Old Merchant Taylors' FC
Encyclopedia
This article concerns the rugby club. For a list of eminent Old Merchant Taylors' please see Merchant Taylors' School, Northwood#Old Merchant Taylors (OMTs)
The Old Merchant Taylors' Football Club is an open rugby union club founded as a team for the old boys of Merchant Taylors' School, Northwood
, themselves known as Old Merchant Taylors. It is one of the oldest clubs in London. It is notable not only for its longeivity, but also for the prominence it once attained on the club circuit and for the number of eminent players that have been members of the club, some of whom gained their international caps whilst at the club.
had been playing football since 1859, though by Association rules until 1861. Thereafter it also adopted Rugby School
rules. The first club to be formed by old boys of Merchant Taylors was founded in 1867. However, it was open to membership from outside of the Merchant Taylors' alumni, and the team was named Wasps
. In 1882, the seventeen year old Leo, a pupil at Merchant Taylors, wrote to the school magazine, the Taylorian, asking for old boys to join a club for old boys. Within a few months the club was formed and in its first season played six games.
The club was regarded as one of the best in London by 1900 and from 1900 to 1902 had its most impressive record, due in main to the attacking prowess of John Raphael
, the sporting phenomenon woh had won 14 blues at Oxford University.
In World War I
the club lost a number members but continued a first class fixture list. The Second World War also took its toll. By the 1960s the club was struggling to maintain the levels of performance it once displayed and dropped its first class fixture list. The club also became an open rugby club.
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The Old Merchant Taylors' Football Club is an open rugby union club founded as a team for the old boys of Merchant Taylors' School, Northwood
Merchant Taylors' School, Northwood
Merchant Taylors' School is a British independent day school for boys, originally located in the City of London. Since 1933 it has been located at Sandy Lodge in the Three Rivers district of Hertfordshire ....
, themselves known as Old Merchant Taylors. It is one of the oldest clubs in London. It is notable not only for its longeivity, but also for the prominence it once attained on the club circuit and for the number of eminent players that have been members of the club, some of whom gained their international caps whilst at the club.
History
Merchant Taylors' School, NorthwoodMerchant Taylors' School, Northwood
Merchant Taylors' School is a British independent day school for boys, originally located in the City of London. Since 1933 it has been located at Sandy Lodge in the Three Rivers district of Hertfordshire ....
had been playing football since 1859, though by Association rules until 1861. Thereafter it also adopted Rugby School
Rugby School
Rugby School is a co-educational day and boarding school located in the town of Rugby, Warwickshire, England. It is one of the oldest independent schools in Britain.-History:...
rules. The first club to be formed by old boys of Merchant Taylors was founded in 1867. However, it was open to membership from outside of the Merchant Taylors' alumni, and the team was named Wasps
London Wasps
London Wasps is an English professional rugby union team. The men's first team, which forms London Wasps, was derived from Wasps Football Club who were formed in 1867 at the now defunct Eton and Middlesex Tavern in North London, at the turn of professionalism in 1999...
. In 1882, the seventeen year old Leo, a pupil at Merchant Taylors, wrote to the school magazine, the Taylorian, asking for old boys to join a club for old boys. Within a few months the club was formed and in its first season played six games.
The club was regarded as one of the best in London by 1900 and from 1900 to 1902 had its most impressive record, due in main to the attacking prowess of John Raphael
John Raphael (sportsman)
John Edward Raphael was a Belgian born English sportsman who was capped nine times for England at rugby union and played first-class cricket with Surrey.-Biography:...
, the sporting phenomenon woh had won 14 blues at Oxford University.
In 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...
the club lost a number members but continued a first class fixture list. The Second World War also took its toll. By the 1960s the club was struggling to maintain the levels of performance it once displayed and dropped its first class fixture list. The club also became an open rugby club.
Ground
The club has played at a number of grounds, but now plays at the War Memorial Sports Ground, Merchant Taylors' School, NorthwoodMerchant Taylors' School, Northwood
Merchant Taylors' School is a British independent day school for boys, originally located in the City of London. Since 1933 it has been located at Sandy Lodge in the Three Rivers district of Hertfordshire ....
.
