CUTHBERT OTTAWAY-AN ALL ROUNDER

Cuthbert J. Ottaway, born in Dover, 19th July 1850, was the first captain of the England international side, a player whose autograph from 150 years ago has been set for auction and should reach a princely sum of up to £5,000. He died on April 2nd 1878, aged 27, as a result of a chill caught after a night's dancing. He was married to Marion Stinson Crerar. 

Educated at Eton, he represented his school in the historic annual "Harrow" cricket match played at Lords and was  twice victor in the Public Schools' Rackets Doubles Championship,

He represented Oxford University at football in 1874, of course, won an athletics Blue in 1873, rackets (racquets in 1870-3), real tennis (1870-2), in addition to winning cricket Blues between 1870 and 1873.

He is sitting, first left.

A batsman of considerable ability, he played twice for Kent and seven times for Middlesex, as well as touring North America in 1872. His final first-class cricket appearance was for Middlesex against Nottinghamshire at the old Prince's ground where he made 106 - his maiden hundred had come on the same ground against Surrey four weeks earlier. But he played less serious sport after being called to the bar in 1873. 

He found time to play in the 1873 and 1874 FA Cup finals, captaining them to victory in 1874. In 1875 he made his last FA Cup final outing as part of the Old Etonian side which drew with Royal Engineers - he did not play in the replay which the Etonians lost. 

He attended school and university at a time when the new Association code was gaining considerable popularity, and – as was often the case in the earliest days of the amateur game – represented several teams, including playing for Marlow FC.

1874-5 Final: Cuthbert John Ottaway (below-Oxford Dictionary of National Biography) of The Old Etonians became the first player not to complete the full 90 minutes of a Final v The Wanderers. He left the field of play after 37 minutes with a sprained ankle and his team lost 0-1. 

This is the highlight of a London based sale of sporting memorabilia and the autograph, dated from 1872,  is expected to reach somewhere between £3,000-5000. It goes under the hammer on September 6th at the "Graham Budd" sporting memorabilia sale in London on September 6th.

A highlight of the sale is an autograph from Cuthbert Ottaway (1850-1878). Adam Gascoigne adds: “Cuthbert Ottaway was educated at Eton and Oxford. He represented his University at Football and took part in three F.A. Cup finals as well as playing for Crystal Palace. He led the England team onto the field of play in the world’s first ever international match in world history which took place at Hamilton Crescent, Glasgow's Partick cricket ground. 

England v Scotland, was played on November 30th 1872 with Ottaway as the first captain, who presided over a 0-0 draw. He did not play (or captain) in 1873, a 4-2 win, but he did lead England again in 1874, a 1-2 defeat back at Hamilton Cresent.  

Earlier in the year he had been playing cricket for England on a tour of USA and Canada, so he represented his country in our summer and winter national sports within the space of a couple of months. 

Adam Gascoigne added: "I don’t know how he had time, but he also trained as a Barrister and was called to the bar at the age of 23 and practised law in London until his premature death when he was only 27 years old – making this autograph is made even rarer.”