Chedgzoy Sam Image 13 Everton 1925

Description

Ellesmere Port, Cheshire born outside right Sam Chedgzoy played for Burnell’s Ironworks in 1909 and signed for First Division Everton in 1910 making his Football League debut at Newcastle United in December that year. He established himself as an Everton regular in 1914, playing 30 times as Everton won the 1914-15 League Championship. However his career was interrupted by the First World War during which he served as a private with The Scots Guards.

Resuming for Everton after the War in 1919, he played a further seven seasons and won his first cap for England  against Wales in a 2-1 defeat at Highbury in March 1920, winning a total of 8 caps between 1920 and October 1924, his final appearance coming in a 3-1 win over Ireland on his home ground, Goodison Park. He also represented The Football League on five occasions.

Sam Chedgzoy was the man directly responsible for a major change in the game’s laws. An intelligent man who was never scared to challenge authority, he discovered a glaring loophole in the laws and proceeded to exploit it during a match at White Hart Lane in 1924. A new rule had been introduced so that a goal could be scored direct from a corner. Chedgzoy took a corner by dribbling along the by-line as members of both sides looked on in astonishment. They saw Chegzoy hammer the ball into the net and score a goal which led to a rule change. Notably Arsenal’s John Rutherford then also scored in the same manner in the same match. Twelve months later football’s hierarchy introduced a rule whereby the taker of a corner could only play the ball once before a second player had touched it.

After 36 goals in exactly 300 games for Everton, Chedgzoy pursued his football career in the nascent soccer leagues of the US and Canada, playing for the New Bedford Whalers from 1928 to 1930 and as player-manager for Montreal Carsteel from 1930 to 1939, leaving his position as manager in 1940. While there he twice played against the FA Touring XI on their 1931 tour.

His son Sydney started his career at Everton but only played for their reserves, and also played for Burnley, Millwall, Sheffield Wednesday and Swansea Town in the 1930’s.