Kinniard Lord Arthur Image 1 The Wanderers 1890

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Born in Kensington, London, Arthur Kinniard, the 11th Lord Kinniard played in nine FA Cup Finals for The Wanderers and Old Etonians, a record that stands to this day. His record of five wins between 1873 and 1882, three with The Wanderers and two with Old Etonians, in the competition stood until 2010, when it was broken by Ashley Cole.Kinnaird also played for Scotland He in three of Scotland’s first five matches, which were subsequently classified as unofficial, and in Scotland’s second official match: played on 8th March 1873 at The Oval. All of these matches were against England; who were the only other national team then in existence.

Sportswriters and fellow internationals queued to pay tribute to Kinnaird’s skill as a footballer both during and after his career. He was, according to “Tityrus” (J.A.H. Catton), editor of the Athletic News:

“of yeoman build and shaggy auburn beard, [and] did not quite look the part of a Scottish laird, until one spoke to him, and heard his rich, resonant voice and his short ejaculatory sentences. Of course, he had the voice and manner of an educated man of distinction.

“He was a leader, and above all things, a muscular type of Christian… As a player, in any position, [he] was an examplar of manly robust football. He popularised the game by his activity as a footballer among every class. He was at much at home with the boys of the Polytechnic, London, as he was with the Old Etonians.

“There was a time when the white ducks of Kinnaird, for he always wore trousers in a match, and his blue and white quartered cap were as familiar on the field as the giant figure of W.G. Grace with his yellow and red cricket cap… Lord Kinnaird used to say that he played four or five matches a week and never grew tired, but he added, late in life, that he would never have been allowed to stay on the field five minutes in these latter days. Nevertheless, he was fair, above board, and was prepared to receive all the knocks that came his way without a trace of resentment.”

As an administrator, Kinnaird was an FA committee man at the age of 21, in 1868. He became treasurer nine years later and President 13 years after that, replacing Major Francis Marindin in 1890. He was to remain president for the next 33 years, serving alongside long-serving vice-president Charles Crump, until their deaths in 1923, just days before the opening of Wembley Stadium.For his contributions to football and the FA Cup, he was given the FA Cup trophy itself to keep in 1911 when a new trophy was commissioned.

He was an all-round sportsman, twice winning a blue at tennis, in 1868 and 1869, while at Trinity College, Cambridge, and was first in an international canoe race at the 1867 Paris Exhibition.[16] He was Cambridge University swimming and fives champion, and won the Eton College 350 yards race in 1864. He was appointed a Knight of the Thistle by George V in the 1914 Birthday Honours.