Edgar Isaac Lewis Kail (26 November 1900 – 17 January 1976) was an English

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 played for

Dulwich Hamlet Dulwich Hamlet Football Club is a semi-professional football club based in East Dulwich in south-east London, England. They are currently members of and play at Champion Hill. History The club was formed in 1893, by Lorraine 'Pa' Wilson. T ...

and the England national team, as an

inside forward Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...

. He was the last non-league player to play for the full England team.

Early life

Edgar Kail was born in

Camberwell Camberwell () is a district of South London, England, in the London Borough of Southwark, southeast of Charing Cross. Camberwell was first a village associated with the church of St Giles and a common of which Goose Green is a remnant. This e ...

, London on 26 November 1900 to James Walker Issac Kail, a post office sorter and Rosa Mary Kail (née Yells). At the time of his birth, the family lived at 11 Thompson Road and Edgar was the youngest of three sons. By 1911, the Kails had moved round the corner 80a Landcroft Road,

Dulwich Dulwich (; ) is an area in south London, England. The settlement is mostly in the London Borough of Southwark, with parts in the London Borough of Lambeth, and consists of Dulwich Village, East Dulwich, West Dulwich, and the Southwark half of ...

during which time Rosa had given birth to three more sons and a daughter.

Club career

Dulwich Hamlet

After representing various South London schools, Kail signed for

in 1915 aged 15 years. Kail was a committed amateur at Dulwich Hamlet, turning down moves to professional clubs to stay at the club. With Dulwich he won the

FA Amateur Cup The FA Amateur Cup was an English football competition for amateur clubs. It commenced in 1893 and ended in 1974 when the Football Association abolished official amateur status. History Following the legalisation of professionalism within footba ...

in 1920 and 1932. He played for the "Amateurs" in the

1929 FA Charity Shield The 1929 FA Charity Shield was the 16th FA Charity Shield, an annual football match. It was played between the Professionals and the Amateurs at The Den, New Cross in London on 7 October 1929. The Professionals won the match 3–0. Teams Matc ...

Links with other clubs

Kail played a charity match for Queen's Park against Rangers in May 1932. He also signed amateur forms for

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

in March 1930 but did not make any league appearances.

International career

Kail had a short international career, only six days long, gaining three caps on

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 ...

's brief continental tour of 1929 against

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

and

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. He scored two goals on his debut against France. During the match against Spain, he became the last non-league player to play for the full England team, although not the last amateur –

Bernard Joy Bernard Joy (29 October 1911 – 18 July 1984) was an English footballer and journalist. He is notable for being the last amateur player to play for the England national team. Biography Joy was born in Fulham, London and educated at Cardinal ...

of Casuals and

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

played for England in 1936.

Personal life

Kail married Irene Margaret Ramsey, daughter of Dulwich Hamlet groundsman, Dalhousie Ramsey in Camberwell in February 1926. He died in

Skelmorlie Skelmorlie is a village in North Ayrshire in the south-west of Scotland. Although it is the northernmost settlement in the council area of North Ayrshire, it is contiguous with Wemyss Bay, which is in Inverclyde. The dividing line is the Kelly B ...

, Ayrshire in 1976 from a stroke.

Legacy

In the 1990s the approach to Dulwich's ground,

Champion Hill Champion Hill is a football stadium in East Dulwich in the London Borough of Southwark. It is the home ground of Dulwich Hamlet. History Dulwich Hamlet began playing at the ground in 1912. 'The Hill' was formerly one of the largest amateur grou ...

, was renamed Edgar Kail Way in his honour. In 2003, a

blue plaque A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place in the United Kingdom and elsewhere to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person, event, or former building on the site, serving as a historical marker. The term i ...

dedicated to Kail was unveiled by

Southwark Council Southwark London Borough Council is the local authority for the London Borough of Southwark in Greater London, England. It is a London borough council, one of 32 in the United Kingdom capital of London. History There have previously been a number ...

at the site of Champion Hill. Edgar Kail remains a cult figure amongst Dulwich Hamlet FC fans, with his name still sung at games each week.

References

1900 births 1976 deaths Footballers from Camberwell English men's footballers England men's international footballers Dulwich Hamlet F.C. players Men's association football inside forwards England men's amateur international footballers {{England-footy-forward-1900s-stub