Sounds the proper gent:
Stanley Briggs of Tottenham Hotspur, typical of the 1890s amateur gentleman footballer, taken c.1895 or 1896. Apparently Briggs was one of the founders of Tottenham Hotspur and like many amateurs flitted around clubs playing where he could probably get a game between his other commitments. You know he was of gentlemanly stock because (in those class ridden days) he also played for The Corinthians! He was evidently one of the better amateurs though never played for England. He did captain the first ever FA Tour to Germany and Austria in 1899, quite an honour. He played 2 games in November 1893 in Football League Division 2 for Woolwich Woolwich in between various spells appearing at Southern League Spurs and also he later appeared for Millwall, again in the Southern League at the time. Following his retirement from football he was the manager of the General Havelock Hotel on High Street Ilford. The building still stands today and is known as “The General”. He later managed the Brook Green Hotel in Hammersmith before migrating to Canada. Stanley Briggs died in 1935 and is buried at Shell Lake, Saskatchewan, Canada.
So the kit isn't England kit as such, it's an FA kit (presuming they were different, might not have been in those days).
Stanley Briggs of Tottenham Hotspur, typical of the 1890s amateur gentleman footballer, taken c.1895 or 1896. Apparently Briggs was one of the founders of Tottenham Hotspur and like many amateurs flitted around clubs playing where he could probably get a game between his other commitments. You know he was of gentlemanly stock because (in those class ridden days) he also played for The Corinthians! He was evidently one of the better amateurs though never played for England. He did captain the first ever FA Tour to Germany and Austria in 1899, quite an honour. He played 2 games in November 1893 in Football League Division 2 for Woolwich Woolwich in between various spells appearing at Southern League Spurs and also he later appeared for Millwall, again in the Southern League at the time. Following his retirement from football he was the manager of the General Havelock Hotel on High Street Ilford. The building still stands today and is known as “The General”. He later managed the Brook Green Hotel in Hammersmith before migrating to Canada. Stanley Briggs died in 1935 and is buried at Shell Lake, Saskatchewan, Canada.
So the kit isn't England kit as such, it's an FA kit (presuming they were different, might not have been in those days).
