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From Partick with Love - the story of Jimmy Love and Fergie Suter, the first professional footballers

4/9/2016

51 Comments

 
Picture
Fergus Suter (lying in front) with the Darwen team which he captained in 1880
This article is based on a paper I presented this week to the British Society of Sports History conference in Edinburgh, and follows on from my previous blogs about the early relationship between Partick and Darwen football clubs.

In the autumn of 1878, two Scottish footballers moved to Lancashire.  James Love and Fergus Suter left Partick to join Darwen, where they became, almost certainly, the first professional players.
   That much is recorded in histories of the game. But what is not explained is why those particular men chose that particular moment to move between those particular clubs. In this paper I will demonstrate that it was not a random event, outlining the specific circumstances that led to Love and Suter exchanging a Glasgow suburb for an East Lancashire mill town, 200 miles away. And I will also, for the first time, reveal the identity of James Love.
   To begin with, however, some context. It is a challenge for historians to say definitively who the first professional football player was, as payments were made illicitly in various round-about ways, and nobody ever confessed. Some claim it was the Glaswegian JJ Lang, who went to Sheffield Wednesday in 1876, but he seems to have benefitted from a benevolent employer giving him time off, rather than taking any direct payment from the football club.
   To complicate matters, in fact many players moved across the border, in both directions, usually because of their work. To take just one example, the Smith brothers, Robert and James, had both been founders of Queen’s Park in 1867, and moved to London for work a couple of years later; both played for Scotland in the first international match of 1872, just a week after turning out for South Norwood in the FA Cup. But there is no question that they were amateurs.
   Cross-border connections such as these were crucial for the spread of association football. Queen's Park was first club from Scotland to undertake matches against English sides but it was not until New Year's Day 1876 that a second Scottish club fulfilled a match in England. That team was Partick, who travelled to face Darwen.
Picture
   It seems an unlikely pairing. Partick (nothing to do with Partick Thistle) had only been founded a few months earlier, and would never be one of the leading lights of Scottish football; no major trophies came their way and they provided no internationalists. Darwen, more formally Darwen Cricket and Football Club, had only just converted from rugby to association rules and played football as a winter pastime for cricketers.
   The explanation for the link lies with a footballer who crossed the border, going north. He was called William Kirkham (1854-1909), born and brought up in Darwen but who had gone to Partick for work - he was a colour mixer in the textile industry, a skilled job. While in Scotland he was a founding member of Partick football club in 1875, and when he returned south a couple of years later, he resumed playing for Darwen. Kirkham was the catalyst for inaugurating the relationship between Partick and Darwen, and it quickly developed, on and off the field. But there is much more to this than the personal link with William Kirkham, which was only the first piece in the jigsaw.
   That first match in 1876 launched a series of matches between the two clubs, which gave rise to further contacts in Lancashire as Partick also played Blackburn Rovers three times in 1878 and 1879, and later faced Turton and Bolton:
1 January 1876  Darwen 0 Partick 7
10 November 1877  Partick 5 Darwen 0
1 January 1878  Darwen 3 Partick 2
2 January 1878  Blackburn Rovers 2 Partick 1
9 November 1878  Partick 2 Blackburn Rovers 0
1 January 1879  Darwen 0 Partick 7
2 January 1879  Blackburn Rovers 2 Partick 4
1 January 1880  Turton 3 Partick 5
2 January 1880  Bolton & District 3 Partick 3
2 October 1880  Darwen 4 Partick 1

   Through these games, Partick became extraordinarily influential by supplying players for Lancashire football. They effectively acted as a 'shop window' for talented Scots who would become the earliest paid players in England. Have a closer look at the teams from 1 January 1878:

Darwen: J Booth, J Duxbury, A McWetherill, R Crookes, T Hindle, T Marshall, R Kirkham, J Knowles, J Lewis, T Bury, J Hayes.
Partick: E Suter, F Suter, A Stewart; R Love, A McGaw; J Love, J Keay, WH Kirkham, WG Struthers, W McLachlan and JN Boag.