Notable players and former players
The school from which the club arose has produced many internationals, most of whom played for the OMTFC.Internationals
Source: OMT Centenary programme| Name | Country | Caps | Span | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| J. E. Bentley John Edmund Bentley John Edmund Bentley was an English sportsman who played in the first international rugby football match in 1871, representing England as a halfback.-Early life:... |
England | 2 | 1871-72 | The first ever international. Bentley's appearance predates the formation of OMTFC |
| H. H. Taylor Henry Taylor (rugby union) Henry Taylor was a rugby union international who represented England from 1879 to 1882.-Early life:Henry Taylor was born on September 21, 1858 in Greenwich. He attended Merchant Taylors' School.-Rugby union career:... |
England | 5 | 1879-82 | Taylor's appearance predates the formation of OMTFC |
| A. S. Taylor | England | 4 | 1883-86 | |
| N. C. Fletcher | England | 4 | 1901-03 | |
| J. E. Raphael John Raphael (sportsman) John Edward Raphael was a Belgian born English sportsman who was capped nine times for England at rugby union and played first-class cricket with Surrey.-Biography:... |
England | 9 | 1902-06 | |
| C. T. O’Callaghan | Ireland | 7 | 1910-12 | |
| J. G. Will | Scotland | 7 | 1912-14 | |
| W. I. Cheesman | England | 4 | 1913 | |
| R. Cove-Smith Ronald Cove-Smith Dr Ronald Cove-Smith was a distinguished English physician and sportsman. He represented Old Merchant Taylors and King's College Hospital RFC... |
England | 29 | 1921-29 | (Captain 1927-28) |
| R. R. F. MacLennan | England | 3 | 1925 | |
| T. F. Huskisson | England | 8 | 1937-39 | Also made 7 appearances for England during WWII from 1939-42 |
| D. G. S. Baker | England | 4 | 1955 |
British and Irish Lions
| Name | Tour | Test Caps | Non-test matches played | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Edward Newman Fuller Edward Newman Fuller Edward Newman Fuller was an English sportsman who played rugby union at an international level, touring Argentina with the 1910 Combined British rugby union side, an early incarnation of the British and Irish Lions.-Early life:... |
Argentina 1910 1910 British Lions tour to Argentina The 1910 British Lions tour to Argentina is a retrospective term applied to the tour of Argentina made by a side made up of 16 English players and 3 Scots. The organisers of the tour named the team the "English Rugby Union team", but the host country advertised the touring team as the Combined... |
1 | Classed as an R.F.U. not officially Lions | |
| Peter Denny Strang Peter Denny Strang Peter Denny Strang was an English sportsman who played rugby union at an international level, touring Argentina with the 1910 Combined British rugby union side, an early incarnation of the British and Irish Lions.-Early life:... |
Argentina 1910 1910 British Lions tour to Argentina The 1910 British Lions tour to Argentina is a retrospective term applied to the tour of Argentina made by a side made up of 16 English players and 3 Scots. The organisers of the tour named the team the "English Rugby Union team", but the host country advertised the touring team as the Combined... |
1 | Classed as an R.F.U. not officially Lions | |
| J. E. Raphael John Raphael (sportsman) John Edward Raphael was a Belgian born English sportsman who was capped nine times for England at rugby union and played first-class cricket with Surrey.-Biography:... |
Argentina 1910 1910 British Lions tour to Argentina The 1910 British Lions tour to Argentina is a retrospective term applied to the tour of Argentina made by a side made up of 16 English players and 3 Scots. The organisers of the tour named the team the "English Rugby Union team", but the host country advertised the touring team as the Combined... |
1 | Captain; Classed as an R.F.U. not officially Lions | |
| R. Cove-Smith Ronald Cove-Smith Dr Ronald Cove-Smith was a distinguished English physician and sportsman. He represented Old Merchant Taylors and King's College Hospital RFC... |
South Africa 1924 1924 British Lions tour to South Africa The 1924 British Isles tour to South Africa was the tenth tour by a British Isles team and the fifth to South Africa. The tour is retrospectively classed as one of the British Lions tours, as the Lions naming convention was not adopted until 1950... |
4 | Captain | |
| T. F. Huskisson | Argentina 1936 1936 British Lions tour to Argentina The 1936 Great Britain tour of Argentina was a series of rugby union matches arranged between a British invitational team and various Argentine teams. The tourists played ten matches, nine of which were against club and combined teams while one match took in a full Argentina national team... |
Classed as an R.F.U. not officially Lions | ||
| D. G. S. Baker | South Africa 1955 1955 British Lions tour to South Africa In 1955 the British Lions rugby union team toured Southern and Eastern Africa. The Lions drew the test series against , each team winning two of the four matches. They won the first test by a single point and the third by three points and lost the second and fourth matches by wider margins... |
2 |
Other
Merchant Taylors has also produced eight more players who have represented the Barbarians, eight England trialists, one Ireland trialist, eleven Oxford Blues (plus 3 War time representatives), eight Cambridge Blues (plus 1 War time representatives); one Southern Counties representative; numerous London and London Counties representatives and many players who have played at county level representing at least 16 counties.Barbarians
- E. H. Gunnery 1892-93
- G. L. Crimp 1896-97
- N. C. Fletcher 189899
- G. T. Hankin 1898-99
- R. P. Dalton 1913-14
- A. G. Johnson 1929-30
- T. F. Huskisson 1936-37
- D. G. S. Baker 1952-53
See also
- Old Merchant Taylors
- Merchant Taylors' School, NorthwoodMerchant Taylors' School, NorthwoodMerchant Taylors' School is a British independent day school for boys, originally located in the City of London. Since 1933 it has been located at Sandy Lodge in the Three Rivers district of Hertfordshire ....