Henry Ross Edwards (1870 – after 1899) 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 le ...

who played in

the 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 ...

for Small Heath. Edwards was born in

Coventry Coventry ( or ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its ...

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, and the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Avon an ...

. An inside forward, he attracted the attention of the Small Heath club, whose scout went to watch him playing for Singer's; they signed him, together with his more impressive teammate

Frank Mobley Frank Mobley (21 November 1868 – 9 February 1956) was an English professional association football, footballer who played as a centre forward. He played in the English Football League, Football League for Birmingham City F.C., Small Heath an ...

, who went on to score 64 goals in four seasons for Small Heath. Edwards played in the first five games of the 1892–93 season – Small Heath's first season in

– and scored on his debut, in a 5–1 defeat of

Port Vale Port Vale Football Club are a professional football club based in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, England, which compete in . Vale are the only English Football League club not to be named after a place; their name being a reference to the valley o ...

,Matthews, p. 141. but could not compete with

Billy Walton William Howard T. Walton (6 August 1871 – 10 February 1963) was an English footballer who played for Small Heath (now Birmingham City) for fourteen years. He made 232 appearances and scored 70 goals in all competitions. Biography Walton was ...

and the prolific

Fred Wheldon George Frederick Wheldon (1 November 1869 – 13 January 1924) was an English sportsman. He was sometimes known as Fred or Freddie Wheldon. In football, he was an inside-forward with good footwork and an eye for goal who played for England and ...

. He played for Leicester Fosse in the Midland League and for Derby County, without appearing in their Football League side, before moving to Southern League club Wolverton L&NWR. Edwards settled well at Wolverton, playing as an attacking centre half, and stayed for three seasons before moving to fellow Southern League club

Watford Watford () is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne. Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal encouraged the construction of paper-making mills, print works, a ...

. Edwards' younger brother

Bill Bill(s) may refer to: Common meanings * Banknote, paper cash (especially in the United States) * Bill (law), a proposed law put before a legislature * Invoice, commercial document issued by a seller to a buyer * Bill, a bird or animal's beak Plac ...

was also a professional footballer who played for Small Heath. Edwards died in his native Coventry.

References

1870 births Year of death missing Footballers from Coventry English men's footballers Men's association football midfielders Coventry City F.C. players Birmingham City F.C. players Leicester City F.C. players Derby County F.C. players Wolverton A.F.C. players Watford F.C. players Bedford Queens Works F.C. players English Football League players Southern Football League players Date of birth missing Football Alliance players {{England-footy-midfielder-1870s-stub