 
Of the Partick players I have highlighted, five played for Darwen before the end of the decade – the Suter brothers Edward and Fergus, Jimmy Love, William Kirkham and William McLachlan – and for good measure William Struthers went to Bolton Wanderers, while John Boag later married a Bolton girl. In subsequent years several other Partick players also joined clubs in Lancashire.
   And among the Darwen players was Tommy Marshall, a future England football international who won numerous cash prizes as a champion sprinter on the professional athletics circuit, and Ralph Crookes, employed as the club's cricket professional.
   Clearly, Darwen was open-minded towards the morality of rewarding sporting talent with payment.  And crucially, the club also acquired the means: as early as March 1878 they played local rivals Turton and drew a gate of £18, which prompted the local press to remark that the Darwen committee 'were almost at a loss as to what to do with such an enormous sum'. The answer soon became apparent, especially as that £18 figure was soon dwarfed by gate receipts which reached well into three figures within the next couple of years.
   So, we come to the 1878/79 season, which was memorable for a number of reasons. Jimmy Love was first to arrive and a few weeks later Fergie Suter made his Darwen debut at full back. Their presence had a revolutionary effect as they were schooled in passing and combination play, which not only raised standards, it took Darwen to the FA Cup quarter final, the first northern team to reach that stage.
   They faced Old Etonians over three matches, all played in London, and the story is well known. In the first game, Old Etonians led 5-1 at half-time, but a whirlwind response levelled it at 5-5 including two goals from Love. The Etonians, fearing defeat if the match carried on, refused to play extra time. In the replay Darwen drew 2-2, and it was only at the third attempt that Old Etonians prevailed. A fortnight later they won the FA Cup itself.
   That cup run brought nationwide publicity for Darwen, especially as there was an element of mystique about Scots 'professors'. It was good box office, Darwen wanted more, and other clubs soon latched on.
   So, how did it come about? At the time there was no mention in the press whether Love and Suter were paid to pay football, but Suter was candid enough to admit it later in life, when interviewed about his career:
 
'On what plan were you paid in those days?' he was asked, responding: 'Well, we had no settled wage, but it was understood that we interviewed the treasurer as occasion arose. Possibly we should go three weeks without anything, and then ask for £10. We never had any difficulty.' [Lancashire Daily Post, 13 December 1902]

   This is as near as you can get to proof that Love and Suter were paid directly by the football club. And if the occasional tenner wasn't enough, at a time when a working wage was less than two pounds a week, Darwen played a benefit match for Love and Suter in April 1879.
   But the relationship was short-lived. While Suter spent the rest of his life in Lancashire, Love played his last game for Darwen in October 1879, just a year after his debut. He then turned out once for Blackburn Rovers, made an appearance for Haslingden in January 1880, and promptly disappeared. 
   So what happened to him? Who was James Love, a key figure in football history, probably the first man ever to receive payment for playing the game? He has never been identified until now. There was no mention of his background or his circumstances in the papers, while Keith Dewhurst, who recently wrote a book [Underdogs, 2012] about the Darwen team, wrongly identified him as a shipyard worker – but that man remained in Partick all his life and died in an accident at work in 1894. 
   Tracking him down was not easy. Years later, there were cryptic clues in press articles that he had been killed in the bombardment of Alexandria in 1882 – but Love was not listed among the few British casualties. Then, searching more widely, I found that a Corporal Love of the Royal Marines had died of illness in Egypt, a couple of months after the bombardment of Alexandria. This led me to a family notice in the Glasgow Herald:
 
At Ismailia, of enteric fever, on 27 September aged 24, Corporal James Love, Royal Marine Light Infantry, eldest son of James Love, late of Greenock. [Glasgow Herald, 9 October 1882]
 
