George Carter

George Carter (16 February 1866 – 23 January 1945) was an English footballer and all-round sportsman who played a prominent part in the early history of Southampton Football Club, leading them to success in local cup tournaments and captaining the side in their first FA Cup match in 1891.

Early life Carter was born in Hereford and represented his county at both football and cricket. He is recorded as making three appearances for Herefordshire County Cricket Club in 1885, against Worcestershire in July and again in August and against MCC in August.

Carter was employed as an engraver by the Ordnance Survey and in 1887 he was posted to their offices in Southampton.

Football career In October 1887, he was introduced to Southampton St. Mary's F.C. and asked to play as a full-back. The first match, played at the County Cricket Ground ended in a 2–2 draw, with St. Mary's taking the replay on 24 March by a 2–1 margin, thus winning their first trophy. Carter appeared in all six matches in the cup tournament, playing at right-back.

The first match, played at Northwood Park in Cowes, ended in a 1–1 draw; the Cowes captain requested extra time but Carter refused, claiming that the team would miss their ferry home from the Isle of Wight. The replay at the County Ground was also drawn, thus requiring a third match. The sides had each scored once by half-time and the scores were level when a shot from M. Warn was caught well behind the line by the Cowes goalkeeper who quickly threw the ball out. After claims and counter-claims from both teams, the referee awarded a goal to St. Mary's. After the match, Cowes lodged a formal written protest with the Hampshire F.A. which was initially rejected but this was overturned after an appeal from Cowes, who claimed that the linesman had stopped the ball with his flag while it was still in play. The third replay, also at the County Ground, was a heated affair watched by a crowd estimated at 7,000 but St. Mary's won 4–1 to earn their place in the final.

In the following season, St. Mary's entered the Hampshire Senior Cup for the first time and reached the final against the winners of the two previous years, the Royal Engineers based at Aldershot.

The success in local cup competitions prompted the club committee to enter a national tournament for the first time – in the first qualifying round of the FA Cup on 3 October 1891, they played at Warmley near Bristol winning comfortably 4–1, with Carter scoring his only goal in a competitive match. At the reception after the match, the Reading secretary asked for, and received, an advance of £3 on the share of the gate money. to the Football Association claiming that the Saints had fielded illegally registered players in Fleming and McMillan. The claim was upheld by the F.A., who found that the players had not been registered at least 28 days before the match, and as the Saints had not complied with the requirements of Rule 5 they were thus expelled from the competition.

In March 1892, St. Mary's retained the Hampshire Senior Cup, with an easy 5–0 victory over a Medical Staff team.

In the second qualifying round of the 1892–93 FA Cup, St. Mary's were easily defeated 4–0 by Maidenhead, for whom three goals were scored by F.W. Janes. St. Mary's promptly signed Janes on professional terms, but the signing was revoked by the Football Association, who judged that he was "in no fit condition to realise what he was doing when he signed for Southampton".

St. Mary's also competed in the Hampshire Senior Cup in 1892–93, hoping to claim a third consecutive victory. After 2–0 wins over the Royal Engineers and a side from Portsmouth, they reached the final against local rivals Freemantle. The final was played on 11 March 1893 at the County Ground in front of a substantial crowd who threatened to spill onto the pitch. Freemantle led 1–0 at half-time before Jack Dollin equalised. With the score 1–1 and only a few minutes left to play, a Freemantle forward, Horton, was about to score past Ralph Ruffell in the Saints' goal when he was tripped by William Stride. Despite protests from the "Saints", the referee awarded a penalty to Freemantle, which was converted by Shirley Hawkins, giving Freemantle their first trophy. After the match, Carter protested to the referee that the foul had been committed outside the penalty area, saying that he could point out the exact spot where the offence occurred. The referee, Mr. Royston Bourke, replied: "In that case, I suggest you have a tombstone erected over it." Carter damaged a leg in a friendly match in December 1893 thus ending his playing career. With George Marshall now playing at right-back, St. Mary's reached the final of the Hampshire Senior Cup again in March 1894, but were defeated 1–0 by the Royal Engineers.

Carter was unable to fully recover from his leg injury and he retired from playing football in May 1894, thus missing the club's first season in the Southern League. In his seven years with St. Mary's, Carter made six appearances in the FA Cup, scoring once; he also played in the finals of seven local cup tournaments, of which only the 1893 final of the Hampshire Senior Cup ended in defeat.

Later career Following his retirement, Carter was presented with a gold watch. He continued to work for the club, and in 1901 he became the manager of the reserve team, continuing in this role until the start of World War I, helping to develop the careers of players such as Fred Harrison, Frank Jefferis and Arthur Dominy.

After he stepped down as reserve-team manager, Carter was made a life-member of Southampton Football Club. He was a member of the Southampton Amateur Swimming Club, and represented Hampshire at water polo.

He was employed by the Ordnance Survey in Southampton, until he retired in 1927, after 40 years' service.