William Lindsay (3 August 1847 – 15 February 1923) was an English amateur

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 ...

who, generally playing as a full back, helped the Wanderers win 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 competit ...

1876 Events January–March * January 1 ** The Reichsbank opens in Berlin. ** The Bass Brewery Red Triangle becomes the world's first registered trademark symbol. * February 2 – The National League, National League of Professional Ba ...

1877 Events January–March * January 1 – Queen Victoria is proclaimed ''Empress of India'' by the ''Royal Titles Act 1876'', introduced by Benjamin Disraeli, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom . * January 8 – Great S ...

(when he scored the winning goal) and

1878 Events January–March * January 5 – Russo-Turkish War – Battle of Shipka Pass IV: Russian and Bulgarian forces defeat the Ottoman Empire. * January 9 – Umberto I becomes King of Italy. * January 17 – Battle ...

and made one appearance for

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 ...

in 1877. He also played

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by st ...

for Surrey between 1876 and 1882.

Career

Early life and education

Lindsay was born in

Benares Varanasi (; ; also Banaras or Benares (; ), and Kashi.) is a city on the Ganges river in northern India that has a central place in the traditions of pilgrimage, death, and mourning in the Hindu world. * * * * The city has a syncretic t ...

, India, the son of Major William Lindsay of the 10th Regiment. His father and most of his family were killed during the

Indian Rebellion of 1857 The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a major uprising in India in 1857–58 against the rule of the British East India Company, which functioned as a sovereign power on behalf of the British Crown. The rebellion began on 10 May 1857 in the fo ...

at the

Siege of Cawnpore The siege of Cawnpore was a key episode in the Indian rebellion of 1857. The besieged East India Company forces and civilians in Cawnpore (now Kanpur) were unprepared for an extended siege and surrendered to rebel forces under Nana Sahib in r ...

. In 1858 he was admitted to

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 ...

as one of three boys orphaned by the

Indian Mutiny The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a major uprising in India in 1857–58 against the rule of the British East India Company, which functioned as a sovereign power on behalf of the British Crown. The rebellion began on 10 May 1857 in the fo ...

and remained at the college until 1865. At school he was a keen sportsman and played cricket for the Commoners XI between 1862 and 1864, as well as for the school football team. In 1860, he won the school wide jump competition and was second in the 100 yards. In 1863, he won both the high jump and the wide jump, followed by the high jump with pole in 1864 and the sack race the following year.

Football career

Lindsay subsequently represented the Old Wykehamists before joining the Wanderers in 1875, now aged 28. Lindsay played for

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to th ...

in all five of the unofficial internationals against England in 1870, 1871 and 1872, which were played at

Kennington Oval The Oval, currently known for sponsorship reasons as the Kia Oval, is an international cricket ground in Kennington, located in the borough of Lambeth, in south London. The Oval has been the home ground of Surrey County Cricket Club since it ...

before the first official international match played on 30 November 1872. He qualified for Scotland as his father was born in Dundee in 1810; his grandfather had been Provost of Dundee. His first appearance for the Wanderers was 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 pl ...

on 2 October 1875 and he went on to make eight appearances that season, including five in the FA Cup run, where Wanderers reached the Cup Final played against

Old Etonians Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, ...

at the Oval on 11 March 1876. The match finished 1–1 after extra time.

John Hawley Edwards John Hawley Edwards (21 March 1850 – 14 January 1893) was an English footballer who made one appearance for England in 1874, before going on to play for Wales in 1876. He was a member of the Wanderers team that won the 1876 FA Cup Final. C ...

scored for Wanderers;

Alexander Bonsor Alexander George Bonsor (7 October 1851 – 17 August 1907) was one of the earliest known footballers. Career Bonsor played in the 1872 FA Cup Final – the first ever final in the FA Cup's history – and finished on the winning side. He play ...

got Old Etonians' equalising goal. Wanderers won the replay 3–0, with two goals from

Thomas Hughes Thomas Hughes (20 October 182222 March 1896) was an English lawyer, judge, politician and author. He is most famous for his novel '' Tom Brown's School Days'' (1857), a semi-autobiographical work set at Rugby School, which Hughes had attended ...

and one by

Charles Wollaston Charles Henry Reynolds Wollaston (31 July 1849 – 22 June 1926) was an English footballer who played as a forward for Wanderers and England. He won the FA Cup five times with Wanderers, becoming the first player to do so. Wollaston was born i ...

. The following season he again turned out regularly for the Wanderers, making a total of seven appearances, including three matches in another successful FA Cup campaign, as Wanderers again reached the final to be played against

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 ...

. Three weeks prior to the Cup Final he was one of seven debutants in the

team to play

at the

on 3 March 1877. According to Philip Gibbons, in the 1870s the England side "tended to be chosen on availability rather than skill alone" The change in the England line-up made little difference to England's performance against the Scots who won the game 3–1, with England's consolation goal coming from

Alfred Lyttelton Alfred Lyttelton KC (7 February 1857 – 5 July 1913) was a British politician and sportsman from the Lyttelton family who excelled at both football and cricket. During his time at university he participated in Varsity Matches in five sport ...

