Arthur William Cursham (14 March 1853 – 24 December 1884) was an English

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

er and

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 lea ...

. He played football for

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 ...

and for

Notts County Notts County Football Club is a professional association football, football club in Nottingham, England, which competes in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of Football in England, English football, following promotion and relegation, promotion ...

between 1876 and 1883. He played cricket for

Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated ''Notts.'') is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. The county is bordered by South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. Th ...

from 1876 to 1879 and for

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It borders Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, and South Yorkshire to the north, Nottinghamshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south-east, Staffordshire to the south a ...

from 1879 to 1880.

Early life

Cursham was born in

Wilford Wilford is a village and former civil parish in the Nottingham district in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire, England. The village is to the northeast of Clifton, Nottinghamshire, Clifton, southwest of West Bridgford, northwest of Ruddi ...

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located south-east of Sheffield and nor ...

the son of William Cursham, solicitor and, at one time, mine owner. He attended

Oakham School Oakham School is a public school (English fee-charging boarding and day school) in Oakham, Rutland, England. The school was founded in 1584 by Archdeacon Robert Johnson, along with Uppingham School, a few miles away. They share a common b ...

and became a mine manager.British Census 1881

Football career

He played football for

, between 1876 and 1883 and made his

footballing debut in March 1876 in a 3–0 home defeat at the hands of

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 ...

. A photograph of this team is believed to be the first ever photograph of an English team. However Cursham does not appear in the picture – it is believed he was behind the camera. He made six international footballing appearances in total, four coming against Scotland and two against

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 ...

Cricket career

Cursham made his County Cricket debut during the 1876 season, playing his first game for

in a low-scoring victory against

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

. He, along with the rest of the Nottinghamshire team, failed to impress in a match in which only one player would reach double figures in each of the first three innings, himself scoring just three runs from the middle order. Cursham, a right-handed batsman and a round-arm bowler, appeared extensively for Nottinghamshire during the 1877 and 1878 seasons, scoring a maiden career half-century against

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, former county in South East England, now mainly within Greater London. Its boundaries largely followed three rivers: the River Thames, Thames in the south, the River Lea, Le ...

in 1877. Cursham moved to play briefly for

during the 1879 season. He played regularly in the Derbyshire lower order, scoring a duck in his debut innings, though failing to break into the side as a bowler. He played for Derbyshire again in the 1880 season, retiring from the game at the age of 27. Three years after the end of his cricketing career, Cursham played two further games for the England national football team, a victory against Wales in which he scored his second and final international goal, and a defeat against Scotland. Cursham emigrated to the United States at the end of his footballing career, just a year after his final international footballing appearance. He died in

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

at just 31 years of age from yellow fever. His brother

Henry Henry may refer to: People and fictional characters * Henry (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters * Henry (surname) * Henry, a stage name of François-Louis Henry (1786–1855), French baritone Arts and entertainmen ...

was also an

international footballer.

References

External links

Arthur Cursham at England F.C.
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cursham, Arthur 1853 births 1884 deaths People educated at Oakham School English men's footballers England men's international footballers Notts County F.C. players English cricketers Nottinghamshire cricketers Derbyshire cricketers Men's association football forwards Deaths from yellow fever Cricketers from Nottingham