Mordecai Sherwin (26 February 1851 – 3 July 1910) was a 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 ...

and

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

er who played in goal for

Notts County Notts County Football Club is a professional association football club based in Nottingham, England. The team participate in the National League (division), National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. Founded on the 2 ...

and as a

wicket-keeper The wicket-keeper in the sport of cricket is the player on the fielding side who stands behind the wicket or stumps being watchful of the batsman and ready to take a catch, stump the batsman out and run out a batsman when occasion arises. Th ...

for

Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated Notts.) is a landlocked county in the East Midlands region of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. The traditi ...

between

1878 Events January–March * January 5 – Russo-Turkish War – Battle of Shipka Pass IV: Russian and Bulgarian forces defeat the Ottoman Empire. * January 9 – Umberto I becomes King of Italy. * January 17 – Battle o ...

and

1896 Events January–March * January 2 – The Jameson Raid comes to an end, as Jameson surrenders to the Boers. * January 4 – Utah is admitted as the 45th U.S. state. * January 5 – An Austrian newspaper reports that Wil ...

. As a footballer, Sherwin played in goal for County from 10 November 1883 until 10 November 1888 and was, according to the sportswriter "Tityrus" (the pseudonym of J.A.H. Catton, editor of the ''

Athletic News The ''Athletic News and Cyclists' Journal'' was a Manchester-based newspaper founded by Edward Hulton in 1875. It was published weekly, covering weekend sports fixtures other than horse racing, which was already covered by the ''Sporting Chronicl ...

''), the idol of the crowd despite his unpromising physique: :"Although only 5ft. 9ins, and bordering on 17 stone, he was a kind of forerunner to the mighty Foulke... very nimble, as quick a custodian as he was a wicket-keeper. In one match, when the

Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club, based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second tier of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. T ...

were playing at the

Trent Bridge Trent Bridge Cricket Ground is a cricket ground mostly used for Test, One-Day International and county cricket located in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England, just across the River Trent from the city of Nottingham. Trent Bridge is also t ...

ground, that sturdy and skilful

outside right Forwards (also known as attackers) are Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring Goal (sport)#Association footbal ...

, Joseph Morris Lofthouse, thought he would have a tilt with Sherwin. :"He charged him, and rebounded. Sherwin said: "Young man, you'll hurt yourself if you do that again." Undeterred, Lofthouse returned to the attack, but Sherwin stepped aside with the alacrity of a dancer, and the

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

lad found out how hard was the goalpost and how sharp its edge. :"Sherwin was a wonder. It was the custom in those days for teams to entertain each other to dinner after a match... At one banquet Sherwin "obliged" with ''

Oh, Dem Golden Slippers "Oh, Dem Golden Slippers" is a minstrel song penned by African-American James A. Bland in 1879, is particularly well known as a bluegrass instrumental standard. By 1880, the song have exceeded the 100,000 copies sold. Overview A minstrel show ...

'', and surprised the gathering with a jig and a somersault. At seventeen stones!" Another source states that ‘Mordy Sherwin’ was an agile and reliable goalkeeper, if somewhat eccentric. Proving that today’s over-exuberant celebrations on scoring are nothing new, ‘Mordy’ was given to treating the spectators behind his goal to a cartwheeling performance when the Magpies scored! Mordecai Sherwin played just the one

League League or The League may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band * ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football Sports * Sports league * Rugby league, full contact footba ...

match. The venue was

, Nottingham. The date was 10 November 1888 and the opposition was

Accrington Accrington is a town in the Hyndburn borough of Lancashire, England. It lies about east of Blackburn, west of Burnley, east of Preston, north of Manchester and is situated on the culverted River Hyndburn. Commonly abbreviated by locals to ...

. For a November’s day the weather was pleasant and the 8,000 crowd saw some fine attacking football. Accrington forward

Billy Barbour William Barbour (21 September 1865 – 17 June 1900) was a Scottish people, Scottish association football, footballer who played in the the Football League, English Football League for Accrington F.C., Accrington and Bury F.C., Bury football clu ...

put his side ahead but not long after

Harry Daft Harry Butler Daft (5 April 1866 – 12 January 1945) was an English footballer who played for Notts County, with whom he won the FA Cup in 1894, as well as making five appearances as a left winger for the national side. He was also an accomplish ...

