Cuthbert Ottaway
Encyclopedia
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...
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...
team and led his side in the first official international football match
Scotland v England (1872)
Scotland v England was the first ever official international football match to be played. It was contested by the national teams of Scotland and England. The match took place on 30 November 1872 at West of Scotland Cricket Club's ground at Hamilton Crescent in Partick, Scotland...
.
Representing his university at five different sports – a record that remains unmatched – Ottaway was also a noted 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 until his retirement shortly before his early death at the age of only 27.
Early life, professional career and death
Cuthbert Ottaway was born in DoverDover
Dover is a town and major ferry port in the home county of Kent, in South East England. It faces France across the narrowest part of the English Channel, and lies south-east of Canterbury; east of Kent's administrative capital Maidstone; and north-east along the coastline from Dungeness and Hastings...
, the only child of James Ottaway, a surgeon and former mayor of the town. He was educated at Eton
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"....
(where he was a King's Scholar
King's Scholar
A King's Scholar is a foundation scholar of one of certain public schools...
) and at Brasenose College, Oxford, where he displayed a versatility as a sportsman matched only by his near-contemporary Alfred Lyttelton
Alfred Lyttelton
Alfred Lyttelton QC was a British politician and sportsman who excelled at both football and cricket. During his time at university he participated in Varsity Matches in five sports: cricket , football , athletics , rackets and real tennis , displaying an ability that made him...
. Representing his school in the annual cricket match against Harrow
Eton v Harrow
The Eton v Harrow cricket match is an annual cricket match between Eton College and Harrow School. It one of the longest-running annual cricket fixtures in the world. It is the last annual school cricket match played at Lord's Cricket Ground...
, twice victor in the Public Schools' Rackets
Racquets (sport)
Rackets or Racquets is an indoor racket sport played in the United Kingdom, United States, and Canada...
Doubles Championship, and winning Blues for representing his university at football (1874), cricket (1870–73), racquets (1870-3), athletics
Athletics (track and field)
Athletics is an exclusive collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking. The most common types of athletics competitions are track and field, road running, cross country running, and race walking...
(1873) and real tennis
Real tennis
Real tennis – one of several games sometimes called "the sport of kings" – is the original indoor racquet sport from which the modern game of lawn tennis , is descended...
(1870-2), Ottaway was – an Oxford newspaper remembered after his death – "a great cricketer... the best amateur racquet player of his time, a capital football player and a fair sprint runner. It has fallen to the lot of few amateur cricketers to attain greater popularity, and his reception on the day when he took his degree at Oxford was something to be remembered."
Ottaway read Classics at Brasenose, and, after going down, trained as a barrister
Barrister
A barrister is a member of one of the two classes of lawyer found in many common law jurisdictions with split legal professions. Barristers specialise in courtroom advocacy, drafting legal pleadings and giving expert legal opinions...
and was called to the bar in 1873. He married, in August 1877, Marion Stinson of Hamilton, Ontario
Hamilton, Ontario
Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Conceived by George Hamilton when he purchased the Durand farm shortly after the War of 1812, Hamilton has become the centre of a densely populated and industrialized region at the west end of Lake Ontario known as the Golden Horseshoe...
– whom he met, when she was just 13, while touring Canada with an England cricket team – and practised law until his death, in 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 a result of complications from a chill caught in the course of a night's dancing. The precise cause of death remains a matter of speculation. Diabetes ran in the Ottaway family, and this may have increased his susceptibility to respiratory diseases. It is also possible that he had earlier contracted tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
.
Cuthbert Ottaway had one daughter, Lilian, who was born after his death. He is buried in Paddington Old Cemetery.
Club career
Ottaway's greatest successes came as a footballer. He attended school and university at a time when the new Association code was gaining considerable popularity, and - as was often the case in the earliest days of the amateur game - represented several teams, playing for 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:...
, 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...
, Crystal Palace and Marlow
Marlow F.C.
Marlow F.C. is an English football club based in Marlow, Buckinghamshire. The club are currently members of Division One Central of the Southern League and play at the Alfred Davis Memorial Ground...
As a club player, Ottaway took part in three successive FA Cup
FA 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...
finals between 1873 and 1875, losing 1-2 with Oxford University against 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....
in 1873, winning 2-0 with Oxford against Royal Engineers
Royal Engineers A.F.C.
The Royal Engineers Association Football Club is an association football team representing the Corps of Royal Engineers, the "Sappers", of the British Army. In the 1870s it was one of the strongest sides in English football, winning the FA Cup in 1875 and being Cup Finalists in four of the first...
a year later, and then representing Old Etonians against Royal Engineers in 1875. He was noted for his speed and dribbling ability - this at a time when "the dribbling game", in which one man retained control of the ball for as long as possible until tackled, had yet to be superseded by the "combination" (passing) game.