Now, Greenock is a fair distance from Partick, but this seemed as good a lead as any. After a lot of painstaking research, piecing together his life story, I found sufficient evidence not only to confirm that this was indeed him, but also to shed light on his reasons for going to Darwen.
   James Love was born in Gushetfaulds Cottage in Glasgow in 1858, his father the manager of a coal depot attached to South Side railway station and goods yard. When he was nine, his father – also James Love – gave up this job to set up a contracting business, which included coal supply, street cleaning and disposal of horse manure. The family moved to Greenock then on to Glasgow and, to cut a long story short, in the summer of 1877 the business failed and the father was declared bankrupt.
   Meanwhile, James junior also set himself up as a street-cleaning contractor in Partick but before long he too got into financial difficulties and a horse dealer called in an unpaid debt.
   In October 1878, his two horses and his equipment, including a street-sweeping machine, were sold off at a public warrant sale. A couple of weeks later he was summoned to the Glasgow bankruptcy court but when he failed to show up, the court postponed the case for a month. On 21 November 1878, he again failed to appear, so Sheriff Walter Spens issued a warrant for his arrest. It was never served: James Love had run away from his debts. He had gone to Darwen.
   That escape route was open to him thanks to his skills as a footballer and his friendship with William Kirkham. Also, Love had already visited Lancashire with Partick at New Year 1878. Going straight into the Darwen team, he formed a right wing partnership with Tommy Marshall and soon there was a steady diet of goals, cup ties and an admiring public. He had an income from the football club and may also have done some odd jobs.
   But a year later, after this initial excitement, he dropped out of the Darwen team for reasons which are not clear. This left him in a quandary. The football income would have dried up. He had no job. He could not go home because of the arrest warrant hanging over him. So he took perhaps the only option open to a fit young man: he joined the army.
   To be precise, he signed up with the Royal Marines in Liverpool on 24 February 1880 and I found his attestation papers at the National Archives.
Picture
James Love's attestation papers on joining the Royal Marines in 1880 (National Archives)
They describe him as from Govan (Partick was in Govan parish), 5 feet 6 ½ inches tall, with a dark complexion, brown eyes and brown hair, giving his trade as a painter. His age is wrong, but that is nothing unusual in attestation papers.
   By the 1881 census he is at Chatham Barracks, having been promoted to Corporal. Then in the summer of 1882 the Marines were called into action and embarked for Egypt, where the British were putting down a nationalist uprising by Ahmed Urabi. His forces had occupied Alexandria but after a defiant stand-off they were forced out by a two-day naval bombardment of the city. Love would have taken part in the subsequent occupation of Alexandria by the Royal Marines, and perhaps some of the fighting thereafter. But then he fell ill with a fever and, sadly, died in the military hospital in Ismailia. Corporal Love is commemorated on the memorial in Tel-el-Kebir cemetery.​
Picture
James Love is recorded on the Royal Marines memorial in Tel-el-Kebir cemetery in Egypt
Picture
The 1882 Egypt campaign medal, with bar for Alexandria
The following year he was posthumously awarded the Egypt Medal (identical to the one pictured) which was sent to his father. Outside his family, his death went unnoticed. There were no obituaries, no tributes in the sporting press, and I've been unable to track down even a photo of him despite contacting several branches of his family.
   But the story doesn't quite end there as there is one final, poignant, connection with Partick FC. After his death, Love's elder sister Jessie married one of the other Partick players, David Muirhead, and they named their son James Love Muirhead. He too met a sad end, killed in action in the first world war.
   So that covers the story of Jimmy Love. What of Fergie Suter? His basic story is better known, and he even has an entry in the Dictionary of National Biography, albeit with errors. Suter was born in Glasgow in 1857, the third son of a stonemason recently arrived from Ireland. He grew up in Partick where he was an apprentice mason like his father, and appears in Partick teams from 1876 onwards. He was well established as a footballer when, out of the blue, he also had a strong financial imperative for leaving.
   In October 1878, the City of Glasgow Bank collapsed suddenly and spectacularly, incurring huge losses for its 1200 shareholders who had unlimited liability. It sent financial shockwaves through Scottish society as the directors were jailed for fraud, and 80 per cent of the shareholders were bankrupted.
   One of those shareholders was a prominent Partick builder called Peter McKissock, who immediately halted work on his projects and dismissed all his men including the stonemasons. Among them, it seems likely, was 21-year-old Fergus Suter.  To make matters worse, in November the Partick masons went on strike in protest against reduced rates of pay.
   So, with little prospect of finding work locally Suter must have cast envious eyes at Jimmy Love in Darwen and wrote to ask if he, too, could be found a position. Suter had already played there for Partick, so it was not exactly a leap into the unknown, and according to the Lancashire Evening Post article I have already quoted, Suter 'came in the guise of stonemason, but only worked in that trade for a week or two. After that he purely played football, and though this was years before professionalism was legalised, he never lacked money.'
   I have to point out that there is an erroneous story, which has appeared in many books and articles, stating that Suter played for Turton before coming to Darwen. This story originates in Tony Mason's Association Football and English Society (1980), but from an examination of the original source material, a 1909 history of Turton FC, it is clear that Suter's appearance for Turton was at the end of the 1878/79 season, not the start, although it does confirm he was paid cash by Turton for an appearance in their Challenge Cup team. I have since found a report of the Turton Challenge Cup final, and it was played on 29 March 1879 - ie two weeks after the defeat to Old Etonians. Suter played as a guest for Turton, who lost 1-0 to Eagley, and so did Jimmy Love; it stands to reason that if one of them was paid, so was the other.
   Suter had made his debut for Darwen on 30 November 1878 at Accrington, where a spectator recalled 'he simply electrified players and spectators alike with points in the game of which they had never previously dreamt'. A week later, he and Love played in their first FA Cup tie, against Eagley on 7 December.
   If anything, Suter's immediate impact was greater than Love's as within two weeks of arriving he played a trial for Lancashire and went on to represent his adopted county on numerous occasions, while Love was never selected. Suter certainly found his vocation in football. In his second season, 1879/80, he was appointed club captain of Darwen, led the team to victory in the first Lancashire Cup final, and his brother Edward also joined from Partick.
   But in the summer of 1880, without warning, he jumped ship and moved to local rivals Blackburn Rovers. Darwen protested furiously that Suter had been financially induced, but there was, of course, no proof - and precious little sympathy for Darwen in any case as they were suspected of paying Suter themselves. The chances are that Rovers made Suter an offer he could not refuse, either a straight cash payment or a large loan on easy terms to set up a pub.
   However, I did discover another possible reason for Suter wanting to leave Darwen. According to a family legend, he fathered an illegitimate son by a servant girl, and the time of his move to Blackburn would have coincided pretty much exactly with the discovery that she was pregnant.
   Whatever, it was a successful move and Suter was the first man to make a career as a professional footballer. He remained with Blackburn Rovers through a glorious decade in which they were the first northern side to appear in the FA Cup final, in 1882, and subsequently won the FA Cup three times in a row, in 1884, 1885 and 1886. Suter just found time to make one appearance in the Football League's inaugural season in 1888, and continued to live in the town as a publican until shortly before his death in 1916.
   So there, in brief, is the background to the players who gave birth to professionalism in football. Love and Suter changed the game forever through a specific set of circumstances which provided the means, the motive and the opportunity to earn a living from the game.
   Partick and Darwen were unlikely bedfellows, but between them they established the rationale for paying football players. It is quite a legacy.

