Arthur Foster
Encyclopedia
Arthur Webster Foster was an English
footballer who played in the Football League
for Birmingham
and cricket
er who played for Warwickshire
.
area of Birmingham
, and educated at Repton
and Downing College, Cambridge
. He was the younger brother of Warwickshire
and England
cricket
er Frank Foster. He died in Acocks Green
, Birmingham, in 1954 at the age of 59.
His performance in a Cambridge freshmen's
match received a favourable report in The Times
: He scored the decisive goal in the 1914 University Match, and was appointed secretary of the University club for the 1914–15 season.
In March 1914, he was selected for a combined Oxford
and Cambridge Universities team which beat Chelsea F.C.
in "the first game in London between an A.F.A. side and a professional team for many years", though he was not at his best: "his shooting was poor, and he passed too much to the left wing". That same month he assisted Old Reptonians to victory in the final of the Arthur Dunn Cup; he contributed many of the 33 goals they scored in reaching that stage, though his playing style had developed an element of selfishness:
Foster played for the major amateur clubs of the time, both Casuals
, for whom he took part in the final of the 1913 A.F.A. Cup, and Corinthians, touring Brazil
and scoring twice in a losing cause on the club's return to first-class football against the English Wanderers, an amateur eleven selected by the Football Association
.
He found time to turn out twice for Birmingham
in the Second Division
of the Football League
. He made his debut on 4 October 1913 playing at inside left
in a 1–1 draw at home to Hull City
, and in his second and last game, on Christmas Day of the same year, he scored in a 6–0 defeat of Glossop
.
in a County Championship
match in July 1914. He kept wicket
against Northamptonshire
, taking two catches, and made 0 and 1 not out with the bat; the match was drawn.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
footballer who played in the Football League
The Football League
The Football League, also known as the npower Football League for sponsorship reasons, is a league competition featuring professional association football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest such competition in world football...
for Birmingham
Birmingham City F.C.
Birmingham City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, they became Small Heath in 1888, then Birmingham in 1905, finally becoming Birmingham City in 1943.They were relegated at the end of the...
and cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
er who played for Warwickshire
Warwickshire County Cricket Club
Warwickshire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Warwickshire. Its limited overs team is called the Warwickshire Bears. Their kit colours are black and gold and the shirt sponsor...
.
Personal life
Foster was born in the DeritendDeritend
Deritend is an historic area of Birmingham, England, built around a crossing point of the River Rea. It is first mentioned in 1276. Today Deritend is usually considered to be part of Digbeth.-History:...
area of Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
, and educated at Repton
Repton School
Repton School, founded in 1557, is a co-educational English independent school for both day and boarding pupils, in the British public school tradition, located in the village of Repton, in Derbyshire, in the Midlands area of England...
and Downing College, Cambridge
Downing College, Cambridge
Downing College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1800 and currently has around 650 students.- History :...
. He was the younger brother of Warwickshire
Warwickshire County Cricket Club
Warwickshire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Warwickshire. Its limited overs team is called the Warwickshire Bears. Their kit colours are black and gold and the shirt sponsor...
and England
English cricket team
The England and Wales cricket team is a cricket team which represents England and Wales. Until 1992 it also represented Scotland. Since 1 January 1997 it has been governed by the England and Wales Cricket Board , having been previously governed by Marylebone Cricket Club from 1903 until the end...
cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
er Frank Foster. He died in Acocks Green
Acocks Green
Acocks Green is an area and ward of south Birmingham, England. It is named after the Acock family who built a large house in the area in 1370. Acocks Green is one of the four wards making up Yardley formal district...
, Birmingham, in 1954 at the age of 59.
Football
The majority of Foster's football was played for Cambridge University and for clubs and representative teams under the auspices of the Amateur Football Association (A.F.A.)Amateur Football Alliance
The Amateur Football Alliance is a County Football Association in England. It is unusual among County FAs in not being based around a particular geographical area. It was founded in 1907, as the Amateur Football Defence Foundation, quickly changed to Amateur Football Association, when The FA...
