Claude Farnworth Rivaz (26 November 1872 – 24 March 1958) was an English artist 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 ...

who played as a defender for

Royal Antwerp Royal Antwerp Football Club (commonly referred to as Royal Antwerp or simply Antwerp) is a Belgian professional football club based in the city of Antwerp. They compete in the Belgian Pro League, the top flight of Belgian football. Founded in 1 ...

and White Rovers.

Early life and education

Claude Rivaz was born in

Chorley Chorley is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Chorley in Lancashire, England, north of Wigan, south west of Blackburn, north west of Bolton, south of Preston and north west of Manchester. The town's wealth ca ...

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Merseyside to the north-west, Greater Manchester to the north-east, Derbyshire to the east, Staffordshire to the south-east, and Shrop ...

, on 26 November 1872, as the elder son of John Vincent Claude Rivaz (1831–1893) and Catherine Farnworth (1846–1934). He had an older sister, Ida Gertrude (1871–1953), and three younger siblings: Francis Clifton (1876–1959), Charles Warwick (1880–1952), and Vera Mildred (1881–1968). On 27 April 1887, the 14-year-old Rivaz entered

Westminster School Westminster School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Westminster, London, England, in the precincts of Westminster Abbey. It descends from a charity school founded by Westminster Benedictines before the Norman Conquest, as do ...

, remaining there for three years, until April 1890, when he left as an artist. He then went abroad to complete his artist studies at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in

Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...

, where he lived for three years, from 1891 until 1894.

Playing career

Antwerp FC

Whilst out in the Belgian capital, Rivaz became the chairman of ''Antwerp Cricket Club'' (founded in 1880), which held several sports among its members, such as

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 ...

and

tennis Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...

in the summer, while

union rugby Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in England in the first hal ...

and football was playing in the winter. Rivas was one of the many English pioneers of the club's football team, Royal Antwerp, with whom he played for three years, from 1891 until 1894, when he left for

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

to join the White Rovers.

The White Rovers

Together with

William Sleator William Warner Sleator III (February 13, 1945 – August 3, 2011), known as William Sleator, was an American science fiction author who wrote primarily young adult novels but also wrote for younger readers. His books typically deal with adolescent ...

, Walter Hewson, Robert MacQueen, and the Wood brothers (

Jack Jack may refer to: Places * Jack, Alabama, US, an unincorporated community * Jack, Missouri, US, an unincorporated community * Jack County, Texas, a county in Texas People and fictional characters * Jack (given name), a male given name, incl ...

and Sid), Rivaz was a member of the group of upper-middle-class Anglo-British that served as the core of the White Rovers FC. He is the only member of this group of whom there are known photographs. On 24 February 1895, Rivaz, together with Jack Wood,

Eugène Fraysse Jean Eugène Fraysse (4 May 1870 – 1 May 1950) was a French footballer who played as a forward. He founded Club Français in 1892, becoming its first captain and leading the club to multiple trophies in the late 20th century, including the 18 ...

, Charles Bernat, and William Attrill, was a member of the first representative team of Paris, which played a

friendly match An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, scrimmage, demonstration, training match, pre-season game, warmup match, or preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sport, sporting event whose prize money and impact on th ...

against the London-based

Folkestone Folkestone ( ) is a coastal town on the English Channel, in Kent, south-east England. The town lies on the southern edge of the North Downs at a valley between two cliffs. It was an important harbour, shipping port, and fashionable coastal res ...

at the soggy pitch of the

Seine The Seine ( , ) is a river in northern France. Its drainage basin is in the Paris Basin (a geological relative lowland) covering most of northern France. It rises at Source-Seine, northwest of Dijon in northeastern France in the Langres plat ...

Velodrome; Paris lost 0–3.

Later life and death

Rivaz worked as an artist after his sports career. At the time of the

1901 United Kingdom census The United Kingdom Census 1901 was the 11th nationwide census conducted in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and was done on 31 March 1901 "relating to the persons returned as living at midnight on Sunday, March 31st". The total pop ...

, Rivaz was in

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, but eventually returned to live in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

Mayfair Mayfair is an area of Westminster, London, England, in the City of Westminster. It is in Central London and part of the West End. It is between Oxford Street, Regent Street, Piccadilly and Park Lane and one of the most expensive districts ...

. On 13 August 1913, Rivaz married Hilda Lilia Spencer (1878–1943), the only daughter of Frederick Mountford Spencer, and the couple had at least two sons, including John born in 1919. He died just outside

Basingstoke Basingstoke ( ) is a town in Hampshire, situated in south-central England across a valley at the source of the River Loddon on the western edge of the North Downs. It is the largest settlement in Hampshire without city status in the United King ...

on 24 March 1958, at the age of 85. He was buried four days later at the Henley Road Cemetery in Caversham.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rivaz, Claude 1872 births 1958 deaths People from Cheshire Footballers from Cheshire English men's footballers Men's association football defenders Royal Antwerp F.C. players Expatriate men's footballers in Belgium Expatriate men's footballers in France English expatriate men's footballers English artists