; the Scots thus inflicted England's first international defeat on home soil in the sixth appearance between the two countries. Lindsay, along with four of the international debutants, was never selected again for international honours. In the

1877 FA Cup Final The 1877 FA Cup Final was a football match between Wanderers and Oxford University on 24 March 1877 at Kennington Oval in London. It was the sixth final of the world's oldest football competition, the Football Association Challenge Cup (kn ...

, played against

at the Oval on 24 March, Arthur Kinnaird conceded an

own goal An own goal, also called a self goal, is where a player performs actions that result in them or their team scoring a goal on themselves, often resulting in a point for the opposing team, such as when a football player kicks a ball into their own ...

to enable Oxford University to take the lead. A few minutes from time, the Wanderers equalised when Jarvis Kenrick slotted home a goal after a pass from Hubert Heron. The game finished level after 90 minutes; in extra time, Wanderers proved too strong for their opponents when Lindsay's initial shot was headed back to him by an Oxford defender. Following in, Lindsay was able to steer the ball past the keeper for the winning goal. In 1877–78, Lindsay appeared for Wanderers in the later stages of their FA Cup campaign, as they reached the final for the third consecutive year, and the fifth time in the first seven years of the competition. The

Final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: * Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of con ...

against the Royal Engineers was played at the

on 23 March. Wanderers won 3–1, with two goals by Jarvis Kenrick and one by Arthur Kinnaird. Wanderers were thus the cup winners for the third consecutive year; as a result,

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 ...

awarded the Wanderers the cup outright – the offer was declined in a "highly sporting and honourable gesture" on condition that it could never be won outright. Lindsay continued to turn out occasionally for the Wanderers until January 1880, when he was part of the side who were defeated 3–0 by

in what turned out to be the Wanderers final FA Cup appearance. During his football career, he also played for

Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition buildin ...

Civil Service The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil servants hired on professional merit rather than appointed or elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leaders ...

Gitanos The Romani in Spain, generally known by the exonym () or the endonym ''Calé'', belong to the Iberian Cale Romani subgroup, with smaller populations in Portugal (known as ) and in Southern France. Their sense of identity and cohesion stems f ...

and

South Norwood South Norwood is a district of south-east London, England, within the London Borough of Croydon, Greater London and formerly in the historic county of Surrey. It is located 7.8 miles (12.5 km) south-east of Charing Cross, north of Woodsid ...

as well as playing representative football for Surrey.

Cricket career

At Winchester, he played for the school cricket eleven in 1864 and 1865. He joined Surrey in 1876, and in his seven seasons with the county he scored 987 runs at an average of 17.31. His highest innings was 74 against

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a historic county in southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the ceremonial county of Greater London, with small sections in neighbourin ...

at the Oval in 1877. He also played cricket for

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...

Life outside sport

In 1867 he started work as a junior clerk in the store department of the

India Office The India Office was a British government department established in London in 1858 to oversee the administration, through a Viceroy and other officials, of the Provinces of India. These territories comprised most of the modern-day nations of ...

and from 1877 to 1881 was private secretary to the Under-secretary of State, and in 1882 became Senior Clerk. He was private secretary to

Lord George Hamilton Lord George Francis Hamilton (17 December 1845 – 22 September 1927) was a British Conservative Party politician of the late 19th and early 20th centuries who served as First Lord of the Admiralty and Secretary of State for India. Background ...

, Hon.

Edward Stanhope Edward Stanhope PC (24 September 1840 – 21 December 1893) was a British Conservative Party politician who was Secretary of State for War from 1887 to 1892. Background and education Born in London, Stanhope was the second son of Philip Stan ...

, the Marquess of Lansdowne and

Viscount Enfield A viscount ( , for male) or viscountess (, for female) is a title used in certain European countries for a noble of varying status. In many countries a viscount, and its historical equivalents, was a non-hereditary, administrative or judicial ...

before he retired in 1900. He was married to Emily (who was four years older than he was), and they had a daughter, Lilias, and a son, William. Lindsay died at his home in

Rochester, Kent Rochester ( ) is a town in the unitary authority of Medway, in Kent, England. It is at the lowest bridging point of the River Medway, about from London. The town forms a conurbation with neighbouring towns Chatham, Rainham, Strood and Gil ...

on 15 February 1923.

Sporting honours

Wanderers *

winners:

and

References

External links

England profile at www.englandstats.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lindsay, William 1847 births 1923 deaths People educated at Winchester College English footballers Wanderers F.C. players Crystal Palace F.C. (1861) players Civil Service F.C. players England international footballers English cricketers Surrey cricketers Devon cricketers England v Scotland representative footballers (1870–1872) Association football defenders English people of Scottish descent Sportspeople from Varanasi FA Cup Final players British people in colonial India