Archibald Hunter (23 September 1859 – 29 November 1894) was a Scottish
footballer
A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...
who was the first captain of
Aston Villa
Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa Park ...
to lift the
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...
, in
1887
Events
January–March
* January 11 – Louis Pasteur's anti-rabies treatment is defended in the Académie Nationale de Médecine, by Dr. Joseph Grancher.
* January 20
** The United States Senate allows the Navy to lease Pearl Har ...
. He was one of Victorian football's first household names.
Life and career
Born in
Joppa near
Ayr
Ayr (; sco, Ayr; gd, Inbhir Àir, "Mouth of the River Ayr") is a town situated on the southwest coast of Scotland. It is the administrative centre of the South Ayrshire council area and the historic county town of Ayrshire. With a population ...
, Hunter played for
Ayr Thistle and
Third Lanark
Third Lanark Athletic Club was a Scottish football club based in Glasgow. Founded in 1872 as an offshoot of the 3rd Lanarkshire Rifle Volunteers, the club was a founder member of the Scottish Football Association (SFA) in 1872 and the Scottish ...
(featuring on the losing side in the
1878 Scottish Cup Final)
before signing for Aston Villa in August 1878, four years after their formation. His Aston Villa career began 10 years before the commencement of the first
Football League
The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...
season. In his league career (1888–1890) he played 73 matches scoring 42 goals. Also his 33 goals for Villa in the FA Cup (including 3 in 1888–1889) remains the club record in the competition. Hunter made his League debut on 15 September 1888 at
Wellington Road, as a forward, against
Stoke
Stoke is a common place name in the United Kingdom.
Stoke may refer to:
Places United Kingdom
The largest city called Stoke is Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire. See below.
Berkshire
* Stoke Row, Berkshire
Bristol
* Stoke Bishop
* Stok ...
. Aston Villa won 5–1 and Hunter scored one of the goals. He missed three League games (out of 22) in 1888–89 and scored six goals including one brace.
Despite being one of the greats of the 19th century game, Hunter never fulfilled his dream of playing for
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 ...
against
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 ...
. This is because at the time the
Scottish Football Association
The Scottish Football Association (also known as the SFA and the Scottish FA; sco, Scots Fitba Association; Scottish Gaelic: ''Comann Ball-coise na h-Alba'') is the Sport governing body, governing body of association football, football in Scot ...
had a policy of not picking '
Anglo-Scots
Anglo is a prefix indicating a relation to, or descent from, the Angles, England, English culture, the English people or the English language, such as in the term ''Anglosphere''. It is often used alone, somewhat loosely, to refer to people ...
' (i.e. Scots who played in the English League) which persisted until 1896.
Hunter originally came to Birmingham planning to sign for
Calthorpe F.C., but was persuaded to sign for Villa instead, ostensibly after hearing of Aston Villa's Scottish connections, although, given Hunter "had become acquainted with the Calthorpe Football Club" when in Scotland, and given Calthorpe had been founded and run by Scots, and played in Scottish colours, this rationale is questionable. Calthorpe's links with
Queen's Park F.C.
Queen's Park Football Club is a Scottish professional association football, football club based in Glasgow, which currently plays in the Scottish Championship, the second tier of the Scottish football pyramid. Queen's Park is the Oldest footba ...
meant the club was resolutely amateur, unlike Villa. Hunter later recalled in his memoirs;
He was idolized by the crowds and became the first player to score in every round of the FA Cup in Villa's victorious 1887 campaign.
During a League match against
Everton in 1890, Hunter suffered a heart attack and collapsed. He never played again, and died in
Aston
Aston is an area of inner Birmingham, England. Located immediately to the north-east of Central Birmingham, Aston constitutes a ward within the metropolitan authority. It is approximately 1.5 miles from Birmingham City Centre.
History
Aston wa ...
at the age of 35. It is said that on his death-bed he asked to be lifted up one last time to see the crowd going to
Perry Barr
Perry Barr is a suburban area in north Birmingham, England. It is also the name of a council constituency, managed by its own district committee. Birmingham Perry Barr is also a parliamentary constituency; its Member of Parliament is Khalid Ma ...
(then Villa's home).
His brother
Andy
Andy may refer to:
People
*Andy (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters
*Horace Andy (born 1951), Jamaican roots reggae songwriter and singer born Horace Hinds
*Katja Andy (1907–2013), German-American pianist and piano ...
also played for Villa, and scored their first ever FA Cup goal. Another brother,
John
John is a common English name and surname:
* John (given name)
* John (surname)
John may also refer to:
New Testament
Works
* Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John
* First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John
* Second ...
, was a
Scotland international.
One source said that there was no doubt that the auburn-haired Hunter was a great player – one of the best footballers of the 1880s and 90s. He was an individualist with a commanding personality; he was robust yet decidedly fair and never committed a foul in anger. Known as 'The Old Warhorse', he was a mixture of toughness and cleverness, a player who often ran down the touchline, pulling defenders all over the field.
Legacy
In 1998, Hunter was inducted into the English Football League's list of
100 legends.
The headstone on his grave reads:
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hunter, Archie
1859 births
1894 deaths
Footballers from South Ayrshire
Scottish footballers
Association football forwards
Third Lanark A.C. players
Aston Villa F.C. players
English Football League players
FA Cup Final players