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 le ...

Career

He 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 football club in Preston, Lancashire, England, who currently play in the EFL Championship, the second tier of the English football league syste ...

by club secretary William Sudell who also provided him with a job as a

slater A slater, or slate mason, is a tradesman, tradesperson who covers buildings with slate. Tools of the trade The various hand tool, tools of the slater's trade are all drop-forged. The slater's hammer is forged in one single piece, from crucib ...

. Preston North End converted Ross from a centre-forward to a left-back. 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 football tournament. One hundred and twenty-eight teams entered, two fewer than the previous season, in addition to four of the one hundred and twenty-eight ne ...

Semi-Final where Preston were beaten 2–1 by

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club () is an English professional football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was formed in 1878 and has pla ...

. 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

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

Anfield Anfield is a football stadium in Anfield, Liverpool, Merseyside, England, which has a seating capacity of 53,394, making it the seventh largest football stadium in England. It has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since their formation in 1892. ...

, 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. 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

He 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 Striker or The Strikers may refer to: People *A participant in a strike action *A participant in a hunger strike *Blacksmith's striker, a type of blacksmith's assistant *Striker's Independent Society, the oldest mystic krewe in America People wi ...

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) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...

.The Coodnaes
Scots Football Worldwide 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, co-author of ''Association Football and the Men who Made it'' (1905) and a future FA President, described Nick 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 Gilbert Oswald Smith (25 November 1872 – 6 December 1943
), familiarly known as G. O. Smith or simply as G. O. ...

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 The 1890 National League of Baseball of Great Britain was the first, and to date only, professional baseball championship for the national baseball title of Great Britain. The National League's headquarters were located at 38 Holborn Viaduct, Londo ...

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

References

External links

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