Moses Richard Russell (20 May 1888 – 18 December 1946) was a

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peopl ...

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 most of his career with

Plymouth Argyle Plymouth Argyle Football Club is a professional football club based in the city of Plymouth, Devon, England. As of the 2021–22 season, the team are competing in League One, the third tier of English football. They have played at Home Park ...

. A full back, he attained 23 caps for the

Wales national football team ) , Association = Football Association of Wales (FAW) , Confederation = UEFA (Europe) , Coach = Rob Page , Captain = Gareth Bale , Most caps = Gareth Bale (111) , Top scorer = Gareth Ba ...

Early career

Russell was born in

Tredegar Tredegar (pronounced , ) is a town and community situated on the banks of the Sirhowy River in the county borough of Blaenau Gwent, in the southeast of Wales. Within the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire, it became an early centre of the ...

, in Monmouthshire and after leaving school he began work as a coal-miner. In his leisure time he played both association football and rugby as well as being a boxer and competent swimmer, once rescuing a drowning child from a river. His first professional club was

Ton Pentre Ton Pentre () is a village in the Rhondda Valley in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. Historically part of Glamorgan, Ton Pentre, a former industrial coal mining village, is a district of the community of Pentre. The old district of ...

, whom he joined in 1911 before transferring to

Merthyr Town Merthyr Town Football Club ( cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Tref Merthyr) is a Welsh semi-professional football club based in Merthyr Tydfil, currently playing in the , in the seventh tier of the English football league system. The football club was orig ...

later that year. Whilst with Merthyr Town, Russell helped them win the South Wales & Monmouthshire FA Cup. He made his debut 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 ...

playing at

left half A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

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 2 March 1912. Although he was not selected for the next international, against

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

, he was called up to play

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

on 13 April, this time in his preferred position at

left back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

. Both matches ended in defeats, with Wales taking the "wooden spoon" in the 1912 British Home Championship. In the summer of 1912, Russell left

South Wales South Wales ( cy, De Cymru) is a loosely defined region of Wales bordered by England to the east and mid Wales to the north. Generally considered to include the historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire, south Wales extends westwards ...

to join

Southport Southport is a seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. At the 2001 census, it had a population of 90,336, making it the eleventh most populous settlement in North West England. Southport lies on the Iris ...

but with the club having financial problems, he returned to Merthyr on a free transfer in February 1913, rather than take a cut in his wages. Whilst with Merthyr, he gained his third " cap", against

on 16 March 1914. As a result of a bout of

rheumatic fever Rheumatic fever (RF) is an inflammation#Disorders, inflammatory disease that can involve the heart, joints, skin, and brain. The disease typically develops two to four weeks after a Streptococcal pharyngitis, streptococcal throat infection. Sign ...

, Russell lost most of his hair; his

bald Hair loss, also known as alopecia or baldness, refers to a loss of hair from part of the head or body. Typically at least the head is involved. The severity of hair loss can vary from a small area to the entire body. Inflammation or scarr ...

head made him appear some years older than his true age. As a result, several clubs rejected him as a "veteran". It is quite possible that the rheumatic fever caused Russell to visit the spa town of Builth Wells to aid his recovery as he subsequently wrote the following to the proprietor of the Park Wells Spa dated 24 May 1927. " ...I must write to let you know the wonderful benefit I have received through taking the Builth Wells saline and sulphur waters. I was crippled with peritonitis (sic) of the knee and thought I would have to give up my career as a professional footballer, but since taking your wonderful waters I have not only played in every match last season, but am still fit and have had no recurrence of the trouble. yours faithfully, Moses Russell, 34 Bickham Park, Peverall, Plymouth." The above is quoted from A Pictorial History of Builth Wells.

Plymouth Argyle

In the summer of 1914, Russell signed for

for a club record fee of £400. He made his debut for Argyle on 2 September 1914 in a 2–0 victory over

Brighton & Hove Albion Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club (), commonly referred to simply as Brighton, is an English professional football club based in the city of Brighton and Hove. They compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league ...

. Despite the outbreak of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fig ...

