Sydney Nicholls
Encyclopedia
Sydney 'Sid' Herbert Nicholls (29 May 1868 – 24 November 1946) was an English
-born dual code rugby
forward who played club rugby under the union code
for Cardiff
and in his later years league rugby
with Hull. Nicholls won four caps for Wales
and was part of the Welsh team that beat the first touring Southern Hemisphere team the New Zealand Natives
. He was the elder brother of Wales rugby legend Gwyn Nicholls
, and his son Jack Nicholls
was a Welsh international footballer.
, England to Hartley Nicholls, a farm supervisor, and his wife Jane Eliza (née, Millard). The second eldest of five children, he had an elder sister and five younger brothers, the third of his brothers being Gwyn Nicholls
. In the mid 1870s the family left England and crossed over to Wales
, where the family settled in Roath
. After the end of his rugby career, Nicholls became a publican and in 1894 he acquired a business interest in the Grand Hotel, opposite the Cardiff Arms Park
. Nicholls would run the Grand up until 1901, when he decided to become a professional rugby league player. Now a veteran player, Nicholls was still able to demand a five figure sum for his switch to the league code. He left Wales for Hull that year, returning in 1910.
He was instrumental in the growth of Cardiff City F.C.
and "Cardiff City was admitted to the Second Division of the Southern League in 1910. A Board of Directors was elected with S. H. Nicholls as the first chairman."
He went on to become Chairman of Council of South Wales Football Association between 1920–1921
and was a Director of Cardiff City when they reached the F.A. Cup final in 1927. He was influential in critical team decisions in the run up to the cup final and almost removed the Cardiff Captain, Fred Keenor, in the run up to the match. "Keenor was officially listed at a meeting of club directors at The Corporation pub in Canton on January 19, 1927. At the summit, called by Sid Nicholls, fellow board member Walter Riden – Keenor’s old teacher at Stacey Road Primary School in Adamsdown – proposed listing the captain. Nicholls seconded the idea and Keenor’s future at Ninian was in jeopardy. But within weeks the skipper won his place back, his name was removed from the list and on April 23 he led the Bluebirds to their most famous victory, a 1-0 win over Arsenal.". Nicholls is seen in film newsreels of the match introducing King George V
to the Cardiff City players and sat with the King to watch the match. By June 1928 Nicholls was the Vice President F. A. Wales.
Around 1920, Nicholls had met Katherine Brennan and went on to have a second family with her consisting of five sons and one daughter out of wedlock, scandalous for the time. He lost his money in the stockmarket crash of 1929, bringing up the family in poverty in Splott
, Cardiff in the 30s. He married Katherine Brennan in 1934.
's captaincy.
Nicholls was first selected to represent Wales in 1888, in the first match between the country and Southern Hemisphere opposition, the New Zealand Natives. The game was played at St. Helen's, Swansea
, in front of a hostile home crowd, unhappy at the lack of Swansea
players in the back positions. Nicholls was one of eight new caps in the Welsh team, which included Cardiff team-mate Norman Biggs
. Nicholls was instrumental in setting up the second try for Jim Hannan
, in a 5-0 Welsh win. A week later Nicholls was part of the Cardiff team that faced the same New Zealand side. Cardiff were victorious, with Nicholls scoring a try
which was jointly given to Nicholls and W.T. Morgan.
Nicholls was reselected for Wales in the very next international, a match against Scotland as part of the 1889 Home Nations Championship
. Under the captaincy of Frank Hill
, Wales were beaten by two tries to nil, though selectors kept faith with Nicholls when he was chosen for the final game of the tournament to Ireland. After another loss, Nicholls found himself out of favour and was replaced by William Williams
. Nicholls played just one more game for Wales in the 1891 Championship
as part of Willie Thomas
' team that took on Scotland. The Scottish outplayed Wales scoring seven tries without reply, with the Welsh team hamstrung by an inefficient pair of halves.
Nicholls retired from playing rugby union in 1891, but in 1901, he was lured North to take up professional rugby league. The decision was a shock to his family, but the money for turning professional was good. He joined Hull Rugby League in the 1901/02 season and remained with the club until 1910, when Nicholls was 41.
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...
