22 Facts About William Sudell

Major William Sudell was an English association football player and administrator, who was the first chairman of Preston North End.

William Sudell joined the Preston Nelson sports club on 3 August 1867, aged 17.

In 1880 the club decided to play football exclusively, and from the following year Sudell managed the team.

William Sudell's actions resulted in the acceptance of professionalism by the Football Association, and led to Preston becoming the leading team of the early professional era.

William Sudell proved adept at several sports including swimming, cycling, cricket and rugby.

However, William Sudell did not go on to play on a regular basis; only two other football matches featuring him as a player are known.

William Sudell became the chairman of the sports club, which by then was known as Preston North End, in 1874 or 1875, while still in his mid-twenties.

In 1880 the club voted to play football exclusively, and the following year William Sudell took responsibility for the management of the team.

From 1883 the club fielded several Scottish players, after William Sudell went on a recruitment expedition to Scotland.

At the FA conference called to discuss the issue, William Sudell was a member of the committee.

William Sudell argued passionately for the acceptance of professionalism, but met opposition from southern-based amateur clubs, who viewed sport solely as a pastime.

Keen to make use of tactics, William Sudell was the first person to use a blackboard to dictate positions and strategy to his players.

William Sudell himself suggested the name "Football League", as an alternative to McGregor's suggestion, "Association Football Union".

Once involved, William Sudell was eager for the embryonic League to assert primacy in relation to other competitions, joining with JJ Bentley to propose that "The clubs forming the League shall support each other and bind themselves to carry out in the strictest sense the arrangements for matches between them, and not allow them to be cancelled on account of any cup competition or other matches".

William Sudell was more financially minded than the egalitarian McGregor, and urged the League to dispense with proposals for equal sharing of gate money and residential requirements for players.

In 1892, with his health declining, William Sudell relinquished his position, and was succeeded by Stoke's Harry Lockett.

William Sudell worked in a cotton mill, where thanks to his numeracy he quickly worked his way up the ranks; eventually he became manager.

William Sudell was initially commissioned as quartermaster in the 11th Lancashire Rifle Volunteer Corps in August 1874, he resigned that commission in February 1879, to take a commission as lieutenant in the same unit.

William Sudell was promoted captain on 23 June 1886, and was granted the honorary rank of major on 19 October 1889; the unit had now become part of the 1st Volunteer Battalion of the Loyal North Lancashire Regiment.

In March 1890 William Sudell agreed to form a professional baseball club at Preston North End Baseball Club for the upcoming 1890 National League of Baseball of Great Britain.

William Sudell retired on 30 July 1892, and was permitted to retain his rank, and continue wearing the battalion's uniform.

In Cape Town, William Sudell enjoyed a successful second career as a popular sports writer and footballing missionary.