Arthur Kinnaird, 11th Lord Kinnaird
Encyclopedia
Order of the Thistle
The Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle is an order of chivalry associated with Scotland. The current version of the Order was founded in 1687 by King James VII of Scotland who asserted that he was reviving an earlier Order...
(16 February 1847 – 30 January 1923) was a principal of 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...
and a leading football
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
er.
He was educated at Cheam School
Cheam School
Cheam School is a preparatory school in Headley in the civil parish of Ashford Hill with Headley in the English county of Hampshire. It was founded in 1645 by the Reverend George Aldrich in Cheam, Surrey and has been in operation ever since....
, Eton College
Eton College
Eton College, often referred to simply as Eton, is a British independent school for boys aged 13 to 18. It was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor"....
and Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Trinity has more members than any other college in Cambridge or Oxford, with around 700 undergraduates, 430 graduates, and over 170 Fellows...
, graduating BA in 1869. He worked in the family bank, becoming a director of Ransom, Bouverie & Co in 1870. This bank later merged with others in 1896 to become Barclays Bank of which he was a main board director until his death.
Football career
As a player, Kinnaird had a remarkable record. Having played in the second FA CupFA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
final in 1873, he took part in a further eight - an unmatched total of nine finals in all. He was on the winning side three times with Wanderers
Wanderers F.C.
Wanderers Football Club is an English amateur football club, based in London, that plays in the Surrey South Eastern Combination. Founded as Forest Football Club in 1859, the club changed its name to Wanderers in 1864....
and twice with the Old Etonians
Old Etonians F.C.
The Old Etonians Football Club is an English football club whose players are taken from previous attendees of Eton College, in Eton, Berkshire.-History:...
and celebrated his fifth Cup Final victory by standing on his head in front of the pavilion.
In the course of his career as a Cup Final player, Kinnaird played in every position, from goalkeeper to forward. It was while playing in goal for Wanderers in the 1877 final that he suffered the indignity of scoring the first significant own goal
Own goal
An own net occurs in goal-scoring games when a player scores a goal that is registered against his or her own team. It is usually accidental, and may be a result of an attempt at defensive play that failed or was spoiled by opponents....
in football history, accidentally stepping backwards over his own goal line after fielding an innocuous long shot from an Oxford University
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...
forward. The goal was not formally credited to Kinnaird until early football records were re-examined a century later, and it has been speculated - without there being any evidence - that the player used his influence as a member of the FA
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...
council to have the embarrassing record expunged. In fact the confusion appears to have been caused by the haphazard match reporting typical of the earliest days of the Association game.
Although he was born in Kensington
Kensington
Kensington is a district of west and central London, England within the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. An affluent and densely-populated area, its commercial heart is Kensington High Street, and it contains the well-known museum district of South Kensington.To the north, Kensington is...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, as son of an old Perthshire
Perthshire
Perthshire, officially the County of Perth , is a registration county in central Scotland. It extends from Strathmore in the east, to the Pass of Drumochter in the north, Rannoch Moor and Ben Lui in the west, and Aberfoyle in the south...
family Kinnaird also played for Scotland
Scotland national football team
The Scotland national football team represents Scotland in international football and is controlled by the Scottish Football Association. Scotland are the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside England, whom they played in the world's first international football match in 1872...
, winning his solitary cap against England
England national football team
The England national football team represents England in association football and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in England. England is the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside Scotland, whom they played in the world's first...
in the second ever international, played in 1873 at The Oval
The Oval
The Kia Oval, still commonly referred to by its original name of The Oval, is an international cricket ground in Kennington, in the London Borough of Lambeth. In the past it was also sometimes called the Kennington Oval...
.
He first played football while at Cheam School
Cheam School
Cheam School is a preparatory school in Headley in the civil parish of Ashford Hill with Headley in the English county of Hampshire. It was founded in 1645 by the Reverend George Aldrich in Cheam, Surrey and has been in operation ever since....
and was captain of the school team in 1859, aged 12, for a match against Harrow School
Harrow School
Harrow School, commonly known simply as "Harrow", is an English independent school for boys situated in the town of Harrow, in north-west London.. The school is of worldwide renown. There is some evidence that there has been a school on the site since 1243 but the Harrow School we know today was...
