Robert Walpole Sealy Vidal, who from 1892 was Robert Walpole Sealy (3 September 1853 – 5 November 1914) was an English 19th century footballer who featured in the first three

FA Cup Final The FA Cup Final is the last match in the FA Cup, Football Association Challenge Cup. It has regularly been one of the List of sports attendance figures, most attended domestic football events in the world, with an official attendance of 89,472 ...

s for two different clubs. In March 1870 he played in the first ever international football match, which took place at

Kennington Oval Kennington is a district in south London, England. It is mainly within the London Borough of Lambeth, running along the boundary with the London Borough of Southwark, a boundary which can be discerned from the early medieval period between th ...

, London. He represented England again in 1871.

Early life

Vidal was born at Cornborough House,

Abbotsham Abbotsham (pronounced Abbotsham) is a village and civil parish in the English county of Devon. In 2001 its population was 434 increasing at the 2011 census to 489. Amenities Abbotsham no longer has a Post Office and General Store but remai ...

near

Bideford Bideford ( ) is a historic port town on the estuary of the River Torridge in north Devon, South West England. It is the main town of the Torridge District, Torridge Districts of England, local government district. Toponymy In ancient records Bi ...

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

, England, and educated at

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 ...

, being Captain of School and of the School's football and cricket XIs when he left in 1872. He entered

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church (, the temple or house, ''wikt:aedes, ædes'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by Henry V ...

where he graduated as

B.A. A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree ...

in 1876 and

M.A. A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

in 1879.

Football career

Vidal was well known as the "prince of dribblers". In those days, the rule was that the team that scored also kicked off afterwards. On one occasion this rule allowed Vidal to score three goals in a match without the other team touching the ball. He played in the first three FA Cup Finals, of

1872 Events January * January 12 – Yohannes IV is crowned Emperor of Ethiopia in Axum, the first ruler crowned in that city in over 500 years. *January 20 – The Cavite mutiny was an uprising of Filipino military personnel of Fort S ...

1873 Events January * January 1 ** Japan adopts the Gregorian calendar. ** The California Penal Code goes into effect. * January 17 – American Indian Wars: Modoc War: First Battle of the Stronghold – Modoc Indians defeat the Unit ...

and

1874 Events January * January 1 – New York City annexes The Bronx. * January 2 – Ignacio María González becomes head of state of the Dominican Republic for the first time. * January 3 – Third Carlist War: Battle of Caspe &n ...

. He was a member of the

Wanderers F.C. Wanderers Football Club was an English association football club. It was founded as "Forest Football Club" in 1859 in Leytonstone. In 1864, it changed its name to "Wanderers", a reference to it never having a home stadium, instead playing at ...

team when they won the first ever

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 ...

. It is said that he assisted the first FA Cup Final goal when at 15 minutes Vidal broke away and looped the ball across to

Morton Betts Morton Peto Betts (30 August 1847 – 19 April 1914) was a leading English sportsman of the late 19th century. He was notable for scoring the first goal in an English FA Cup Finals, FA Cup final. Early life Betts was the son of Edward Betts of ...

, who shot between the posts. At 18 years 195 days he was the youngest ever player in a Cup Final until surpassed by 17 years old

James F. M. Prinsep James Frederick McLeod Prinsep (27 July 1861 – 22 November 1895) was an English footballer who held two 'youngest player' records for almost 125 years, before they were both broken within the space of just over a year. He made his debut (and o ...

in 1879 (also the only winning player still at school on Cup Final day). The following year, Vidal had moved to

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

. His team reached the

Final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...

, held on 29 March 1873 at

Lillie Bridge The Lillie Bridge Grounds was a sports ground on the Fulham side of West Brompton, London. It opened in 1866, coinciding with the opening of West Brompton station. It was named after the local landowner, Sir John Scott Lillie (1790–1868) and ...

, where they faced Vidal's old side, the Wanderers. However, Oxford could not penetrate the defences and Wanderers won 2–0. In the next season, Oxford again qualified for the final, this time to face the

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is the engineering arm of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces ...

at Kennington Oval on 14 March 1874. Vidal played again, setting up

Charles Mackarness Charles Coleridge Mackarness (22 July 1850 – 1 March 1918) was the Archdeacon of the East Riding between 1898 and 1916. In his youth, he had been a keen amateur sportsman and played twice in the FA Cup Final for Oxford University A.F.C., Oxford ...

