Arthur Cursham
Encyclopedia
Arthur William Cursham was an English
cricket
er and footballer
. He played football for England
and for Notts County
between 1876 and 1883. He played cricket for Nottinghamshire
from 1876 to 1879 and for Derbyshire
from 1879 to 1880.
, Nottingham
the son of William Cursham, later vicar of Cropwell Butler
. He attended Oakham School
and became a mine manager.
, between 1876 and 1883 and made his England
footballing debut in March 1876 in a 3-0 home defeat at the hands of Scotland
. A photograph of this team is believed to be the first ever photograph of an English team. However Cursham does not appear in the picture - it is believed he was behind the camera. He made six international footballing appearances in total, four coming against Scotland and two against Wales
.
in a low-scoring victory against Yorkshire
. He, along with the rest of the Nottinghamshire team, failed to impress in a match in which only one player would reach double figures in each of the first three innings, himself scoring just three runs from the middle order. Cursham, a right-handed batsman and a round-arm bowler, appeared extensively for Nottinghamshire during the 1877 and 1878 seasons, scoring a maiden career half-century against Middlesex
in 1877.
Cursham moved to play briefly for Derbyshire
during the 1879 season
. He played regularly in the Derbyshire lower order, scoring a duck in his debut innings, though failing to break into the side as a bowler. He played for Derbyshire again in the 1880 season
, retiring from the game at the age of 27.
Three years after the end of his cricketing career, Cursham played two further games for the England national football team, a victory against Wales in which he scored his second and final international goal, and a defeat against Scotland.
Cursham emigrated to the United States at the end of his footballing career, just a year after his final international footballing appearance. He died in Florida
at just 31 years of age from yellow fever
.
His brother Henry
was also an England
international footballer.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
er and footballer
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
. He played football for England
England national football team
The England national football team represents England in association football and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in England. England is the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside Scotland, whom they played in the world's first...
and for Notts County
Notts County F.C.
Notts County Football Club are an English professional football club based in Nottingham. They are the oldest of all the clubs in the world that are now professional, having been formed in 1862. They currently play in League One of The Football League, the third tier of the English football system...
between 1876 and 1883. He played cricket for Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club
Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Nottinghamshire, and the current county champions. Its limited overs team is called the Nottinghamshire Outlaws...
from 1876 to 1879 and for Derbyshire
Derbyshire County Cricket Club
Derbyshire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the England and Wales domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Derbyshire...
from 1879 to 1880.
Early life
Cursham was born in WilfordWilford
Wilford is a village close to the centre the city of Nottingham, UK, on the banks of the River Trent. It has been described as a semi-rural village in a city. The village is bounded to the north and west by the River Trent and to the east by the embankment of the now closed Great Central Railway...
, Nottingham
Nottingham
Nottingham is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England. It is located in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire and represents one of eight members of the English Core Cities Group...
the son of William Cursham, later vicar of Cropwell Butler
Cropwell Butler
Cropwell Butler is a village in the borough of Rushcliffe in Nottinghamshire, United Kingdom, one mile to the east of the A46 in the NG12 postcode. The next village to the south is Cropwell Bishop....
. He attended Oakham School
Oakham School
Oakham School is a British co-educational independent school in the historic market town of Oakham in Rutland, accepting around 1,000 pupils, aged from 10 to 18, both male and female, as boarders and day pupils . The Good Schools Guide called the school "a privileged but unpretentious and...
and became a mine manager.
Football career
He played football for Notts CountyNotts County F.C.
Notts County Football Club are an English professional football club based in Nottingham. They are the oldest of all the clubs in the world that are now professional, having been formed in 1862. They currently play in League One of The Football League, the third tier of the English football system...
, between 1876 and 1883 and made his England
England national football team
The England national football team represents England in association football and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in England. England is the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside Scotland, whom they played in the world's first...
footballing debut in March 1876 in a 3-0 home defeat at the hands of Scotland
Scotland national football team
The Scotland national football team represents Scotland in international football and is controlled by the Scottish Football Association. Scotland are the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside England, whom they played in the world's first international football match in 1872...
. A photograph of this team is believed to be the first ever photograph of an English team. However Cursham does not appear in the picture - it is believed he was behind the camera. He made six international footballing appearances in total, four coming against Scotland and two against Wales
Wales national football team
The Wales national football team represents Wales in international football. It is controlled by the Football Association of Wales , the governing body for football in Wales, and the third oldest national football association in the world. The team have only qualified for a major international...
.
Cricket career
Cursham made his County Cricket debut during the 1876 season, playing his first game for NottinghamshireNottinghamshire County Cricket Club
Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Nottinghamshire, and the current county champions. Its limited overs team is called the Nottinghamshire Outlaws...
in a low-scoring victory against Yorkshire
Yorkshire County Cricket Club
Yorkshire County Cricket Club represents the historic county of Yorkshire as one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure....
. He, along with the rest of the Nottinghamshire team, failed to impress in a match in which only one player would reach double figures in each of the first three innings, himself scoring just three runs from the middle order. Cursham, a right-handed batsman and a round-arm bowler, appeared extensively for Nottinghamshire during the 1877 and 1878 seasons, scoring a maiden career half-century against Middlesex
Middlesex County Cricket Club
Middlesex County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Middlesex. It was announced in February 2009 that Middlesex changed their limited overs name from the Middlesex Crusaders, to the...
in 1877.
Cursham moved to play briefly for Derbyshire
Derbyshire County Cricket Club
Derbyshire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the England and Wales domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Derbyshire...
during the 1879 season
Derbyshire County Cricket Club in 1879
Derbyshire Country Cricket Club in 1879 was the cricket season when the English club Derbyshire played their ninth season.Of the county sides Derbyshire played in the previous year they had matches against Lancashire, Nottinghamshire and Yorkshire. However they did not play Hampshire or Kent...
. He played regularly in the Derbyshire lower order, scoring a duck in his debut innings, though failing to break into the side as a bowler. He played for Derbyshire again in the 1880 season
Derbyshire County Cricket Club in 1880
Derbyshire Country Cricket Club in 1880 was the cricket season when the English club Derbyshire played their tenth season.Derbyshire played Lancashire and Yorkshire who they had played in the previous season...
, retiring from the game at the age of 27.
Three years after the end of his cricketing career, Cursham played two further games for the England national football team, a victory against Wales in which he scored his second and final international goal, and a defeat against Scotland.
Cursham emigrated to the United States at the end of his footballing career, just a year after his final international footballing appearance. He died in Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
at just 31 years of age from yellow fever
Yellow fever
Yellow fever is an acute viral hemorrhagic disease. The virus is a 40 to 50 nm enveloped RNA virus with positive sense of the Flaviviridae family....
.
His brother Henry
Henry Cursham
Henry "Harry" Cursham was an English footballer and cricketer. Cursham was born in Wilford, Nottinghamshire, and played for Notts County, as well as playing first-class cricket for Nottinghamshire...
was also an England
England national football team
The England national football team represents England in association football and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in England. England is the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside Scotland, whom they played in the world's first...
international footballer.