William Rawson

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William Stepney Rawson (born October 14, 1854, in Cape Town, South Africa; died November 4, 1932) was a footballer who played at full back for England, and was also an FA Cup Final referee.[1]

Contents

[edit] Career

Rawson attended Westminster School, representing the school at "soccer" in 1872 and 1873, becoming captain in his final year.[2] He then went up to Oxford University, winning a "blue" in four consecutive years, from 1874 to 1877.

He played in the 1874 FA Cup Final for Oxford University - in the match, played against the Royal Engineers at the Kennington Oval on 14 March 1874, the University were the victors by 2 goals to 0. His brother Herbert played for the opposition.[3]

He made his debut for the England football team on March 6, 1875 again at The Oval, in a game against Scotland, which finished 2-2. His brother Herbert won his only cap alongside him in this fixture.[4] This was the first occasion on which two brothers played for England in the same match.[5]

As a referee, he was awarded the 1876 FA Cup Final between the Wanderers and Old Etonians, also at the The Oval, which was undecided when the first match ended 1-1 after extra time on March 11, 1876. Wanderers eventually triumphed 3-0 in the replay on March 18, 1876.[6]

On March 3, 1877, he was honoured with the captaincy of the international side, once more against Scotland, and once again at The Oval, in a match which the Scots won 3-1.[7] He collected just the two international caps for his adopted country.[8]

He was on the losing side in the 1877 FA Cup Final - the match at The Oval on 24 March was won by the Wanderers by 2 goals to 1 against Oxford University.[9]

During his career he also played for Old Westminsters F.C. and Wanderers.[1] He served on the FA committee from 1876 to 1877 and again in 1879.[2]

[edit] Sporting honours

Oxford University

Referee

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Biographical detail: EnglandFootballOnline website.
  2. ^ a b Graham Betts (2006). England: Player by player. Green Umbrella Publishing, p.198. ISBN 1-905009-63-1. 
  3. ^ a b FA Cup Final 1874, winner: Richard Bevan's Sporting Chronicle website.
  4. ^ International debut for England v. Scotland, 1875: EnglandFC website.
  5. ^ "First occasion when two brothers played for England in the same match". This can be verified by scrolling through the team lists for the first few England matches. Although John Charles Clegg played in the first match and his brother William Clegg was in the second, they did not play together. William Rawson and Herbert Rawson played together in match 4. The history of the Wanderers says that Hubert Heron and his brother Francis Heron (or Frank) were the first brothers to play together but that was not until match 5 in 1876.
  6. ^ a b FA Cup Final 1876 & replay, referee: Richard Bevan's Sporting Chronicle website.
  7. ^ Second cap as captain, England v. Scotland, 1877: EnglandFC website.
  8. ^ Playing record for England: EnglandFC website.
  9. ^ a b FA Cup Final 1877, as a losing finalist: Richard Bevan's Sporting Chronicle website.

[edit] External links

Preceded by
C. W. Alcock		 FA Cup Final Referee
1876		 Succeeded by
S. H. Wright