George Cotterill
Encyclopedia
George Huth Cotterill was an English
amateur footballer who made four appearances for England
as a forward
in the 1890s, captaining the side on his last two appearances.
, Sussex
and was educated at Brighton College
where he first showed his all-round athletic ability. He began his football career with the college in 1882 and was appointed team captain two years later, retaining this position for three years before going up to Trinity College, Cambridge
in 1887.
At Cambridge University, he was awarded his football blue in each of the years from 1888 to 1891 (including being captain in 1890).
on 6 November 1886, when he scored in a 3–2 victory. His appearances were infrequent until 1888–89, when he made six appearances, scoring three times including two against Preston North End
on 9 March 1889. He also put two goals past Sheffield United
on 6 January 1890.
His performances for both Corinthians and Cambridge University ultimately led to a call-up to the England
team. He made his international debut against Ireland on 7 March 1891, while still at Cambridge University. For the second year running, England played both Wales
and Ireland on the same day, and, for the match against Ireland played at Molineux
, Wolverhampton
, England selected a predominantly Midlands based team, with five players making their debut. Cotterill played at inside right and was amongst the scorers as England, who were "too skilfull for the Irish" won 6–1. This match was Tinsley Lindley
's final appearance for England, and he marked the occasion with two goals.
On 19 December 1891, Cotterill played for England in an "unofficial" match against Canada
, when he scored in a 6–1 victory. Fellow Corinthian, C. B. Fry also played for England in this match. During the 1891–92 season, Cotterill made six appearances for Corinthian scoring seven goals including a hat trick in a 4–4 draw with West Bromwich Albion
on 20 February 1892.
On 5 March 1892, England again played simultaneous matches against Wales and Ireland. This time, Cotterill was selected as part of a predominately amateur team (most of the players were members of the Corinthian club) to play against Wales at the Racecourse Ground
, Wrexham
, and was one of only three players in the side who had previous international experience. England were "a little too skilful for the Welsh" and ran out 2-0 winners with goals from Arthur Henfrey
and Rupert Sandilands
.
In April 1892, Corinthians played a multi-sport tournament against the Barbarian
s rugby club. Cotterill played at inside right in the soccer match which Corinthian won 6–0, with Tinsley Lindley
scoring a hat-trick. Cotterill also played in the rugby
match, which Corinthian won 16–13, although the match was not a very serious encounter and was described by The Times
newspaper as "a very amusing game". The rugby match was followed by an athletics meeting in which C. B. Fry was prominent, winning both the long jump
and high jump
, with Cotterill winning the "Putting the Weight" with a distance of 34 ft 1in. Finally, the two clubs met a few weeks later in a cricket
match in which Cotterill played alongside several other prominent Corinthians, including Fry, Lindley and Charles Wreford-Brown, with the Barbarians winning by four wickets.
By now Cotterill had left University and his primary registration was now with Old Brightonians, although he continued to turn out on a regular basis for Corinthian. He started the 1892–93 season with goals in each of the first three matches for Corinthian, including a hat-trick in a 4–2 victory against Sunderland
on 12 November. For the first time, Cotterill was able to join a Corinthian tour of northern England and Scotland, when he played five games in eight days in December and January against professional teams scoring five times.
Cotterill was appointed team captain for the 1893 British Home Championship
matches against Ireland and Scotland
. For the match against Ireland, played at Perry Barr
, Birmingham
on 25 February 1893, the selectors again called up a predominately amateur, Corinthians dominated eleven with another seven débutantes. Amongst the débutantes was Walter Gilliat
of Old Carthusians
who scored a hat-trick in his only appearance in an England shirt. England "won the game with ease" as further goals from G.O. Smith
, William Winckworth
and Rupert Sandilands
enabled England to run out convincing 6–1 victors.
