Sidney William Cavendish (28 February 1876 – 20 July 1954) was an English 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 ...

who played at

inside-forward Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...

for various clubs around the turn of the 20th century.

Football career

Cavendish was born in Burton-on-Trent and started his football career playing for nearby Overseal Town. In May 1898, he was spotted by a scout from Southern League champions,

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

and he moved to the south coast, together with his teammate,

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 ...

John Joyce John Joyce or Johnny Joyce may refer to: * John Joyce (New Zealand politician) (1839–1899), New Zealand Member of Parliament (MP) * John Joyce (American politician) (born 1957), United States Representative * John Joye or Joyce, MP * Jack Joyce ...

. Cavendish spent his first season at The Dell in the reserves, scoring 22 goals. His first-team debut came on 6 January 1900, when he took the place of the former

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 ...

international Harry Wood at

inside-left 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 ...

for the visit of Gravesend United. The "Saints" celebrated the start of the new century in style, with Cavendish scoring in a memorable 8–0 victory. Cavendish played in the next two matches (at centre-forward and

centre-half In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

respectively), before returning to the reserves. Described as "''a gentlemanly player, often winning esteem and respect from many of his opponents''", Cavendish made only one appearance in the 1900–01 season, followed by five appearances in 1901–02. In the 1902 close-season, Cavendish dropped into the Hampshire League with

Freemantle Freemantle is a suburb and electoral ward in Southampton, England. There are similarly named places in Hampshire: notably Henry II's hunting lodge in Kingsclere; a suburb of Hannington, Hampshire, Hannington; and Freemantle Common in Bitterne. ...

before moving in 1904 to the

East End of London The East End of London, often referred to within the London area simply as the East End, is the historic core of wider East London, east of the Roman and medieval walls of the City of London and north of the River Thames. It does not have uni ...

with

Clapton Orient Leyton Orient Football Club is a professional football club based in Leyton, East London, England, who compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. They are the second oldest football club in London to play at a profess ...

. After a year in the Southern League Second Division when they finished in eighth position, Clapton Orient applied for election to the Football League and were successful, taking their place in

Football League Division Two The Football League Second Division was the second level division in the English football league system between 1892 and 1992. Following the foundation of the FA Premier League, the Football League divisions were renumbered and the third ti ...

. Cavendish made no

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

appearances for Orient, although he did make one appearance in the

FA 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 competi ...

Clapton Orient

Cavendish made 21 Southern League appearances in 1904–05 with 14 goals, and 19 appearances with 12 goals for the reserve side in the London League. He also made three appearances in the FA Cup, without scoring, including in Orient's very first match in the famous FA Cup competition, home to Enfield on 17 September 1904, a 4–1 victory. The following season, with Orient now in the Second Division of the Football League, he only played for the reserve side but did make one appearance in the FA Cup on 7 October 1905 at Felstead, a 1–-1 draw before 250 spectators.Neilson N. Kaufman, club historian- Leyton Orient F.C. In the summer of 1906, Cavendish moved to

Salisbury, Wiltshire Salisbury ( ) is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers Avon, Nadder and Bourne. The city is approximately from Southampton and from Bath. Salisbury is in the southeast of Wil ...

and joined

Salisbury City Salisbury City Football Club was an English football club based in Salisbury, Wiltshire. They were formed in 1947 and played at The Raymond McEnhill Stadium. Salisbury had gained back-to-back promotions in recent years, first to the Conference S ...

, firstly as a player and later as a trainer, remaining with the City side into the late 1920s.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cavendish, Sid 1876 births 1954 deaths Footballers from Burton upon Trent English men's footballers Men's association football forwards Southampton F.C. players Freemantle F.C. players Leyton Orient F.C. players Salisbury City F.C. (1905) players Southern Football League players