Henry Wace (footballer)
Encyclopedia
Henry Wace was an English amateur footballer who made three appearances for England
and played for Wanderers
, with whom he won the FA Cup
in 1877
and 1878
. By profession he was a lawyer who specialised in bankruptcy law.
, the son of a solicitor
and attended Shrewsbury School
before going up to St. John's College at Cambridge University. He won blues in both association football and rugby
in 1874 and 1875.
In the 1875 "Football Annual", Wace was described as "a very good and dangerous 'centre' (who) plays pluckily and sticks to the ball; at times (he) gets a little too far forward".
He made his debut for Wanderers
on 18 March 1871, when aged only 17, in a 2–0 victory over the Forest Club, when he played as the twelfth man. It was until the 1876–77 season, however, that he became a regular member of the side and went on to make a total of 38 appearances at centre-forward scoring 18 goals, including a hat-trick against Gitanos on 15 November 1876.
In 1876–77, Wace played in all four matches in the FA Cup, when Wanderers reached the final for the second consecutive year (and the fourth since the competition was inaugurated in 1871), where they defeated Oxford University
2–1 in extra time.
The following year, Wace again appeared in all six FA Cup matches including scoring twice in each of the victories over Panthers and High Wycombe. In the final
against the Royal Engineers
, Wace and the team captain Arthur Kinnaird
were soon creating problems for the Engineers' defence, resulting in an early goal when Jarvis Kenrick
converted "an excellent pass" from Wace. The game finished 3–1 to the Wanderers who thus claimed the cup for the fifth time in the first seven years of the competition.
Three weeks prior to the 1878 FA Cup Final
, Wace was one of seven débutantes selected for the friendly international against Scotland
. Although the England selectors had fielded a side that they considered capable of defeating the Scots, the home side had other ideas and scored seven goals with a hat-trick from John McDougall
and two goals each from Billy MacKinnon
and Henry McNeil; England replied through John Wylie
and Arthur Cursham
. In the aftermath of this "humiliating" defeat, it became clear that England would have to change their style of play if they were to compete with the Scottish passing game which was far more productive than the English style which relied on dribbling.
Wace retained his place for the next international against Wales
at the Kennington Oval on 18 January 1879. The match was played in a blizzard and both captains agreed to play halves of only 30 minutes each. This was the first match between the two countries — Wales had previously only played three international matches, all against Scotland, including a 9–0 defeat in March 1878. England's two goals came from débutantes, Herbert Whitfeld
and Thomas Sorby
, with William Davies
scoring for Wales. According to the football historian, Philip Gibbons, "England were surprised by the level of skill shown by the Welsh team".
For the annual match against Scotland played at the Oval on 5 April 1879, Wace retained his place and was appointed captain. Once again, the England selectors made numerous changes with eight players making their debut. Apart from Wace, only Norman Bailey
and Billy Mosforth
had previous international experience. By half-time the Scots had taken a 4–1 lead, but England fought back to equalize. With eight minutes remaining, the Scots had the ball in the net but the "goal" was disallowed for offside; England promptly raced upfield with Charlie Bambridge scoring on his debut, to give England their first victory over the Scots since 1873 in what was considered to be "the most exciting England and Scotland game to date".
On February 1880, Wace scored the consolation goal in a 3–1 defeat by Old Etonians
thus scoring Wanderers' final goal in the FA Cup. His final appearance came on 23 October 1880; shortly afterwards, the club was disbanded.
Later, he played for Clapham Rovers
and Shropshire Wanderers
.
and was called to the bar
in 1879. He went on to become an authority on bankruptcy law, publishing in 1904 "The Law and Practice of Bankruptcy".
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 played for Wanderers
Wanderers F.C.
Wanderers Football Club is an English amateur football club, based in London, that plays in the Surrey South Eastern Combination. Founded as Forest Football Club in 1859, the club changed its name to Wanderers in 1864....
, with whom he won the FA Cup
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
in 1877
1877 FA Cup Final
The 1877 FA Cup Final was a football match between Wanderers and Oxford University on 24 March 1877 at Kennington Oval in London. It was the sixth final of the world's oldest football competition, the Football Association Challenge Cup . Wanderers were the reigning cup-holders and had won the...
and 1878
1878 FA Cup Final
Match rules:90 minutes normal time.30 minutes extra-time if scores are level, at captains' discretion.Replay if scores still level.No substitutes.-Post-match:...
. By profession he was a lawyer who specialised in bankruptcy law.
Football career
Wace was born in ShrewsburyShrewsbury
Shrewsbury is the county town of Shropshire, in the West Midlands region of England. Lying on the River Severn, it is a civil parish home to some 70,000 inhabitants, and is the primary settlement and headquarters of Shropshire Council...