leveled the scores and Sherwin entertained the crowd with one of his cartwheels. The match renewed the rivalry between Accrington forward Joe Lofthouse (see above for details) but Lofthouse got the better in this match by restoring Accrington’ lead. 2-1 to Accrington at half-time. The second-half saw Notts County get the better of the play, Charles Shelton equalizing for County and then Bob Jardine putting County ahead for the first time in the match. As the match wore on County had two defenders injured so it was no surprise when Billy Barbour got his brace and the match finished a draw, 3-3, a point each. In 1888-1889 season Sherwin also played in three

F.A. 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 competiti ...

ties with Notts County winning all three. The victory at Recreation Ground,

Staveley Staveley may refer to: Places * Staveley, Cumbria, village in the former county of Westmorland and now in Cumbria, England ** Staveley railway station * Staveley-in-Cartmel, village formerly in Lancashire, now in Cumbria, England * Staveley, D ...

, against

on 8 December 1888 was Sherwin’ last game for Notts County. County won 3-1. (registration & fee required) As a cricketer, Sherwin captained Nottinghamshire in

1887 Events January–March * January 11 – Louis Pasteur's anti-rabies treatment is defended in the Académie Nationale de Médecine, by Dr. Joseph Grancher. * January 20 ** The United States Senate allows the Navy to lease Pearl Har ...

and

1888 In Germany, 1888 is known as the Year of the Three Emperors. Currently, it is the year that, when written in Roman numerals, has the most digits (13). The next year that also has 13 digits is the year 2388. The record will be surpassed as late ...

. He also played three

Test match Test match in some sports refers to a sporting contest between national representative teams and may refer to: * Test cricket * Test match (indoor cricket) * Test match (rugby union) * Test match (rugby league) * Test match (association football) ...

es 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 ...

on the tour to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

in 1886/7. He was named as one of the

Wisden Cricketers of the Year The ''Wisden'' Cricketers of the Year are cricketers selected for the honour by the annual publication ''Wisden Cricketers' Almanack'', based primarily on their "influence on the previous English season". The award began in 1889 with the naming ...

1891 Events January–March * January 1 ** Paying of old age pensions begins in Germany. ** A strike of 500 Hungarian steel workers occurs; 3,000 men are out of work as a consequence. **Germany takes formal possession of its new Africa ...

. After he retired as a cricketer, he umpired until

1901 Events January * January 1 – The Crown colony, British colonies of New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria (Australia), Victoria and Western Australia Federation of Australia, federate as the Australia, ...

, and even stood in one Test in

1899 Events January 1899 * January 1 ** Spanish rule ends in Cuba, concluding 400 years of the Spanish Empire in the Americas. ** Queens and Staten Island become administratively part of New York City. * January 2 – **Bolivia sets up a c ...

. By trade, Sherwin was a

publican In antiquity, publicans (Greek τελώνης ''telōnēs'' (singular); Latin ''publicanus'' (singular); ''publicani'' (plural)) were public contractors, in whose official capacity they often supplied the Roman legions and military, managed the ...

. Sherwin had a wife, Emma, and at least six children, Mary, William, Emma, Ellen, Mordecai and Frederick. The name of

Arthur Conan Doyle's Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle (22 May 1859 – 7 July 1930) was a British writer and physician. He created the character Sherlock Holmes in 1887 for ''A Study in Scarlet'', the first of four novels and fifty-six short stories about Hol ...

most famous character,

Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes () is a fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a " consulting detective" in the stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with observation, deduction, forensic science and ...

, is said to have been inspired partially by Sherwin, and partially by

Frank Shacklock Francis Joseph Shacklock (22 September 1861 – 1 May 1937) was an English cricketer who played first-class cricket for Nottinghamshire in 1883 and between 1886 and 1893, for Derbyshire in 1884 and 1885, for MCC between 1889 and 1893 and for Ota ...

References

*Catton, J.A.H. ("Tityrus") (2006 reprint of 1926 original). ''The Story of Association Football''. Cleethorpes: Soccer Books. .
Brief profile of Mordecai Sherwin by Don Ambrose
;Specific

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sherwin, Mordecai 1851 births 1910 deaths English Test cricket umpires England Test cricketers English cricketers Nottinghamshire cricketers Nottinghamshire cricket captains Wisden Cricketers of the Year Men's association football goalkeepers Notts County F.C. players People from Kimberley, Nottinghamshire Footballers from Nottinghamshire Cricketers from Nottinghamshire Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers Players cricketers North v South cricketers Players of the North cricketers English footballers Wicket-keepers