Sir Amos Brook Hirst,

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(6 December 1878 – 26 November 1955) was an English football administrator and legal professional most associated with

Huddersfield Town F.C. Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . The team have played home games at the Kirklees Stadium since moving from L ...

, who served as chairman 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 ...

(FA) from 1941 to 1955.

Biography

Hirst was born in Huddersfield, West Riding of Yorkshire, in 1878, where he attended Longwood Grammar School and

Huddersfield College Huddersfield New College is a former grammar school and current sixth form college located in Salendine Nook on the outskirts of Huddersfield, in the county of West Yorkshire, England. The current principal is Angela Williams. On 17 May 2016 the ...

."Sir Amos Hirst." ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'', London, 28 November 1955, pg. 13 Hirst was a keen rugby player in his youth before suffering a shoulder injury, and turned to football as a result. Hirst practiced as a solicitor for several years and was subsequently appointed the county court registrar for the Huddersfield, Halifax and Dewsbury districts in 1927; Hirst also briefly served as Huddersfield's deputy coroner. Hirst retired as the district's registrar in 1949."Ours - Huddersfield Football Veteran." ''

Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer ''The Yorkshire Post'' is a daily broadsheet newspaper, published in Leeds in Yorkshire, England. It primarily covers stories from Yorkshire although its masthead carries the slogan "Yorkshire's National Newspaper". It was previously owned by ...

'', Yorkshire, 13 January 1949, pg. 2 Hirst married Violet Hilda Woolven in 1906, they had a son, Geoffrey, and a daughter, Betty. Hirst lived at 'Brookleigh' on New Hey Road in Huddersfield. Hirst was buried at

Salendine Nook Salendine Nook is an area of Huddersfield in West Yorkshire, England. It is to the north-west of central Huddersfield, and is bordered to the north-east by Laund Hill, Weather Hill and Low Hill and to the south-west by the natural scar of Long ...

's Baptist Chapel.

Football

Hirst helped found

and was the club's inaugural vice-president; Hirst was also elected onto the club's board upon its founding as a

limited company In a limited company, the liability of members or subscribers of the company is limited to what they have invested or guaranteed to the company. Limited companies may be limited by Share (finance), shares or by guarantee. In a company limited by ...

. Hirst was one of a number of local Huddersfield dignitaries who prevented the club being moved to Leeds after the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. Hirst was subsequently chairman of Huddersfield during its period of greatest success, when the club won the Football League's Championship for three years in succession, in the 1923–24, 1924–25 and 1925–26 seasons. Hirst was the chairman of Huddersfield from 1925 to 1941. Hirst began his participation in national football administration when he served on the

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 ...

's management committee from 1931 to 1939, and subsequently the league's vice-president from 1939 before his election as the chairman of

in 1941. Suffering from ill health, Hirst resigned the chairmanship of the FA in May 1955 and was succeeded by

Arthur Drewry Arthur Drewry (3 March 1891 – 25 March 1961) was an English football administrator who served as the fifth president of FIFA, the world governing body of association football, from 1955 to 1961. Drewry had held several football administration ...

. The

England national football team The England national football team has represented England in international Association football, football since the first international match in 1872. It is controlled by The Football Association (FA), the governing body for football in Engl ...

wore

black armband In Western culture, a black armband signifies that the wearer is in mourning or wishes to identify with the commemoration of a family friend, comrade or team member who has died. This use is particularly common in the first meeting following the lo ...

s to commemorate Hirst at their international friendly against

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...

on 30 November 1955, which England won 4-1.

Honours

Hirst was appointed an

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(OBE) in the

1948 Birthday Honours The 1948 Birthday Honours were appointments by King George VI to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the Commonwealth Realms. The appointments were made to celebrate the official birthday of the King, a ...

, and

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the Christian denomination, church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood ...

in the New Year's Honours of 1954; his knighthood was bestowed by

Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon (4 August 1900 – 30 March 2002) was Queen of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 to 6 February 1952 as the wife of King George VI. She was the l ...

at Buckingham Palace."Investiture Held By the Queen Mother." ''The Times'', London, 17 February 1954, pg. 8 Hirst was appointed a chevalier of the French

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon, ...

in 1953, the honour awarded at the FA's 90th Anniversary dinner at the

Dorchester Hotel The Dorchester is a five-star luxury hotel on Park Lane and Deanery Street in London, to the east of Hyde Park. It is one of the world's most prestigious and expensive hotels. The Dorchester opened on 18 April 1931, and it still retains its ...

in London. The FA's celebration was held as it coincided with the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II."French honor for Mr. A. Brook Hirst." ''Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer'', 22 October 1953, pg. 10

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hirst, Amos Brook 1878 births 1955 deaths Chairmen of the Football Association Knights of the Legion of Honour English businesspeople English football chairmen and investors English solicitors Huddersfield Town A.F.C. Knights Bachelor People educated at Huddersfield New College Sportspeople from Huddersfield Officers of the Order of the British Empire Association football people awarded knighthoods English knights