, the son of a solicitor
Solicitor
Solicitors are lawyers who traditionally deal with any legal matter including conducting proceedings in courts. In the United Kingdom, a few Australian states and the Republic of Ireland, the legal profession is split between solicitors and barristers , and a lawyer will usually only hold one title...
and attended Shrewsbury School
Shrewsbury School
Shrewsbury School is a co-educational independent school for pupils aged 13 to 18, founded by Royal Charter in 1552. The present campus to which the school moved in 1882 is located on the banks of the River Severn in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England...
before going up to St. John's College at Cambridge University. He won blues in both association football and rugby
Rugby football
Rugby football is a style of football named after Rugby School in the United Kingdom. It is seen most prominently in two current sports, rugby league and rugby union.-History:...
in 1874 and 1875.
In the 1875 "Football Annual", Wace was described as "a very good and dangerous 'centre' (who) plays pluckily and sticks to the ball; at times (he) gets a little too far forward".
He made his debut for Wanderers
Wanderers F.C.
Wanderers Football Club is an English amateur football club, based in London, that plays in the Surrey South Eastern Combination. Founded as Forest Football Club in 1859, the club changed its name to Wanderers in 1864....
on 18 March 1871, when aged only 17, in a 2–0 victory over the Forest Club, when he played as the twelfth man. It was until the 1876–77 season, however, that he became a regular member of the side and went on to make a total of 38 appearances at centre-forward scoring 18 goals, including a hat-trick against Gitanos on 15 November 1876.
In 1876–77, Wace played in all four matches in the FA Cup, when Wanderers reached the final for the second consecutive year (and the fourth since the competition was inaugurated in 1871), where they defeated Oxford University
Oxford University A.F.C.
Oxford University Association Football Club is an English football club representing the University of Oxford.-History:Formed in 1872, the club was a giant of the 1870s, winning the FA Cup 2-0 against Royal Engineers in 1874 and finishing the competition as runners up in 1873, 1877 and 1880, the...
2–1 in extra time.
The following year, Wace again appeared in all six FA Cup matches including scoring twice in each of the victories over Panthers and High Wycombe. In the final
1878 FA Cup Final
Match rules:90 minutes normal time.30 minutes extra-time if scores are level, at captains' discretion.Replay if scores still level.No substitutes.-Post-match:...
against the Royal Engineers
Royal Engineers A.F.C.
The Royal Engineers Association Football Club is an association football team representing the Corps of Royal Engineers, the "Sappers", of the British Army. In the 1870s it was one of the strongest sides in English football, winning the FA Cup in 1875 and being Cup Finalists in four of the first...
, Wace and the team captain Arthur Kinnaird
Arthur Kinnaird, 11th Lord Kinnaird
Arthur Fitzgerald Kinnaird, 11th Lord Kinnaird KT was a principal of The Football Association and a leading footballer....
were soon creating problems for the Engineers' defence, resulting in an early goal when Jarvis Kenrick
Jarvis Kenrick
Jarvis Kenrick was an English association football player....
converted "an excellent pass" from Wace. The game finished 3–1 to the Wanderers who thus claimed the cup for the fifth time in the first seven years of the competition.
Three weeks prior to the 1878 FA Cup Final
1878 FA Cup Final
Match rules:90 minutes normal time.30 minutes extra-time if scores are level, at captains' discretion.Replay if scores still level.No substitutes.-Post-match:...
, Wace was one of seven débutantes selected for the friendly international against 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...
. Although the England selectors had fielded a side that they considered capable of defeating the Scots, the home side had other ideas and scored seven goals with a hat-trick from John McDougall
John McDougall (footballer born 1853)
John McDougall was a former Scotland international who played for the national side between 1877 and 1879. During his international career he played 5 games, scoring 4 goals. He was the first player to score a hat-trick for Scotland, scoring three goals against England in a 7-2 win on 2 March 1878...
and two goals each from Billy MacKinnon
Billy MacKinnon
William "Billy" Muir MacKinnon was a Scottish footballer who played for Queen's Park and the Scotland national team in the 1870s....
and Henry McNeil; England replied through John Wylie
John Wylie (footballer)
John George Wylie was an English amateur footballer who played as a forward. He won the FA Cup with Wanderers in 1878 and played once for England in 1878.-Career:...
and Arthur Cursham
Arthur Cursham
Arthur William Cursham was an English cricketer 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.-Early life:Cursham was born in Wilford, Nottingham the son of...
. In the aftermath of this "humiliating" defeat, it became clear that England would have to change their style of play if they were to compete with the Scottish passing game which was far more productive than the English style which relied on dribbling.
