James Gresham (footballer)

Last updated

James Gresham
Personal information
Full name James Gresham [1]
Date of birth [lower-alpha 1]
Place of birth Liverpool, England
Position(s) Outside left
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
1889–1890 Lincoln City [lower-alpha 2] 1 (0)
1890–1891 Doncaster Rovers (7)
1891–1893 Lincoln City [lower-alpha 2] 30 (6)
1893–1894 Rossendale
1894 Lincoln City [lower-alpha 2] 5 (1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

James Gresham (fl. 1890s [lower-alpha 1] ) was an English professional footballer who made 27 appearances in the Football League for Lincoln City. He played as an outside left. [2]

Contents

Life and career

Gresham was born in Liverpool, [1] the younger brother of William Gresham, who also went on to play for Lincoln City. [3] James Gresham played once for Lincoln in September 1889 in the Midland League [1] and moved to Doncaster Rovers for the beginning of the 1890–91 season. Rovers were playing in the newly formed Midland Alliance League. [4] He played inside forward as well as outside left for Doncaster, and was part of the Sheffield and Hallamshire FA Senior Challenge Cup-winning side who beat Sheffield United 2–1. [4]

The following season Doncaster were in the Midland League. After a 3–1 defeat in the FA Cup at Lincoln, the Rovers' committee dropped a player for the following game at Loughborough; this infuriated him, and Gresham and Tom Kisbey, who had also moved to Rovers from Lincoln, refused to play in support of their teammate. Doncaster lost that match 11–2, and both Gresham and Kisbey were given a one-match suspension despite asking for their release from the club. In all games, Gresham scored 12 goals and played until he and other players made a demand for higher wages and insurance on 23 November 1891, going on strike after the club refused. A week later, all except Gresham and Kisbey resolved their differences with the club. [4]

Following this, Lincoln City paid a £20 fee to bring Gresham back to the club in December. [4] [5] The next season, Lincoln's first in the Second Division of the Football League, he was ever-present, [1] but spent the season after that with Rossendale in the Lancashire League. [2]

He signed for Lincoln again in 1894, but his return was short-lived. Having injured a shoulder in the opening match of the season, he was unavailable for two weeks, and lost a significant amount of weight during that time. He returned to action, but after the match on 20 October asked the committee to allow him a rest to recover his strength. The club refused, told him he would no longer be paid, and resolved that "as Gresham has failed to qualify for a position in the first team his services be dispensed with, in accordance with the undertaking he gave when he signed, that if he did not prove strong enough he should not hold the club responsible." [5]

Gresham began legal proceedings against the club, claiming that his summary dismissal was unjust because any decrease in performance was entirely due to injuries sustained while performing his duties in the club's employ. The judge ruled that his contract was not unconditional, so could be cancelled in the event of inadequate performance, but was not convinced by the club's argument that the player's deficiencies were unrelated to his injuries. He refused Gresham's claim of £33 loss of earnings (from the date of his dismissal to the end of the football season, at his basic weekly wage of 30s), on the grounds that he had a trade to follow when not engaged in football, but awarded him £20 in damages plus costs. [6]

Honours

Doncaster Rovers

Notes

  1. 1 2 Both Joyce [2] and the Lincoln City FC Archive [1] list Gresham's year of birth as 1875. As this would make him 13/14 on debut, 16 when Lincoln paid a fee for him to come back from Doncaster to play regular league football, and still below the age of majority when he took the club to court, that year seems unlikely.
  2. 1 2 3 First spell: 1 appearance in Midland League
    Second spell: 8 appearances and 1 goal in the Football Alliance, 22 appearances 5 goals in the Football League
    Third spell: 5 appearances in the Football League [1] [2]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Doncaster Rovers F.C.</span> Association football club in Doncaster, England

Doncaster Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. The team compete in League Two, the fourth level of the English football league system. The club play their home games at the Eco-Power Stadium, having moved from Belle Vue in 2007. Their home strip consists of red and white hoops, which has been the main design of the club's home shirt since 2001 through different variations.

Robert Betts, is an English footballer who last played as a midfielder in non-league football. He played in the Premier League and Football League for Coventry City.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rob Jones (footballer, born 1979)</span> English footballer and manager

Robert William Jones is an English football coach and former professional footballer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harry Thickitt</span> English footballer & manager

Henry Thickitt was a professional footballer and Manager. Born in Hexthorpe, Doncaster he played as a defender primarily for Sheffield United with whom he won the First Division once, the FA Cup twice and gained two caps for England. He then went on to achieve relative success as the manager of Bristol City.