. He continued to play football at Eton College
Eton College
Eton College, often referred to simply as Eton, is a British independent school for boys aged 13 to 18. It was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor"....
, winning the House Cup in 1861 with Joynes's House, but was never selected for the school eleven. He first played association football early in 1866.
He was renowned as perhaps the toughest tackler of his day, giving rise to the (probably apocryphal) story that his wife once expressed the fear that he would "come home one day with a broken leg." A friend is said to have responded: "You must not worry, madam. If he does, it will not be his own."
Posterity has awarded Arthur Kinnaird the reputation of being fond of 'hacking', i.e. deliberately kicking his opponents. This is not entirely fair: reports from his playing days do not criticise him, and he owes his notoriety to an oft-repeated anecdote which first appeared in an October 1892 issue of Pastime magazine, a weekly sporting journal that was edited by Nicholas Lane 'Pa' Jackson, founder of the Corinthians Football Club and a committee member of the Football Association.
Jackson wrote: 'The keen rivalry which at one time existed between the Old Etonians and Old Harrovians lent an additional zest to the matches between them, and in one of these Lord Kinnaird’s energy was expended as much on the shins of his opponents as on the ball. This at length caused a protest from the captain of the Harrovians, who asked, ‘Are we going to play the game, or are we going to have hacking?’ ‘Oh, let us have hacking!’ was the noble reply.'
Jackson later reveals that the opposing captain was Charles Alcock
Charles Alcock
Charles Alcock may refer to:*Charles R. Alcock , New Zealand astronomer*C. W. Alcock, Charles William Alcock , English footballer, creator of the FA Cup and organiser of the first Test in England...
, which pinpoints the likely origin of the anecdote to a game on 16 November 1872, described as ‘a friendly, but most vicious game of football’ by The Graphic newspaper. Alcock and Morton Peto Betts were sufficiently disabled to be unable to play for England in the first official international, two weeks later.
Sportswriters and fellow internationals queued to pay tribute to Kinnaird's skill as a footballer both during and after his career. He was, according to "Tityrus" (J.A.H. Catton), editor of the Athletic News, of
- "yeoman build and shaggy auburn beard, [and] did not quite look the part of a Scottish laird, until one spoke to him, and heard his rich, resonant voice and his short ejaculatory sentences. Of course, he had the voice and manner of an educated man of distinction.
- "He was a leader, and above all things, a muscular type of Christian... As a player, in any position, [he] was an examplar of manly robust football. He popularised the game by his activity as a footballer among every class. He was at much at home with the boys of the Polytechnic, London, as he was with the Old EtoniansOld Etonians F.C.The Old Etonians Football Club is an English football club whose players are taken from previous attendees of Eton College, in Eton, Berkshire.-History:...
.
- "There was a time when the white ducks of Kinnaird, for he always wore trousers in a match, and his blue and white quartered cap were as familiar on the field as the giant figure of W.G. Grace with his yellow and red cricket cap... Lord Kinnaird used to say that he played four or five matches a week and never grew tired, but he added, late in life, that he would never have been allowed to stay on the field five minutes in these latter days. Nevertheless, he was fair, above board, and was prepared to receive all the knocks that came his way without a trace of resentment."
As an administrator, Kinnaird was an FA committeeman at the age of 21, in 1868. He became treasurer 9 years later and president 13 years after that, replacing Major Francis Marindin
Francis Marindin
Colonel Sir Francis Arthur Marindin, KCMG served with the Royal Engineers and was a key figure in the early development of association football. He was later knighted for his work in public services....
in 1890. He was to remain president for the next 33 years until his death in 1923, just months before the opening of Wembley Stadium
Wembley Stadium
The original Wembley Stadium, officially known as the Empire Stadium, was a football stadium in Wembley, a suburb of north-west London, standing on the site now occupied by the new Wembley Stadium that opened in 2007...