For the next match, against Wales, the England selectors chose an entirely different, professional eleven players. Cotterill was restored for the final final international match of the season at Richmond, London on 1 April 1893 against Scotland who were hoping to avenge their defeat in each of the two previous seasons. England selected a strong eleven, with only Cotterill's fellow Old Brightonian, Leslie Gay
making his debut in goal. Cotterill scored England's second goal to bring the scores level after 58 minutes, with England eventually running out 5–2 victors, thus enabling them to claim the championship for the third consecutive season.
In 1893, he again started the season well for Corinthian with a hat-trick in a 11–0 defeat of The Army (Rupert Sandilands
scored six). He repeated this on 13 January 1894 in a 4–6 defeat against Aston Villa
. Villa had taken a three goal lead before Cotterill's hat-trick brought the score to 3–4. He finished the 1893–94 season with 16 goals from 13 appearances.
Over the next few seasons, he was only able to make a handful of appearances for Corinthian and he bowed out at the end of the 1897–98 season, having played 65 matches, scoring 53 goals in his thirteen seasons with the club.
In his football career, he also played for Weybridge and Burgess Hill, and represented Surrey and Sussex.
in 1888-89, but did not obtain his Blue. He also appeared in ten matches for Sussex
between 1886-90. In his total first class career, he played 17 matches and scored 305 runs at an average of 10.16. As a right-arm slow bowler, he claimed three wickets at an average of 38.33.
His father, George Edward Cotterill
, also played cricket for Cambridge University (1858-1860), Cambridgeshire (1858) and Sussex (1869-1874), and his uncle, Joseph Cotterill played for Sussex (1870-1888).
, played rugby for Richmond
and Surrey, and at university he was a member of the track, field and rowing teams.
in the 2nd Volunteer Battalion, the Queen's (Royal West Surrey Regiment)
.
On the outbreak of the First World War, he enlisted in the 11th Battalion, The Lancashire Fusiliers, being temporarily promoted to the rank of Captain on 22 September 1914. He subsequently achieved the rank of Major
.
He died at Llandaff
, Glamorgan
, Wales on 1 October 1950, aged 82.
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...
amateur footballer who made four appearances for 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...
as a forward
Striker
Forwards, also known as strikers, are the players on a team in association football who play nearest to the opposing team's goal, and are therefore principally responsible for scoring goals...
in the 1890s, captaining the side on his last two appearances.
Education
Cotterill was born in BrightonBrighton
Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...
, Sussex
Sussex
Sussex , from the Old English Sūþsēaxe , is an historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded on the north by Surrey, east by Kent, south by the English Channel, and west by Hampshire, and is divided for local government into West...
and was educated at Brighton College
Brighton College
Brighton College is an institution divided between a Senior School known simply as Brighton College, the Prep School and the Pre-Prep School. All of these schools are co-educational independent schools in Brighton, England, sited immediately next to each another. The Senior School caters for...
where he first showed his all-round athletic ability. He began his football career with the college in 1882 and was appointed team captain two years later, retaining this position for three years before going up to 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...
in 1887.
At Cambridge University, he was awarded his football blue in each of the years from 1888 to 1891 (including being captain in 1890).
Corinthians and England
He first played for Corinthian aged 18 in 1886, making his debut against Derby CountyDerby County F.C.
Derby County Football Club is an English football based in Derby. the club play in the Football League Championship and is notable as being one of the twelve founder members of the Football League in 1888 and is, therefore, one of only ten clubs to have competed in every season of the English...
on 6 November 1886, when he scored in a 3–2 victory. His appearances were infrequent until 1888–89, when he made six appearances, scoring three times including two against Preston North End
Preston North End F.C.
Preston North End Football Club is an English professional football club located in the Deepdale area of the city of Preston, Lancashire, currently playing in the third tier of English league football, League One...
on 9 March 1889. He also put two goals past Sheffield United
Sheffield United F.C.
Sheffield United Football Club is a professional English football club based in the city of Sheffield, South Yorkshire.They were the first sporting team to use the name 'United' and are nicknamed 'The Blades', thanks to Sheffield's worldwide reputation for steel production...
on 6 January 1890.
