Frank Albert Mather
Frank Mather arranged the match, played on 19th December 1857, which saw the formation of Liverpool Football Club, and was Secretary.
Mather had written to his old school friend Richard Sykes, a Manchester boy who by then was captain of football at Rugby, inviting him to take part in a game of football in Liverpool over the Christmas holiday. At Rugby Mather, nicknamed ‘Dark Joe’, was in the same house as Sykes though a year older.
The game was played on the ground of Liverpool Cricket Club*, located then at Edge Hill on the boundary of Liverpool and Wavertree. Some fifty players took part, including Mather’s younger brother Stanley, who was only in his second term at Rugby, and probably the youngest player engaged at the age of fifteen.
There was a distinguished audience of Liverpool’s leading figures, including members of the family of W E Gladstone (four times British Prime Minister).
After leaving Rugby Mather went up to Trinity, Cambridge; and after a few years in business was ordained in the Church of England. He died in 1922.
Special mention must be made of Richard Sykes who has a prominent place in the early history of rugby football. He was a founder member of the Manchester club in 1860, thereby giving Liverpool its first known opponent and establishing the oldest continuing ‘open’ club fixture in the game.
Frank Mather arranged the match, played on 19th December 1857, which saw the formation of Liverpool Football Club, and was Secretary.
Mather had written to his old school friend Richard Sykes, a Manchester boy who by then was captain of football at Rugby, inviting him to take part in a game of football in Liverpool over the Christmas holiday. At Rugby Mather, nicknamed ‘Dark Joe’, was in the same house as Sykes though a year older.
The game was played on the ground of Liverpool Cricket Club*, located then at Edge Hill on the boundary of Liverpool and Wavertree. Some fifty players took part, including Mather’s younger brother Stanley, who was only in his second term at Rugby, and probably the youngest player engaged at the age of fifteen.
There was a distinguished audience of Liverpool’s leading figures, including members of the family of W E Gladstone (four times British Prime Minister).
After leaving Rugby Mather went up to Trinity, Cambridge; and after a few years in business was ordained in the Church of England. He died in 1922.
Special mention must be made of Richard Sykes who has a prominent place in the early history of rugby football. He was a founder member of the Manchester club in 1860, thereby giving Liverpool its first known opponent and establishing the oldest continuing ‘open’ club fixture in the game.
* Liverpool Cricket Club, now located at Aigburth (a County ground) is even older than the rugby club, having been founded in 1807.
F A Mather in later life
