Gershom Cox (28 September 1863 – October–December 1918) was an English professional

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 as a full-back for Aston Villa from 1887 to 1893.

Early career

Gershom Cox was first signed for

Birmingham Excelsior Birmingham Excelsior Football Club was an English football club with a claimed foundation date of 1874. History The club emerged from an athletics club founded in 1869, which in turn was related to the Excelsior Works in Birmingham town centre. ...

in 1886. The club were not a League team but took part in 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 ...

from 1883–1888. Cox was on the books for one season signing for Walsall Town in 1887 for a trial. It's not recorded how long the trial took but, in August 1887 Cox signed for Aston Villa. According to one source Gershom Cox was described as a well-built, versatile defender.

Who scored the first league goal?

Until a chance discovery in 2013, his main claim to fame had been that he scored the first goal in

The Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in Association football around the wor ...

31 minutes after kick-off on the first day of the inaugural season, 1888-89 on 8 September 1888 for Aston Villa against their Midlands rivals

Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club (), commonly known as Wolves, is a professional football club based in Wolverhampton, England, which compete in the . The club has played at Molineux Stadium since moving from Dudley Road in 1889. The club's ...

. However, ''The Midland Evening News'' of 7 September 1888 included an advert showing "kick-off 3.30 prompt". Cox's goal was scored into his own net, so is the first recorded "

own goal An own goal, also called a self goal, is where a player performs actions that result in them or their team scoring a goal on themselves, often resulting in a point for the opposing team, such as when a football player kicks a ball into their own ...

" in the Football league. As of 2013,

Kenny Davenport James Kenyon "Kenny" Davenport (23 March 1862 – 27 September 1908) was an English international footballer who played as an inside right. Career Born in the Deane area of Bolton, Davenport played for Bolton Wanderers, after joining them ...

is regarded as scorer of the first ever Football League goal, scoring for Bolton Wanderers at 3:47pm on 7 September 1888 against

Derby County Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Derby, Derbyshire, England. In 2022, it was announced that DCFC was acquired by Clowes Developments (UK) Ltd, a Derbyshire-based property group. Founded in 188 ...

Season 1888-89

Gershom Cox, playing as a full–back, made his League debut on 8 September 1888 at

Dudley Road Dudley Road was a football ground in Wolverhampton in England. It was the home ground of Wolverhampton Wanderers between 1881 and 1889, and was used during the first season of the Football League. History The ground began to be used in 1881, ...

, the then home of

. The match ending in a 1–1 draw, Cox scoring an own–goal (see above). Gershom Cox appeared in all of the 22 League matches played by Aston Villa in season 1888–89. Gershom Cox, playing at full–back (22 appearances), was part of the Aston Villa defence that achieved one League clean–sheet and kept the opposition to one–League–goal–in–a–match on no less than nine occasions. Cox also played in all three FA Cup ties at full–back. Cox won an

runners–up medal, appearing for Aston Villa in the 1892 final. Villa lost to

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club () is an English professional football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was formed in 1878 and has pl ...

. He made 101 first–team appearances for Aston Villa (86 in the Football League) in all competitions. After his years at Aston Villa he played for Willenhall Pickwick from June 1893 to August 1895, then played for Walsall Brunswick from August 1895 to May 1898 and then, finally, he played for Bloxwich Strollers from May 1898 to May 1900 when he retired from playing. He broke his leg in season 1899–1900 which caused his retirement. Gershom Cox was, for a while a successful market trader, then he joined the Birmingham City Police Force then he left Birmingham to hold a brief appointment as coach for Kent League club Gravesend United.

Honours

Aston Villa *

runners-up:

1892 Events January–March * January 1 – Ellis Island begins accommodating immigrants to the United States. * February 1 - The historic Enterprise Bar and Grill was established in Rico, Colorado. * February 27 – Rudolf Diesel applies fo ...

Statistics

Source:

References

External links

Feature in Independent on "landmark" goals
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cox, Gershom 1863 births 1918 deaths Footballers from Birmingham, West Midlands Association football defenders English footballers Birmingham Excelsior F.C. players Walsall F.C. players Aston Villa F.C. players English Football League players FA Cup Final players