His performance in a Cambridge freshmen's
Freshman
A freshman or fresher is a first-year student in secondary school, high school, or college. The term first year can also be used as a noun, to describe the students themselves A freshman (US) or fresher (UK, India) (or sometimes fish, freshie, fresher; slang plural frosh or freshmeat) is a...
match received a favourable report in The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
: He scored the decisive goal in the 1914 University Match, and was appointed secretary of the University club for the 1914–15 season.
In March 1914, he was selected for a combined Oxford
Oxford University A.F.C.
Oxford University Association Football Club is an English football club representing the University of Oxford.-History:Formed in 1872, the club was a giant of the 1870s, winning the FA Cup 2-0 against Royal Engineers in 1874 and finishing the competition as runners up in 1873, 1877 and 1880, the...
and Cambridge Universities team which beat Chelsea F.C.
Chelsea F.C.
Chelsea Football Club are an English football club based in West London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions four times, FA Cup winners six times and League Cup winners four...
in "the first game in London between an A.F.A. side and a professional team for many years", though he was not at his best: "his shooting was poor, and he passed too much to the left wing". That same month he assisted Old Reptonians to victory in the final of the Arthur Dunn Cup; he contributed many of the 33 goals they scored in reaching that stage, though his playing style had developed an element of selfishness:
Foster played for the major amateur clubs of the time, both Casuals
Casuals F.C.
Casuals F.C. were an amateur football club based in London, formed in 1878.They were founder members of the Isthmian League in 1905 and won the FA Amateur Cup in 1936....
, for whom he took part in the final of the 1913 A.F.A. Cup, and Corinthians, touring Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
and scoring twice in a losing cause on the club's return to first-class football against the English Wanderers, an amateur eleven selected by the Football Association
The Football Association
The Football Association, also known as simply The FA, is the governing body of football in England, and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. It was formed in 1863, and is the oldest national football association...
.
He found time to turn out twice for Birmingham
Birmingham City F.C.
Birmingham City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, they became Small Heath in 1888, then Birmingham in 1905, finally becoming Birmingham City in 1943.They were relegated at the end of the...
in the Second Division
Football League Second Division
From 1892 until 1992, the Football League Second Division was the second highest division overall in English football.This ended with the creation of the FA Premier League, prior to the start of the 1992–93 season, which caused an administrative split between The Football League and the teams...
of the Football League
The Football League
The Football League, also known as the npower Football League for sponsorship reasons, is a league competition featuring professional association football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest such competition in world football...
. He made his debut on 4 October 1913 playing at inside left
Inside forward
In football, the position of inside forward was popularly used in the late nineteenth and first half of the 20th centuries. The inside forwards would support the centre forwards, running and making space in the opposition defence, and, as the passing game developed, supporting him with passes...
in a 1–1 draw at home to Hull City
Hull City A.F.C.
Hull City Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, founded in 1904. The club participates in the Football League Championship, the second tier of English football...
, and in his second and last game, on Christmas Day of the same year, he scored in a 6–0 defeat of Glossop
Glossop North End A.F.C.
Glossop North End A.F.C. are an English football club based in Glossop, Derbyshire. Former members of the Football League, they are currently in the North West Counties League and are members of the Derbyshire County Football Association. They play their home matches at Surrey Street, which has a...
.
Cricket
Foster appeared once for WarwickshireWarwickshire County Cricket Club
Warwickshire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Warwickshire. Its limited overs team is called the Warwickshire Bears. Their kit colours are black and gold and the shirt sponsor...
in a County Championship
County Championship
The County Championship is the domestic first-class cricket competition in England and Wales...
match in July 1914. He kept wicket
Wicket-keeper
The wicket-keeper in the sport of cricket is the player on the fielding side who stands behind the wicket or stumps being guarded by the batsman currently on strike...
against Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire County Cricket Club
Northamptonshire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Northamptonshire. Its limited overs team is called the Northants Steelbacks. The traditional club colour is Maroon. During the...
, taking two catches, and made 0 and 1 not out with the bat; the match was drawn.