Aberystwyth Town Internationals

 Roose

Welsh Premier League club Aberystwyth Town (founded 1884) has provided Wales with 7 internationals (18 appearances). The club's predecessor, Aberystwyth, also produced 1 cap.
When Wales faced Scotland at Dundee on 21.03.96 there were 3 Aberystwyth Town players in the team.
The legendary goalkeeper Leigh Richmond Roose was said to have worn an Aberystwyth Town jersey as an undershirt throughout his first class career.

1	Jack Hughes	07.04.79	Wales	0	3	Scotland	Wrexham
	Hughes had made 1 previous appearance for Wales whilst he was playing for Cambridge University.
2	Jack Rea	24.02.94	Wales	4	1	Ireland	Swansea
		12.03.94	Wales	1	5	England	Wrexham
		24.03.94	Scotland	5	2	Wales	Kilmarnock
		23.03.95	Wales	2	2	Scotland	Wrexham
		29.02.96	Wales	6	1	Ireland	Wrexham
		21.03.96	Scotland	4	0	Wales	Dundee
		06.03.97	Ireland	4	3	Wales	Belfast
		20.03.97	Wales	2	2	Scotland	Wrexham
		19.02.98	Wales	0	1	Ireland	Llandudno
	Aberystwyth born inside left who founded London Welsh AFC and was briefly at West Bromwich Albion (see here).
3	Grenville Morris	29.02.96	Wales	6	1	Ireland	Wrexham
		16.03.96	Wales	1	9	England	Cardiff
		21.03.96	Scotland	4	0	Wales	Dundee
		29.03.97	England	4	0	Wales	Sheffield
	Aged 18 at the time of his debut, Morris went on to win a total of 21 international caps, playing for Swindon Town and Nottingham Forest. Known as the Prince of Inside lefts he scored 9 international goals.
4	Jack Garner	21.03.96	Scotland	4	0	Wales	Dundee
5	William Roberts Jones	20.03.97	Wales	2	2	Scotland	Wrexham
6	Jack Edwards	19.02.98	Wales	0	1	Ireland	Llandudno
7	Leigh Richmond "Dick" Roose	24.02.00	Wales	2	0	Ireland	Llandudno
	This was Roose’s debut. He moved on to London Welsh, Stoke, Everton and Sunderland (among other clubs) and won a total of 24 caps. His association with Aberystwyth began when he attended University in the town.
8	Ernest Peake	11.04.08	Wales	0	1	Ireland	Aberdare
	A native of Aberystwyth, left back Peake won a further 10 caps whilst playing for Liverpool.

England, 1876

We are used now to hyperbole in the media. Victorian journalism was more restrained. 
Here's how The Athletic News introduced the England team who faced Scotland on 5th March 1876:


The following constitute the English team:

A.H Savage, Crystal Palace (goal): He is a very good goal keeper and a powerful kick.

* A H Stratford, Wanderers (back): Can play forward or back, plays well as a full back, being a good and strong tackler.
E. Field, Clapham Rovers (back): A first rate back.

E.H Bambridge, Swifts (half back): Is a very useful forward as well, especially at the wings, keeps the ball when he gets possession of it, and is happy as a goal keeper.

B.G Jarrett, Cambridge University (half back): A real good player, and has shown good form this year.

Hubert Heron, Wanderers: As a wing player is very useful, and at times brilliant, is fast aside, dribbles skilfully, used to be a little selfish in his style of play, but of late very much improved in this respect; played in the International matches, 1873, 1874 and 1875.

W.J Maynard, Fist Surrey Rifles (new man): Very powerful and strong forward.

C.E Smith, Crystal Palace: One of the best players in his team.

A.W Cursham, Nottingham: One of the best of the Northern players- a very fast and energetic forward. 

F.Heron, Wanderers: Dribbles well, but is rather too light.
W.S Buchanan, Clapham Rovers: A good dribbler, the best of his team.

H. Heron captains the team for England.

*Stratford did not play; his place was taken by F.T Green (Wanderers)

 





Hubert Heron



Scotland won 3-0. It was a case of a heavier, dribbling team being outdone by combination. 