Ottaway played an important part in two of his three finals. In 1874 he captained Oxford and helped to pin the Engineers back in their own half for long periods with extended excursions into opposition territory. He also participated in a three-man dribble that took the ball almost the whole length of the pitch and resulted in the scoring of his team's second and decisive goal. In 1875, Ottaway represented Old Etonians in a match notable chiefly because it was played in a "howling gale". The conditions considerably favoured the Eton team, which had the wind at its backs for all but 10 minutes of the 90, and all 30 minutes of extra time (teams in this period changed ends after every goal). Ottaway himself received a severe hack on his ankle 37 minutes into the final and was forced to leave the field; in his absence, the Old Boys were regarded as fortunate to have held on for a 1-1 draw. Ottaway failed to recover in time for the replay, held only three days later, and Etonians also lost the services of three other players who had prior commitments. Unable to obtain adequate replacements, the Old Boys arrived at the ground an hour late and lost the delayed replay 0-2.
Although the precise nature of Ottaway's ankle injury remains unknown, there is no evidence that he ever played senior football again after the 1875 Cup Final. His biographer, Michael Southwick, suggests that "the damage sustained to his ankle... signalled the end of his footballing career."
International career
As an international, Ottaway was selected to lead the England team travelling to PartickPartick
Partick is an area of Glasgow on the north bank of the River Clyde, just across from Govan. To the west lies Whiteinch. Partick was a Police burgh from 1852 until 1912 when it was incorporated into the city.-History:...
to meet 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...
on 30 November 1872 in what is now recognised as the first international match
Scotland v England (1872)
Scotland v England was the first ever official international football match to be played. It was contested by the national teams of Scotland and England. The match took place on 30 November 1872 at West of Scotland Cricket Club's ground at Hamilton Crescent in Partick, Scotland...
to be played. (England had met a "Scotland" team in five earlier friendlies
England v Scotland representative matches (1870–1872)
Between 1870 and 1872, the Football Association organised five representative association football matches between teams from England and Scotland, all held in London. The first of these matches was held at The Oval on 5 March 1870, and the fifth was on 21 February 1872. The matches, which were...
, but these matches are not regarded as official as the "Scotch" players were drawn solely from those then domiciled in England). England dominated the match, played before a crowd of around 4,000 at the West of Scotland Cricket Club
West of Scotland Cricket Club
The West of Scotland Cricket Club is a large cricket club based in Glasgow, Scotland. Their ground is Hamilton Crescent located in the Partick area of Glasgow's West End...
, but were unable to break down an obdurate Scottish defence, a failing probably attributable to the "rampant individualism" indulged by Ottaway's forwards in this early and formative period of the Association game. The game ended in a 0–0 draw.
Ottaway did not play in the return fixture, arranged in 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...
for 8 March 1873, but again captained his country in the third England-Scotland international, played once again at Partick on 7 March 1874. On this occasion the result was a 2–1 victory for Scotland.
The precise reasons for Ottaway's elevation to the captaincy in 1872 are not known. Southwick suggests that he owed his selection solely to 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...
, who had originally been chosen to captain the team by the committee of the Football Association. Alcock was injured playing for Old Harrovians some time before the international, and, writes Southwick, "it being too late to call a committee meeting... it fell, almost certainly, to Alcock, and Alcock alone, [to decide] who would fill the breach." The Field, on the other hand, suggested that the decision was made by general acclain, writing: "Mr C.J. Ottaway [was] unanimously selected by the Englishmen as best worthy to take the command."
Playing style and reputation
Cuthbert Ottaway played principally as a centre forward in the seven- and eight-man attacks in vogue during the early 1870s, and was described as "an excellent forward, being fast and very skilful in piloting the ball". As a striker, another contemporary appreciation noted, "he can certainly hold his own against all rivals"; he was "an elegant dribbler and plays well." It would appear that the player depended more heavily on skill and control than most footballers of his period; at a time when play of the most robust sort - including body-checking and "hacking" - was in vogue, Ottaway was praised for his grace. "His beautiful science," another report observed, "exhibited how a ball ought to be taken through a host of foes."Ottaway appears to have been well regarded by his team-mates, but there are hints that he practised the snobbery not uncommon among men of his class and time. The Sheffield
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...
amateur J.C. Clegg (later Sir Charles Clegg, President 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...
), who played alongside him in the first England-Scotland international, remarked in later years that none of the southern amateurs in the side would speak to him.
Cricketing career
As a cricketer, Cuthbert Ottaway represented Eton CollegeEton 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"....
, Oxford University, Gentlemen
Gentlemen v Players
The Gentlemen v Players game was a first-class cricket match that was generally played on an annual basis between one team consisting of amateurs and one of professionals . The first two games took place in 1806 but the fixture was not revived until 1819. It was more or less annual thereafter...
