Nicholas John Ross (6 December 1862 – 7 August 1894) was a Scottish

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 lea ...

who played as a defender or striker. He was a Preston North End player upon his death, playing as full back.

Career

Ross played for, and captained, Heart of Midlothian in the early stages of his football career before being persuaded to join

Preston North End Preston North End Football Club, commonly referred to as Preston, North End or PNE, is a professional association football club in Preston, Lancashire, England. They currently play in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English footbal ...

by club secretary

William Sudell Major William Sudell (1850–1911) was an English association football player and administrator, who was the first chairman of Preston North End. He joined the Preston Nelson sports club on 3 August 1867, aged 17. Initially a player of sever ...

who also provided him with a job as a

slater A slater, or slate mason, is a tradesperson who covers buildings with slate. Tools used The various tools of the slater's trade are all drop-forged. The slater's hammer is forged in one single piece, from crucible-cast steel, and has a lea ...

. Preston North End converted Ross from a

centre-forward In the sport of association football, a forward (attacker or striker) is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position which primarily plays further up the pitch than Midfielder, midfielders and Defender (association football), d ...

to a

left-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categ ...

. Ross was made captain of Preston and over the next few years earned a reputation as one of the best defenders in English football. He featured in the

1886–87 FA Cup The 1886–87 Football Association Challenge Cup was the 16th FA Cup, England's oldest Association football, football tournament. One hundred and twenty-eight teams entered, two fewer than the previous season, in addition to four of the one hund ...

Semi-Final where Preston were beaten 2–1 by

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club (), commonly known as West Brom or The Albion, is a professional association football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the Englis ...

. He was transferred to Everton in July 1888 where he was reportedly paid £10 per month – a significantly above-average wage for a footballer at the time.

1888–89 season

Ross made his League debut on 8 September 1888, playing as a full-back, at

Anfield Anfield is a Association football, football stadium in the area of Anfield (suburb), Anfield, Liverpool, England, which has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since its formation in 1892. The stadium has a seating capacity of 61,276, making it the ...

, the then home of Everton. The home team defeated the visitors

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 ...

2–1. He scored his debut League goal on 15 September 1888, playing at full-back, at Anfield when the visitors were

Notts County Notts County Football Club is a professional association football, football club in Nottingham, England, which competes in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of Football in England, English football, following promotion and relegation, promotion ...

. The home team defeated the visitors 2–1 with Ross scoring the second of Everton' two goals. He was the first ever full–back to score a League goal. Ross appeared in 18 of the 22 League matches played by Everton in season 1888–89, scoring four League goals. As a full-back he played in an Everton defence that kept two clean sheets.

After Everton

Ross returned to Preston after just one season with Everton, during which time Preston won both the League Championship and the FA Cup. During his second spell with the club he was converted to a striker and helped the club win the 1889–90 League Championship, the second in a row. Health problems forced him to retire from football in 1893 and he died a year later from

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

. His younger brother,

Jimmy Jimmy may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Jimmy'' (2008 film), a 2008 Hindi thriller directed by Raj N. Sippy * ''Jimmy'' (1979 film), a 1979 Indian Malayalam film directed by Melattoor Ravi Varma * ''Jimmy'' (2013 f ...

, was also a noted footballer for Preston, part of " The Invincibles", and the league top scorer for the 1890–91 season.

Legacy

In 1906

William Pickford William Pickford (1861–1938) was an English football administrator, who played an important role in the early development of The Football Association, in which he was its most recent President not to come from the British royal family. Early ...

, co-author of ''Association Football and the Men who Made it'' (1905) and a future FA President, described Ross as a footballing genius matched only by

Ernest Needham Ernest Needham (21 January 1873 – 8 March 1936) was an English footballer and cricketer. He played in sixteen international football matches for England and captained the side in 1901. He was an outstanding left half who played for Sheffield ...

and G.O. Smith.

Professional baseball

In 1890 Ross, along with his brother, were recruited by

Preston North End Baseball Club Preston North End Baseball Club were a short lived English professional baseball club, who played their home games at Deepdale, competing for the 1890 National League of Baseball of Great Britain. Preston North End Baseball Club Limited were for ...

for the

1890 National League of Baseball of Great Britain Year 189 ( CLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Silanus and Silanus (or, less frequently, year 942 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 189 for t ...

, playing first base. Both brothers featured prominently for the reserve amateur team, who won the 1890 Amateur Championship Baseball Cup.

Death

7 August Events Pre-1600 * 461 – Roman Emperor Majorian is beheaded near the river Iria in north-west Italy following his arrest and deposition by the ''magister militum'' Ricimer. * 626 – The Avar and Slav armies leave the siege of Co ...

1894 Events January * January 4 – A military alliance is established between the French Third Republic and the Russian Empire. * January 7 – William Kennedy Dickson receives a patent for motion picture film in the United States. * Ja ...

the Preston North End club announced his death ''when ill-health compelled him to take a holiday abroad. He had been ailing for some time, his lengthy indisposition terminating fatally at noon yesterday. The news will be received with deep regret''.The death of Nick Ross - playupliverpool.com
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References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ross, Nick 1862 births 1894 deaths Scottish men's footballers Footballers from Edinburgh Men's association football defenders Men's association football forwards English Football League players English Football League representative players Heart of Midlothian F.C. players Preston North End F.C. players Everton F.C. players Linfield F.C. players Scottish baseball players 19th-century deaths from tuberculosis Tuberculosis deaths in Scotland