Arthur Foster (footballer, born 1894)

Arthur Webster Foster (12 November 1894 – 9 January 1954) was an English footballer who played in the Football League for Birmingham[1] and cricketer who played for Warwickshire.

This article is about the footballer born 1894. For the footballer born 1869, see Arthur Foster (footballer born 1869).

Arthur Foster
Personal information
Full name Arthur Webster Foster
Date of birth (1894-11-12)12 November 1894
Place of birth Birmingham, England
Date of death 9 January 1954(1954-01-09) (aged 59)
Place of death Birmingham, England
Position(s) Forward
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1913–1914 Birmingham 2 (1)
1914–191x Acocks Green ? (?)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Personal life

Foster was born in the Deritend area of Birmingham, and educated at Repton and Downing College, Cambridge.[2][3] He was the younger brother of Warwickshire and England cricketer Frank Foster.[2][4] He died in Acocks Green, Birmingham, in 1954 at the age of 59.[2]

Sporting career

Football

The majority of Foster's football was played for Cambridge University and for clubs and representative teams under the auspices of the Amateur Football Association (A.F.A.) His performance in a Cambridge freshmen's match received a favourable report in The Times:

An extremely useful centre-forward was supplied in Foster, who played really well to his insides. He kept them well together and gave them plenty of splendid opportunities, of which, for the most part, poor use was made."[3]

He scored the decisive goal in the 1914 University Match,[5] and was appointed secretary of the university club for the 1914–15 season.[6] In March 1914, he was selected for a combined Oxford and Cambridge Universities team which beat Chelsea in "the first game in London between an A.F.A. side and a professional team for many years", though he was not at his best: "his shooting was poor, and he passed too much to the left wing".[7] That same month he assisted Old Reptonians to victory in the final of the Arthur Dunn Cup; he contributed many of the 33 goals they scored in reaching that stage, though his playing style had developed an element of selfishness:

A. W. Foster has scored most of the goals, and as a centre-forward he only just lacks greatness, but on Saturday he frequently forgot to make openings for his inside-forwards.[8]

Foster played for the major amateur clubs of the time, both Casuals, for whom he took part in the final of the 1913 A.F.A. Cup,[9] and Corinthians, touring Brazil[10] and scoring twice in a losing cause on the club's return to first-class football against the English Wanderers, an amateur eleven selected by the Football Association.[11]

He found time to turn out twice for Birmingham in the Second Division of the Football League. He made his debut on 4 October 1913 playing at inside left in a 1–1 draw at home to Hull City, and in his second and last game, on Christmas Day of the same year, he scored in a 6–0 defeat of Glossop.[12]

Cricket

Foster appeared once for Warwickshire in a County Championship match in July 1914.[2][4] He kept wicket against Northamptonshire, taking two catches, and made 0 and 1 not out with the bat; the match was drawn.[13]

References
  1. Joyce, Michael (2004). Football League Players' Records 1888 to 1939. Nottingham: SoccerData (Tony Brown). p. 93. ISBN 978-1-899468-67-6.
  2. Matthews, Tony (1995). Birmingham City: A Complete Record. Derby: Breedon Books. p. 87. ISBN 978-1-85983-010-9.
  3. "Association Football. Freshmen's Match at Cambridge". The Times. 19 October 1912. p. 12.
  4. "Arthur Foster". CricketArchive. Retrieved 24 April 2009.
  5. "Association Football. The University Match., Victory of Cambridge". The Times. 9 February 1914. p. 10. The second Cambridge goal was obtained by A. W. Foster after some clever play by H. Hegazi. The Oxford goalkeeper probably made an error of judgment in running out, and Foster was able to turn the ball easily and gently into the goal.
  6. "Association Football. Cambridge University Club". The Times. 20 March 1914. p. 15.
  7. "Association Football. Chelsea v. Oxford And Cambridge., Victory of the Amateur Team". The Times. 6 March 1914. p. 13.
  8. "Association Football. The Arthur Dunn Cup". The Times. 30 March 1914. p. 14.
  9. "Association Football. The A.F.A. Cup., Victory of the Casuals". The Times. 14 April 1913. p. 12.
  10. "1913–14 – Brazil Tour". Corinthian Casuals F.C. Archived from the original on 31 January 2009. Retrieved 30 April 2009.
  11. "Association Football. Corinthians v. English Wanderers". The Times. 26 March 1914. p. 15.
  12. Matthews, p. 160.
  13. "Warwickshire v Northamptonshire County Championship 1914". CricketArchive. Retrieved 24 April 2009.
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