Article copyright Andy Mitchell, not to be reproduced without permission.

Click here to read an article about this research in the Sunday Herald.

NB In the course of researching Love and Suter, I have accumulated a large amount of background material, references and family trees. If other researchers would like to consult this archive, please get in touch through the contact form on the home page.
51 Comments
Stuart Robinson
21/3/2020 01:56:37 pm

Great wonderful article inspiring me to watch the movie The English Game. Great awesome history. Thankyou.

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Paul
22/3/2020 09:46:52 am

Having watched the mini-series, this article provided a wonderful background to two of the key characters. Thank you.

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Timothee-Julian Heineken link
22/3/2020 10:55:35 am

After watching The English Game, I read this and I think sport is amazing.

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Kemar link
28/8/2020 10:00:58 pm

For years I thought I love football untill I watch this film now I appreciate the game more as the game change so much if u ask many off the professional these days how the game originated where it all started they dont have a clue there mind clouded by money.

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Robert Spence
15/4/2022 12:11:54 pm

So true but a tinge of sadness how LOVE died at the age of only 24.these players were doing all they could in these times. Mill workers having wages cut when ever the wealthy owners felt it as an effective way to compete with the world markets.

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Dan Kearney
23/3/2020 12:16:11 am

I've watched a few episodes of The English Game and was anxious to find out more about the main characters. This article certainly righted some of the misinformation in the series and cleared up a lot of things. Very well written and interesting article. Thank you!

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Mick link
23/3/2020 11:31:39 pm

We are currently watching the English game.is it right that Love played again after the injury?

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Jim Robinson
29/3/2020 05:32:53 pm

It says he disappeared from the area after a year and joined the Marine Ligh Infantry. He died of fever in Egypt aged 24.

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Gérard J Smith
25/3/2020 09:23:20 pm

I'm really curious about how he died in 1916 in Blackpool... Aged 59. Anyone know?

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Andy Mitchell
26/3/2020 11:12:00 am

He was in poor health for a long time before his death, and had to give up his business in 1913. He was still so well known at the time then that a fundraising campaign for him raised £214.