-born dual code rugby
Rugby football
Rugby football is a style of football named after Rugby School in the United Kingdom. It is seen most prominently in two current sports, rugby league and rugby union.-History:...
forward who played club rugby under the union code
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...
for Cardiff
Cardiff RFC
Cardiff Rugby Football Club is a rugby union football club based in Cardiff, the capital city of Wales. The club was founded in 1876 and played their first few matches at Sophia Gardens, but soon relocated to Cardiff Arms Park where they have been based ever since...
and in his later years league rugby
Rugby league
Rugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...
with Hull. Nicholls won four caps for Wales
Wales national rugby union team
The Wales national rugby union team represent Wales in international rugby union tournaments. They compete annually in the Six Nations Championship with England, France, Ireland, Italy and Scotland. Wales have won the Six Nations and its predecessors 24 times outright, second only to England with...
and was part of the Welsh team that beat the first touring Southern Hemisphere team the New Zealand Natives
1888-1889 New Zealand Native football team
The 1888–1889 New Zealand Native football team was a New Zealand football team that toured Britain, Australia and New Zealand in 1888 and 1889. The team was composed mainly of players of Māori ancestry, although several Pakeha were included in the squad. The tour was a private endeavour, and was...
. He was the elder brother of Wales rugby legend Gwyn Nicholls
Gwyn Nicholls
Erith Gwyn Nicholls was a Welsh rugby union player who gained 24 caps for Wales as a centre. Nicholls was known as the "Prince of Threequarters"....
, and his son Jack Nicholls
Jack Nicholls (footballer)
John Barry L. "Jack" Nicholls was a Welsh professional footballer and Wales international. His father Sydney Nicholls and uncle Gwyn Nicholls were both Wales rugby union internationals.-Career:...
was a Welsh international footballer.
Life history
Nicholls was born in 1868 in HartpuryHartpury
Hartpury is a rural parish of with some 270 homes and a population of about 700. It is situated about north of the city of Gloucester, England. Geographically it lies within the Leadon Vale; administratively it is part of the Forest of Dean....
, England to Hartley Nicholls, a farm supervisor, and his wife Jane Eliza (née, Millard). The second eldest of five children, he had an elder sister and five younger brothers, the third of his brothers being Gwyn Nicholls
Gwyn Nicholls
Erith Gwyn Nicholls was a Welsh rugby union player who gained 24 caps for Wales as a centre. Nicholls was known as the "Prince of Threequarters"....
. In the mid 1870s the family left England and crossed over to Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
, where the family settled in Roath
Roath
Roath is a district in the east/north-east of the city of Cardiff, capital of Wales.It lies just east/north east of the city centre, stretching from Adamsdown in the south to Roath Park in the north. Roath contains the Plasnewydd electoral ward. The name is believed to originate from Irish ráth,...
. After the end of his rugby career, Nicholls became a publican and in 1894 he acquired a business interest in the Grand Hotel, opposite the Cardiff Arms Park
Cardiff Arms Park
Cardiff Arms Park , also known as The Arms Park, is primarily known as a rugby union stadium, but it also has a bowling green, and is situated in the centre of Cardiff, Wales. The Arms Park was host to the British Empire and Commonwealth Games in 1958, and hosted four games in the 1991 Rugby World...
. Nicholls would run the Grand up until 1901, when he decided to become a professional rugby league player. Now a veteran player, Nicholls was still able to demand a five figure sum for his switch to the league code. He left Wales for Hull that year, returning in 1910.
He was instrumental in the growth of Cardiff City F.C.
Cardiff City F.C.
Cardiff City Football Club are a Welsh professional football club based in Cardiff, Wales. The club competes in the English football pyramid and is currently playing in the Football League Championship. Cardiff City is the best supported football club in Wales, averaging approximately 22,500 for...
and "Cardiff City was admitted to the Second Division of the Southern League in 1910. A Board of Directors was elected with S. H. Nicholls as the first chairman."
He went on to become Chairman of Council of South Wales Football Association between 1920–1921
and was a Director of Cardiff City when they reached the F.A. Cup final in 1927. He was influential in critical team decisions in the run up to the cup final and almost removed the Cardiff Captain, Fred Keenor, in the run up to the match. "Keenor was officially listed at a meeting of club directors at The Corporation pub in Canton on January 19, 1927. At the summit, called by Sid Nicholls, fellow board member Walter Riden – Keenor’s old teacher at Stacey Road Primary School in Adamsdown – proposed listing the captain. Nicholls seconded the idea and Keenor’s future at Ninian was in jeopardy. But within weeks the skipper won his place back, his name was removed from the list and on April 23 he led the Bluebirds to their most famous victory, a 1-0 win over Arsenal.". Nicholls is seen in film newsreels of the match introducing King George V
George V of the United Kingdom
George V was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 through the First World War until his death in 1936....
to the Cardiff City players and sat with the King to watch the match. By June 1928 Nicholls was the Vice President F. A. Wales.
