Caesar Augustus Llewellyn Jenkyns (24 August 1866 – 23 July 1941
/ref>) was a Welsh international

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 in

the Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

for

Small Heath Small Heath is an area in south-east Birmingham, West Midlands, England situated on and around the Coventry Road about from the city centre. History Small Heath, which has been settled and used since Roman times, sits on top of a small hill. ...

, Woolwich Arsenal,

Newton Heath Newton Heath is an area of Manchester, England, north-east of Manchester city centre and with a population of 9,883. Historically part of Lancashire, Newton was formerly a farming area, but adopted the factory system following the Industrial ...

and

Walsall Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre in the West Midlands County, England. Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located north-west of Birmingham, east of Wolverhampton and from Lichfield. Walsall is t ...

Playing career

Born in

Builth Wells Builth Wells (; cy, Llanfair-ym-Muallt) is a market town and community in the county of Powys and historic county of Brecknockshire (Breconshire), mid Wales, lying at the confluence of rivers Wye and Irfon, in the Welsh (or upper) part of th ...

, Jenkyns played for a number of English clubs, as well as winning eight

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for

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

. After playing for several amateur sides in the

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the We ...

area, Jenkyns joined

(later renamed Birmingham) in 1888, despite aggressive interest from

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa P ...

, who were looking to poach players from Unity Gas and Aston Shakespeare, which Jenkyns even more aggressively rebuffed. Jenkyns was at Small Heath as they first joined the

Football Alliance The Football Alliance was an association football league in England which ran for three seasons, from 1889–90 to 1891–92. History In 1888, the same year the Football League was founded, The Combination was established by clubs who had been ...

in 1889 and then became founder members of the

Football League Second Division The Football League Second Division was the second level division in the English football league system between 1892 and 1992. Following the foundation of the FA Premier League, the Football League divisions were renumbered and the third t ...

in 1892. By now he had made his debut for Wales and was club captain; he skippered Small Heath to promotion to the First Division in 1894, beating

Darwen Darwen is a market town and civil parish in the Blackburn with Darwen borough in Lancashire, England. The residents of the town are known as "Darreners". The A666 road passes through Darwen towards Blackburn to the north, Bolton to the south ...

3–1 in a test match. Known as one of the most rugged defenders of his era, he was sent off four times while playing for Small Heath and that at a time when such occurrences were extremely rare. His career at Small Heath ended in March 1895 when he was released after an incident at

Derby Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby gain ...

where, after being ordered from the field, he attempted to assault two spectators. Jenkyns moved to London in April 1895, joining Woolwich Arsenal, who had joined the Second Division less than two years ago. He was immediately made Arsenal captain, and made his mark in Arsenal history by becoming the club's first ever international player, after winning a cap for Wales against

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to th ...

on 21 March 1896. Playing at centre-half (which in those days was a

midfield Midfield is the part of a sports field that lies approximately in the center. In American football, association football (soccer) and field hockey, it is the area in and around the center circle, as well as the players who occupy that region. In ...

position), Jenkyns scored six times in 27 matches for Arsenal and was regarded by the club as one of their star players. However, his stay at the Gunners did not last long; in the summer of 1896 he moved to

(who later became Manchester United). Jenkyns made his debut for the club on 1 September 1896 against Gainsborough Trinity. He spent two seasons with the

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

club, taking over as captain from

James McNaught James Rankin McNaught (8 June 1870 – March 1919) was a Scottish footballer who played as a half back. Career McNaught began his career with his local club, Dumbarton F.C. After a brief spell in Northern Ireland with Linfield, he joined Engl ...

, helping them to runners-up position in the Second Division in 1897. In November 1897, he left the club for

, where he spent five years before joining

Coventry City Coventry City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Coventry, West Midlands, England. The team currently compete in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. The club is nicknamed the ...

. After retirement, Jenkyns ran a public house in Moxley , The George Inn, before joining the police force.

Career statistics

International

Notes

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Jenkyns, Caesar 1866 births 1941 deaths category:Officers in English police forces People from Builth Wells Footballers from Powys Welsh men's footballers Wales men's international footballers Men's association football defenders Birmingham City F.C. players Arsenal F.C. players Manchester United F.C. players Walsall F.C. players Coventry City F.C. players Football Alliance players English Football League players Publicans Welsh police officers