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Marce Deus
26/3/2020 06:20:24 am

Great article, everything is very interesting, greetings and congratulations from Uruguay

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Diego
20/9/2021 09:36:46 pm

Ja. Yo también!

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Julia C Ragas
26/3/2020 03:04:58 pm

Finished watching The English Game last night. I wanted more information on the two players - this article was wonderful. Thank you for the insight!!

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Tony Ramos
27/3/2020 05:36:32 am

What an inspiring story of what the game is and life lessons it teaches. Great article. The English Game is a must see.

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Paul Harris
27/3/2020 07:39:48 am

I too watched English Game and finished it last night. Intrigued by Suter and wondered how historically correct it all was. Obviously some writer’s leeway on the part of Julian Felllowes especially that Suter fathered a child and ran from scene unlike the movie where the Blackburn Rovers’ owner fathered the child with servant girl and Fergus heroically loved her and took on role of father...a VERY different tale indeed but with Julian Fellowes everyone lives happily ever after and we go to bed with a warm and happy feeling! Old Etonians had quite the life!

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Brett Hughes
13/4/2020 12:16:44 am

I haven’t watched The English Game, but the story that was passed down to me from my grandparents (a family who have no interest in football), was that my great great grandmother, Eliza (Lizzie) Wood, became pregnant by a footballer name Suter or Suiter – they went sure of the spelling or pronunciation. My grandparents didn’t know his first name. It took me a long time to find a Fergus Suter, and almost as long to find the whereabouts of Eliza. She was born in Eccleshall, Staffordshire in 1861. By the time she was 20, she was working as a servant at Falcon House, Lower Darwen. Working for Timothy Lightbown, a Linen & Cotton Manufacturer, Alderman, and I think later mayor of Blackburn?

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romina angelici link
27/3/2020 06:56:07 pm

Vorrei citare alcuni brani del suo interessantissimo articolo nel pezzo che ho scritto ispirandomi alla storia che c'è dietro la miniserie netflix The English Game. Spero in una positiva autorizzazione. Cordialmente
Romina Angelici

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Jonas Riis Vestergaard link
28/3/2020 10:28:03 am

Great article, just watched the english game and was surprised by how different the story of Love really was compared to what is being portrayed in the series.

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mick mcnulty
28/3/2020 01:42:01 pm

I am from Partick / Whiteinch and interested in local history. There is a photo of Partick Thistle at Inch View with the names of players and some of the names you mention are included. One that stands out is Jarvis Suter, Match Secretary of Partick Thistle who was the brother Fergus, 1881 census, he died October 1901 in Blackburn also in the photo was J. N Boag President of Partick Thistle. I have put a link to your post on Partick People and Whiteinch History both facebook goups. Re Jimmy Love it looks like it was Cathcart his half sibbling died at his home there ironically about 500 meters from Hampden. I have started family trees for both I will invite yu if you send your e mail. Great blog !
Mick

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Michael J. Hyland
29/3/2020 08:58:15 am

The English Game is a fascinating insight into the early years of the Football Association. The fine article by Mr Mitchell is a magnificent addendum to the Series. Whilst I was unfamiliar with the story of Fergus Suter, I realised that there must be some artistic license in the commentary. Andy Mitchell has give the story life.

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Mitchell Ros
30/3/2020 03:21:25 am

Is there an picture of James Love? Or which one is he in this picture?

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Andy Mitchell
30/3/2020 01:27:36 pm

There are no known photos of Jimmy Love, who had joined the Royal Marines by the time that photo was taken in April 1880. I have contacted various descendants of his siblings, without finding any images.

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David Macdonald
31/3/2020 11:00:39 am

Was it not Blackburn Olympic as opposed to Rovers?

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Andy Mitchell
31/3/2020 11:08:38 am

Suter played for Blackburn Rovers and played for them in the finals of 1882 (lost to Old Etonians) and 1884, 1885, 1886 (all won). Blackburn Olympic won the FA Cup in 1883, beating Old Etonians in the final, but Suter did not play for them. The English Game series combined the two Blackburn clubs for dramatic effect.

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ALAN RICE-SMITH
1/4/2020 06:36:30 am

Have enjoyed The English Game although there was not enough football included in my view and it was more of a love story. Finding your article has added some interesting factual learning to the story. Thank you.

