Francis Marindin

The Major

 Francis Marindin  was a captain in the Royal Engineers when he played in the first FA Cup Final in 1872. He appeared in the final again  in 1874, but was on the losing side both times.
Marindin had been responsible for founding the Royal Engineers club, who were to the forefront of the move from individualistic play to the Combination Game based on passing.
'The Majaw' went on to become a highly respected referee,and also felt that it was appropriate to his position as chairman of the Football Association to take charge of the most prestigious matches. Consequently from 1880 to 1890 he refereed 9 FA Cup finals.
 Marindin disapproved of the advent of professionalism and the use of Scottish players by the northern professional clubs. For this reason he congratulated West Bromwich Albion after a cup semi final win over Preston in 1887 (a game that he had refereed) and told them that he hoped they would win the final (in which he also officiated!) . They didn't though, they lost to a slightly Scottish flavoured Aston Villa.

During The Major's 18 year involvement in the FA Cup it moved from being a minority diversion for amateurs (the 1872 final watched by 2000) to a mass spectator sport increasingly dominated by professionals 
(20,000 watched The Major's last final in 1890, in which Blackburn Rovers beat The Wednesday 6-1).
Note: during his career Marindin would have adjudicated from the touchlines- the referee only 'entered the field of play' in 1891.