ENGLAND'S BLACK CAPTAINS

Percy M Walters, his brother Arthur, Charles Wreford-Brown, GO Smith, Basil Patchitt and AG Bower, Billy Wright, Bobby Moore, Raheem Sterling all have something in common; you guessed it, they all captained England.

On November 9th, 2019, Raheem was awarded the captain's armband for an important UEFA Nations' League semi-final v Holland, which brought him his 50th cap for his country. He became England's 7th "Black" captain. And the others were? Ince, Campbell, Ferdinand, Cole, Smalling, Delph.

The other list of reprobates are all Old Carthusians (old boys of Charterhouse School) except, of course, for Billy and Bobby, whom you should know.

The Old Carthusians, like many, played as amateurs in the 19th Century, when soccer was growing and international matches becoming more common. GO Smith, an OC and footballer of some note, you should know because I would have mentioned him before (several times), was the classic amateur, academic and sporting footballer who played for England 20 times and captained them on 13 occasions. At this time in soccer development, the FA would not allow a professional footballer to captain the country, just in case things went awry!

John Cuthbert Ottaway was the first England captain on 30th November 1872 when England played their first official international match against the Scots, away. He played twice and captained his country both times.

Alexander Morten captained England at home against the Scots in March 1873, a game which England won and it was his only appearance.

The England captain was often appointed by the FA as a "head boy", keeping everyone in order! In the old days the captain, not necessarily the best player, would also reach into his shorts' pocket while playing the game and give one of his team mates a shilling for doing something spectacular in an international game.

Other captains include Vivian Woodward of Arsenal, George Hardwick from Huddersfield 1946-8, Dr Tinsley Lindley (OBE eventually for service in WW1) an amateur who never wore football boots! Claude Ashton, a Cambridge University footballer, who with brothers, Hubert and Gilbert, played as a trio for the University and were known as Ashton Villa. Claude played one game for England and captained the team once. Billy Wright of Wolves, captained England 90 times out of 105 apps.