Cuthbert Ottaway

Cuthbert Ottaway

Cuthbert John Ottaway (born July 19, 1850 in Dover , Kent , † April 2, 1878 in Westminster , London ) was an English football player and first team captain of an English national team . As one of the most talented sports personalities of the 1870s, Ottaway was successful in other sports, especially cricket, until his untimely death at the age of just 27 .

Personal history

Born in Dover Cuthbert Ottaway visited by a King's Scholar -Stipendiums the prestigious Eton College and unfolded in Oxford sports skills at Brasenose College and the University of Oxford , which in its versatility at this time - except those of Alfred Lyttelton were considered unrivaled - . He received the University Award Sporting Blue in numerous sports, specifically for his services in football (1874), cricket (1870–73), rackets (1870–73), athletics (1873) and in Jeu de Paume (1870–72) . In 1873, after completing his training, he was finally appointed barrister and practiced as a lawyer in London until his death in 1878 . According to initial reports, Ottaway died as a result of a severe cold that he caught "over the course of a night of dancing ." However, his family later cited " tubercular problems" as the cause of his death.

Ottaway left behind his Canadian wife Marion Stinson, originally from Hamilton , Ontario , whom he had only married in August 1877, and a daughter, whose birth he did not live to see. He was eventually buried in Kensal Green Cemetery .

Club career

Ottaway celebrated the greatest successes in football. While attending school and university at the same time, the rules of the game, modified by the Football Association , became increasingly popular and Ottaway played on several teams, which was not uncommon in the early days of amateur sports. His games for the Old Etonians , the Oxford University team, Crystal Palace - not to be confused with today's club of the same name - and Marlow FC are particularly noteworthy .

As a club player, Ottaway took part in three consecutive FA Cup finals between 1873 and 1875 . He played his first two finals for the university team Oxford, initially lost 2-1 to Wanderers FC and won 2-0 the following year against Royal Engineers . Above all, his speed and his strengths in dribbling made him an above-average player. These skills were particularly useful to him at a time when football was still a "dribbling game" and a player usually kept the ball until an opponent took it from him. The replacement of the dribbling game by a combination and passing game was still ahead of the sport.

So Ottaway developed into a major player in two of the three finals. In 1874 he led the Oxford team as team captain and, through frequent and extensive solo efforts, pushed the engineers back into their own half of the game. The second goal to make it 2-0 was finally preceded by a dribble run with two teammates that stretched over almost the entire field. During the 1875 final against the Royal Engineers there was a stormy wind and the fact that the Etonians benefited from the tailwind in 80 of the 90 minutes of play (plus 30 minutes of extra time) seemed beneficial for Ottaway's side. However, he suffered an ankle injury after just 37 minutes and had to leave the field early. The graduates of Eton College could only happily achieve a 1: 1 and in the replay they were defeated by the Royal Engineers 0: 2 without Ottaway, who did not recover in time.

International career

Ottaway came to a first international match after he was chosen to lead an English team that traveled to Partick, near Glasgow , to play against a Scottish selection there on November 30, 1872 . This game was to go down as the first international match in football history , although Scottish and English national teams had faced each other at least five times before - since the Scottish teams only consisted of players living in England in these games, these were not recognized as official internationals. In front of a total of 4,000 spectators on the Hamilton Crescent , home of the West of Scotland Cricket Club , the English team led by Ottaway dominated the game, but ultimately the Scottish defensive could not be overcome by the English "individualists". England's first international match ended goalless with a 0-0 final score.

In the second leg, which was contested on March 8, 1873 in London, Ottaway was not used, but was the third meeting of the two teams - on March 7, 1874 again in Partick - again captain. Scotland won this third match against England 2-1.

The circumstances and reasons for Ottaway's election as England captain of the English team in 1872 - at a time when he was still attending university - could not be precisely determined to this day. What is certain is that the captaincy was originally intended to be given to Charles William Alcock , one of the key figures in the early development of modern football. Alcock had to pass due to an injury, and for Ottaway as one of Oxford's most renowned long-time athletes, the fact that there were a total of three players from the University of Oxford in the English team, whereas eight other clubs only released one player each.

Style of play and reputation

Basically, Cuthbert Ottaway acted as a center forward in an attack system of the early 1870s, in which the use of seven or eight forwards was very popular. Ottaway has been described as an "excellent attacker who is quick and very skillful with the ball" . Another contemporary emphasized that he was "able to defend himself against enemy attacks safely" and was "an elegant dribbler" and "played well" . So according to these descriptions, Ottaway focused more on his technical skills. This differentiated him from the usual type of player at the time, who placed greater emphasis on physical components and increased robustness - body checks were a legal part of the game and the foul game described as "hacking" was not a violation of the rules.

Although Ottaway appears to be generally held in high regard by his teammates, he has been reported to have occasionally been accused of snobbery with which he allegedly treated men outside his social class . The future president of the FA and former player of FC Sheffield , Charles Clegg , who had been also the first international between England and Scotland, many years later said that wanted to speak none of amateur players from the south of England with Ottaway.

Cricket career

In cricket, Ottaway played for teams from Oxford University , Gentlemen, South of England, the two counties of Kent and Middlesex and for the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC). With an English team, he also took part in a tour to Canada and the United States in 1872.

He was a right-handed batsman (batsman) and scored two Centuries (at least 100 runs (points) in one innings ) towards the end of his first-class career. Overall, he had 1691 runs with an average of and was in his most successful season in 1873 after the batting average fifth best batsman in England. ${\displaystyle 27{,}27}$

After all, three times (1870, 1872 and 1876) Ottaway was set up for the gentlemen (amateurs) against the players (professionals), which was considered the highest honor for a player before the introduction of test cricket . But he is probably better known for his four appearances for Oxford against Cambridge, in the so-called varsity matches .

The most memorable game was certainly the first in 1870, which is still remembered today as Cobden's Match . With 69 runs in the Oxford second innings - the highest score for his team in the game - and an excellent one-handed catch near the sidelines, Ottaway was instrumental in getting his team forward with three wickets left and only four runs required the last 4-ball over was about to win. Bets of 100 to 1 against a Cambridge win have already been placed among the spectators. But Frank Cobden turned the game upside down with his hat trick with the last three throws of the game and Oxford had to admit defeat with only 2 runs (difference). In his book History of the OUCC , Geoffrey Bolton summed up the game as follows: “ By superior bowling and infinitely superior fielding Oxford reached a position where they could not lose; and they lost ”(German:“ Through superior throwing performance and infinitely superior field play, Oxford achieved a position in which they could no longer lose - and they still lost. ”)

Web links

• Ottaways inserts in the England team (English)
• Cricket stats by Cuthbert Ottaway (English)
• BBC report on the first soccer match between England and Scotland (English)