, the Southern League season continued, although international football was suspended. During his first season at

Home Park Home Park is a football stadium in Plymouth, England. The ground has been the home of Football League One club Plymouth Argyle since 1901. Following the completion of the 1914–15 season, normal league football was suspended until 1919. During the war, Russell served as a private in the mechanised transport section of the Army Service Corps, receiving the

British War Medal The British War Medal is a campaign medal of the United Kingdom which was awarded to officers and men of British and Imperial forces for service in the First World War. Two versions of the medal were produced. About 6.5 million were struck in si ...

and Victory Medal. On the cessation of hostilities, league football resumed at the start of the 1919–20 season, with Argyle spending one further season in the Southern League before transferring to the newly formed

Football League Third Division The Football League Third Division was the third tier of the English football league system in 1920–21 and again from 1958 until 1992. When the FA Premier League was formed, the division become the fourth tier level. In 2004, following th ...

in 1920. Described as a player with "unquenchable enthusiasm and gritty determination", Russell was "an inspiration throughout the 1920s at (both) club and country level". A "big, strong defender, he was quick, had good positional sense and was of inestimable value to Plymouth Argyle". In 1922, Russell joined the Players' Union, along with Howard Matthews, Charlie Buchan and

George Utley George Utley (16 May 1887 – 8 January 1966) was an English footballer who played for Barnsley, Sheffield United and England. He was strong and powerful half back who could shoot at goal when required. Utley was born in Reform Row, Elsecar, ...

. Russell became club captain and led his side to the runners-up position in the Football League Division Three South for six successive

seasons A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and po ...

between 1921–22 and 1926–27. With only the champions being promoted to the Second Division, Argyle continued to miss out on promotion until 1930, by when Russell was coming to the end of his career. As a result of the failure to reach the top place in the table, Russell was dubbed "the unluckiest captain in soccer". In the summer of 1924, a Plymouth Argyle team visited South America to play some exhibition football in Uruguay and the Argentine. Russell captained the side and played in all nine matches. Russell's style of play caught the attention of the Argentine press; at the end of the tour ''"The Standard of Buenos Aires"'' commented:

The visit of Plymouth Argyle will be best remembered by the outstanding personality and genius of Moses Russell. His effective style, precise judgment, accurate and timely clearances, powerful kicking and no less useful work with his head.....one of the most wonderful backs and one of the brainiest players ever seen on the football field.

In the tour match against

Boca Juniors Club Atlético Boca Juniors () is an Argentine sports club headquartered in La Boca, a neighbourhood of Buenos Aires. The club is mostly known for its professional football team which, since its promotion in 1913, has always played in the A ...

on 9 July 1924, the home supporters invaded the pitch after their team had scored the opening goal and carried all eleven home players shoulder high around the stadium. After a half-hour delay, the referee restarted the match, but a further invasion was sparked when the referee awarded a penalty against the home side. When the match was again restarted, the Argyle players had agreed that Patsy Corcoran would take the spot-kick and miss. The ultra-competitive Russell was not prepared to accept this and pushed Corcoran aside and took the penalty himself. This prompted a further pitch invasion by the Boca fans and this time the match was abandoned. Following the signature of former

international Fred Titmuss from

Southampton Southampton () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire, S ...

in 1926, Russell switched from left back to right back. By the 1929–30 season, Russell (now aged 41) had lost his regular place in the Argyle side to

Harry Bland William Henry Bland (12 January 1898 – after 1934) was an English professional footballer who made 130 appearances in the Football League playing for Plymouth Argyle and Cardiff City. He played as a defender. Bland was born in Leeds. He se ...

and made only seven appearances in the side that won the Division Three South title. In the summer of 1930 he was transferred to Thames A.F.C. who had just been elected to the Third Division South, at the expense of Russell's former club, Merthyr Town.

International career

Having made the first three of his international appearances before the

whilst with

, Russell became a permanent fixture in the

team during the early 1920s, missing only one international match between 1920 and 1925. In the

1920 British Home Championship Nineteen or 19 may refer to: * 19 (number), the natural number following 18 and preceding 20 * one of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019 Films * ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film * ''Nineteen'' (film), a 1987 science fiction film Music ...

