James Richardson Spensley
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | James Richardson Spensley | ||
Date of birth | 17 May 1867 | ||
Place of birth | Stoke Newington, London, UK | ||
Date of death | 10 November 1915 | (aged 48)||
Place of death | Mainz, Rhine Province, German Empire | ||
Position(s) | Goalkeeper, Defender | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
1896–1906 |
Genoa | 22 | (0) |
Managerial career | |||
1896–1907 |
Genoa | ||
*Club domestic league appearances and goals |
James Richardson Spensley
Biography
He was born in 1867 in the Stoke Newington district of London to William Spensley and Elizabeth Alice Richardson.[3] Although he was born and grew up in London, the Spensley family were originally from the Swaledale area in Yorkshire.[4]
Richardson Spensley had the opportunity to travel far and wide as an adult. Amongst the most keen interests which he had acquired whilst travelling were eastern religions, languages (he was versed in Greek and Sanskrit), boxing and football.[5] In addition to working as a doctor, he spent some time as a correspondent for the British newspaper the Daily Mail.[5]
Football in Genoa
Richardson Spensley arrived in
Richardson Spensley acted as player-manager for Genoa in the first ever
Including the first title, Genoa won the Italian league six times while Richardson Spensley was at the helm. After retiring from playing when he was almost 40 years old, he stayed on in the management role for one more year, before leaving entirely.
Scouting and death
While living in England he became acquainted with
During World War I, he worked in the medical field putting his scouting abilities to use as a lieutenant in the Royal Army Medical Corps.[3][9] He was injured on the battle field while tending to the wounds of an enemy out of compassion. He died at Mainz, Germany in hospital not long after.[10][11] His body was one of many moved in 1922 from smaller graveyards to larger cemeteries in Germany (no British bodies were returned to Britain). Spensley was reburied at Niederzwehren War Cemetery south of Kassel.
Honours
- Italian Football Championship(Genoa)
- Italian Football Championship(Genoa)
- Italian Football Championship(Genoa)
- Italian Football Championship(Genoa)
- Italian Football Championship(Genoa)
- Italian Football Championship(Genoa)
References
- ^ "Italian Football". N16Mag.com. Archived from the original on 28 September 2007. Retrieved 27 August 2007.
- ^ "English Players in Italy". RSSSF.com. Archived from the original on 21 September 2007. Retrieved 27 August 2007.
- ^ a b "Spensley, James Richardson". RootsWeb.com. Retrieved 27 August 2007.
- ^ "Genealogy Data – Spensley Family". RootsWeb.com. Retrieved 27 August 2007.
- ^ a b c d "Storia del Genoa". EnciclopediaDelCalcio.com. Archived from the original on 12 March 2009. Retrieved 27 August 2007.
- ^ "Genoa". Channel4.com. Retrieved 28 August 2007.
- ^ "Edoardo Bosio and Football in Turin". Life in Italy. Retrieved 28 August 2007.
- ^ "Le formazioni dei campioni d'Italia dal 1898 al 1915". BatsWeb.com. Retrieved 28 August 2007.
- ^ "James Richardson Spensley". Military-Genealogy.com. Archived from the original on 30 September 2007. Retrieved 28 August 2007.
- ^ "La Storia del Grifone". Clan Dei Grifoni. 24 June 2007. Archived from the original on 22 July 2011.
- ^ "I pionieri: James R. Spensley". StoriaDelCalcio.info. Archived from the original on 20 July 2007. Retrieved 28 August 2007.