Kenny Davenport

James Kenyon "Kenny" Davenport (23 March 1862 – 27 September 1908[1]) was an English international footballer who played as an inside right.

Kenny Davenport
Personal information
Full name James Kenyon Davenport
Date of birth (1862-03-23)23 March 1862
Place of birth Bolton, England
Date of death 27 September 1908(1908-09-27) (aged 46)
Place of death Bolton, England
Position(s) Inside right
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
0000–1883 Gilnow Rangers
1883–1893 Bolton Wanderers 56 (25)
1893 Southport Central
International career
1885–1890 England 2 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Career

Born in the Deane area of Bolton, Davenport played for Bolton Wanderers, after joining them from local side Gilnow Rangers in 1883.[2] He later played for Southport,[3] and was capped twice by England, in 1885 and 1890.[4] He retired from professional football in 1893,[5] and returned to Bolton Wanderers to coach their reserve team.[6]

Davenport was the scorer of the first Football League goal, scored at 3:47pm on 8 September 1888 against Derby County.[7] Until 2013, it had been thought that the first goal had been an own goal by Aston Villa full-back Gershom Cox.[2]

Davenport made his League debut on 8 September 1888, playing as a winger, at Pike's Lane, then home of Bolton Wanderers. The opposition were Derby County and Bolton lost 6–3, Davenport scoring the first and second of Bolton's three goals. In season 1888–89 Davenport appeared in all 22 League games played by Bolton and scored 11 goals. He was one of five Bolton players who played in every (22) League game; the other four were, James Brogan, John Milne, Bob Roberts and Davie Weir. Davenport's 11 League goals included one League hat-trick and he scored two-League-goals-in-a-match twice. Davenport twice played centre-half in a defence-line that kept the opposition to one-League-goal-in-a-match once. He also played as a forward 19 times in a front-line that scored three-League-goals-or-more in a match on nine occasions.[8]

On 22 November 2016 a plaque was unveiled in Bolton that commemorates Davenport's achievement in scoring the first League goal.[9]

References
  1. Bolton Evening News, 28 September 1908 p4
  2. Fletcher, Paul (28 July 2013). "Solving the mystery of the first goal in league football". BBC Sport. Retrieved 29 July 2013.
  3. "Bolton player credited with first-ever goal in Football League". Sky Sports. 29 July 2013. Retrieved 30 July 2013.
  4. Kenny Davenport at Englandstats.com. Retrieved 30 July 2013.
  5. Brian Simpson (28 August 2013). "Mystery of Football League's first scorer solved". When Saturday Comes. Retrieved 2 September 2013.
  6. Iles, Marc (29 July 2013). "Bolton Wanderers scored world's first league goal - Marc Iles' view". The Bolton News. Retrieved 31 July 2013.
  7. Winter, Henry (29 July 2013). "Bolton and England inside forward Kenyon Davenport finally credited with scoring Football League's first goal". The Telegraph. Retrieved 30 July 2013.
  8. Kenny Davenport at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)
  9. "Plaque marking site of first ever league football goal unveiled".

Kenny Davenport at Englandstats.com


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