John Forster Alcock (14 April 1841 – 13 March 1910) was an influential English sportsman and football organiser. He was founder of

Football Association The Football Association (also known as The FA) is the governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the oldest football association in the world an ...

and FA Committee-member in 1863 – 1866.

Biography

John Forster Alcock was born in

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...

in 1841 to Charles Alcock (1807–1881) – a ship-owner and ship-broker – and Elizabeth Forster (1825–1891). He was the eldest child of 9 and the family lived on Norfolk Street (otherwise known as Sunniside), Sunderland and on the same street lived an uncle who headed the Alcock family's upholstery business. The Alcock family relocated prior to the 1861 census to the

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

area and both John Forster Alcock and Charles William Alcock (his younger brother) attended

Harrow School (The Faithful Dispensation of the Gifts of God) , established = (Royal Charter) , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent schoolBoarding school , religion = Church of E ...

. Less is known of John Forster Alcock than his brother, but he was a ship-owner and ship-broker who represented the Forest Club at the meetings that led to the foundation of the FA in 1863. He served on the committee of the FA until 1866 when he was replaced by Charles William Alcock.http://www.thefa.com/~/media/6779CE82FA2D48CCA499AC1AA3AF2A7D.ashx John Forster Alcock died aged 69 in 1910.

Family

John Forster Alcock married Catherine Ruth Rouse (1848–1891) in 1867 and they divorced in 1874. He then married Augusta Lackland White (1867–1956) in Hampstead in 1886 and they went on to have three children: Frank Alcock (1887–1917 Rhodesia Rifles attd Kings African Rifles), Augusta Theodora Alcock (1888-unknown), John Forster Alcock (1896–1977).

References

;Notes ;Bibliography *^†Alcock, Charles. ''Football: our winter game''. 1874. * Booth, Keith. ''The Father of Modern Sport: The Life and Times of Charles W. Alcock'', Parrs Wood Press. 2002.

External links

British Football Legends profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alcock, John Forster 1841 births 1910 deaths Footballers from Sunderland People educated at Harrow School Creators of association football Founders of association football institutions English footballers History of football in England Wanderers F.C. players English football referees Association football forwards