, Wales drew with Scotland and Ireland, but a 2–1 victory over

Highbury Highbury is a district in North London and part of the London Borough of Islington in Greater London that was owned by Ranulf brother of Ilger and included all the areas north and east of Canonbury and Holloway Roads. The manor house was situ ...

on 15 March 1920 gave them only their second

British Home Championship The British Home Championship * sco, Hame Internaitional Kemp * gd, Farpais lìg eadar-nàiseanta * cy, Pencampwriaeth y Pedair Gwlad, name=lang (historically known as the British International Championship or simply the International Champio ...

title. Scotland took the championship in each of the next three years, but in

1924 Events January * January 12 – Gopinath Saha shoots Ernest Day, whom he has mistaken for Sir Charles Tegart, the police commissioner of Calcutta, and is arrested soon after. * January 20– 30 – Kuomintang in China h ...

, Wales claimed the "Triple Crown". After victories over Scotland and England, Wales met

Windsor Park Windsor Park is a football stadium in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It is the home ground of Linfield F.C. who own the land the stadium is built on, while the Irish Football Association own and operate the stadium and pay Linfield an annual re ...

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingd ...

on 15 March with the Irish needing a victory to claim a share of the title. In a hard-fought match, Russell converted the penalty which gave Wales the victory by a 1–0 margin. Russell continued to turn out for Wales over the next few years, helping them to claim a fourth championship in 1927–28 before making his final appearance, aged 40, on 17 November 1928 in a 2–3 defeat by England. His 20 international appearances during his Plymouth Argyle career, made him Argyle's most-capped player, a record he held until Tony Capaldi made his 21st appearance for

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label=Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. North ...

(against Wales) on 6 February 2007. Although Russell made no further full international appearances, he accompanied a Welsh party that toured Canada in 1929. In a match at

Hamilton, Ontario Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Hamilton has a population of 569,353, and its census metropolitan area, which includes Burlington and Grimsby, has a population of 785,184. The city is approximately southwest of ...

, play was getting a "little rough" when Russell fouled one of the Hamilton players, George Chambers. This precipitated a pitch invasion by the Hamilton supporters who surrounded Russell, who ended up leaving the pitch on a stretcher. Some reports claim that during the altercation, one of the spectators threatened Russell with a pistol.

Later career

After one season at Thames, in which he made 13 appearances, Russell returned to Wales to spend a brief period at

Llanelli Llanelli ("St Elli's llan (placename element), Parish"; ) is a market town and the largest community in Carmarthenshire and the Preserved counties of Wales, preserved county of Dyfed, Wales. It is located on the Loughor estuary north-west of ...

before retiring. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, Russell joined the Territorial Army; after the war, he worked at the Royal Propellant Factory at

Chepstow Chepstow ( cy, Cas-gwent) is a town and community in Monmouthshire, Wales, adjoining the border with Gloucestershire, England. It is located on the tidal River Wye, about above its confluence with the River Severn, and adjoining the wester ...

, where he died in December 1946.

International appearances

Russell made 23 appearances for Wales in international matches, as follows:

Honours

;

* South Wales & Monmouthshire FA Cup: 1912 ;

1920 Events January * January 1 ** Polish–Soviet War in 1920: The Russian Red Army increases its troops along the Polish border from 4 divisions to 20. ** Kauniainen, completely surrounded by the city of Espoo, secedes from Espoo as its own m ...

and

1928 Events January * January – British bacteriologist Frederick Griffith reports the results of Griffith's experiment, indirectly proving the existence of DNA. * January 1 – Eastern Bloc emigration and defection: Boris Bazhano ...

References

External links

Plymouth Argyle career details Plymouth Argyle career detailsArticle about medal awarded to Russell in 1912Reverse view of 1912 medalArticle about medal awarded to Russell following tour of Canada in 1929Reverse view of 1929 medal
{{DEFAULTSORT:Russell, Moses 1888 births 1946 deaths Sportspeople from Tredegar Welsh footballers Wales international footballers Ton Pentre F.C. players Southport F.C. players Merthyr Town F.C. players Plymouth Argyle F.C. players Thames A.F.C. players Llanelli Town A.F.C. players English Football League players Southern Football League players British Army personnel of World War I British Army personnel of World War II Association football defenders Royal Army Service Corps soldiers