Percival Chase Parr (2 December 1859 – 3 September 1912) 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 earned one cap for the national team in 1882. Parr played club football usually as

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

but later as centre-forward for

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

, taking part in the 1880 FA Cup Final.

Early life

Parr was born at Bickley, near

Bromley, Kent Bromley is a large town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. It is south-east of Charing Cross, and had an estimated population of 87,889 as of 2011. Originally part of Kent, Bromley became a market town, char ...

, son of General

Thomas Chase Parr Thomas Chase Parr (1802–1883) was a British officer of the East India Company's Bombay Army. He ended his military career with the rank of full general. Life He was the son of John Owen Parr I, a merchant in London and son of John Parr (gunmaker) ...

, and educated at

Winchester College Winchester College is a public school (fee-charging independent day and boarding school) in Winchester, Hampshire, England. It was founded by William of Wykeham in 1382 and has existed in its present location ever since. It is the oldest of the ...

and

New College, Oxford New College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1379 by William of Wykeham in conjunction with Winchester College as its feeder school, New College is one of the oldest colleges at th ...

, graduating as B.A. in 1883.

Football career

Parr had played in the Winchester football XI in 1877, and was an Oxford football

Blue Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between violet and cyan on the spectrum of visible light. The eye perceives blue when obs ...

in each year of 1880 to 1882, captaining his team in the latter year.

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 ...

described him as "a splendid goalkeeper, very cool and full of pluck" though he also appeared for England as centre-forward in his one international game, against Wales at Wrexham in 1882, scoring a goal. He kept goal in his first two Varsity matches, but captained his team as centre in the third. At the FA Cup Final for Oxford against

Clapham Rovers Clapham Rovers was from its foundation in 1869 a leading English sports organisation in the two dominant codes of football, association football and rugby union. It was a prominent club in the late 19th century but is now defunct. The club playe ...

on 10 April 1880 at Kennington Oval, he kept goal successfully until, just six minutes before call of time,

Clopton Lloyd-Jones Clopton Allen Lloyd-Jones (12 November 1858 – 7 March 1918) was an English businessman and amateur sportsman, best known for football and cricket. He played for the Clapham Rovers when they won the FA Cup in 1880 and was selected, but did not ...

scored the match's only goal, let in through a weak mis-kick from Oxford teammate Charles King, for Rovers. Parr also played for

Swifts F.C. Swifts Football Club were a football team based in Slough, England. History The club was founded in 1869 by Mr W. Mansfield Gardner, Mr R.T. Smith, and Mr F. Mitchell, of Slough, who also formed the Uxbridge club two years later. The club playe ...

, where as centre he scored the

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three wic ...

of goals against Upton Park in a second round F.A. Cup tie replay in 1882, as well as old boy club

Old Wykehamists Old Wykehamists are former pupils of Winchester College, so called in memory of the school's founder, William of Wykeham. He was Bishop of Winchester and Lord Chancellor of England. He used the wealth these positions gave him to establish both t ...

. He also played in representative matches for West Kent and Kent county. He was a member of

the Football Association The Football Association (also known as The FA) is the Sports governing body, governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Bailiwick of Guernsey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the ...

committee in 1881.

Other sports

Parr was also a cricketer, playing in the Winchester College XI in 1877-78 and made one

first-class cricket First-class cricket, along with List A cricket and Twenty20 cricket, is one of the highest-standard forms of cricket. A first-class match is one of three or more days' scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officiall ...

appearance for the Gentlemen of Kent in 1880.

Career outside sport

Parr was a

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include taking cases in superior courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching law and ...

, called to the bar at the

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional associations for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and Wal ...

in 1885, who later branched out into publishing. He was partner in the publishing firm of W.H. Allen & Company, and editor of magazines '' National Observer'' from 1894 and ''Ladies' Field''. He died at his last home, Molescroft, at Widmore, Bromley, in 1912 aged fifty-two.

References

External links

Profile at England Stats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Parr, Percival 1859 births 1912 deaths English footballers England men's international footballers Oxford University A.F.C. players People educated at Winchester College English cricketers Gentlemen of Kent cricketers Men's association football goalkeepers FA Cup final players Footballers from Bromley