Edwin Alfred Cross (1848 – 19 January 1924) was a Welsh amateur

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 ...

who played most of his football career with

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 ...

, with whom he won the inaugural

Welsh Cup The FAW Welsh Cup ( cy, Cwpan Cymdeithas Pêl-droed Cymru), currently known as the JD Welsh Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a knock-out football competition contested annually by teams in the Welsh football league system. It is considered the mos ...

in 1878. Playing at half back, he also made two appearances for

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

in 1876 and 1877.

Football career

Born in

, Cross was a keen cricketer and a member of the Wrexham Cricket Club. On 4 October 1864, in search of a sporting activity for the winter months, he attended a meeting held at the Turf Hotel in Wrexham, which led to the formation of the Wrexham Association Football Club. Four years later, he attended the inaugural meeting of the

Football Association of Wales The Football Association of Wales (FAW; cy, Cymdeithas Bêl-droed Cymru) is the governing body of association football and futsal in Wales, and controls the Welsh national football team, its corresponding women's team, as well as the Welsh ...

held at the Wynnstay Arms Hotel, Wrexham on 2 February 1876. He also took part in trials organised by Llewelyn Kenrick to select Welsh players to represent their country in a match against

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

. The match was played at

Hamilton Crescent Hamilton Crescent is a cricket ground in the Partick area of Glasgow, Scotland, which is the home of the West of Scotland Cricket Club. Hamilton Crescent hosted the 1872 Scotland v England football match, first international football match, betw ...

Partick Partick ( sco, Pairtick, Scottish Gaelic: ''Partaig'') is an area of Glasgow on the north bank of the River Clyde, just across from Govan. To the west lies Whiteinch, to the east Yorkhill and Kelvingrove Park (across the River Kelvin), and ...

, the home of the West of Scotland Cricket Club on 25 March 1876, with Cross playing at

right-half A midfielder is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As #Cent ...

in a 2–2–6 formation. The Welsh were well defeated, conceding four goals without reply. The return match came on 5 March 1877 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 ...

, with Cross, described as "an energetic half-back", playing at centre-half; the Scots were again victorious, winning 2–0. Later that year, he was part of the

team that entered the inaugural

tournament. After defeating the local Civil Service in the first round, they had victories over Oswestry and Gwersyllt Foresters (8–0). With only three teams remaining in the tournament at this stage, Wrexham received a bye to the final, at Acton Park,

, on 30 March 1878 between Wrexham and

Druids A druid was a member of the high-ranking class in ancient Celtic cultures. Druids were religious leaders as well as legal authorities, adjudicators, lorekeepers, medical professionals and political advisors. Druids left no written accounts. Whi ...

from Ruabon. The match was a cliffhanger, with no score until the Wrexham forwards charged the Druids' defenders to take the ball over the line to win the game in the final minute, with James Davies being credited with the goal. The following year, Wrexham again reached the final of the Cup, this time losing 1–0 to Newtown White Star.

Career outside football

Cross was employed as a clerk with the Alliance Insurance Company in Wrexham and later in Shrewsbury, before becoming an accountant. After retiring from playing football in 1879, he continued to play as a leading batsman with Wrexham Cricket Club for several years. He died at Old Colwyn,

Denbighshire Denbighshire ( ; cy, Sir Ddinbych; ) is a county in the north-east of Wales. Its borders differ from the historic county of the same name. This part of Wales contains the country's oldest known evidence of habitation – Pontnewydd (Bontnewy ...

on 19 January 1924. His nephew, also E A Cross, was later a director of Wrexham Football Club and an

alderman An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members t ...

in the town.

Honours

Wrexham

**Winners: 1877–78 **Runners-up: 1878-79

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cross, Edwin 1848 births Footballers from Wrexham 1924 deaths Welsh footballers Wrexham A.F.C. players Wales international footballers Association football defenders Welsh cricketers