William Sykes was just 23 when, against the advice of his father he married and then with his own and his new wife's savings purchased a saddler

Saddler

Saddler is both a skilled trade and a surname. As a trade, it refers to the occupation of making saddles.Saddler may refer to* Osmund Saddler* Sandy SaddlerAlso* Saddler, reporting name for the R-16 missile...

 business in Horbury

Horbury

-Demography:In 2008 Horbury had a largely white population compared with Yorkshire and the Humber.-Population change:The population of Horbury in 2001 was 10,002-Transport:...

, England

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...

 around 1870.He married Ethel Marshall, sister of Herbert Marshall and Alice Whitmarsh - née Marshall. Herbert worked at Rowntrees Factory as the Timekeeper. Their father was John Marshall also known as ' Happy Jack' the Councillor for Elland Division in 1899).
The business prospered and a few years later added footballs to the other leather

Leather

Leather is a durable and flexible material created via the tanning of putrescible animal rawhide and skin, primarily cattlehide. It can be produced through different manufacturing processes, ranging from cottage industry to heavy industry.-Forms:...

 goods he was making. Later he further expanded his business by dealing in 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...

 bats, at first buying from other firms but always with an eye on the future with the intent to manufacture for himself.

Once these businesses were established he started the manufacture of cricket bats and employed some of the best craftsmen around. Soon with an ever flourishing business and with expansion firmly part of his plans he started manufacturing tennis racquets.

Always the perfectionist, William Sykes, ensured that only the best workmen and craftsmen were employed in his workshops; perhaps it was this quality that allowed the company to build a world wide trade.

William Sykes was joined in later years by his sons, H.O. Sykes and W.O. Sykes.

Ultimately their beginnings in the leather trade were what they would be best remembered for, and the name Sykes would be connected with football for many years. Their famous Zig-Zag branded football

Football (ball)

A football is an inflated ball used to play one of the various sports known as football.The first balls were made of natural materials, such as an inflated pig bladder, sometimes inside a leather cover...

 was used in many leading events including the 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 of 1936, 1937, 1939 and 1946.

Early in the 20th century, Sykes merged with other sporting manufacturers to become a part of the Slazengers Sykes Gradidge and Ayres organisation.