John Hawley Edwards (21 March 1850 – 14 January 1893) 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 made one appearance for England in

1874 Events January–March * January 1 – New York City annexes The Bronx. * January 2 – Ignacio María González becomes head of state of the Dominican Republic for the first time. * January 3 – Third Carlist War &ndash ...

, before going on to play 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 2 ...

in 1876. He was a member of the Wanderers team that won the

1876 FA Cup Final The 1876 FA Cup Final was a football match between Wanderers and Old Etonians on 11 March 1876 at Kennington Oval in London. It was the fifth final of the world's oldest football competition, the Football Association Challenge Cup (known in ...

Career

Edwards was born in

Shrewsbury Shrewsbury ( , also ) is a market town, civil parish, and the county town of Shropshire, England, on the River Severn, north-west of London; at the 2021 census, it had a population of 76,782. The town's name can be pronounced as either 'Shr ...

, educated at

Shifnal Shifnal is a market town and civil parish in Shropshire, England, about east of Telford, 17 miles (27 km) east of the county town of Shrewsbury and 13 miles (20 km) west-northwest of the city of Wolverhampton. It is near the M54 mo ...

Grammar School, and was a qualified

solicitor A solicitor is a legal practitioner who traditionally deals with most of the legal matters in some jurisdictions. A person must have legally-defined qualifications, which vary from one jurisdiction to another, to be described as a solicitor and ...

, being admitted in 1871. He played from 1873 to 1880 for

Shropshire Wanderers Shropshire Wanderers F.C. was an amateur association football club based in Shrewsbury, England. The club was active during the 1870s and once reached the FA Cup semi-finals. History The club was founded out of the Shropshire Wanderers cricket ...

, of which he was a founder and

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

, when they reached the

semi-final A single-elimination, knockout, or sudden death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final matc ...

tie of 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 competit ...

in 1874–75 and were defeated by the

Old Etonians Eton College () is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI of England, Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. i ...

. He was called into the England side as a late replacement for another Shrewsbury-born player, John Wylie. He made his solitary England appearance on 7 March 1874 against

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to th ...

, playing 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 rol ...

. After "a most competitive game", Scotland won 2–1, with Robert Kingsford scoring England's consolation goal. He was also a member of the Wanderers team, making his first appearance on 4 March 1874, scoring in a 4–0 victory over

Westminster School (God Gives the Increase) , established = Earliest records date from the 14th century, refounded in 1560 , type = Public school Independent day and boarding school , religion = Church of England , head_label = Head ...

. In 1876, he only made two appearances for Wanderers, both in the Cup Final when he played at

centre 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 ...

against the Old Etonians. In the first match, played at

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 ...

on 11 March 1876, Edwards scored the first goal, turning in a cross from

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 ...

. The Old Etonians equalised through

Alexander Bonsor Alexander George Bonsor (7 October 1851 – 17 August 1907) was one of the earliest known footballers. Career Bonsor played in the 1872 FA Cup Final – the first ever final in the FA Cup's history – and finished on the winning side. He playe ...

, so the match went to a replay, which the Wanderers won 3–0, thus winning the trophy for the third time in five years. Edwards had been instrumental in helping to establish the

Welsh Football Association The Football Association of Wales (FAW; cy, Cymdeithas Bêl-droed Cymru) is the Governing bodies of sports in Wales, governing body of association football and futsal in Wales, and controls the Wales national football team, Welsh national foo ...

, serving as its first treasurer in 1876. A week after the FA Cup Final replay, Edwards played for the

national team in their inaugural 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 first international football match, between Scotland and England, played on 30 ...

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 to ...

on 25 March 1876. The match ended in a 4–0 victory for the Scots. Edwards was one of two players to play at full international level for both England and Wales, the other being

Robert Evans Robert Evans (born Robert J. Shapera; June 29, 1930October 26, 2019) was an American film producer, studio executive, and actor, best known for his work on '' Rosemary's Baby'' (1968), '' Love Story'' (1970), ''The Godfather'' (1972), and ''Chi ...

, who made ten appearances for Wales and then played four times for England. He also played in representative matches for North Wales and Staffordshire. He captained the Shrewsbury Town team (not the present

Shrewsbury Town F.C. Shrewsbury Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of English football. The club plays its home games at the New Meadow, having move ...

, formed 1886) from 1876 to 1880, during which time they won both the

Birmingham Senior Cup The Birmingham Senior Cup is a football competition for Birmingham County FA club teams, organised by the Birmingham County Football Association. It began in 1876 and is the oldest county cup competition still active. The Birmingham Senior Cup ...

and Shropshire County Cup in the 1877–78 season, two years before he ceased to play after a series of knee injuries. Edwards was for a time also on the committee of the Birmingham and District Football Association and a founder of the county F.A. for

Shropshire Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to ...

in 1877. Edwards was also a useful cricketer and played for Shropshire for several years and served the club as secretary, as well as for Warwickshire county (not first-class) and Shrewsbury Cricket Club. He was later clerk to Shrewsbury

Magistrates' Court A magistrates' court is a lower court where, in several jurisdictions, all criminal proceedings start. Also some civil matters may be dealt with here, such as family proceedings. Courts * Magistrates' court (England and Wales) * Magistrate's Cour ...

for nineteen years until his death on 14 January 1893,Davies, Gareth; Garland, Ian (1991). Who's Who of Welsh International Soccer Players. Bridge Books. pp. 53. . while convalescing from throat infection at

Old Colwyn Old Colwyn ( cy, Hen Golwyn, formerly Colwyn bilingually) is a large village just to the east of Colwyn Bay, in Conwy County Borough, Wales. Prior to local government reorganisation in April 1974 it was part of the Municipal Borough of Colwyn ...

in Wales He was buried in the General Cemetery at Longden Road, Shrewsbury.

Honours

Wanderers *

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 ...

References

External links

*
England profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Edwards, John 1850 births 1893 deaths Sportspeople from Shrewsbury English footballers Welsh footballers Wanderers F.C. players England international footballers Wales international footballers Dual internationalists (football) Welsh football chairmen and investors English solicitors Shropshire Wanderers F.C. players Association football forwards FA Cup Final players 19th-century English lawyers 19th-century Welsh businesspeople

Career

Honours

See also

References

External links