His performances for both Corinthians and Cambridge University ultimately led to a call-up to the 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...
team. He made his international debut against Ireland on 7 March 1891, while still at Cambridge University. For the second year running, England played both Wales
Wales national football team
The Wales national football team represents Wales in international football. It is controlled by the Football Association of Wales , the governing body for football in Wales, and the third oldest national football association in the world. The team have only qualified for a major international...
and Ireland on the same day, and, for the match against Ireland played at Molineux
Molineux stadium
Molineux Stadium is a Premier League football stadium situated in Whitmore Reans, Wolverhampton, England. It has been the home ground of Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club since 1889, and has a long and illustrious history as the first 'new build' stadium in Football League history, one of the...
, Wolverhampton
Wolverhampton
Wolverhampton is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands, England. For Eurostat purposes Walsall and Wolverhampton is a NUTS 3 region and is one of five boroughs or unitary districts that comprise the "West Midlands" NUTS 2 region...
, England selected a predominantly Midlands based team, with five players making their debut. Cotterill played at inside right and was amongst the scorers as England, who were "too skilfull for the Irish" won 6–1. This match was Tinsley Lindley
Tinsley Lindley
Tinsley Lindley was an English footballer. He was considered one of the 19th century's great centre forwards. His passes and shots at goal were very precise, he was very clever and an excellent team player. An elegant and technically superb player.He was the son of Leonard Lindley who was a lace...
's final appearance for England, and he marked the occasion with two goals.
On 19 December 1891, Cotterill played for England in an "unofficial" match against Canada
Canada men's national soccer team
The Canada men's national soccer team represents Canada in international soccer competitions at the senior men's level. They are overseen by the Canadian Soccer Association and compete in the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football .Their most significant...
, when he scored in a 6–1 victory. Fellow Corinthian, C. B. Fry also played for England in this match. During the 1891–92 season, Cotterill made six appearances for Corinthian scoring seven goals including a hat trick in a 4–4 draw with West Bromwich Albion
West Bromwich Albion F.C.
West Bromwich Albion Football Club, also known as West Brom, The Baggies, The Throstles, Albion or WBA, are an English Premier League association football club based in West Bromwich in the West Midlands...
on 20 February 1892.
On 5 March 1892, England again played simultaneous matches against Wales and Ireland. This time, Cotterill was selected as part of a predominately amateur team (most of the players were members of the Corinthian club) to play against Wales at the Racecourse Ground
Racecourse Ground
The Glyndŵr University Racecourse Stadium AKA The Racecourse Ground is a stadium located in Wrexham, North Wales. It is the home of Wrexham F.C. and, since 2010, the Crusaders Rugby League team who play in the engage Super League...
, Wrexham
Wrexham
Wrexham is a town in Wales. It is the administrative centre of the wider Wrexham County Borough, and the largest town in North Wales, located in the east of the region. It is situated between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley close to the border with Cheshire, England...
, and was one of only three players in the side who had previous international experience. England were "a little too skilful for the Welsh" and ran out 2-0 winners with goals from Arthur Henfrey
Arthur Henfrey
Arthur George Henfrey was an English footballer who made five appearances for England between 1891 and 1896 playing initially as a forward and later as a half back...
and Rupert Sandilands
Rupert Sandilands
Rupert Renorden Sandilands was an English international footballer who played as an outside left.-Career:While playing for Old Westminsters, Sandilands earned five caps for the English national side between 1892 and 1896.-References:...
.
In April 1892, Corinthians played a multi-sport tournament against the Barbarian
Barbarian F.C.
The Barbarian Football Club, usually referred to as the Barbarians and nicknamed the "Baa-Baas", is an invitational rugby union team based in Britain...
s rugby club. Cotterill played at inside right in the soccer match which Corinthian won 6–0, with Tinsley Lindley
Tinsley Lindley
Tinsley Lindley was an English footballer. He was considered one of the 19th century's great centre forwards. His passes and shots at goal were very precise, he was very clever and an excellent team player. An elegant and technically superb player.He was the son of Leonard Lindley who was a lace...
scoring a hat-trick. Cotterill also played in the rugby
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
match, which Corinthian won 16–13, although the match was not a very serious encounter and was described by 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...
newspaper as "a very amusing game". The rugby match was followed by an athletics meeting in which C. B. Fry was prominent, winning both the long jump
Long jump
The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength, and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a take off point...
and high jump
High jump
The high jump is a track and field athletics event in which competitors must jump over a horizontal bar placed at measured heights without the aid of certain devices in its modern most practiced format; auxiliary weights and mounds have been used for assistance; rules have changed over the years....