The Sixty Minute International Match

Played at The Oval, 18.01.79.
England 2 Wales 1

England		Wales
Rupert Anderson	Old Etonians	George Glascodine	Wrexham
Lindsay Bury	Cambridge University	Llewelyn Kenrick	Oswestry
Claud Wilson	Oxford University	G.G Higham	Oswestry
Norman Bailey	Clapham Rovers	William Williams	Druids
W.E Clegg	Sheffield Albion	Thomas Owen	Oswestry
Edward Parry	Old Carthusians	William Henry Davies	Oswestry
Heathcote Sorby	Thursday Wanderers	William Shone	Oswestry
Arthur Cursham	Notts County	Dennis Heywood	Druids
Henry Wace	Wanderers	John Price	Wrexham
Herbert Whitfield	Old Etonians	Digby Owen	Oswestry
Billy Mosforth	Sheffield Albion	William Roberts	Llangollen

After playing Scotland 3 times (3 defeats and 15 unanswered goals), Wales were offered a match against England at The Oval in January 1879.
The weather was appalling but Wales , after so much anticipation, were particularly keen for the game to go ahead, There were no more than 300 spectators present (maybe as few as 85).
A thick layer of snow covered the ground and it was agreed to play a truncated match of 30 minutes each way.

This gave rise to 3 players having England careers that lasted just one hour despite not being injured or substituted. Neither of England's debutant scorers (Whitfield and Sorby) was selected again, and it is worth noting that 19 year old Rupert Anderson was a forward who went in goal when Remnant FC's Rev. W. Blackmore  failed  to turn up (on the only occasion he was selected for England).
Contrary to some speculative sources Thomas Owen of Oswestry was almost certainly not the father of the poet Wilfred Owen. Wilfred Owen's father was born in Nantwich (England) on 31st  May 1862.

... a less rough and dangerous game ...

Bath Chronicle and Weekly Gazette 19.10.71

John Charles Thring was instrumental in developing two sets of rules during the pre-history of football.

 The Cambridge Rules of 1848 were an attempt at a compromise / unified code based on the games played at Eton, Harrow, Rugby, Winchester, and Thring's old school, Shrewsbury.

In 1862 Thring was a master at Uppingham School when he developed 'The Simplest Game' (also known as  'The Uppingham Rules').

These rules had some influence on the Football Association when they began formulating the Laws of the Game in 1863.

Of course, whilst giving us the greatest and most popular game in the world, the Football Association ultimately failed in their goal of unifying football.

Debates as to the relative merits, safety and propriety of football and Rugby feature widely in newspaper correspondence in the 19th century.

Thring's appeal here went unheeded, and the west of England became something of a Rugby stronghold. 

Alcock on Lancashire

Though the introduction of Association football into Lancashire about the same period as the establishment of the Cup, the first of an innumerable succession of trophies of a similar kind, was a mere coincidence and in no way connected, it is curious, considering the conspicuous part Lancashire clubs have played in the competition of late years, that their origin should have been coeval The paternity of the Association game in Lancashire may be claimed by Mr. J. C. Kay, an old Harrovian, who subsequently made himself a reputation in another branch of sport, as a lawn tennis player of no small ability, as well as manager of perhaps the best organized lawn tennis meeting in the kingdom" that which takes place annually on the ground of the Liverpool Cricket Club. Educated at Harrow, it was only natural that the primitive game in use in Lancashire should have been based very much on the eccentric admixture of different codes to which young Harrow had been used for generation after generation. The introduction of the Association game into Lancashire was, in fact, in a very great measure the work of an old Harrovian, as, some twenty years before, the initiation of the movement which practically led to the revival of football on a proper basis was to a considerable extent the work of a few keen athletes who had graduated at his School. To East Lancashire, in particular, belongs the credit of fostering the game in its infancy, as well as of assisting in the development which has resulted in making Lancashire one of the most powerful influences in Association football Bolton, I believe, was the first place which took at all kindly to the new sport, and, under Mr. Kay's watchful eye, the Harrow game, or perhaps as near a reproduction as could be devised to suit local requirements, for a time supplied all the wants of the lads who were undergoing their novitiate in football. Practice took place in the evenings, and, in fact, the game was of a very primitive kind, followed after the hard work of the day had been completed. It was not long, though, before an attempt was made to evolve something like system out of the rough efforts of these pioneers of Lancashire football. The first result of this organization, I have reason to believe, was the Bolton Wanderers club, which has outlived the many, and some of them excellent, changes through which football has gone during the last quarter of a century, and still remains a power in the land; in fact, one of the most influential combinations of the same kind in the north of England.

C.W Alcock  Football: The Association Game  (1906) 

Bolton Wanderers

C.W Alcock is correct in that it was John Charles Kay, along with his brother, who took the Harrow game to Lancashire, but it was first played at Turton, rather than Bolton.

Mr Alcock  overlooks the 'first wave' of Lancashire clubs (Turton, Darwen) who sowed the seeds that produced illustrious clubs such as Blackburn Rovers (f.1875).
Bolton Wanderers came into being in 1877, evolving from  Christ Church F.C (f.1874).