Charles James Hughes, J.P. (16 August 1853 – 31 July 1916) 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 ...

referee A referee is an official, in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The official tasked with this job may be known by a variety of other titl ...

, and co-founder of Northwich Victoria Football Club. He was a pioneer of the early English game, being included in the publication 'Association Football and the Men who made it'.

Early life

Hughes was born at 7 Applemarket Street in

Northwich {{Infobox UK place , static_image_name = Northwich - Town Bridge.jpg , static_image_caption = Town Bridge, the River Weaver and the spire of Holy Trinity Church , official_name = Northwich , country ...

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county t ...

, to James Charles Hughes, a plasterer and roof tiler, and Hannah, née Pemberton, a milliner. He was educated at Witton Grammar School (now Sir John Deane's College) and became an auctioneers' clerk aged 15, later founding his own business as Charles J. Hughes and Son. Soon after this he rose to prominence in his home town as a member of the Northwich and District Urban Council and honourable auditor for several local infirmaries. He was also a governor for Witton Grammar School.

Local Work

Hughes played a huge role in the development of association football, both in his home town, county, and in England. As well as being the co-founder of Northwich Victoria Football Club, he was their honourable secretary, treasurer and a player., He appeared in Northwich Victoria's first ever recorded Association Football game in 1874 against Stedman College in the village of

Comberbach Comberbach is a civil parish and small village in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, between Northwich and Warrington. The population of the civil parish taken at the 2011 census w ...

, Cheshire. His playing career unfortunately ended when his ankle was broken by an opposition player on 15 November 1877, during a football match at the

Drill Field The Drill Field was a football stadium in Northwich, Cheshire, which was the home ground of Northwich Victoria Football Club between 1875 and 3 May 2002. At the time it was closed, it was believed to have been the oldest football ground in ...

, Northwich, against Hanley Rangers . He was a joint-founder of the

Cheshire Football Association The Cheshire Football Association, also simply known as Cheshire FA, is the governing body of football in the county of Cheshire, England. They are responsible for the governance and development of football at all levels in the county. About ...

, and from its foundation in 1878 until 1908, he served as their honourable secretary. On his retirement from the Cheshire Football Association in 1908, his tenure of 30 years as the honourable secretary was a World record, and his service was commended by figures from across the country, including those representing the Football Association. Aside from football, he was a figurehead in several other sport clubs in Northwich; cricket, rowing and athletics.

The Football Association and legacy

Hughes was an important member of the FA during their first few decades. In the 1890s for example, he was referee of the

1891 Events January–March * January 1 ** Paying of old age pensions begins in Germany. ** A strike of 500 Hungarian steel workers occurs; 3,000 men are out of work as a consequence. **Germany takes formal possession of its new Africa ...

1893 Events January–March * January 2 – Webb C. Ball introduces railroad chronometers, which become the general railroad timepiece standards in North America. * Mark Twain started writing Puddn'head Wilson. * January 6 – Th ...

and

1894 Events January–March * January 4 – A military alliance is established between the French Third Republic and the Russian Empire. * January 7 – William Kennedy Dickson receives a patent for motion picture film in the United S ...

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 ...

finals, as well as various Football League and local matches. He also acted as linesman for International matches; in 1892 he was linesman for a match between

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 ...

and

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 the ...

at Ibrox. In 1901, Hughes served as the FA's vice president. In 1907 and 1908, he was often in charge of selecting the squad for 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 ...

for international matches, making him the ''de facto'' manager. Testament to his influence in Association Football, the former secretary of Northwich Victoria, the late Ken Edwards, who wrote the club's history in the book 'A Team for All Seasons', said that "few men have done more for the association game than Mr. C.J. Hughes." Following his death on 31 July 1916, he was buried at St. Wilfrid's Church in the nearby village of Davenham.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hughes, Charles James 1853 births 1916 deaths English football referees English men's footballers FA Cup final referees Northwich Victoria F.C. Northwich Victoria F.C. players People educated at Sir John Deane's College Footballers from Northwich Men's association football players not categorized by position