This card was chosen because the footballer, Ernest Needham, played for Sheffield United, one of the teams contesting the 1925 Cup Final. Sadly, Ernest Needham was not on the field at the 1925 F.A. Cup Final, though he was still alive to see Sheffield United lift the cup, and only fifty two years old.
He was born near Chesterfield on the 21st of January 1873 and started out with local side Waverley. He was then signed up for Staveley Wanderers, which changed the course of his future, as his new team played Sheffield United in 1891 and their manager snapped him up. He played for Sheffield United almost immediately, and right until 1910, through one of their best ever times, seeing them not only promoted, but winning the F.A. Cup twice, in 1899 and 1902, the year this set was issued. And he captained them thereafter, until 1905. He was also on the England international football squad, captaining that once, but only once, in 1901. And he was in just under fifty F.A. Cup ties. .
He was a great all rounder, like many footballers of the time, playing both cricket and football. Cricket lasted longer, and he played, for Derbyshire, until 1912.
In 1910 he retired. We do not know why, he was only thirty-seven, but he had been injured some years before, the nature is not specified but we know it changed his playing style and also his position on the field, from an attacking right hand midfielder to a left half.
The photographer who took this picture was James Russell & Sons, and they were not just in Crystal Palace, as shown here, they had other addresses in London, plus premises in Windsor, and Southsea. The Windsor connection is especially telling because he was a Royal photographer, not just of our Royal family, but of overseas ones, when they were visiting from abroad. They were in business from 1883 until 1908, and for the last nine years had premises in Baker Street.
We have been told that "Cinderellas" were first sold in 1888, the same year as "Wild Woodbines". They were a penny for a packet of five cigarettes, and their brand advertising featured a pretty young girl trying to dry a plate and peel potatoes by a rather smoky fire, presumably modelled on Cinderella. I am most taken with her red woollen stockings, by the way. Another advert of the time shows her barefooted, in less well kept clothing, feeding the birds.
The set first appears in our Wills Reference Book part II, as W/22. There is quite a lengthy description too, of :
- 22. 66 FOOTBALL SERIES
Fronts printed in black, with white border. Series title inset at top with number, player`s name inset at base with photographer`s credit below. Backs in bronze blue : two different advertisements :-
- "Wills`s Cinderella" Cigarettes (Nos. ending in 1. 4 and 7 from 1-50 and Nos. 51, 53, 57, 60 and 63)
- Wills`s Wild Woodbine" Cigarettes (All other numbers) [see Card of the Day for 21 October 2021]
There are at least three different kinds of card :
(a) Pure white (coated) both sides
(b) Pure white on fronts, cream buff backs
(c) Pure white on fronts, dull grey backs.
There also appears to be a series printed on a card which has a pronounced dirty pink tint. The back colouring varies considerably from bronze blue to a chalky blue shade. Fronts vary in shade from grey-black to black.
Two varieties of card No.18 - "W.J. Foulkes" - exist: (a) head and shoulders portrait (b) three-quarter portrait. Probably two distinct printings could be made up of each which would include one of the above cards. Cards are known with the subject title in (a) small and (b) larger lettering.
Although this set is similar to Clarke`s "Footballers" it is not identical. In all cases the club or team is quoted on the Wills but omitted on Clarke`s cards, and there are other minor differences. Issue date : 1902.
Printed by E. S. & A. Robinson, Ltd.
So this sets up a few questions for you to answer.
Firstly, the curious nature of the advertisement numbering, as to especially the final run. This rather suggests that it was planned to be a set of fifty cards, or perhaps fifty two - in which case the uniformity of the numbering would have been preserved - but for some reason they added these extra sixteen and let the advertisements fall where-ever.
Finally, whilst we have a year date of 1902, there is no month of issue, unless any Wills specialists know of it?
Now when it comes to the World Tobacco Issues Indexes, as you might imagine, most of the above is missing. All the original volume says for the set is :
- "FOOTBALL SERIES. Sm. Black and White. Nd. (66) Vari-backed, two advertisements. See W/22" ... W62-81
and this is further curtailed in the updated volume, by exchanging "Black and White for "B&W".
However the later version does give us another lead to follow, because instead of W/22 as the spur off we have H.81. Unfortunately, that confuses things still more, because if you remember the quote from above, which stated that "Although this set is similar to Clarke`s "Footballers" it is not identical. In all cases the club or team is quoted on the Wills but omitted on Clarke`s cards, and there are other minor differences.". But now H.81 says :
- H.81 FOOTBALL SERIES (titled series). Fronts in black and white. Numbered series of 66.
Pre 1919 Clarke
Wills.
This suggests that the sets must be more than similar, or why link them together? And even more strangely, both were issued in the same year, 1902.
Now my trusty 1950 London Cigarette Card Catalogue adds that the retail price of the Clarke`s version was 10/- to 25/- a card, or £75 a set, with the Wills one coming in a lot cheaper, just 2/6 to 7/6 a card, or £25 a set. This could simply reflect that Wills was based in England, so the distribution area was pretty widespread, as opposed to Clarke, who was based across the water in Dublin.
But if we have a Clarke`s researcher somewhere, maybe you can tell us of your thoughts ?