.
Outside of football he was president of the YWCA
YWCA
The YWCA USA is the United States branch of a women's membership movement that strives to create opportunities for women's growth, leadership and power in order to attain a common vision—to eliminate racism and empower women. The YWCA is a non-profit organization, the first of which was founded in...
and the YMCA
YMCA
The Young Men's Christian Association is a worldwide organization of more than 45 million members from 125 national federations affiliated through the World Alliance of YMCAs...
in England, a director of Barclays Bank and Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland
Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland
The Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland is the British Sovereign's personal representative to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland , reflecting the Church's role as the national church of Scotland, and the Sovereign's role as protector and member of...
in 1907, 1908 and 1909.
He was an all-round sportsman, twice winning a blue at tennis, in 1868 and 1869, while at Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Trinity has more members than any other college in Cambridge or Oxford, with around 700 undergraduates, 430 graduates, and over 170 Fellows...
, and was first in an international canoe race at the 1867 Paris Exhibition. He was Cambridge University swimming and fives champion, and won the Eton College
Eton College
Eton College, often referred to simply as Eton, is a British independent school for boys aged 13 to 18. It was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor"....
350 yards race in 1864.
Honours
WanderersWanderers F.C.
Wanderers Football Club is an English amateur football club, based in London, that plays in the Surrey South Eastern Combination. Founded as Forest Football Club in 1859, the club changed its name to Wanderers in 1864....
- FA CupFA CupThe Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
winners: 1873, 18771877 FA Cup FinalThe 1877 FA Cup Final was a football match between Wanderers and Oxford University on 24 March 1877 at Kennington Oval in London. It was the sixth final of the world's oldest football competition, the Football Association Challenge Cup . Wanderers were the reigning cup-holders and had won the...
, 18781878 FA Cup FinalMatch rules:90 minutes normal time.30 minutes extra-time if scores are level, at captains' discretion.Replay if scores still level.No substitutes.-Post-match:...
Old Etonians
Old Etonians F.C.
The Old Etonians Football Club is an English football club whose players are taken from previous attendees of Eton College, in Eton, Berkshire.-History:...
- FA CupFA CupThe Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
winners: 18791879 FA Cup FinalThe 1879 FA Cup Final was contested by Old Etonians and Clapham Rovers at the Kennington Oval. Old Etonians won 1-0, the only goal scored by Charles Clerke.-The Final:...
, 18821882 FA Cup FinalThe 1882 FA Cup Final was contested by Old Etonians and Blackburn Rovers at the Kennington Oval. Old Etonians won 1–0, the only goal scored by Reginald Macaulay... - FA CupFA CupThe Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
finalists: 1875, 18761876 FA Cup FinalMatch rules:90 minutes normal time.30 minutes extra-time if scores are level, at captains' discretion.Replay if scores still level.No substitutes.-Summary:The replay took place one week later at the same venue...
, 18811881 FA Cup FinalThe 1881 FA Cup Final was contested by Old Carthusians and Old Etonians at the Kennington Oval. Old Carthusians won 3-0, the goals scored by Edward Wynyard, Edward Hagarty Parry, and Alexander Todd.-The Final:...
, 18831883 FA Cup FinalThe 1883 FA Cup Final was contested by Blackburn Olympic and Old Etonians at the Kennington Oval. Blackburn Olympic won 2–1 after extra time. Jimmy Costley and Arthur Matthews scored for Blackburn; Harry Goodhart for Old Etonians.-Teams:-References:...
Sources
- Arthur Kinnaird: First Lord of Football, Andy Mitchell. CreateSpace, 2011. ISBN 978-1463621117.
- Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
- The Official History Of The Football Association, Bryon Butler, ISBN 0-356-19145-1
- Association Football and the Men Who Made It, William Pickford and Alfred Gibson. London: Caxton 1906.
- The Story of Association Football, "Tityrus" (J.A.H. Catton). Cleethorpes: Soccer Books, 2006 reprint of 1926 original. ISBN 1-86223-119-2.