's goal as Oxford University romped with a 2–0 victory. Vidal became the only person to have played in all three of the first FA Cup Finals. However, he never played in a final again. The University side reached the semi-finals in the next year, 1875, but the Engineers exacted their revenge by winning 1–0. He only received one cap 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 ...

. His cap came in the second official international football match, against

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

on 8 March 1873 which England won 4–2. Vidal also played for the Gitanos,

Old Westminsters The following people were educated at Westminster School in London, and are sometimes listed with OW (Old Westminster) after their name (collectively, OWW). There are over 900 Old Westminsters listed in the ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biogra ...

, and Remnants football clubs and in representative matches for London and The South v The North. He was a member 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 ...

committee in 1872 and 1874.

Other sports

Vidal was an Oxford University

rugby football Rugby football is the collective name for the team sports of rugby union or rugby league. Rugby football started at Rugby School in Rugby, Warwickshire, England, where the rules were first codified in 1845. Forms of football in which the ball ...

Blue in 1873, and was a good oarsman. He also played county

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 ...

for Devon and club cricket for North Devon. He was founder President of Oxford University Golf Club and in later life President of the

Royal North Devon Golf Club Royal North Devon Golf Club, commonly abbreviated as RND, was founded in 1864, and is the oldest golf course in England. The course was designed by Scottish golfer Old Tom Morris. Geography RND is located on Northam Burrows between Northam a ...

(also known as Westward Ho!).

Ecclesiastical career

Vidal studied for the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

priesthood at

Cuddesdon Theological College Ripon College Cuddesdon (RCC) is a Church of England theological college in Cuddesdon, a village outside Oxford, England. The College trains men and women for ministry in the Church of England: stipendiary, non-stipendiary, local ordained and ...

near Oxford, becoming ordained in 1877. He was Curate of St Edmund's,

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 ...

1877–1879; Vice-Principal of

Ely Theological College Ely Theological College was a college in Ely, Cambridgeshire, for training clergy in the Church of England. Founded in 1876 by James Woodford, Anglican Bishop of Ely, the college had a strong Anglo-Catholic tradition. Ely's "ritualistic" ( ...

1879–1881; Curate of Holy Trinity, Ely, 1880–81; and ultimately Vicar of Abbotsham, his native parish, from 1881 until his death. Later in his life he was Rural Dean of Hartland in the area his parish stood, and shortly before his death, which followed major breakdown in health, was made Prebendary of

Exeter Cathedral Exeter Cathedral, properly known as the Cathedral Church of Saint Peter in Exeter, is an Anglican cathedral, and the seat of the Bishop of Exeter, in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Exeter, Devon, in South West England. The presen ...

. He was buried in Abbotsham Churchyard. He was also very active in local public affairs in Devon, as chairman of Abbotsham Parish Council, member of Bideford

Rural District Council A rural district was a type of local government area – now superseded – established at the end of the 19th century in England, Wales, and Ireland for the administration of predominantly rural areas at a level lower than that of the adm ...

, vice-chairman of Bideford

Board of Guardians Boards of guardians were ''ad hoc'' authorities that administered Poor Law in the United Kingdom from 1835 to 1930. England and Wales Boards of guardians were created by the Poor Law Amendment Act 1834, replacing the parish overseers of the po ...

, member of Devon County Education Committee and a local Commissioner for Income Tax.

Change of surname

On 26 May 1892, Vidal changed his surname back to his family's original name of Sealy, renouncing the surname of Vidal, which his father has assumed following his succession to ownership of the Cornborough estate.

Titles

1853–1877: Mr. Robert Walpole Sealy Vidal 1877–1892: Reverend Robert Walpole Sealy Vidal 1892–1914: Reverend Robert Walpole Sealy 1914: Reverend Prebendary Robert Walpole Sealy

Honours

Wanderers *

Oxford University * FA Cup:

; runner-up

References

External links

Biography on the Oxford University Association Football Club web site
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Vidal, Walpole 1853 births 1914 deaths Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford Men's association football forwards England men's international footballers England men's representative footballers (1870–1872) English men's footballers Staff of Ely Theological College People educated at Westminster School, London Sportspeople from Bideford Wanderers F.C. players Gitanos F.C. players