Wace retained his place for the next international 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...
at the Kennington Oval on 18 January 1879. The match was played in a blizzard and both captains agreed to play halves of only 30 minutes each. This was the first match between the two countries — Wales had previously only played three international matches, all against Scotland, including a 9–0 defeat in March 1878. England's two goals came from débutantes, Herbert Whitfeld
Herbert Whitfeld
Herbert Whitfeld was an English amateur sportsman who played association football and county cricket.In football, he helped Old Etonians win the 1879 FA Cup Final and was on the losing side in 1881 as well as making one appearance for England in 1879. In cricket, he played for Sussex County...
and Thomas Sorby
Thomas Sorby
Thomas Heathcote Sorby was an English amateur footballer who made one appearance for England.-Football career:...
, with William Davies
William Davies (footballer born 1855)
William Henry Davies was a Welsh amateur footballer who made four appearances for the Wales national football team in the 1870s and 1880s, and scored his country's first international goal.-Career outside football:...
scoring for Wales. According to the football historian, Philip Gibbons, "England were surprised by the level of skill shown by the Welsh team".
For the annual match against Scotland played at the Oval on 5 April 1879, Wace retained his place and was appointed captain. Once again, the England selectors made numerous changes with eight players making their debut. Apart from Wace, only Norman Bailey
Norman Bailey (footballer)
Norman Coles Bailey was an English footballer from the late 19th century, who made 19 appearances for England playing at half back.-Playing career:...
and Billy Mosforth
Billy Mosforth
William Mosforth was an English football player. He played for several Sheffield clubs but in his later career played mainly for Sheffield Wednesday before finally settling at United...
had previous international experience. By half-time the Scots had taken a 4–1 lead, but England fought back to equalize. With eight minutes remaining, the Scots had the ball in the net but the "goal" was disallowed for offside; England promptly raced upfield with Charlie Bambridge scoring on his debut, to give England their first victory over the Scots since 1873 in what was considered to be "the most exciting England and Scotland game to date".
On February 1880, Wace scored the consolation goal in a 3–1 defeat by Old Etonians
Old Etonians F.C.
The Old Etonians Football Club is an English football club whose players are taken from previous attendees of Eton College, in Eton, Berkshire.-History:...
thus scoring Wanderers' final goal in the FA Cup. His final appearance came on 23 October 1880; shortly afterwards, the club was disbanded.
Later, he played for Clapham Rovers
Clapham Rovers F.C.
Clapham Rovers was from its foundation in 1869 a leading English sports organisation in the two dominant codes of football, association football and rugby union. It was a prominent club in the late 19th century but is now defunct...
and Shropshire Wanderers
Shropshire Wanderers F.C.
Shropshire Wanderers F.C. were an amateur association football club based in Shrewsbury, England. They were active during the 1870s.They entered the FA Cup competition in each of the years from 1873-74 to 1877-78. Their greatest success came in 1874-75, when they reached the Semi-finals where they...
.
International appearances
Wace made three appearances for England as follows:| Date | Venue | Opponent | Result | Goals | Competition | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 March 1878 | Hampden Park Hampden Park Hampden Park is a football stadium in the Mount Florida area of Glasgow, Scotland. The 52,063 capacity venue serves as the national stadium of football in Scotland... (First), Glasgow Glasgow Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands... |
2–7 | 0 | Friendly | ||
| 18 January 1879 | Kennington Oval, London London London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its... |
2–1 | 0 | Friendly | Possible Captain; match lasted 60 minutes | |
| 5 April 1879 | Kennington Oval, London | 5–4 | 0 | Friendly | Captain | |
Professional career
Wace qualified as a barristerBarrister
A barrister is a member of one of the two classes of lawyer found in many common law jurisdictions with split legal professions. Barristers specialise in courtroom advocacy, drafting legal pleadings and giving expert legal opinions...
and was called to the bar
Call to the bar
The Call to the Bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party, and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received a "call to the bar"...
in 1879. He went on to become an authority on bankruptcy law, publishing in 1904 "The Law and Practice of Bankruptcy".
Football honours
WanderersWanderers F.C.
Wanderers Football Club is an English amateur football club, based in London, that plays in the Surrey South Eastern Combination. Founded as Forest Football Club in 1859, the club changed its name to Wanderers in 1864....
- FA CupFA CupThe Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
winners: 18771877 FA Cup FinalThe 1877 FA Cup Final was a football match between Wanderers and Oxford University on 24 March 1877 at Kennington Oval in London. It was the sixth final of the world's oldest football competition, the Football Association Challenge Cup . Wanderers were the reigning cup-holders and had won the...
and 18781878 FA Cup FinalMatch rules:90 minutes normal time.30 minutes extra-time if scores are level, at captains' discretion.Replay if scores still level.No substitutes.-Post-match:...