Allen "Alf" Pugh (27 October 1869 – 7 February 1942) was a Welsh

amateur An amateur () is generally considered a person who pursues an avocation independent from their source of income. Amateurs and their pursuits are also described as popular, informal, autodidacticism, self-taught, user-generated, do it yourself, DI ...

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

goalkeeper In many team sports that involve scoring goal (sport), goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie, or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or i ...

who made one appearance for

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

in 1889. He was the first player to be replaced by a substitute in international football.

Football career

Pugh was born in the Esclusham district, a few miles west of

Wrexham Wrexham ( ; ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in the North East Wales, north-east of Wales. It lies between the Cambrian Mountains, Welsh mountains and the lower River Dee, Wales, Dee Valley, near the England–Wales border, borde ...

. His early football was played at the nearby village of Rhostyllen before joining Wrexham Olympic for a year in 1885. Described as a "competent goalkeeper," he represented Denbighshire twice: in January 1885, against Shropshire and in November, against Lancashire. After losing his place at Wrexham to Sam Gillam, he returned to Rhostyllen, where he continued to play for a further ten years. On 15 April 1889,

were playing their British Home Championship match against

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

at the

Racecourse Ground The Racecourse Ground (), is a football stadium in Wrexham, Wales. It is the home of Wrexham A.F.C., Wrexham AFC. It is the largest stadium in North Wales and the List of football stadiums in Wales, fifth-largest in Wales. It is the world's o ...

; the regular goalkeeper, Jim Trainer, failed to turn up for the match, as Preston North End refused to release him. The kick-off was delayed while a replacement was sought; eventually, the match got underway with Pugh in goal, before Gillam arrived some twenty minutes into the match. Neither 'keeper conceded a goal, and the match ended 0–0; this was the first time in 14 matches between the countries that the Scots had failed to defeat the Welsh, and only the second international match in which neither team had managed to score, the first being the very first officially recognized international match, between Scotland and

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

on 30 November 1872. This was also the first use of a substitute in international football.

Later life

Pugh later kept the Union Vaults public house in Yorke Street, Wrexham.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pugh, Alf 1869 births 1942 deaths Footballers from Wrexham County Borough Welsh men's footballers Men's association football goalkeepers Wrexham A.F.C. players Wales men's international footballers Rhostyllen Victoria F.C. players