, with Cotterill winning the "Putting the Weight" with a distance of 34 ft 1in. Finally, the two clubs met a few weeks later in a 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...
match in which Cotterill played alongside several other prominent Corinthians, including Fry, Lindley and Charles Wreford-Brown, with the Barbarians winning by four wickets.
By now Cotterill had left University and his primary registration was now with Old Brightonians, although he continued to turn out on a regular basis for Corinthian. He started the 1892–93 season with goals in each of the first three matches for Corinthian, including a hat-trick in a 4–2 victory against Sunderland
Sunderland A.F.C.
Sunderland Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear who currently play in the Premier League...
on 12 November. For the first time, Cotterill was able to join a Corinthian tour of northern England and Scotland, when he played five games in eight days in December and January against professional teams scoring five times.
Cotterill was appointed team captain for the 1893 British Home Championship
1893 British Home Championship
The 1893 British Home Championship was an international football tournament between the British Home Nations. The competition was won and dominated by England, who beat all three rival teams and scored 17 goals in just three matches. Fred Spiksley claimed four and Walter Gilliat scored a hat-trick...
matches against Ireland and 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...
. For the match against Ireland, played at Perry Barr
Perry Barr
Perry Barr is an inner-city area in north Birmingham, England. It is also a council constituency, managed by its own district committee. The constituency includes the smaller Perry Barr ward and the wards of Handsworth Wood, Lozells and East Handsworth, and Oscott, which elect three councillors to...
, 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...
on 25 February 1893, the selectors again called up a predominately amateur, Corinthians dominated eleven with another seven débutantes. Amongst the débutantes was Walter Gilliat
Walter Gilliat
Walter Evelyn Gilliat was an English amateur football player who played for Oxford University and Old Carthusians, as well as making one appearance for the English national side, when he scored three goals...
of Old Carthusians
Old Carthusians F.C.
Old Carthusians Football Club is an association football club whose players are former pupils of Charterhouse School in Godalming, Surrey, England...
who scored a hat-trick in his only appearance in an England shirt. England "won the game with ease" as further goals from G.O. Smith
G.O. Smith
Gilbert Oswald Smith , familiarly known as G. O. Smith or simply as G...
, William Winckworth
William Winckworth
William Norman Winckworth was an English international footballer who played as a right half.-Career:While playing for Old Westminsters, Winckworth earned two caps for the English national side between 1892 and 1893.-References:...
and Rupert Sandilands
Rupert Sandilands
Rupert Renorden Sandilands was an English international footballer who played as an outside left.-Career:While playing for Old Westminsters, Sandilands earned five caps for the English national side between 1892 and 1896.-References:...
enabled England to run out convincing 6–1 victors.
For the next match, against Wales, the England selectors chose an entirely different, professional eleven players. Cotterill was restored for the final final international match of the season at Richmond, London on 1 April 1893 against Scotland who were hoping to avenge their defeat in each of the two previous seasons. England selected a strong eleven, with only Cotterill's fellow Old Brightonian, Leslie Gay
Leslie Gay
Leslie Hewitt Gay, born at Brighton on 24 March 1871 and died at Sidmouth, Devon, on 1 November 1949, was a cricketer who played for Cambridge University, Hampshire, Somerset and England. As a footballer, he played for Cambridge University, the Corinthians and England.Leslie Gay was educated at...
making his debut in goal. Cotterill scored England's second goal to bring the scores level after 58 minutes, with England eventually running out 5–2 victors, thus enabling them to claim the championship for the third consecutive season.
