Arthur Witty

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Arthur Witty

Personal information
Full name	Arthur Witty
Date of birth	1878
Place of birth	Barcelona, Spain
Date of death	1969 (aged 90–91)
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1899–1905	FC Barcelona	41	(5)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Arthur Witty Cotton, also known as Don Arturo, was a footballer, club president and businessman. Witty played for FC Barcelona in the first Copa del Rey final and later served as club president between 1903 and 1905. He was also a successful trader and his family company, the Witty Group, continues to operate today. He was the older brother of Ernest Witty.

Biography

Early years

Witty was the son of Frederick Witty, a British entrepreneur, who settled in

the two brothers joined their father's company which now became known as Witty Sociedad Anónima, Witty S.A.

FC Barcelona footballer

Arthur and Ernest returned to Spain with a love of sports. Unable to play

and have all been credited and/or claimed to be the inspiration. Either way, Old Merchant Taylors' BaaBarians hockey team carry FC Barcelona shirts as their away strip in tribute to Arthur Witty.

In early December 1899 the club played its first official game against an English Select at the Velòdrom de la Bonanova, now known as Turó Park. The teams only had ten men each and the English Select actually included several FC Barcelona players, among them, Arthur Witty. The English Select won the game 1–0 with Witty scoring the only goal. On Christmas Eve 1899 Witty made his official debut for the club in a 3–1 win over Català SC.

in 1903. Between 1899 and 1905 Witty played 74 games, mainly as a full-back for FC Barcelona.

FC Barcelona President

Witty became president of FC Barcelona on 17 September 1903 after having previously served on the board of directors. During his presidency the club won its first Championat de Catalunya with a squad that included Ernest Witty and Romà Forns. The latter was one of several young reserve players Witty introduced into the team. By now FC Barcelona had acquired a strong fan base within the city and Witty arranged for the club to play their home games at the Carrer Muntaner. Witty also organised the club's first trip abroad which resulted in their first game against a non-Spanish team. On 1 May 1904 FC Barcelona beat Stade Olympien des Étudiants Toulousains 3–2. The same opponents were then invited back to FC Barcelona to play the inaugural game at the Carrer Muntaner. FC Barcelona won this game 4–0 with two goals from Joan Gamper. Witty stepped down as president on 6 October 1905.

After Barcelona

In June 1924 Witty briefly became involved in controversy when he invited the

years and regained his status as a leading shipping agent. Together with his brother he also opened a successful sports shop.

Honours

• Copa de la Coronación
  • Runner-up 1902
• Copa Macaya: 1
  • 1901–02
• Copa Barcelona
  : 1
  • 1902–03
• Campionat de Catalunya
  : 1
  • 1904–05

Sources

• Morbo: The Story of Spanish Football (2003), Phil Ball. [1]
• Barça: A People's Passion (1998), Jimmy Burns. [2]

External links

• Arthur Witty at www.fcbarcelona.cat