James Richardson Spensley
Encyclopedia
Dr James Richardson Spensley (17 May 1867 – 10 November 1915) was an English
doctor
, footballer, manager, Scout Leader
and medic from Stoke Newington
, London
. He is considered to be one of the "Fathers of Italian football
", due to his association with Genoa CFC
and his contribution to the modern day variation of the game in Italy. He is no relation of noted Italian football correspondent, James Richardson
.
district of London
to William Spensley and Elizabeth Alice Richardson. Although he was born and grew up in London, the Spensley family were originally from the Swaledale
area in Yorkshire
.
Richardson Spensley had the opportunity to travel far and wide as an adult. Amongst the most keen interests which he had acquired whilst travelling were oriental religion, languages (he was versed in Greek
and Sanskrit
), boxing
and football
. In addition to working as a doctor, he spent some time as a correspondent for the British newspaper the Daily Mail
.
in 1896, initially for the purpose of curing English sailors on the coal ships. He joined Genoa Cricket & Athletics Club
, a cricket
and athletics
club formed by British expatriates. He opened the footballing
section for the club on 10 April 1897 and was put in place as its first ever manager. This was innovative as the modern day footballing scene in Italy was in its embryonic stages: if not for Edoardo Bosio
in Turin
founding clubs, there would have been no football at all in Italy at Richardson Spensley's time of arrival.
Richardson Spensley participated as a player-manager for Genoa in the first ever Italian Football Championship
(which he initiated) during 1898
which his club won. The following season he switched position from defender to goalkeeper, playing on until 1906.
Including the first title, Genoa won the Italian league six times while Richardson Spensley was at the helm. After retiring from playing when he was almost 40 years old, he stayed on in the management role for one more year, before leaving entirely.
. Along with a Genovese man named Mario Mazza
, they founded the first Italian scouting movement called Federazione Italiana dello Scautismo
in 1910.
During World War I
, he worked in the medical field putting his scouting abilities to use as a Lieutenant
in the Royal Army Medical Corps
. He was injured on the battle field while tending to the wounds of an enemy out of compassion
. He died at Mainz
, Germany in hospital not long after. His grave was discovered at Niederzwehren Cemetery in Kassel
by two Genoese students in 1990.
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...
doctor
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
, footballer, manager, Scout Leader
Scout Leader
A Scout Leader or Scouter generally refers to the trained adult leader of a Scout unit. The terms used vary from country to country, over time, and with the type of unit.-Roles:...
and medic from Stoke Newington
Stoke Newington
Stoke Newington is a district in the London Borough of Hackney. It is north-east of Charing Cross.-Boundaries:In modern terms, Stoke Newington can be roughly defined by the N16 postcode area . Its southern boundary with Dalston is quite ill-defined too...
, 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...
. He is considered to be one of the "Fathers of Italian football
Football in Italy
Football is the most popular sport in Italy. The Italian national football team has won the FIFA World Cup 4 times , trailing only Brazil . Italy's club sides have won 27 major European trophies, making them the most successful European nation in the subject of football...
", due to his association with Genoa CFC
Genoa C.F.C.
Genoa Cricket and Football Club, commonly referred to simply as Genoa , is a professional Italian football club based in the city of Genoa, Liguria...
and his contribution to the modern day variation of the game in Italy. He is no relation of noted Italian football correspondent, James Richardson
James Richardson (television presenter)
James "AC Jimbo" Richardson is a television presenter and journalist. He is best known as a former presenter of Channel 4's Football Italia programme and co-presenter of Setanta Sports' The Friday Football Show and Football Matters...
.
Biography
He was born in 1867 in the Stoke NewingtonStoke Newington
Stoke Newington is a district in the London Borough of Hackney. It is north-east of Charing Cross.-Boundaries:In modern terms, Stoke Newington can be roughly defined by the N16 postcode area . Its southern boundary with Dalston is quite ill-defined too...
district of 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...
to William Spensley and Elizabeth Alice Richardson. Although he was born and grew up in London, the Spensley family were originally from the Swaledale
Swaledale
Swaledale is one of the northernmost dales in the Yorkshire Dales National Park in northern England. It is the dale of the River Swale on the east side of the Pennines in North Yorkshire.-Geographical overview:...
area in Yorkshire
Yorkshire
Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
.
Richardson Spensley had the opportunity to travel far and wide as an adult. Amongst the most keen interests which he had acquired whilst travelling were oriental religion, languages (he was versed in Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
and Sanskrit
Sanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
), boxing
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
and 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...
. In addition to working as a doctor, he spent some time as a correspondent for the British newspaper the Daily Mail
Daily Mail
The Daily Mail is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper owned by the Daily Mail and General Trust. First published in 1896 by Lord Northcliffe, it is the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling daily newspaper after The Sun. Its sister paper The Mail on Sunday was launched in 1982...
.
Football in Genoa
Richardson Spensley arrived in GenoaGenoa
Genoa |Ligurian]] Zena ; Latin and, archaically, English Genua) is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria....
in 1896, initially for the purpose of curing English sailors on the coal ships. He joined Genoa Cricket & Athletics Club
Genoa C.F.C.
Genoa Cricket and Football Club, commonly referred to simply as Genoa , is a professional Italian football club based in the city of Genoa, Liguria...