, South of England
South of England cricket team
The South of England appeared in first-class cricket between 1836 and 1961, most often in the showcase North v. South matches against the North of England although there were also games against touring teams, MCC and others....
, Middlesex
Middlesex County Cricket Club
Middlesex 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 Middlesex. It was announced in February 2009 that Middlesex changed their limited overs name from the Middlesex Crusaders, to the...
, Kent
Kent County Cricket Club
Kent County Cricket Club is one of the 18 first class county county cricket clubs which make up the English and Welsh national cricket structure, representing the county of Kent...
and M.C.C.
Marylebone Cricket Club
Marylebone Cricket Club is a cricket club in London founded in 1787. Its influence and longevity now witness it as a private members' club dedicated to the development of cricket. It owns, and is based at, Lord's Cricket Ground in St John's Wood, London NW8. MCC was formerly the governing body of...
, also touring the United States and Canada with an England team in 1872. He played as a right-handed batsman and first came to public notice in 1868, when his 108, scored in the Eton-Harrow match at Lord's
Lord's Cricket Ground
Lord's Cricket Ground is a cricket venue in St John's Wood, London. Named after its founder, Thomas Lord, it is owned by Marylebone Cricket Club and is the home of Middlesex County Cricket Club, the England and Wales Cricket Board , the European Cricket Council and, until August 2005, the...
, was largely responsible for his team's victory in the fixture by an innings and 108 runs. Ottaway went on to score two first-class centuries, both notched at the end of his career, while accumulating a total of 1,691 runs at an average of 27.27. "As a steady, defensive player," according to one obituarist, "he had not many superiors," and Southwick writes that he was "considered to have both the best defensive and most correcting batting action. of his day." In his best year, 1876, Ottaway stood fourth in the national first-class batting averages.
Though Ottaway represented Gentlemen against Players
Gentlemen v Players
The Gentlemen v Players game was a first-class cricket match that was generally played on an annual basis between one team consisting of amateurs and one of professionals . The first two games took place in 1806 but the fixture was not revived until 1819. It was more or less annual thereafter...
three times (in 1870, 1872 and 1876) - the highest honour available to a cricketer in the years before the advent of Tests - he is perhaps better known for playing in four Varsity Matches
The University Match (cricket)
The University Match in a cricketing context is generally understood to refer to the annual fixture between Oxford University Cricket Club and Cambridge University Cricket Club...
against Cambridge. The most notable of these was the first, in 1870 - a game still remembered as "Cobden's Match". Scoring 69 in Oxford's second innings and taking an exceptional catch one-handed at long on, Ottaway played a full part in helping his team-mates to a position in which, with three wickets remaining, they needed to score four runs to win the game. Bets were taken among the spectators at 100-1 on for Oxford to win from this position, but they were thwarted by the Cambridge bowler Frank Cobden
Frank Cobden
Frank Carroll Cobden was an English cricketer who played for Cambridge University and the MCC. In the University Match of 1870 he famously took a hat-trick comprising the last three Oxford University batsmen when Oxford required only three more runs to win...
, who – having conceded one run from the first ball of his four-ball over – took a hat-trick
Hat-trick
A hat-trick or hat trick in sport is the achievement of a positive feat three times during a game, or other achievements based on threes. The term was first used in 1858 in cricket to describe HH Stephenson's feat of taking three wickets in three balls. A collection was held for Stephenson, and he...
with his last three balls to leave Ottaway's team two runs short of a draw and three short of the total required for victory. "By superior bowling and infinitely superior fielding," commented Geoffrey Bolton's History of the OUCC, "Oxford reached a position where they could not lose; and they lost."
Honours
Oxford UniversityOxford 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...
- 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: 1874
Works consulted
- Bolton, Geoffrey (1962). History of the OUCC. Oxford: Holywell Press.
- Gibbons, Philip (2001). Association Football in Victorian England: A History of the Game from 1863 to 1900. Leicestershire: Upfront Publishing. ISBN 1-84426-035-6.
- Gibson, Alfred, and William Pickford (1906). Association Football and the Men Who Made It. London, 4 vols.: The Caxton Publishing Company.
- Southwick, Michael (2009). England's First Football Captain: A Biography of Cuthbert Ottaway, 1850-1878. Nottingham: Soccer Data. ISBN 978-1-905891-27-6.
- Wall, Sir Frederick (2006 reprint of 1935 original). 50 Years of Football 1884-1934. Cleethorpes: Soccer Books.
- Warsop, Keith (2004). The Early FA Cup Finals and the Southern Amateurs. Nottingham: Soccer Data. ISBN 1-899468-78-1