A COMMEMORATIVE blue plaque in honour of one of Barnsley’s unsung footballing heroes - who became the world’s first club captain in the mid-1800s and helped shape the game for the rest of the world - will be unveiled tomorrow following a campaign.( John Charles Shaw led Sheffield FC and became the founder of the second-oldest club in the world, Hallam FC during his career.
Born in Penistone in 1830 to his parents Benjamin and Elizabeth, he was educated at Penistone Grammar School by Reverend Samuel Sunderland, who was the headmaster.
While at Penistone and under Rev Sunderland’s tutelage, John became very adept at the sport and became a clerk in a local solicitor’s firm called Dransfield’s.
He then spent the next four years working with a Sheffield solicitor John Dixon before becoming employed by Dransfield.
He married in 1853, the daughter of a Sheffield dental surgeon, called Mary Ann Garnett and the couple moved into a building at 19 Norfolk Row, Sheffield.
East Bank Park was not far from his workplace and John would take the Penistone form of football - developed under Rev Sunderland - for impromptu kick-abouts attracting other young professional men to join in.
This form of football lasted for several years with sides being chosen in an ad-hoc manner, which could have led rise to the notion of a club being formed in 1855.
However, a more formal, structured approach from this organised ad-hoc situation was taken in October of 1857, when Nathaniel Creswick and William Prest formed Sheffield FC.
John’s name as a member first appears in the 1859 listings and he became the very first club captain before going on to found Hallam FC in 1860.
The blue plaque - which is bestowed on someone whose life impacted generations - will be unveiled by Mayor of Penistone Mandy Lowe-Flello and Richard Pillinger, chairman of Hallam FC, at 11am tomorrow on Norfolk Row.
Steve Wood, trustee of charity Sheffield Home of Football, who have led the campaign in honour of John, said: “He was also the victorious captain of the world’s very first football tournament, the Youdan Trophy, and unifier of the rules of our beautiful game.
“Any one of these achievements would each deserve an individual blue plaque for that person, but John Charles Shaw did all that and much more.
“Shaw moved to Sheffield in 1853 after marrying and set up in Norfolk Row.
“Modern football was forged during the two decades between 1857 and 1877 - Sheffield was the world’s leading crucible during this formative time and developments in the world’s first city of football helped ignite developments nationally.
“The footballing world owes a debt of gratitude to John.”( He also became vice-president of the Sheffield FA in 1868 and president in 1869, a position he held for 14 years.( While heading the Sheffield FA, he oversaw many of football’s early rule developments and, in 1877, together with Charles Alcock, he helped to amalgamate the Sheffield rules with those of the London Football Association resulting in a universal code of the game in England.( He died aged 88 in Birmingham and is buried in an unmarked grave at Brandwood End Cemetery, but it is hoped the blue plaque will ignite interest in John’s life and achievements.
Sports historian Kevin Nell added: “This is honouring a true son of Penistone in a very justified way which has not been recognised before.
“His contribution to the development of the game is something to be celebrated.
“Hopefully, this will go a long way in giving him the wider recognition he deserves.”