, 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...
and athletics
Sports club
A sports club or sport club, sometimes athletics club or sports association is a club for the purpose of playing one or more sports...
club formed by British expatriates. He opened the footballing
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...
section for the club on 10 April 1897 and was put in place as its first ever manager. This was innovative as the modern day footballing scene in Italy was in its embryonic stages: if not for Edoardo Bosio
Edoardo Bosio
Edoardo Bosio born in 1864 was an Italian-Swiss footballing innovator from Turin. He is a prime figure in the history of Italian football as evidence exists to show that he founded the earliest football club in the country; Torino Football and Cricket Club....
in Turin
Turin
Turin is a city and major business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River and surrounded by the Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 909,193 while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat...
founding clubs, there would have been no football at all in Italy at Richardson Spensley's time of arrival.
Richardson Spensley participated as a player-manager for Genoa in the first ever Italian Football Championship
Italian Football Championship
The Italian Football Championship was the most senior football championship in Italy from the 1897/1898 season to the 1921/1922 season. In that last season, a concurrent championship, the Prima Divisione, was played by the richest clubs, which wanted to improve their income with a more elitarian...
(which he initiated) during 1898
Italian Football Championship 1898
The Italian Football Championship of 1898 was a major event in the footballing history of Italy. It was the first FIGC endorsed league competition which is considered an official predecessor of Serie A. It was held at Velodromo Umberto I in Turin on 8 May, all three games were played over the...
which his club won. The following season he switched position from defender to goalkeeper, playing on until 1906.
Including the first title, Genoa won the Italian league six times while Richardson Spensley was at the helm. After retiring from playing when he was almost 40 years old, he stayed on in the management role for one more year, before leaving entirely.
Scouting and death
While living in England he had known Robert Baden-Powell who founded the Scout Movement, from whom he had received an autographed copy of Scouting for BoysScouting for Boys
Scouting for Boys: A Handbook for Instruction in Good Citizenship is the first book on the Scout Movement, published in 1908. It was written and illustrated by Robert Baden-Powell, its founder...
. Along with a Genovese man named Mario Mazza
Mario Mazza
Mario Mazza was an Italian educator. In 1916 He was one of the founding members of ASCI which became The Scouts Association of Catholic Italians....
, they founded the first Italian scouting movement called Federazione Italiana dello Scautismo
Federazione Italiana dello Scautismo
The Federazione Italiana dello Scautismo is the national Scouting and Guiding federation of Italy. Scouting and Guiding in Italy started in 1910, the Boy Scouts were among the charter members of the World Organization of the Scout Movement in 1922, the Girl Guides joined the World Association of...
in 1910.
During World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, he worked in the medical field putting his scouting abilities to use as a Lieutenant
Lieutenant
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 Royal Army Medical Corps
Royal Army Medical Corps
The Royal Army Medical Corps is a specialist corps in the British Army which provides medical services to all British Army personnel and their families in war and in peace...
. He was injured on the battle field while tending to the wounds of an enemy out of compassion
Compassion
Compassion is a virtue — one in which the emotional capacities of empathy and sympathy are regarded as a part of love itself, and a cornerstone of greater social interconnection and humanism — foundational to the highest principles in philosophy, society, and personhood.There is an aspect of...
. He died at Mainz
Mainz
Mainz under the Holy Roman Empire, and previously was a Roman fort city which commanded the west bank of the Rhine and formed part of the northernmost frontier of the Roman Empire...
, Germany in hospital not long after. His grave was discovered at Niederzwehren Cemetery in Kassel
Kassel
Kassel is a town located on the Fulda River in northern Hesse, Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Kassel Regierungsbezirk and the Kreis of the same name and has approximately 195,000 inhabitants.- History :...
by two Genoese students in 1990.
Honours
- 1898Italian Football Championship 1898The Italian Football Championship of 1898 was a major event in the footballing history of Italy. It was the first FIGC endorsed league competition which is considered an official predecessor of Serie A. It was held at Velodromo Umberto I in Turin on 8 May, all three games were played over the...
Italian Football ChampionshipItalian Football ChampionshipThe Italian Football Championship was the most senior football championship in Italy from the 1897/1898 season to the 1921/1922 season. In that last season, a concurrent championship, the Prima Divisione, was played by the richest clubs, which wanted to improve their income with a more elitarian...
(Genoa) - 1899 Italian Football ChampionshipItalian Football ChampionshipThe Italian Football Championship was the most senior football championship in Italy from the 1897/1898 season to the 1921/1922 season. In that last season, a concurrent championship, the Prima Divisione, was played by the richest clubs, which wanted to improve their income with a more elitarian...
(Genoa) - 1900 Italian Football ChampionshipItalian Football ChampionshipThe Italian Football Championship was the most senior football championship in Italy from the 1897/1898 season to the 1921/1922 season. In that last season, a concurrent championship, the Prima Divisione, was played by the richest clubs, which wanted to improve their income with a more elitarian...
(Genoa) - 1902 Italian Football ChampionshipItalian Football ChampionshipThe Italian Football Championship was the most senior football championship in Italy from the 1897/1898 season to the 1921/1922 season. In that last season, a concurrent championship, the Prima Divisione, was played by the richest clubs, which wanted to improve their income with a more elitarian...
(Genoa) - 1903 Italian Football ChampionshipItalian Football ChampionshipThe Italian Football Championship was the most senior football championship in Italy from the 1897/1898 season to the 1921/1922 season. In that last season, a concurrent championship, the Prima Divisione, was played by the richest clubs, which wanted to improve their income with a more elitarian...
(Genoa) - 1904 Italian Football ChampionshipItalian Football ChampionshipThe Italian Football Championship was the most senior football championship in Italy from the 1897/1898 season to the 1921/1922 season. In that last season, a concurrent championship, the Prima Divisione, was played by the richest clubs, which wanted to improve their income with a more elitarian...
(Genoa)