![Nicholas Lane Jackson](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/57/Nicholas_Lane_Jackson.png)
Nicholas Lane Jackson, known as N. L. Jackson and "Pa" Jackson, (1 November 1849 – 26 October 1937)
was an English sports administrator and author.
Early life
Jackson was born in
Hackney, London in 1849 to his father, also named Nicholas Lane Jackson, and mother Mary. The elder Jackson was a cattle salesman who had moved to the capital from Devon. In 1869, the younger Jackson married Mary Ann Williams. By 1871, the young married couple were living in
Isleworth
Isleworth ( ) is a town located within the London Borough of Hounslow in West London, England. It lies immediately east of the town of Hounslow and west of the River Thames and its tributary the River Crane, London, River Crane. Isleworth's or ...
with two infant children and a servant, with Jackson's occupation listed as "land steward".
Football
In 1877, Jackson founded
Finchley F.C.
Finchley Football Club was an English football club based in Finchley, Greater London. Established in 1877, the club merged with Wingate to form Wingate & Finchley in 1991.
History
The club was founded in 1877 by N. L. "Pa" Jackson under ...
(initially known as "Finchley Petrels"), also captaining the club. He soon started officiating matches, for example serving as
umpire
An umpire is an official in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection.
The term derives from the Old French nonper, ''non'', "not" and ''per'', ...
alongside
C. W. Alcock
Charles William Alcock (2 December 1842 – 26 February 1907) was an English sportsman, administrator, author and editor. He was a major instigator in the development of both international football and cricket, as well as being the creator of ...
in an F. A. Cup tie between Old Etonians and Minerva in January 1879.
In 1880, he was elected to the committee of the
Football Association
The Football Association (also known as The FA) is the governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the oldest football association in the world an ...
(FA). Between 1881 and 1883, he served as assistant secretary to the FA, working alongside Alcock. According to one source, although Alcock was the nominal secretary, "the burden of the work
asborne by Jackson".
Jackson also founded
Corinthian FC
Corinthian Football Club was an English amateur football club based in London between 1882 and 1939.
Above all, the club is credited with having popularised football around the world, having promoted sportsmanship and fair play, and having ch ...
(1882) and the
London Football Association
The London Football Association (LFA) is the regional Football Association for inner areas of London. The London FA was established in 1882 and is affiliated to The Football Association. The London FA administers all levels of men's, women's and ...
(1882).
Professionalism
In January 1884, Jackson investigated allegations that
Preston North End
Preston North End Football Club, commonly referred to as Preston, North End or PNE, is a professional football club in Preston, Lancashire, England, who currently play in the EFL Championship, the second tier of the English football league syste ...
had offered financial inducements to attract Scottish players. As a result of Jackson's investigation, an FA committee voted to disqualify the Preston club from
that season's FA Cup. At the FA's meeting in February 1884, Jackson successfully proposed that "this meeting considers the existence of veiled professionalism and the importation of players are serious evils calling for prompt attention" and called for the creation of a committee to study the matter. Jackson led the resulting committee, whose hardline anti-professionalism recommendations were adopted by the FA for the 1884-85 season.
In March 1885, when the question was once again considered by FA, Jackson supported a motion that "it is expedient to legalise professionalism". He served on the committee whose recommendations led to the FA allowing professionalism, with certain restrictions, in July of that year.
Tennis
Jackson contributed to the founding of the
Lawn Tennis Association
The Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) is the national governing body of tennis in Great Britain, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man.
Founded in 1888, the LTA promotes all levels of lawn tennis. It believes that tennis can provide "physical ...
(1888).
He was one of the most important referees at early tennis tournaments.
Golf
Jackson founded golf clubs at
Le Touquet
Le Touquet-Paris-Plage (; pcd, Ech Toutchet-Paris-Plache; vls, 't Oekske, older nl, Het Hoekske), commonly referred to as Le Touquet (), is a commune near Étaples, in the Pas-de-Calais department, northern France. It has a population of 4, ...
,
Cabourg
Cabourg (; nrf, Cabouorg) is a commune in the Calvados department, region of Normandy, France. Cabourg is on the coast of the English Channel, at the mouth of the river Dives. The back country is a plain, favourable to the culture of cereal. Th ...
, and
Stoke Poges
Stoke Poges () is a village and civil parish in south-east Buckinghamshire, England. It is centred north-north-east of Slough, its post town, and southeast of Farnham Common.
Etymology
In the name Stoke Poges, ''stoke'' means " stockaded (p ...
(the last being the first country club in England).
He continued to play the game into old age, allegedly having a handicap of 9 at the age of 82.
Other Sports
Jackson gave his name to the "Lane-Jackson Championship", an important
curling
Curling is a sport in which players slide stones on a sheet of ice toward a target area which is segmented into four concentric circles. It is related to bowls, boules, and shuffleboard. Two teams, each with four players, take turns sliding ...
title in
Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
.
He invented a sport known as "ringoal", in which players used two sticks to throw a ring, which had to be caught by an opponent.
Author
Jackson was a prolific author. He founded the tennis journal ''Pastime'' (1883) and the cricket periodical ''Cricket Field'' (1892), both of which were later purchased by ''
The Field''. His ''Association Football'' (1899) is an important source for the early history of that sport. He also edited reference works for football and rugby. His autobiography ''Sporting Days and Sporting Ways'' was published in 1932.
Death
Jackson died in 1937 at the age of 87. He is said to have boasted that he weighed the same at the age of 80 as he did at 18 (10 stone 8.5 pounds). He also claimed to have never smoked or drunk alcohol.
Works
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* Jackson, N. L. (ed.), ''Pastime: the Lawn-Tennis Journal'' (from 1883)
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Notes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jackson, Nicholas Lane
1849 births
1937 deaths
Founders of association football institutions
English footballers
History of football in England
Corinthian F.C. players
English male journalists
Association footballers not categorized by position