Alexander Tod
{{short description|English footballer}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2024}}
{{Use British English|date=January 2024}}
{{Infobox football biography
|name = Alexander Tod
|fullname = Alexander Hay Tod
|birth_date = 25 March 1857
|birth_place = the High Seas
|death_date = {{death date and age|1942|1|22|1857|7|25|df=y}}
|death_place = Bristol
|position = Forward
|years1 = 1877–82
|years2 =
|years3 =
|clubs1 = Old Carthusians
|clubs2 =
|clubs3 =
|caps1 =
|caps2 =
|goals1 =
|goals2 =
}}
Alexander Tod was an English amateur footballer who scored for Old Carthusians in its 1881 FA Cup Final win.
Career
Tod was born on board the ship HMS Trafalgar, the son of Lieutenant Alexander George Tod of the Madras Light Infantry and his wife Isabella, on 25 March 1857.{{cite web |last1=Andrews |first1=Ann |title=Charterhouse School: Verites Boarding House |url=https://www.andrewsgen.com/photo/godalming/charterhouseschool_verites.htm#inf |website=The Andrews Pages Picture Gallery |access-date=15 January 2024}}
He went up to Charterhouse School, an early hotbed of the Association game, in 1869, and captained the "twenty-two" against the "eleven" in an inter-school match in 1873.{{cite journal |title=Charterhouse School |journal=Sportsman |date=4 October 1873 |page=6}} He made an appearance for the celebrated Wanderers, albeit only as a "substitute", as Charles Alcock could only persuade six Wanderers to turn up to Godalming for a match against Charterhouse School, so Tod was one of many schoolboys recruited to help the visitors.{{cite journal |title=report |journal=Field |date=29 November 1873 |page=568}} His first goal in a "first-class" match was against Weyside in a 2–0 win in early 1874;{{cite journal |title=report |journal=The Carthusian |date=March 1874 |page=107}} he scored a hat-trick against the 10th Regiment at Christmas the following year.{{cite journal |title=report |journal=The Carthusian |date=December 1875 |page=232}}
By 1876 he had left school, and represented the Old Carthusians against the school in February 1877.{{cite journal |title=report |journal=The Carthusian |date=February 1877 |page=319}} He took his degree at Trinity College, Oxford, although never represented the University on the football pitch.
The Old Carthusians first entered the FA Cup in 1879–80 FA Cup, and Tod appeared in the O.C.'s first-ever Cup match, a 4–0 win over Acton, as a right-sided forward, scoring the second goal.{{cite journal |title=Old Carthusians v Acton |journal=Field |date=15 November 1879 |page=678}} He did not however play in the second round defeat at the Kennington Oval against the Wanderers.{{cite journal |title=Wanderers v Old Carthusians |journal=Bell's Life |date=17 January 1880 |page=4}}
In the 1880–81 FA Cup, he did not appear until the fifth round, this time on the left of the forward line; at that stage the Carthusians knocked out the holders Clapham Rovers.{{cite journal |title=Association Challenge Cup |journal=Sporting Life |date=22 March 1881 |page=1}} He had a decisive impact in the semi-final scoring one of the O.C.'s four goals against Darwen, as well as coming close with another shot and claiming a share in the "assist" for another goal.{{cite journal |title=Old Carthusians v Darwen |journal=Bell's Life |date=2 April 1881 |page=10}} His crowning achievement was scoring the third and decisive goal in the final against the Old Etonians, either by deflecting a shot from Richards{{cite journal |title=report |journal=The Carthusian |date=1881 |volume=67 |issue=129 |page=97}} or finishing a pass from William Page.{{cite journal |title=report |journal=Sportsman |date=11 April 1881 |page=4}}
He played in the O.C.'s three ties in the 1881–82 FA Cup, but the defeat in the third round by the Royal Engineers was his final match in the competition.{{cite journal |title=Old Carthusians v Royal Engineers |journal=Bell's Life |date=24 December 1881 |page=9}} His final game for the O.C.s appears to have been the club's 2–0 win at Sheffield F.C. in January 1882.{{cite journal |title=Sheffield Club v Old Carthusians |journal=Field |date=14 January 1882 |page=56}}
Personal life
After graduation, Tod became a teacher at Charterhouse, ultimately becoming Master of Verites House. He was also commissioned as an historian to write the history of the school, first published in 1905.{{cite book |last1=Tod |first1=A.H. |title=The Great Public Schools: Charterhouse |date=1905 |publisher=George Bell & Sons |location=London}} Tod died in Clifton, Bristol, on 22 January 1942, leaving an estate of £15,571 2/2.{{cite journal |title=Clifton will |journal=Western Daily Press |date=5 June 1942 |page=3}}
Honours
References
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Category:Old Carthusians F.C. players
Category:Wanderers F.C. players
Category:Men's association football forwards