Waide Simon Fairhurst is an English professional footballer who most recently played for Barton Town. He previously played in the Football League with Doncaster Rovers, Shrewsbury Town, Southend United, Hereford United and Macclesfield Town.

The 1889–90 season was the first in existence for Sheffield United. Having not been elected to any organised league at that point they predominantly played friendly fixtures but did enter the FA Cup for the first time as well as locally arranged cup competitions The Sheffield Challenge Cup and the Wharncliffe Charity Cup. The club did not employ a manager in this period; tactics and team selection were decided by The Football Committee and the players were coached by a trainer. J.B. Wostinholm held the position of club secretary, dealing with player transfers and contracts, arranging matches and dealing with the FA. The first season was deemed a reasonable success with steady attendances to home games and progress in the FA Cup although the fluctuating nature of the team meant that consistency was never really achieved.

William Calder was a Scottish footballer who played as a forward for Sheffield United, Gainsborough Trinity, Barnsley St. Peter's and Doncaster Rovers.

The 1890–91 season was Sheffield United's second, and their first and only season playing in the newly formed Midland Counties League, as the club sought to establish itself as a major footballing force. The team was selected by the club's football committee and coached by a trainer, but day-to-day affairs were overseen by club secretary Joseph Wostinholm. The club saw a large influx of players during the season as it continued to bolster its numbers with amateurs loaned or signed from other teams in the local area, a policy that resulted in an unsettled side, indifferent league results, and a mid-table finish.

William Bridgewater was an English footballer who played as a forward. Born in Parkgate, Rotherham he began his career with a short spell at Doncaster Rovers before moving across the Pennines to play for Newton Heath. Still an amateur whilst in Manchester he also appeared for Oldham Olympic and Gainsborough Trinity as a guest player during this period before returning to Doncaster Rovers.

Richard A. Fenwick was an English footballer who played as a goalkeeper. An amateur player with Sheffield Club Fenwick began assisting nearby Sheffield United as a guest player in January 1890, as allowed under FA rules at the time. He played in several games during United's inaugural season and remained connected to the club for the following two years. His one competitive game came in the Midland Counties League against Derby Midland in February 1881.

Edwin Robert Herrod (1866–1918), born in Radford, Nottingham, was an English footballer who played as a forward.

Walter "Warhorse" Langton was an English footballer who played as a left back and centre forward for 18 seasons with Doncaster Rovers, holding the record for being their longest serving player.

William "Joe" Raby was an English footballer who scored 44 goals from 156 appearances in the Football League playing for Lincoln City, Gainsborough Trinity, Stockport County and Doncaster Rovers. He played as an inside forward. He also played in the Midland League for Gainsborough and Wellingborough, and in the Southern League for Tottenham Hotspur.

James Massey was an English footballer who played as goalkeeper for Denaby United, Mexborough, Doncaster Rovers and The Wednesday in the late 1800s and the early 20th century.

William Jex was an English footballer who played as an inside left with Norwich City, Doncaster Rovers, Rotherham Town and Croydon Common, and in the Football League with Gainsborough Trinity in the early 20th century. He was Doncaster's top scorer in each of the three seasons he played for them.

Mexborough F.C. was an English association football club based in Mexborough, Doncaster, South Yorkshire. The club's name was often given in the form Mexbro' or Mexboro.

The Midland Alliance was an association football league for teams in the Midlands of England, which ran for three seasons in the 1890s.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "James Gresham". The Lincoln City FC Archive. Lincoln City F.C. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 5 April 2013. Appearances per season are sourced via the Season Stats dropdown menu at the bottom right of this page. The site is partly subscription-based, but only free-access sections are used for reference. If pop-up login dialogue boxes appear, press the "Cancel" button to proceed.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Joyce, Michael (2004). Football League Players' Records 1888 to 1939. Nottingham: SoccerData. p. 107. ISBN   978-1-899468-67-6.
  3. ↑ "Returning Imps". The Lincoln City FC Archive. Lincoln City F.C. Archived from the original on 10 June 2015. Retrieved 5 April 2013.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Bluff, Tony (2011). Donny:Doncaster Rovers F.C. The Complete History (1879–2010). Yore Publications. ISBN   978-0-9569848-3-8.
  5. 1 2 "A professional football player and his pay". Leeds Mercury. 9 April 1895. p. 7.
  6. ↑ "The liability of football clubs to professionals. An important decision". Leeds Mercury. 14 May 1895. p. 7.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.