Mordecai Sherwin (26 February 1851 – 3 July 1910) was a 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 ...

and

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 who played in goal 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 ...

and as a

wicket-keeper In cricket, the wicket-keeper is the Cricket player, player on the fielding (cricket), fielding side who stands behind the wicket, ready to stop Delivery (cricket), deliveries that pass the batsman, and take a Caught, catch, Stumped, stump the ...

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 ...

between

1878 Events January * January 5 – Russo-Turkish War: Battle of Shipka Pass IV – Russian and Bulgarian forces defeat the Ottoman Empire. * January 9 – Umberto I becomes King of Italy. * January 17 – Russo-Turkish War: ...

and

1896 Events January * January 2 – The Jameson Raid comes to an end as Jameson surrenders to the Boers. * January 4 – Utah is admitted as the 45th U.S. state. * January 5 – An Austrian newspaper reports Wilhelm Röntgen's dis ...

. As a footballer, Sherwin played in goal for County from 10 November 1883 until 10 November 1888 and was, according to the sportswriter "Tityrus" (the pseudonym of J.A.H. Catton, editor of the '' Athletic News''), the idol of the crowd despite his unpromising physique: :"Although only 5ft. 9ins, and bordering on 17 stone, he was a kind of forerunner to the mighty Foulke... very nimble, as quick a custodian as he was a wicket-keeper. In one match, when the

Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second level of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. Th ...

were playing at the

Trent Bridge Trent Bridge Cricket Ground is a cricket ground mostly used for Test cricket, Test, One-day cricket, One-Day International and county cricket located in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England, just across the River Trent from the city of Nott ...

ground, that sturdy and skilful

outside right In the sport of association football, a forward (attacker or striker) is an outfield position which primarily plays further up the pitch than midfielders and defenders. As with any attacking player, the role of the forward relies heavily on bei ...

, Joseph Morris Lofthouse, thought he would have a tilt with Sherwin. :"He charged him, and rebounded. Sherwin said: "Young man, you'll hurt yourself if you do that again." Undeterred, Lofthouse returned to the attack, but Sherwin stepped aside with the alacrity of a dancer, and the

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

lad found out how hard was the goalpost and how sharp its edge. :"Sherwin was a wonder. It was the custom in those days for teams to entertain each other to dinner after a match... At one banquet Sherwin "obliged" with ''

Oh, Dem Golden Slippers "Oh, Dem Golden Slippers" is a minstrel song penned by African-American James A. Bland in 1879, is particularly well known as a bluegrass instrumental standard. By 1880, the song had exceeded 100,000 copies sold. Overview A minstrel show son ...

'', and surprised the gathering with a jig and a somersault. At seventeen stones!" Another source states that 'Mordy Sherwin' was an agile and reliable goalkeeper, if somewhat eccentric. Proving that today's over-exuberant celebrations on scoring are nothing new, 'Mordy' was given to treating the spectators behind his goal to a cartwheeling performance when the Magpies scored! Mordecai Sherwin played just the one League match. The venue was

, Nottingham. The date was 10 November 1888 and the opposition was

Accrington Accrington is a town in the Hyndburn borough of Lancashire, England. It lies about east of Blackburn, west of Burnley, east of Preston, north of Manchester and is situated on the culverted River Hyndburn. Commonly abbreviated by locals to ...

. For a November's day the weather was pleasant and the 8,000 crowd saw some fine attacking football. Accrington forward Billy Barbour put his side ahead but not long after

Harry Daft Harry Butler Daft (5 April 1866 – 12 January 1945) was an English footballer who played for Notts County, with whom he won the FA Cup in 1894, as well as making five appearances as a left winger for the national side. He was also an accomplish ...

leveled the scores and Sherwin entertained the crowd with one of his cartwheels. The match renewed the rivalry between Accrington forward Joe Lofthouse (see above for details) but Lofthouse got the better in this match by restoring Accrington' lead. 2-1 to Accrington at half-time. The second-half saw Notts County get the better of the play, Charles Shelton equalizing for County and then Bob Jardine putting County ahead for the first time in the match. As the match wore on County had two defenders injured so it was no surprise when Billy Barbour got his brace and the match finished a draw, 3-3, a point each. In 1888-1889 season Sherwin also played in three

F.A. Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competition i ...

ties with Notts County winning all three. The victory at Recreation Ground, Staveley, against Staveley on 8 December 1888 was Sherwin' last game for Notts County. County won 3-1. (registration & fee required) As a cricketer, Sherwin captained Nottinghamshire in

1887 Events January * January 11 – Louis Pasteur's anti-rabies treatment is defended in the Académie Nationale de Médecine, by Dr. Joseph Grancher. * January 20 ** The United States Senate allows the United States Navy to lease Pearl Har ...

and

1888 Events January * January 3 – The great telescope (with an objective lens of diameter) at Lick Observatory in California is first used. * January 12 – The Schoolhouse Blizzard hits Dakota Territory and the states of Montana, M ...

. He also played three Test matches 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 ...

on the tour to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

in 1886/7. He was named as one of the

Wisden Cricketers of the Year The ''Wisden'' Cricketers of the Year are cricketers selected for the honour by the annual publication ''Wisden Cricketers' Almanack'', based "primarily for their influence on the previous English season". The award began in 1889 with the naming ...

1891 Events January * January 1 ** A strike of 500 Hungarian steel workers occurs; 3,000 men are out of work as a consequence. **Germany takes formal possession of its new African territories. * January 4 – The Earl of Zetland issues a ...

. After he retired as a cricketer, he umpired until

1901 December 13 of this year is the beginning of signed 32-bit Unix time, and is scheduled to end in January 19, 2038. Summary Political and military 1901 started with the unification of multiple British colonies in Australia on January ...

, and even stood in one Test in

1899 Events January * January 1 ** Spanish rule formally ends in Cuba with the cession of Spanish sovereignty to the U.S., concluding 400 years of the Spanish Empire in the Americas.''The American Monthly Review of Reviews'' (February 1899), p ...

. By trade, Sherwin was a

publican The (Latin ; Greek τελώνης ''telōnēs'') were public contractors in the Roman Republic and Empire. In their official capacity, they often supplied the Roman legions and military, managed the collection of port duties, and oversaw pub ...

. Sherwin had a wife, Emma, and at least six children, Mary, William, Emma, Ellen, Mordecai and Frederick. The name of

Arthur Conan Doyle Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle (22 May 1859 – 7 July 1930) was a British writer and physician. He created the character Sherlock Holmes in 1887 for ''A Study in Scarlet'', the first of four novels and fifty-six short stories about Hol ...

's most famous character,

Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes () is a Detective fiction, fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a "Private investigator, consulting detective" in his stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with obser ...

, is said to have been inspired partially by Sherwin, and partially by Frank Shacklock.

References

*Catton, J.A.H. ("Tityrus") (2006 reprint of 1926 original). ''The Story of Association Football''. Cleethorpes: Soccer Books. . *Grace, W.G. "Cricket" (1891) Bristol Publishers p372
Brief profile of Mordecai Sherwin by Don Ambrose
;Specific

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sherwin, Mordecai 1851 births 1910 deaths English Test cricket umpires England Test cricketers English cricketers Nottinghamshire cricketers Nottinghamshire cricket captains Wisden Cricketers of the Year Men's association football goalkeepers Notts County F.C. players People from Kimberley, Nottinghamshire Footballers from Nottinghamshire Cricketers from Nottinghamshire Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers Players cricketers North v South cricketers Players of the North cricketers English men's footballers Wicket-keepers