Reginald Courtenay Welch (17 October 1851 – 4 June 1939) (sometimes Reginald de Courtenay Welch) was a key player in the early years of association football. He played for the Wanderers in the

FA Cup Final The FA Cup Final, commonly referred to in England as just the Cup Final, is the last match in the Football Association Challenge Cup. It has regularly been one of the most attended domestic football events in the world, with an official atten ...

s of

1872 Events January–March * January 12 – Yohannes IV is crowned Emperor of Ethiopia in Axum, the first ruler crowned in that city in over 500 years. * February 2 – The government of the United Kingdom buys a number of forts on ...

and

1873 Events January–March * January 1 ** Japan adopts the Gregorian calendar. ** The California Penal Code goes into effect. * January 17 – American Indian Wars: Modoc War: First Battle of the Stronghold – Modoc Indians defe ...

, and also played 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 b ...

in the first ever international match. During his career he appeared both in

goal A goal is an idea of the future or desired result that a person or a group of people envision, plan and commit to achieve. People endeavour to reach goals within a finite time by setting deadlines. A goal is roughly similar to a purpose or ...

and as a defender.

Biography

Welch was born in Kensington, London on 17 October 1851 and attended Harrow School. He was the son of John Welch, a barrister of 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 ...

. Following his career in football, Welch was an Army tutor between 1883 and 1895, going on to become principal of the Army College at Farnham, Surrey in 1895. He died at the College on 4 June 1939, aged 87, after more than 44 years as its principal. His funeral was held at St John's Church in nearby

Hale Hale may refer to: Places Australia *Hale, Northern Territory, a locality *Hale River, in southeastern Northern Territory Canada *Hale, Ontario, in Algoma District United Kingdom * Hale, Cumbria, a hamlet near Beetham, Cumbria *Hale, Greater Man ...

and he was interred at the Green Lane Cemetery in Farnham.

Football career

While at Harrow, he represented the school at association football (colloquially known as "soccer") and went on to play for Old Harrovians before joining Harrow Chequers. As an amateur he also played for The Wanderers, with whom he played 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 ...

in 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 ...

of the inaugural FA Cup tournament. The match took place on 16 March 1872 at the

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 ...

, London, England, with the Wanderers running out as 1–0 victors over a team from the Royal Engineers. On 30 November 1872 he was part of the

team that played out a 0–0 draw in the first official international match against

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

. In this match he played as half-back in a 1–1–8 or 1–2–7 formation. He is the only player to have represented

Harrow Chequers F.C. Harrow Chequers Football Club was a association football, football club from London, England in the 1860s to early 1890s. It played as the Harrow Chequers from 1865 to 1876, when it was then renamed the Old Harrovians, and continued play until ...

whilst on England duty. His record of having played in both the first FA Cup Final and the first international match is unique. In the next year, The Wanderers reached their second consecutive

and Welch was again on the winning side, this time playing in defence as The Wanderers beat

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 th ...

2–0 at

Lillie Bridge The Lillie Bridge Grounds was a sports ground on the Fulham side of West Brompton, London. It opened in 1866, coinciding with the opening of West Brompton station. It was named after the local landowner, Sir John Scott Lillie (1790–1868) a ...

. On 7 March 1874, he made his second (and last) England appearance, now in goal, but this time he was on the losing side as England went down 2–1 to Scotland. He was also a member of The F.A. committee between 1873 and 1875, and again from 1879 to 1890. He was the last survivor of the

team from the inaugural international match, although he was outlived by

's Billy MacKinnon.

Cricket career

Welch also represented Harrow School at

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 str ...

, playing five matches during the 1871 season. A lower-order batsman, his highest score for the school was 12 in the drawn match against the Lords and Commons Cricket Club. His best bowling figures of 4–17 (4

wickets In cricket, the term wicket has several meanings: * It is one of the two sets of three stumps and two bails at either end of the pitch. The fielding team's players can hit the wicket with the ball in a number of ways to get a batsman out. * ...

for 17 runs) came in the game against the

Marylebone Cricket Club Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) is a cricket club founded in 1787 and based since 1814 at Lord's Cricket Ground, which it owns, in St John's Wood, London. The club was formerly the governing body of cricket retaining considerable global influence ...

on 3 June 1871, in which he took the wickets of both

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 neighbour ...

batsman Edmund Sutton and

Test player

Alfred Shaw Alfred Shaw (29 August 1842 – 16 January 1907) was an eminent Victorian cricketer and rugby footballer, who bowled the first ball in Test cricket and was the first to take five wickets in a Test innings (5/35). He made two trips to North Ameri ...

. Welch was then selected to play for the Lyric Club in a match against Marylebone in 1891 and five years later, during his time as principal of the Army College in Farnham, he played in matches against the

3rd The King's Own Hussars The 3rd (The King's Own) Hussars was a cavalry regiment of the British Army, first raised in 1685. It saw service for three centuries, including the First and the Second World Wars, before being amalgamated with the 7th Queen's Own Hussars, to ...

and the 2nd Battalion Rifle Brigade.

Honours

; The Wanderers *

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 ...

winners:

;

* 2 Caps

References

External links

*
England profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Welch, Reginald de Courtenay 1851 births 1939 deaths Men's association football goalkeepers England men's international footballers English men's footballers Footballers from Kensington Harrow Chequers F.C. players People educated at Harrow School Wanderers F.C. players