Charles Francis William Heron (1853 – 23 October 1914) 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 ...

who made one appearance as a forward for

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 ...

and was a member of the Wanderers side that won 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 ...

1876 Events January–March * January 1 ** The Reichsbank opens in Berlin. ** The Bass Brewery Red Triangle becomes the world's first registered trademark symbol. * February 2 – The National League of Professional Base Ball Clubs is ...

Playing career

Heron, the younger brother of

Hubert Heron George Hubert Hugh Heron (30 January 1852 – 5 June 1914) was an English footballer who made five appearances as a forward for England in the 1870s and won three FA Cup winners' medals. Playing career Heron was born in Uxbridge, west London a ...

, was born in

Uxbridge Uxbridge () is a suburban town in west London and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Hillingdon. Situated west-northwest of Charing Cross, it is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan. Uxb ...

, west

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, 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 dow ...

and attended

Mill Hill School Mill Hill School is a 13–18 mixed independent, day and boarding school in Mill Hill, London, England that was established in 1807. It is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference. History A committee of Nonconformist ...

and

Cranleigh School Cranleigh School is a public school (English independent day and boarding school) in the village of Cranleigh, Surrey. History It was opened on 29 September 1865 as a boys' school 'to provide a sound and plain education, on the principles o ...

. He was a founding member of the Uxbridge Football Club on 3 February 1871 before joining his brother at

Wanderers F.C. Wanderers Football Club was an English association football club. It was founded as "Forest Football Club" in 1859 in Leytonstone. In 1864, it changed its name to "Wanderers", a reference to it never having a home stadium, instead playing at v ...

in the 1874-75 season. He made his solitary appearance for

in the fifth international match 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 ...

on 4 March 1876. Heron played alongside his elder brother

Hubert Hubert is a Germanic masculine given name, from ''hug'' "mind" and '' beraht'' "bright". It also occurs as a surname. Saint Hubertus or Hubert (c. 656 – 30 May 727) is the patron saint of hunters, mathematicians, opticians, and metalworkers ...

who was appointed team captain. According to Philip Gibbons, "England struggled throughout the game, which saw the home team run out winners by three goals to nil." A week after the England match, he was part of the Wanderers team that met the

Old Etonians Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, ...

in the 1876 FA Cup Final at the

Kennington Oval The Oval, currently known for sponsorship reasons as the Kia Oval, is an international cricket ground in Kennington, located in the borough of Lambeth, in south London. The Oval has been the home ground of Surrey County Cricket Club since it ...

. En route to the final, he scored two "crucial" goals against

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire a ...

in the third round. In the final, the first match ended in a 1–1 draw, with the Wanderers victorious 3–0 in the replay on 18 March, with two goals from

Thomas Hughes Thomas Hughes (20 October 182222 March 1896) was an English lawyer, judge, politician and author. He is most famous for his novel ''Tom Brown's School Days'' (1857), a semi-autobiographical work set at Rugby School, which Hughes had attended. ...

and one by

Charles Wollaston Charles Henry Reynolds Wollaston (31 July 1849 – 22 June 1926) was an English footballer who played as a forward for Wanderers and England. He won the FA Cup five times with Wanderers, becoming the first player to do so. Wollaston was born i ...

also played for Wanderers in this match; it would be another 120 years before a pair of brothers again played together in an FA Cup-final winning side and for England in the same season, when Gary and

Phil Neville Philip John Neville (born 21 January 1977) is an English football manager and former player, who is the head coach of MLS team Inter Miami CF. He is also the co-owner of Salford City, along with several of his former Manchester United teamma ...

did so in 1996. During his career he also played for Swifts and

Windsor Home Park The Home Park, previously known as the Little Park (and originally Lydecroft Park), is a private Royal park, administered by the Crown Estate. It lies on the eastern side of Windsor Castle in the town and former civil parish of Windsor in the E ...

Later career

Heron played as an amateur and earned his living as a wine merchant in Bournemouth.

Honours

Wanderers *

winners:

References

External links

*
England profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Heron, Francis 1853 births 1914 deaths Footballers from Uxbridge People educated at Mill Hill School People educated at Cranleigh School English footballers England international footballers Uxbridge F.C. players Wanderers F.C. players Swifts F.C. players Association football forwards FA Cup Final players