Around 1920, Nicholls had met Katherine Brennan and went on to have a second family with her consisting of five sons and one daughter out of wedlock, scandalous for the time. He lost his money in the stockmarket crash of 1929, bringing up the family in poverty in Splott
Splott
Splott is a district in the south of the city of Cardiff, capital of Wales, just east of the city centre. It was built up in the late 19th century on the land of two farms of the same name: Upper Splott and Lower Splott Farms. Splott is characterised by its once vast steelworks and rows of tightly...
, Cardiff in the 30s. He married Katherine Brennan in 1934.
Rugby career
Nicholls joined Cardiff while still in his teens and was part of the Second XV during the teams unbeaten 1885-86 season. The following season he was part of the first team and in 1888 he scored 11 tries for the club, a large number for a forward. He later became vice-captain of the first team to Charlie ArthurCharlie Arthur
Charles "Charlie" Suckling Arthur was an English-born international rugby union forward who played club rugby for Cardiff and international rugby for Wales...
's captaincy.
Nicholls was first selected to represent Wales in 1888, in the first match between the country and Southern Hemisphere opposition, the New Zealand Natives. The game was played at St. Helen's, Swansea
Swansea
Swansea is a coastal city and county in Wales. Swansea is in the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan. Situated on the sandy South West Wales coast, the county area includes the Gower Peninsula and the Lliw uplands...
, in front of a hostile home crowd, unhappy at the lack of Swansea
Swansea RFC
Swansea Rugby Football Club is a Welsh rugby union team which plays in the Welsh Premier Division. Its home ground is St Helens Rugby and Cricket Ground in Swansea. The team is sometimes known as The Whites because of the primary colour of the team strip...
players in the back positions. Nicholls was one of eight new caps in the Welsh team, which included Cardiff team-mate Norman Biggs
Norman Biggs
Norman Witchell Biggs was a Welsh international rugby union wing who played club rugby for Cardiff and county rugby for Glamorgan. Both Biggs and his brother Selwyn played international rugby for Wales, though they never played together in the same match for Wales...
. Nicholls was instrumental in setting up the second try for Jim Hannan
Jim Hannan (rugby player)
Jim Hannan was a Welsh international rugby union player who played club rugby for Newport. A strong tactical forward his scrummaging work was excellent and could pivot the whole scrum around him....
, in a 5-0 Welsh win. A week later Nicholls was part of the Cardiff team that faced the same New Zealand side. Cardiff were victorious, with Nicholls scoring a try
Try
A try is the major way of scoring points in rugby league and rugby union football. A try is scored by grounding the ball in the opposition's in-goal area...
which was jointly given to Nicholls and W.T. Morgan.
Nicholls was reselected for Wales in the very next international, a match against Scotland as part of the 1889 Home Nations Championship
1889 Home Nations Championship
The 1889 Home Nations Championship was the seventh series of the rugby union Home Nations Championship. Three matches were played between 2 February and 2 March. It was contested by Ireland, Scotland and Wales...
. Under the captaincy of Frank Hill
Frank Hill (rugby player)
Frank Hill was a Welsh international rugby union forward who played club rugby for Cardiff. Hill won 15 caps for Wales over a period of ten years and was given the team captaincy on four occasions....
, Wales were beaten by two tries to nil, though selectors kept faith with Nicholls when he was chosen for the final game of the tournament to Ireland. After another loss, Nicholls found himself out of favour and was replaced by William Williams
William Williams (rugby player)
William Edward Osborne Williams was a Welsh international rugby union forward who played club rugby for Cardiff and London Welsh. Williams was capped for Wales five times over a period of four years.-Rugby career:...
. Nicholls played just one more game for Wales in the 1891 Championship
1891 Home Nations Championship
The 1891 Home Nations Championship was the ninth series of the rugby union Home Nations Championship. Six matches were played between 3 January and 7 March...
as part of Willie Thomas
Willie Thomas
William 'Willie' Henry Thomas was a Welsh international rugby union player who played club rugby for Llanelli and London Welsh. He was capped eleven times for Wales and captained the team on two occasions. In 1888, Thomas was chosen to tour New Zealand and Australia as part of the first British...
' team that took on Scotland. The Scottish outplayed Wales scoring seven tries without reply, with the Welsh team hamstrung by an inefficient pair of halves.
Nicholls retired from playing rugby union in 1891, but in 1901, he was lured North to take up professional rugby league. The decision was a shock to his family, but the money for turning professional was good. He joined Hull Rugby League in the 1901/02 season and remained with the club until 1910, when Nicholls was 41.