Vincent Weston
{{short description|English footballer}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2023}}
{{Use British English|date=December 2023}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Vincent Edward Weston
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| birth_date = {{Birth date|1855|10||df=y}}
| birth_place = Kingston-upon-Thames, England
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1937|12|12|1855|10|01|df=y}}
| death_place = Shanklin, Isle of Wight
| burial_place =
| occupation = Footballer, stock dealer
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Vincent Weston (October 1855 – 12 December 1937) was an English footballer and rower from the late 19th century who won the FA Cup in 1880 as a half-back for Clapham Rovers.
Early life
Weston was born in Kingston-upon-Thames, London,{{cite book |title=England & Wales Civil Registration Birth Index |date=October–December 1855 |publisher=HMSO |page=127}} in October 1855, the fifth son of John Weston (1817–1887) and his wife Augusta Ellen née Wood (1817–1891).{{Sfn|Mitchell|2012|p=137}} His father was a merchant and financial agent. {{Sfn|Mitchell|2012|p=137}}
Rowing
Vincent and his four brothers, including fellow footballer Percy, were members of the London Rowing Club;{{cite journal |title=London Rowing Club |journal=Bell's Life |date=5 October 1867 |page=6}} being small in stature, they made perfect coxes, and "Little" Vincent was competing internationally before he was a teenager.{{cite journal |title=The Paris Regattas |journal=Bell's Life |date=13 July 1867 |page=6}} His greatest honour as a cox was steering a London RC foursome to victory in the Stewards' Challenge Cup at Henley four times between 1868 and 1872.{{cite journal |title=The international boat race |journal=Morning Advertiser |date=11 June 1872 |page=7}}
Football
Weston's first appearance on the football field was for Barnes - a football club associated with a rowing club - alongside two of his brothers in October 1871, against Westminster School.{{cite journal |title=Westminster School v Barnes |journal=Bell's Life |date=4 November 1871 |page=5}} The following month he played for Barnes against the Civil Service in the first round of the first FA Cup.{{cite journal |title=Barnes v Civil Service |journal=Sportsman |date=15 November 1871 |page=3}}
He played 11 more times for Barnes in the FA Cup from 1872–73 to 1878–79, usually as a half-back,{{cite journal |title=Barnes v Upton Park |journal=Field |date=16 December 1876 |page=733}} including in Barnes' surprise draw with Wanderers in 1877–78, being "especially notable for his accurate kicking".{{cite journal |title=Wanderers v Barnes |journal=Sporting Gazette |date=19 January 1878}}
For the 1879–80 FA Cup he switched allegiance to Clapham Rovers, and his first match in the competition for his new club was a 7–0 win over Romford, Weston being picked out for his conspicuous play.{{cite journal |title=Romford |journal=London Daily Chronicle |date=10 November 1879 |page=6}} He played in every round, and in the final (against Oxford University) Weston - who "played admirably" - made a key defensive clearance when the match was still scoreless.{{cite journal |title=Association Challenge Cup |journal=Referee |date=11 April 1880 |page=6}}
He continued to play for Rovers in the following year's competition, becoming something of a dead-ball specialist, tasked with corners and free-kicks.{{cite journal |title=Old Carthusians v Clapham Rovers |journal=Sportsman |date=21 March 1881 |page=4}} His final game in the competition came in a defeat to the Old Etonians in a first-round replay in 1881–82.{{cite journal |title=Old Etonians v Clapham Rovers |journal=Field |date=26 November 1881 |page=783}} His last recorded football appearance was captaining the Stock Exchange side against Lloyd's of London in their annual match in 1882; his former Clapham Rovers team-mate Robert Ogilvie captained the opposition.{{cite journal |title=Cricket, Athletics, Aquatics &c. |journal=Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News |date=4 March 1882 |page=16}}
Although he never picked up an International cap, he did represent the Football Association several times in representative matches in 1879–80.{{cite journal |title=London v Lancashire |journal=Sporting Chronicle |date=10 December 1879 |page=4}}{{cite journal |title=London v Sheffield |journal=Sporting Gazette |date=3 January 1880 |page=11}}
Later life
Weston became a stock dealer, in partnership with his nephew Spencer Weston.{{cite book |title=Stock Exchange membership applications |year=1914 |publisher=London Stock Exchange |location=London |page=199}} He married Edith Fanny Clara Colnaghi, who pre-deceased him, in early 1911.{{cite book |title=England & Wales, Civil Registration Marriage Index|year=1911 |publisher=HMSO |page=1295}}
Weston died in Shanklin on the Isle of Wight in December 1937, leaving assets of £422 2/- to Alan Tremlett, another Stock Exchange member.{{cite book |title=England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations) |year=1938 |publisher=HMSO |page=403}}
Honours
Bibliography
- {{cite book |last=Collett|first=Mike |title=The Complete Record of the FA Cup |year=2003|publisher=Sports Books |isbn=1-899807-19-5}}
- {{cite book |last1=Mitchell |first1=Andy |title=First Elevens: The Birth of International Football |year=2012 |publisher=Andy Mitchell Media |isbn=978-1475206845}}
References
{{reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Weston, Vincent}}
Category:Footballers from the London Borough of Lambeth
Category:People from Streatham
Category:People educated at Westminster School, London
Category:English men's footballers
Category:Clapham Rovers F.C. players