Francis Birley

Francis Hornby Birley (14 March 1850 – 1 August 1910) was an English footballer who played as a half back.

He was one of the first to study Law separately at Oxford (it had previously been taught as a joint honours degree with modern history).

He was not a great academic, achieving only a third class Bachelor of Arts degree in 1872, although he was more successful as a sportsman.

In 1873 he was part of the Oxford University football team that reached the second final of the FA Cup, where they were beaten 2–0 by the holders, the Wanderers.

Birley's first England cap came against Scotland on 7 March 1874, when "the Scots managed a 2–1 victory to avenge their 1873 defeat".

[4] In 1875–76, he was a member of the Wanderers team that reached the FA Cup Final for the third time in its five-year history, scoring in the semi-final against Swifts.

[5] In the final, Wanderers met the Old Etonians at the Kennington Oval; Birley was now the captain of the team.

The following season, Wanderers were again victorious in the Cup Final, defeating Oxford University 2–1, with Birley again the team captain.

At the time of the 1881 Census he was living at Hart Hill Mansion, Pendleton in Salford, with his widower father, two sisters and his wife and daughter, Margaret.