In 1893, he again started the season well for Corinthian with a hat-trick in a 11–0 defeat of The Army (Rupert Sandilands
Rupert Sandilands
Rupert Renorden Sandilands was an English international footballer who played as an outside left.-Career:While playing for Old Westminsters, Sandilands earned five caps for the English national side between 1892 and 1896.-References:...
scored six). He repeated this on 13 January 1894 in a 4–6 defeat against Aston Villa
Aston Villa F.C.
Aston Villa Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Witton, Birmingham. The club was founded in 1874 and have played at their current home ground, Villa Park, since 1897. Aston Villa were founder members of The Football League in 1888. They were also founder...
. Villa had taken a three goal lead before Cotterill's hat-trick brought the score to 3–4. He finished the 1893–94 season with 16 goals from 13 appearances.
Over the next few seasons, he was only able to make a handful of appearances for Corinthian and he bowed out at the end of the 1897–98 season, having played 65 matches, scoring 53 goals in his thirteen seasons with the club.
In his football career, he also played for Weybridge and Burgess Hill, and represented Surrey and Sussex.
Cricket
He played seven matches for Cambridge UniversityCambridge University Cricket Club
Cambridge University Cricket Club is a first-class cricket team. It now plays all but one of its first-class cricket matches as part of the Cambridge University Centre of Cricketing Excellence , which includes Anglia Ruskin University...
in 1888-89, but did not obtain his Blue. He also appeared in ten matches for Sussex
Sussex County Cricket Club
Sussex County Cricket Club is the oldest of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Sussex. The club was founded as a successor to Brighton Cricket Club which was a representative of the county of Sussex as a...
between 1886-90. In his total first class career, he played 17 matches and scored 305 runs at an average of 10.16. As a right-arm slow bowler, he claimed three wickets at an average of 38.33.
His father, George Edward Cotterill
George Edward Cotterill
George Edward Cotterill was an English amateur cricketer.-Career:Cotterill was educated at Brighton College and St John's College, Cambridge...
, also played cricket for Cambridge University (1858-1860), Cambridgeshire (1858) and Sussex (1869-1874), and his uncle, Joseph Cotterill played for Sussex (1870-1888).
Other sports
He was an all round athlete, rowed for Weybridge Rowing ClubWeybridge Rowing Club
Weybridge Rowing Club, founded in 1880, is an amateur rowing club, on the River Thames in England. Its club and boat house is situated at on the Surrey bank of the Thames near Weybridge just downstream of Shepperton Lock...
, played rugby for Richmond
Richmond F.C.
Richmond Football Club is a rugby union club from Richmond, London. It is a founding member of the Rugby Football Union, and is one of the oldest football clubs...
and Surrey, and at university he was a member of the track, field and rowing teams.
Military career
On 24 July 1886, aged 18, he was appointed to the rank of LieutenantLieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
in the 2nd Volunteer Battalion, the Queen's (Royal West Surrey Regiment)
Queen's Royal Regiment (West Surrey)
The Queen's Royal Regiment was a regiment of the English and later British Army from 1661 to 1959. It was the senior English line infantry regiment of the British Army, behind only the Royal Scots in the British Army line infantry order of precedence...
.
On the outbreak of the First World War, he enlisted in the 11th Battalion, The Lancashire Fusiliers, being temporarily promoted to the rank of Captain on 22 September 1914. He subsequently achieved the rank of Major
Major
Major is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...
.
He died at Llandaff
Llandaff
Llandaff is a district in the north of Cardiff, capital of Wales, having been incorporated into the city in 1922. It is the seat of the Church in Wales Bishop of Llandaff, whose diocese covers the most populous area of South Wales. Much of the district is covered by parkland known as Llandaff...
, Glamorgan
Glamorgan
Glamorgan or Glamorganshire is one of the thirteen historic counties and a former administrative county of Wales. It was originally an early medieval kingdom of varying boundaries known as Glywysing until taken over by the Normans as a lordship. Glamorgan is latterly represented by the three...
, Wales on 1 October 1950, aged 82.