Story of 19th century English footballer, Fred Spiksley, has EARLY DAYS OF a Celtic connection

 

Story of 19th century English footballer, Fred Spiksley, has EARLY DAYS OF a Celtic connection

THE BEAUTIFUL GAME

Reproduced from the Celtic View 2017

 

THE 19th century saw the birth of association football, a sport that was often a chaotic mixture of professional and amateur organisation. Those who played the game in those early years were the pioneers of something that is now played and watched in all corners of the globe, providing unimaginable riches to those who play at the highest level.

Celtic, of course, were formed back in those early days, formed just over 130 years ago, on November 6, 1887, and in recent years, the Celtic Graves Society have sought to remember and properly honour the early Celts, from the Founding Fathers to those who first played for the team.

Indeed, their next event takes place at St Kentigern’s Cemetery, Lambhill, Glasgow, on Saturday, December 2 (12noon) to mark the final resting place of Alec Collins, one of those early Celts.

Earlier this year, the Graves Society travelled further afield, joining forces with supporters of Slavia Prague for a ceremony at the graveside of Johnny Madden in the Czech Republic capital.

Madden had played in Celtic’s first ever game – the 5-2 win over Rangers on May 28,1888 – while he was part of the first Celtic team to win the Scottish League (1893).

He later became known as ‘the father of Czech football’ following his years coaching with Slavia. And he appears in a new book which celebrates the colourful life of Fred Spiksley, a celebrated footballer in England during that time, though the story of his life is one which has long been forgotten until now.

 Flying Over An Olive Grove by Mark Metcalf and Clive & Ralph Nicholson (both relatives of Fred Spiksley), has brought Spiksley’s story to life.

An FA Cup winner with Sheffield Wednesday, he hit a hat-trick for England against Scotland, while he was also chased along the touchline by the future Queen of Britain, shared a stage with Charlie Chaplin and escaped from a German prison in 1914… and that’s just the information provided in the dust jacket!

Fred Spiksley crossed paths with Johnny Madden when they both played together for Gainsborough Trinity in 1887, prior to Madden joining the Celts.

Madden had already established himself as a player of note, playing and scoring for Dumbarton in their 1887 Scottish Cup final defeat to Hibernian, a result which helped precipitate Celtic’s formation.

The seeds of his future career as a coach were sown at Gainsborough, who had given him this title when they brought him to the club as a way of circumventing the rules governing the signing of professional players at the time. However, Madden took the role, and that of player, seriously, and Fred Spiksley and his team-mates were to benefit from that attitude and experience.

Spiksley later said of the early Celt: “There’s no doubt I owe a great debt to Madden as I was placed under his guiding influence, and he became my coach, mentor and friend.

 “On being introduced to senior football, there is no doubt that for their future success and welfare, young players greatly need the steadying influence of an experienced and talented player close at hand. His advice, if followed, will go a long way towards bringing out any ability that young players may possess.

” The story of Fred Spiksley is an entertaining and informative one for any football fan interested in the early years of the beautiful game, brought to the current generation of supporters with family pride by his ancestors.