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frank riding
2/4/2020 12:08:36 pm

I havnt watched the film the English Game,but this was enthralling reading and really well researched,thank you.

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Cathy Kirk
3/4/2020 11:34:32 pm

I read your article as I too had just watched The English Game. Great to read your well-researched information on these two key players. The class struggle evident in the rise of professional football and its popularity are an interesting aspect to this history too.

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Kara
4/4/2020 03:20:15 am

Many thanks for this extraordinary research on the story behind the story. I appreciate that in so many of the heroes of history have a great deal of humanity. I actually like Fergus Suter and Jimmy Love more, knowing they made mistakes.

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Freddy Lopez
6/4/2020 02:04:59 am

Great Series of The English Game! But i have to say Thank You for this great Article! From all those who love the game and the stories behind it! Thanks!

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Fraser Douglas Harding
9/4/2020 03:08:23 pm

As I watched this series develop I became more and more Intrigued.Who were these Characters? How would this plot unfold?
These Brash young Scotsman coming from large cities up North and trying to make a mark in the smaller Towns of North England.
They certainly created a wee bit of controversy along the way!
Well done Lads!
Hope one day all will be forgiven and your supreme talent on the pitch will always be remembered.

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Tommy Malcolm
9/4/2020 09:12:52 pm

Well written Andy, well up to your usual standard. I know when I read your work that what I read has been well researched and is the truth. Superb.

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Manuel Gassmann
14/4/2020 09:35:30 pm

Hello from Belgium! I'm very interisting to the history of Football and especially Football in Greatbritain. Sorry, i don't speak very well English. But it's enough to say thank you for All These Informations!

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Jim Stone
15/4/2020 04:12:09 am

Thank you for all of your efforts in doing this research-it had to be time consuming, and you did it very well! I too just finished The English Game and was interested in the background history of the characters. Fascinating stuff. Have you done anything on Old Tom Morris? I have watched Tommy's Honor, and read a book on him, but the book focused on his golf matches, while i was more interested in the man. At any rate, well done and thank you-a good read!

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Gavin
1/5/2020 11:30:11 am

Great work on the research, as many above I have just finished watching The English Game, very enjoyable. Thanks for sharing your work.

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Emmanuel
16/5/2020 08:08:54 am

After watching the first three episodes of the Netflix series "The English Game" today, I was intrigued to find out more about the story. This article gives a very good history and undertanding about the main characters in The English Game. It is fascinating. Great job!

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Navneet Singh
16/5/2020 10:11:59 am

Saw the series English Game and was intrigued to know it was based on real characters. Hence my search and finding this incredible piece of research. Well done Mr Mitchell.

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Martyn Smith
18/5/2020 09:13:28 pm

Greetings from California. Excellent research and a great read after watching part of the English Game on Netflix. I especially like the point that both Suter and Love were in financial difficulties or without work in Glasgow and moved to Lancashire in search of a better life. Its a shame that was not incorporated into the Netflix show which I think also fails to show why Suter was so good at football, but these are minor criticisms for a show that my wife also loves even though she has no interest in soccer as they call it here.

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Lisa
9/6/2020 01:43:06 pm

My husband and I have been intrigued by The English Game series. Neither of us had any notion of the beginning of professional football (soccer on our side of the Atlantic). Similarly to other respondents here, I was inspired to do a bit of research into the main characters and found this article. Thank you for your research and for sharing it with enthusiasts and historians worldwide, in this case from central Texas.

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Bianca
20/7/2020 09:14:49 pm

Great article, I found it captivating. Just came here after watching The English Game. Even though it doesn’t follow history precisely, it is simply amazing to learn more about the beginnings of this great sport. Love from Romania

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John Dack
26/8/2020 11:43:24 pm

Great article. You come across as a very accomplished sports historian.

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Carlo
14/11/2020 05:23:32 am

Andy,
Very interesting to read and learn about the real Jimmy Love and Fergus Suter after watching the English Game on Netflix.
Thank You and greetings from The Netherlands!

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Damián
22/1/2021 01:18:07 pm

Muy buena nota para terminar de cerrar la idea y conocer la realidad de lo transformado en ficción a partir de la serie de Netflix. Gracias.
Escribo desde la provincia de Misiones en el noreste de Argentina.
Saludos.

