Vincent Weston (October 1855 – 12 December 1937) was an English

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 rower from the late 19th century who won 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 ...

in 1880 as a half-back for

Clapham Rovers Clapham Rovers was from its foundation in 1869 a leading English sports organisation in the two dominant codes of football, association football and rugby union. It was a prominent club in the late 19th century but is now defunct. The club play ...

Early life

Weston was born in Kingston-upon-Thames, London, in October 1855, the fifth son of John Weston (1817–1887) and his wife Augusta Ellen née Wood (1817–1891). His father was a merchant and financial agent.

Rowing

Vincent and his four brothers, including fellow footballer Percy, were members of the

London Rowing Club London Rowing Club (LRC, or colloquially, 'London') is the second-oldest of the non-academic active rowing clubs on the Thames in London, United Kingdom. It was founded in 1856 by members of the long-disbanded Argonauts Club wishing to compete ...

; being small in stature, they made perfect coxes, and "Little" Vincent was competing internationally before he was a teenager. His greatest honour as a cox was steering a London RC foursome to victory in the

Stewards' Challenge Cup The Stewards' Challenge Cup is a rowing event for men's coxless fours at the annual Henley Royal Regatta on the River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through ...

Henley Henley may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Henley, Dorset, a location * Henley, Gloucestershire, a location *Henley-on-Thames, a town in South Oxfordshire, England **Henley (UK Parliament constituency) ** Henley Rural District, a former rural ...

four times between 1868 and 1872.

Football

Weston's first appearance on the football field was for

Barnes Barnes may refer to: People *Barnes (name), a family name and a given name (includes lists of people with that name) Places United Kingdom * Barnes, London, England ** Barnes railway station **Barnes Bridge railway station ** Barnes High Stree ...

- a football club associated with a rowing club - alongside two of his brothers in October 1871, against

Westminster School Westminster School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Westminster, London, England, in the precincts of Westminster Abbey. It descends from a charity school founded by Westminster Benedictines before the Norman Conquest, as do ...

. The following month he played for Barnes against the

Civil Service The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil service personnel hired rather than elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leadership. A civil service offic ...

in the first round of the first FA Cup. He played 11 more times for Barnes in the FA Cup from 1872–73 to 1878–79, usually as a half-back, including in Barnes' surprise draw with Wanderers in 1877–78, being "especially notable for his accurate kicking". For the

1879–80 FA Cup The 1879–80 Football Association Challenge Cup was the ninth staging of the FA Cup, England's oldest football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to sco ...

he switched allegiance to

, and his first match in the competition for his new club was a 7–0 win over

Romford Romford is a large List of places in London, town in east London, east London, England, located northeast of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Havering, the town is one of the major Metropolitan centres of London, metropolitan centr ...

, Weston being picked out for his conspicuous play. He played in every round, and in the final (against

Oxford University The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...

) Weston - who "played admirably" - made a key defensive clearance when the match was still scoreless. He continued to play for Rovers in the following year's competition, becoming something of a dead-ball specialist, tasked with corners and free-kicks. His final game in the competition came in a defeat to the

Old Etonians This is a list of notable former pupils of Eton College, a 13–18 public fee-charging and boarding secondary school for boys in Eton, Berkshire, England. Former pupils of the school are known as Old Etonians. Former pupils Politics *Robert ...

in a first-round replay in 1881–82. His last recorded football appearance was captaining the

Stock Exchange A stock exchange, securities exchange, or bourse is an exchange where stockbrokers and traders can buy and sell securities, such as shares of stock, bonds and other financial instruments. Stock exchanges may also provide facilities for ...

side against

Lloyd's of London Lloyd's of London, generally known simply as Lloyd's, is a insurance and reinsurance market located in London, England. Unlike most of its competitors in the industry, it is not an insurance company; rather, Lloyd's is a corporate body gover ...

in their annual match in 1882; his former Clapham Rovers team-mate Robert Ogilvie captained the opposition. Although he never picked up an International cap, he did represent the

Football Association A football association, also known as a football federation, soccer federation, or soccer association, is a governing body for association football. Many of them are members of the sport's regional bodies such as UEFA and CONMEBOL and the world gov ...

several times in representative matches in 1879–80.

Later life

Weston became a stock dealer, in partnership with his nephew Spencer Weston. He married Edith Fanny Clara Colnaghi, who pre-deceased him, in early 1911. Weston died in Shanklin on the Isle of Wight in December 1937, leaving assets of £422 2/- to Alan Tremlett, another

member.

Honours

Clapham Rovers *

winner:

1880 Events January *January 27 – Thomas Edison is granted a patent for the incandescent light bulb. Edison filed for a US patent for an electric lamp using "a carbon filament or strip coiled and connected ... to platina contact wires." gr ...

Bibliography

* *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Weston, Vincent 1855 births Footballers from the London Borough of Lambeth People from Streatham 1937 deaths People educated at Westminster School, London English men's footballers Clapham Rovers F.C. players English stockbrokers Men's association football midfielders English male rowers British male rowers