Sidney William Cavendish (28 February 1876 – 20 July 1954) 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 played at

inside-forward 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 ...

for various clubs around the turn of the 20th century.

Football career

Cavendish was born in

Burton-on-Trent Burton upon Trent, also known as Burton-on-Trent or simply Burton, is a market town in the borough of East Staffordshire in the county of Staffordshire, England, close to the border with Derbyshire. At the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 censu ...

and started his football career playing for nearby Overseal Town. In May 1898, he was spotted by a scout from Southern League champions,

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

and he moved to the south coast, together with his teammate,

goalkeeper In many team sports that involve scoring goal (sport), goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie, or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or i ...

John Joyce John Joyce or Johnny Joyce may refer to: * John Joyce (New Zealand politician) (1839–1899), New Zealand Member of Parliament (MP) * John Joyce (American politician) (born 1957), United States Representative * John Joye or Joyce, MP * Jack Joyce ...

. Cavendish spent his first season at The Dell in the reserves, scoring 22 goals. His first-team debut came on 6 January 1900, when he took the place of the former

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 ...

international Harry Wood at

inside-left In the sport of association football, a forward (attacker or striker) is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position which primarily plays further up the pitch than Midfielder, midfielders and Defender (association football), d ...

for the visit of Gravesend United. The "Saints" celebrated the start of the new century in style, with Cavendish scoring in a memorable 8–0 victory. Cavendish played in the next two matches (at

centre-forward In the sport of association football, a forward (attacker or striker) is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position which primarily plays further up the pitch than Midfielder, midfielders and Defender (association football), d ...

and

centre-half In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...

respectively), before returning to the reserves. Described as "''a gentlemanly player, often winning esteem and respect from many of his opponents''", Cavendish made only one appearance in the 1900–01 season, followed by five appearances in 1901–02. In the 1902

close-season In an organized sports league, a typical season is the portion of one year in which regulated games of the sport are in session: for example, in Major League Baseball the season lasts approximately from the last week of March to the last week of S ...

, Cavendish dropped into the

Hampshire League The Hampshire League was a football league in Hampshire, England. During its heyday its constitution consisted of four divisions with over 60 clubs taking part - this included a vast number of semi-professional teams and Reserve/’A’ sides o ...

with

Freemantle Freemantle is a suburb and electoral ward in Southampton, England. There are similarly named places in Hampshire: notably Henry II's hunting lodge in Kingsclere; an area near Hannington; and Freemantle Common in Bitterne. These were former ...

before moving in 1904 to the East End of London with

Clapton Orient Leyton Orient Football Club, commonly referred to as Orient, is a professional association football club based in Leyton, Waltham Forest, London, England. The team compete in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. ...

. After a year in the Southern League Second Division when they finished in eighth position, Clapton Orient applied for election to the Football League and were successful, taking their place in

Football League Division Two 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 tier ...

. Cavendish made no

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...

appearances for Orient, although he did make one appearance in the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

Clapton Orient

Cavendish made 21 Southern League appearances in 1904–05 with 14 goals, and 19 appearances with 12 goals for the reserve side in the London League. He also made three appearances in the FA Cup, without scoring, including in Orient's very first match in the famous FA Cup competition, home to Enfield on 17 September 1904, a 4–1 victory. The following season, with Orient now in the Second Division of the Football League, he only played for the reserve side but did make one appearance in the FA Cup on 7 October 1905 at Felstead, a 1–-1 draw before 250 spectators.Neilson N. Kaufman, club historian- Leyton Orient F.C. In the summer of 1906, Cavendish moved to

Salisbury, Wiltshire Salisbury ( , ) is a cathedral city and civil parish in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers Avon, Nadder and Bourne. The city is approximately from Southampton and from Bath. Salisbury is in ...

and joined Salisbury City, firstly as a player and later as a trainer, remaining with the City side into the late 1920s.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cavendish, Sid 1876 births 1954 deaths Footballers from Burton upon Trent English men's footballers Men's association football forwards Southampton F.C. players Freemantle F.C. players Leyton Orient F.C. players Salisbury City F.C. (1905) players Southern Football League players