Frederick William Beardsley (c.1857^[1] – ?) was an English footballer, chiefly associated with the foundation of Arsenal Football Club. 1857 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... Royal motto (French): Dieu et mon droit (Translated: God and my right) Englands location within the British Isles Languages English (de facto) Capital London de facto Largest city London Area – Total Ranked 1st UK 130,395 km² Population – Total (mid-2004) – Total (2001 Census) – Density Ranked 1st UK 50. ... Football (soccer) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ... Arsenal Football Club (also known as Arsenal, The Arsenal or The Gunners) are an English professional football club based in north London. ...

Born in Nottingham, Beardsley started working at a government munitions factory in Chilwell. In his spare time he was a keen goalkeeper, and played for Nottingham Forest as an amateur; he kept goal in their FA Cup semi-final against Queen's Park in 1884. Soon afterwards, he moved to London to work at the Royal Arsenal in Woolwich, along with Morris Bates, another former Forest player. There they met several other keen football enthusiasts, such as David Danskin, Richard Pearce and Elijah Watkins, and in 1886, under Danskin's leadership they formed a works football team called Dial Square; the team would eventually become the modern-day Arsenal Football Club. Nottingham is a city and county town of Nottinghamshire, in the East Midlands of England. ... An arsenal is an establishment for the construction, repair, receipt, storage and issue of weapons and ammunition. ... Chilwell is a suburb of Greater Nottingham, in the Broxtowe district of Nottinghamshire, west of Nottingham proper. ... A goalkeeper leaves his feet to parry a shot on goal In many team sports, a goalkeeper (termed goaltender in some sports) is a designated player that is charged with directly preventing the opposite team from scoring by defending the goal. ... Nottingham Forest Football Club are an English football club, based at the City Ground, which is just outside the official boundary of Nottingham on the south side of the River Trent. ... Amateurism (from Fr. ... The FA Cup - this is the fourth trophy, in use since 1992, and identical in design to the third trophy introduced in 1911. ... Queens Park Football Club is a Scottish football team with much history and tradition, today it remains as the only amateur club in the Scottish League. ... 1884 (MDCCCLXXXIV) is a leap year starting on Tuesday (click on link to calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a leap year starting on Thursday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar). ... For other uses, see London (disambiguation). ... The Royal Arsenal, originally known as the Woolwich Arsenal, carried out armaments manufacture, ammunition proofing and explosives research. ... Woolwich is a town in south-east London, England in the London Borough of Greenwich, on the south side of the River Thames, though the tiny exclave of North Woolwich (which is now part of the London Borough of Newham) is on the north side of the river. ... Arsenal Football Club (also known as Arsenal, The Arsenal or The Gunners) are an English professional football club based in north London. ...

Beardsley kept goal in Dial Square's very first match against Eastern Wanderers on December 11, 1886. Later, along with Bates, he would write back to his old club Nottingham Forest to obtain a kit and set of footballs, giving Arsenal the red colours they still wear today. Beardsley continued to play for Royal Arsenal (as they had been renamed) for another five seasons; he played 67 first-class matches in regional leagues and cup competitions (his career predated Arsenal's entry into the Football League), and a further two FA Cup ties, including Arsenal's very first FA Cup match, a qualifying round match against Lyndhurst on October 5, 1889. After retiring from playing, Beardsley was a director of Arsenal from 1906 until 1910. December 11 is the 345th day (346th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1886 (MDCCCLXXXVI) is a common year starting on Friday (click on link to calendar) // Events January 18 - Modern field hockey is born with the formation of The Hockey Association in England. ... The football as used in football/soccer. ... The Football League is an organisation representing 72 professional football clubs in England and Wales, and runs the oldest professional football league competition in the world. ... October 5 is the 278th day of the year (279th in Leap years). ... 1889 (MDCCCLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... 1906 (MCMVI) was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... -1...

Footnotes

1. ^  Based on a 1901 census record that states he was 44 at the time. Link here (requires free registration).

A nationwide census was conducted in England and Wales on March 31, 1901 and was put on line in 2003 containing records for 32 million people and 6 million houses. ...

References

• Famous Football Relatives. URL accessed on February 18, 2006. A brief account by a descendant of Beardsley's.
• Harris, Jeff & Hogg, Tony (ed.) (1995). Arsenal Who's Who, Independent UK Sports. ISBN 1899429034.