Allen "Alf" Pugh (27 October 1869 – 7 February 1942) was a

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

amateur An amateur () is generally considered a person who pursues an avocation independent from their source of income. Amateurs and their pursuits are also described as popular, informal, autodidacticism, self-taught, user-generated, do it yourself, DI ...

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

who made one appearance for

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

in 1889. He was the first player to be replaced by a substitute in international football.

Football career

Pugh was born in the

Esclusham Esclusham ( cy, Esclus or ''Esclys'') is a community and electoral ward in Wrexham County Borough, Wales. The community includes the villages of Bersham, Rhostyllen, Aberoer, Llwyneinion and Pentre Bychan, as well as a number of smaller settlemen ...

district, a few miles west of

Wrexham Wrexham ( ; cy, Wrecsam; ) is a city and the administrative centre of Wrexham County Borough in Wales. It is located between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley, near the border with Cheshire in England. Historically in the count ...

. His early football was played at the nearby village of

Rhostyllen Rhostyllen () is a village in Wrexham County Borough, Wales, south-west of the city of Wrexham. At the time of the 2001 census, area Wrexham 014A, which includes Rhostyllen itself, had a population of 1,383 in 599 households.

before joining Wrexham Olympic for a year in 1885. Described as a "competent goalkeeper", he represented Denbighshire twice: in January 1885, against Shropshire and in November, against Lancashire. After losing his place at Wrexham to

Sam Gillam Sam, SAM or variants may refer to: Places * Sam, Benin * Sam, Boulkiemdé, Burkina Faso * Sam, Bourzanga, Burkina Faso * Sam, Kongoussi, Burkina Faso * Sam, Iran * Sam, Teton County, Idaho, United States, a populated place People and fictional ...

, he returned to

, where he continued to play for a further ten years. On 15 April 1889,

were playing their

British Home Championship The British Home Championship * sco, Hame Internaitional Kemp * gd, Farpais lìg eadar-nàiseanta * cy, Pencampwriaeth y Pedair Gwlad, name=lang (historically known as the British International Championship or simply the International Champio ...

match against

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

at the

Racecourse Ground The Racecourse Ground ( cy, Y Cae Ras) is a football stadium in Wrexham, Wales. It is the home of Wrexham A.F.C. It is the world's oldest international football stadium that still hosts international matches, having hosted Wales' first home i ...

; the regular goalkeeper,

Jim Trainer James Trainer (7 January 1863 in Wrexham – 5 August 1915 in Paddington, Central London, England) was a Welsh association football player of the Victorian era. He was named the best goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper of the English Fo ...

, failed to turn up for the match, as

Preston North End Preston North End Football Club, commonly referred to as Preston, North End or PNE, is a professional football club in Preston, Lancashire, England, who currently play in the EFL Championship, the second tier of the English football league syste ...

refused to release him. The kick-off was delayed while a replacement was sought; eventually the match got underway with Pugh in goal, before Gillam arrived some twenty minutes into the match. Neither 'keeper conceded a goal and the match ended 0–0; this was the first time in 14 matches between the countries that the Scots had failed to defeat the Welsh, and only the second international match in which neither team had managed to score, the first being the very first officially recognised international match, between Scotland and

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

on 30 November 1872. This was also the first use of a substitute in international football.

Later life

Pugh later kept the Union Vaults public house in Yorke Street, Wrexham.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pugh, Alf 1869 births 1942 deaths Sportspeople from Wrexham County Borough Welsh footballers Association football goalkeepers Wrexham A.F.C. players Wales international footballers Rhostyllen Victoria F.C. players