sheffield	W 7-0	2
4	26.02.87	Wales	Oval	W 4-0
5	19.03.87	Scotland	Leamington Road, Blackburn	L 2-3	1
6	04.02.88	Wales	Nantwich Road Ground, Crewe	W 5-1	3
7	17.03.88	Scotland	Hampden (II)	W 5-0	2
8	07.04.88	Ireland	Ballynafeigh, Belfast	W 5-1	1
9	23.02.89	Wales	Victoria Ground, Stoke	W 4-1	1

The great football writer J.A.H Catton (Tityrus) wrote of Dewhurst:

(He) was a big, vigorous build of a player and talented, but he had not the science of his colleagues. ...he could simply walk over his opponents-and did. 

Dewhurst died on April 21, 1895, at the age of 32.