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Edgar Alfred Croker (13 February 1924 – 25 December 1992) was an English
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
player and administrator. He was Secretary of
the Football Association The Football Association (the FA) is the Sports governing body, governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Bailiwick of Guernsey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the oldest footb ...
from 1973 to 1989.


Life and career

Born in
Kingston-upon-Thames Kingston upon Thames, colloquially known as Kingston, is a town in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, south-west London, England. It is situated on the River Thames, south-west of Charing Cross. It is an ancient market town, notable as ...
in 1924, Croker joined the RAF as a pilot in 1942. He sustained injuries in a crash which hampered his later football career. In the late 1940s and 1950s he played as a defender for Charlton Athletic,
Dartford Dartford is the principal town in the Borough of Dartford, Kent, England. It is located south-east of Central London and is situated adjacent to the London Borough of Bexley to its west. To its north, across the Thames Estuary, is Thurrock in ...
, Headington United (later
Oxford United Oxford United Football Club () is a professional association football, football club based in Oxford, England. The club compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football league system, English football. Founded as Headingto ...
) and Kidderminster Harriers. He lived in
Cheltenham Cheltenham () is a historic spa town and borough adjacent to the Cotswolds in Gloucestershire, England. Cheltenham became known as a health and holiday spa town resort following the discovery of mineral springs in 1716, and claims to be the mo ...
in the 1950s, where he founded the heavy machinery company Liner-Croker Ltd. The company, specializing in earth-moving equipment, grew successfully throughout the 1960s. He sold the company in 1973.
The Football Association The Football Association (the FA) is the Sports governing body, governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Bailiwick of Guernsey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the oldest footb ...
, anxious to improve the commercial aspects of football, appointed him secretary in 1973 to succeed the retiring
Denis Follows Sir Denis Follows, CBE (13 April 1908 – 17 September 1983) was a British sports administrator. Between 1962 and 1973 he was Secretary of the Football Association (FA) and from 1977 was Chairman of the British Olympic Association. During his ...
. The position was effectively that of chief executive, overseeing the day-to-day running of the FA. In 1974, he proposed the current format for the Charity Shield, with the match to be played between the champions of the top division of the
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 ...
(now the
Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...
), and
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 ...
winners (or first and second in the League if one team wins both) at
Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium, currently branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE Limited, EE for sponsorship reasons, is an association football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Sta ...
, as an introduction to each new football season. Much of his time at the FA was dogged by problems. The
Heysel Stadium Disaster The Heysel Stadium disaster ( ; ; ) was a crowd disaster on 29 May 1985, when Juventus fans were escaping from an attack by Liverpool fans while they were pressed against a wall in the Heysel Stadium in Brussels, Belgium, before the start of ...
and the demise of the
Home International Championship The British Home Championship (historically known as the British International Championship or simply the International Championship) was an annual football competition contested between the United Kingdom's four national teams: England, Scotlan ...
both occurred during his period of leadership. In 1987, Croker became president of
Cheltenham Town Cheltenham Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England. The team competes in EFL League Two, the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded in 1887, ...
, a post that he occupied until his death.† He was appointed
Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...
(CBE) in the 1989 Birthday Honours. Towards the end of his career Croker suffered from ill-health. He retired from the Football Association in February 1989, to be succeeded by Graham Kelly, who assumed the role of chief executive, rather than secretary. Croker died at the age of 68 on Christmas Day in 1992. His grandson, Eric Dier, is a professional footballer, who plays as a defender for
Bayern Munich Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V. (FCB, ), commonly known as Bayern Munich (), FC Bayern () or simply Bayern, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. They are most known for their men's professional football team, ...
. His brother, Peter Croker, was also a professional footballer, playing for Charlton Athletic in the 1947 FA Cup Final.


References


Print

*''The First Voice You Will Hear Is...'', by Ted Croker, Collins 1987, *†Cheltenham Town programme versus Worcester City, January 1993


Internet


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Croker, Ted 1924 births 1992 deaths Military personnel from Surrey English men's footballers Footballers from the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames People from Kingston upon Thames Men's association football defenders Charlton Athletic F.C. players Kidderminster Harriers F.C. players Oxford United F.C. players Cheltenham Town F.C. Association football executives Commanders of the Order of the British Empire English aviators Royal Air Force officers Royal Air Force pilots of World War II English Football League players 20th-century English sportsmen