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Torben Bendix
5/2/2021 08:28:26 am

Really interesting research. We didn't allow professionel football in Denmark before 1978! But ... it was no secret that since the begiining of 1900's local factories/companies employed the best footballers - gave them pro forma jobs ... and all they did was playing football for the local club.

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Bruce Shillitoe
30/3/2021 08:39:03 pm

Hi Andy, I really enjoyed your article, I am the 'greet great nephew' of Fergus Suter and have been tracing my family tree. My family line comes from Edward Suter also on the team, I believe he was the goal keeper from another article I read. Strangely my Dad never spoke of Edward. I would like to learn more about Edward and Fergus, everything you have written ties-in with what I have uncovered except i do not have any details on the illegitimate son born circa 1880 I derive from your article.

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Jacqueline Mcaleese
5/5/2021 04:10:26 pm

Hi Bruce, wonderful to see a relative of Fergus on here. I have recently with the help of Blackburn Rovers restored Fergus Suters grave. He died in Blackpool on 31july 1916, but is buried in Blackburn Old Cemetery (where I live in the lodge/gate house). The grave was all but disappeared, thankfully it is now looking wonderful. His illegitimate son was named, John Wood. I did find his details on ancestry, he was a bachelor and as far as I can navigate fathered no children. Kind regards Jacqueline Mcaleese

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Jacqueline Mcaleese
5/5/2021 04:24:20 pm

Just to add also, Harris suter and David suter are also buried in the same grave as Fergus but not named on the headstone. Fergus and Martha's first 2 children, ada and hsyne who died at 15 weeks and 1 year are also buried with him again not on the headstone. The grave is his wife's family grave and is actually a double grave, firstly opened in 1867 with no headstone and then extended in 1900 after which a headstone commemorated those buried there. If you look up Fergus suter grave I'm sure one if few articles will come up. The restoration was finished in late March 21 and press releases were made in April 3rd in line with his final fa cup final date (before its replay on the 10th April 1886).
Regards Jacqueline

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Jacqueline Mcaleese
5/5/2021 04:50:44 pm

Sorry that should read Jarvis..jarvis died aged 37years. Son of David and Catherine Suter of 73 Sudell rd Darwen, so fergus mum and dad also moved down to Darwen too. (The children were ada and jayne..sorry typo)

Jacqueline Mcaleese
5/5/2021 04:58:31 pm









There is also a Silvia SUTER buried in 1909 in what appears to be a common grave in Darwen Cemetery. She was the 33 year old wife of a David SUTER of 28 Princess Street Darwen.

Fergus Alexander SUTER (Fergus son.). seems to have married a Mabel E WATSON the year his father died and they had two children in 1917 and 1921. It rather looks as though they must have divorced as Mabel E SUTER married a William G BARRINGER in Peterborough in 1922 and Fergus A SUTER married a Mary E McALLISTER in Newcastle in 1932 with a child born in Hampstead the following year. Fergus died aged 67 in Middlesex in 1959. His wife having died in Middlesex in 1956 aged 54. I could of course have confused several different couples but I think this unlikely given the rather unusual names?

Jessie SUTER ..Fergus daughter.. was born in 1889 and married and married a Frank CUMBERBIRCH in 1917 inthe Fylde area (where her parents had moved to) and they had two children born in Rochdale. She died in Rochdale in 1975.



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Jacqueline Mcaleese
5/5/2021 05:37:33 pm

John Wood, son of Eliza and Fergus, born 1881 died 1961 aged 79 yrs

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Jacqueline Mcaleese
6/5/2021 07:41:48 am

I cannot find Edward Suter records with fergus, David and jarvis but there is a record of Edward Suter born in Ireland in 1857, who then shows on the census records in 1901 living at 73 sudell Rd in Darwen with wife Mary Jane and 4 children. This seems more than a coincidence as it's the same address showing for David and Catherine suter and jarvis suter??? Was Edward a cousin of Fergus and not a brother? Maybe???

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Nigel
21/11/2022 09:45:58 pm

Jessie's two children, Allan and Mary inherited his medals. Neither married and they eventually sold his medals, etc. They lived at 495 Bury Road, opposite Rochdale cemetery. They were both keen golfers. Old memories

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    All blog posts, unless stated, are written by Andy Mitchell, who is researching Scottish sport on a regular basis.