Edward Percy Blow (16 November 1877 – 9 March 1938), known as Percy, Corky, or Corkie Blow, was an English professional

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 made 162 appearances 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, it is the oldest football league in the world, and was the top-level football league in England from ...

playing for Lincoln City. He also played

non-League football Non-League football describes association football, football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is ...

in the

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (), abbreviated ''Lincs'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands and Yorkshire and the Humber regions of England. It is bordered by the East Riding of Yorkshire across the Humber estuary to th ...

area. He played as a

left half In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

. While still a boy, he was honoured by the

Royal Humane Society The Royal Humane Society is a British charity which promotes lifesaving intervention. It was founded in 1774 as the ''Society for the Recovery of Persons Apparently Drowned'', for the purpose of rendering first aid in cases of near drowning. Hi ...

for saving the life of another child.

Life and career

Blow was born in

Lincoln, Lincolnshire Lincoln () is a cathedral city and district in Lincolnshire, England, of which it is the county town. In the 2021 Census, the city's district had a population of 103,813. The 2021 census gave the urban area of Lincoln, including Bracebridge He ...

, the second son of Thomas Blow, a

wheelwright A wheelwright is a Artisan, craftsman who builds or repairs wooden wheels. The word is the combination of "wheel" and the word "wright" (which comes from the Old English word "''wryhta''", meaning a worker - as also in shipbuilding, shipwright ...

, and his wife Anna. As an 11-year-old, he received the Bronze Medal of the

, "awarded to people who have put their own lives at great risk to save or attempt to save someone else", after an incident in

Boultham Boultham () is an inner-city and Wards of the United Kingdom, ward of Lincoln, England, Lincoln in Lincolnshire, England. The population of the City of Lincoln ward at the 2021 census was 11,258 this included the areas of New Boultham and Swanpo ...

, Lincoln, in January 1889. The ''Nottinghamshire Guardian'' reported that The 1891

Census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

records the 13-year-old Blow living in Lincoln with his parents and six siblings and working in a

skin yard Skin Yard was an American grunge band from Seattle, Washington, that was active from 1985 to 1992. The group never gained a mainstream audience but were an influence on several of their grunge contemporaries, including Soundgarden, Screaming Tr ...

alongside his brother Thomas, a year older. The 23-year-old Blow had been working as a

journeyman A journeyman is a worker, skilled in a given building trade or craft, who has successfully completed an official apprenticeship qualification. Journeymen are considered competent and authorized to work in that field as a fully qualified employee ...

joiner Joinery is a part of woodworking that involves joining pieces of wood, engineered lumber, or synthetic substitutes (such as laminate), to produce more complex items. Some woodworking joints employ mechanical fasteners, bindings, or adhesives, ...

and playing football for Lincoln team Blue Star when he joined his local professional club, Lincoln City. He made his senior debut in the last match of the

1900–01 Football League The 1900– 01 season was the 13th season of The Football League. Final league tables Beginning in the 1894–95 season, clubs finishing level on points were separated according to goal average (goals scored divided by goals conceded). In case ...

season, a 2–0 defeat away to

Glossop Glossop is a market town in the borough of High Peak (borough), High Peak, Derbyshire, England, east of Manchester, north-west of Sheffield and north of Matlock, Derbyshire, Matlock. Near Derbyshire's borders with Cheshire, Greater Mancheste ...

in the Second Division. He became a regular member of the first team for the next five years; in April 1902, the ''

Daily Express The ''Daily Express'' is a national daily United Kingdom middle-market newspaper printed in Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid format. Published in London, it is the flagship of Express Newspapers, owned by publisher Reach plc. It was first ...

'' commented on how, despite the absence of Blow and fellow half-back Will Gibson, Lincoln "pressed continuously during the first half" and beat

Bristol City Bristol City Football Club is a professional football club based in Bristol, England. The team compete in the , the second level of the English football league system. Founded in 1894, the club competed in the Southern League and Western L ...

1–0. He scored just once in nationally organised competition, but did contribute the winning goal against

Grimsby Town Grimsby Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, England, that competes in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Nicknamed "the Mariners", the club was f ...

in the 1904 Lincolnshire Cup semi-final (Lincoln lost the final to

Gainsborough Trinity Gainsborough Trinity Football Club is a Association football, football club based in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, England. Established in 1873, the club became members of the English Football League, Football League i ...

). Blow's 180th and last appearance came in the penultimate game of the 1905–06 season, after which he returned to local

. Blow was married and had eight children. He died in London in 1938 at the age of 60.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blow, Corkie 1877 births 1938 deaths Footballers from Lincoln, England English men's footballers Men's association football wing halves Lincoln City F.C. players English Football League players