Ernest Harwood Greenhalgh (6 March 1849 – 11 July 1922) was an English

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

who played for

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

as a full back in the first international match against

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

Playing career

Greenhalgh was born in Mansfield and played for

Notts County Notts County Football Club is a professional association football club based in Nottingham, England. The team participate in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. Founded on the 25 November 1862, it is the ...

, before the foundation of

The Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in Association football around the wor ...

, from 1869 to 1883 making over 147 appearances as a defender and was made captain in 1872. His arrival at Notts County in 1869 helped to "greatly improve (their) results, due mainly to his great influence and leadership". He was one of only two players not from a

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

-based or university team to be chosen by the England selectors for the match against Scotland on 30 November 1872. In this match he played as the only full back in a 1-1-8 or 1-2-7 formation and was Notts County's first international representative. From the eleven who played in the first international, the England selectors only recalled Greenhalgh and

Charles Chenery Charles John Chenery (1 January 1850 – 17 April 1928) was a footballer who played for England in the first international match against Scotland. He also played cricket for Surrey and Northants. Football career Chenery was born in Lambourn, ...

for the return match on 8 March 1873, which resulted in a 4–2 victory for England. In 1882–83 his leadership helped County to reach the

FA Cup semi-finals The FA Cup semi-finals are played to determine which teams will contest the FA Cup Final. They are the penultimate phase of the FA Cup, the oldest football tournament in the world. Location The semi-finals have always been contested at neutra ...

where they lost to

Old Etonians Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, ...

by 2–1 at the

Kennington Oval The Oval, currently known for sponsorship reasons as the Kia Oval, is an international cricket ground in Kennington, located in the borough of Lambeth, in south London. The Oval has been the home ground of Surrey County Cricket Club since it ...

Later career

After retiring from playing in 1883, Greenhalgh continued to play an important part in the development of football, helping to found Greenhalgh's F.C. in Mansfield. He was also the owner of

Field Mill Field Mill, currently known as One Call Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a football ground in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England, and the home of Mansfield Town Football Club. It is the oldest ground in the Football League, hosting footb ...

in Mansfield which was the home of Mansfield Mechanics F.C., until becoming the home of

Mansfield Town Mansfield Town Football Club is a professional football club based in the town of Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Stags', they play in a blue and ...

in 1916.

Personal life

Greenhalgh was married to Kate his occupation was as a cotton doubler employing 320 women, 50 men and 8 boys (1881) and later as a yarn agent and salesman.1911 Census

References

External links

*
England profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Greenhalgh, Ernest 1849 births 1922 deaths Footballers from Mansfield English footballers England international footballers Notts County F.C. players Association football fullbacks