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Digging up ancestors' playing days
Genealogy is all the rage at the moment, boosted by the TV series 'Who Do You Think You Are?'
People are increasingly keen to research their ancestors and of course it's a bonus if one of them turns out to have been even a little famous.
The celebrities featured on the series, like Meera Syal and Bill Oddie, had particularly interesting backgrounds but I think anyone can be surprised by what a little digging turns up.
Football has obviously been a source of some fame for many young men and not a few women. Furthermore, the media coverage it has always received creates numerous avenues of inquiry.
The National Football Museum attracts several hundred requests for information every year and the biggest segment, about 30%, is family-related.
I thought it would be instructive to show how we go about meeting this demand, by giving a case study.
The player featured in this caricature is Jimmy Ashcroft, a top goalkeeper of the early 1900s. This is another in the fine series of drawings by cartoonist RIP. Colin Veitch of Newcastle was the subject of a previous column.
The question we are usually asked is: "Did my relative play for a particular club in the Football League?"
This is easy to establish, thanks to a couple of tremendous statistical books. Players' League records from 1888-1939 are listed in one, by Michael Joyce, and the post-World War Two period has been covered by Barry Hugman.
The primary source for both these works is the Football League archive itself. Fortunately, the original ledgers for match results and player appearances are stored here, so everything can be double-checked. There can also be additional information in the ledgers, such as registration dates.
Quite quickly, then, I can establish that Jimmy Ashcroft had a good career, with 273 games for Woolwich Arsenal between 1900 and 1908, followed by 114 for Blackburn Rovers up to 1912.
He also won three England caps.
The Rothman's Yearbooks list all international appearances, so I find that he played against Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland in the 1906/7 season. He was the first Arsenal player ever to play for England.
These are the bare bones. But it's great to find a bit more 'colour'.
By picking over the many books, annuals and items of ephemera in our collections, we can often turn up quotations or references to a player's qualities. There might be a match report in which our subject is mentioned. The Museum's skilled volunteer, Peter Holme, is particularly adept at turning up these nuggets.
Ashcroft was born in Liverpool in 1878 and in his prime was a solid 12 stone for his 5 ft 10in height. His other, non-league clubs, included Anfield Recreation and Garston Copperworks on Merseyside and Gravesend United and Sheppey in Kent.
Sadly, in 1913, he was forced to take out an advert in 'The Athletic News': "J Ashcroft, goalkeeper, Blackburn Rovers, open for engagement; free transfer - Willaston Road, Walton, Liverpool."
Finally, we do try to find a picture. Once a player's dates and clubs are established, you can search for team photos that fit the facts.
Very often, our enquirers have no idea what their relative looked like. In the case of Jimmy Ashcroft, we at least have this fine caricature, complete with flat cap.
By Hugh Hornby, Mueseum Curator
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Friday 25 May 2012
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