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Auction: 26063 - Where History Meets Passion - SPINK x BUDDS Live Auction
Lot: 101

Sir Charles Clegg three Victorian silver athletic goblets, one inscribed Huddersfield Athletic Club Annual Festival 1869, The Members Cup Presented by E.A Leatham Esq, J.P. For The Borough, Quarter Mile Flat Race, First Prize, Won By J.C. Clegg, London 1868, 18cm high, another inscribed June 6th 1870, FLAT RACE ¼ Mile First Prize Won By J.C. CLEGG, by George Fisher, London, 1869, 16cm high and the third, Notts Football Club May 25th 1871 1st PRIZE, 100 Yards Flat Race Open, Won By J.C. Clegg, Time 10.¼ seconds, by Hirons, Plante & Co, Birmingham 1870, 15.5cm high (3) Charles Clegg who died 26th June 1937 at the age of 87 became known as "the great old man of football" and at the time of his death had served the Football Association for over 51 years. A Sheffield Wednesday Director and President he played for Wednesday and Sheffield F.C. and had the honour on one occasion of playing for England in the first international with Scotland in 1872. It was a bitter experience. Clegg scarcely got a kick and became convinced that his mostly old school and varsity teammates were deliberately not passing to him: as he recalled, ‘Some members of the England eleven were awful snobs and not much troubled about a “Man from' Sheffield” (J. A. H. Catton, Wickets and Goals, 1926, 171). Charles Clegg also refereed international matches and was the referee for the 1882 F.A. Cup Final between Old Etonians and Blackburn Rovers at Kennington Oval, the Old Etonians winning 1-0 and the 1892 F.A.Cup Final between West Bromwich Albion and Aston Villa, West Bromwich defeating Aston Villa 3-0. He was also a gifted athlete and the number of gold and silver awards included in the sale of his collection will attest. He also instrumental in the foundation of Sheffield United F.C. (1889) and was to serve at various times as both Chairman and President of the club. In 1890 he was elected Chairman of the F.A.Charles took after his father William and was a militant tee-totaller and non-smoker as well as a person of fierce religious convictions. It has been said that "under Clegg, the Sheffield Wednesday board took a dim view of any player whose drinking or visits to pubs were deemed inappropriate, and there was a pretty restricted view of what was appropriate...." and Farnsworth in his previously mentioned book notes Clegg's frequently quoted maxim of "nobody ever gets lost on a straight road"Farnsworth also notes that Charles Clegg was a fierce opponent of professionalism in football. He had a great fear that the game would be destroyed and corrupted by the introduction of elements who sought to exploit football for their own financial gain. (an interesting point especially given the recent developments in British football). He also believed that the game should and must be administered by amateurs who must ensure that the running of the game is impartial and above board. Above all the persons who administer the game must be seen as fit and proper persons who are in effect trustees of the game - they must retain the confidence of the public in all their dealings.   In 1923, Clegg was elected as F.A. president. Still president of the S.H.F.A. and on the Sheffield United and Wednesday boards, his attendance at committee meetings became more sporadic. He was in his seventies. He was bowed by personal tragedies. His eldest son, William, who had joined the family law firm, died in 1927. Clegg himself seems to have had a stroke the same year. His younger son Colin died in 1929. His wife's death in 1933 was a particularly severe blow. But despite these setbacks he retained a massive moral influence over the game. He was knighted in 1927 for ‘services to the Board of Trade and the Ministry of Labour’. This could have been for work with local youth and employment committees: most assumed that Baldwin had recommended football's first knighthood.The following lots 101 to 123 were presented to “The Great Old Man Of Football”, All-Round Sportsman, President and Chairman of the Football Association who played a pivotal role in the game of football in Sheffield

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Estimate
£400 to £600

Starting price
£320