Henri Beau

Ernest Henri Beau, also known as Henri Coulon (28 November 1881 – 27 June 1928), was a French footballer who played as a goalkeeper for CA Paris and the French national team between 1902 and 1911. At club level, he won a three-peat of Coupe Manier titles (1905–07), and was a three-time French champion in water polo (1905–06 and 1908), and even secretary of CA Paris.

Early life Henri Beau was born in 14th arrondissement of Paris on 28 November 1881, as the son of Joseph-Henri, a storekeeper, and a cook, who married in July 1881; since the child was born in November, the bride was already 5 months pregnant.

After several years playing in the club's youth ranks and its second team, Beau finally became a regular in the senior team in 1902, aged 21, quickly establishing himself as an undisputed starter. On 8 November 1903, Beau started in the final of the 1903–04 Coupe Manier in Vincennes, in which he made a "masterful" save from Georges Bayrou in an eventual 3–2 loss in extra-time to Gallia Club.

Beau was a member of the Paris Football Commission at the USFSA in 1904, and he also held the position of secretary of CA Paris. while the 1906 and 1907 titles were awarded to the team composed of at least eight French players with the highest ranking in the USFSA Paris championship, and in fact, FC Paris won that championship in 1906, and were runner-ups in 1907 behind RC de France, who did not meet the criteria for obtaining the trophy, so CA Paris therefore kept it. As the champions of Paris in 1906, FC Paris qualified for the USFSA national championship, and on 29 April, Beau started in the final against RC Roubaix, in which he saved a penalty and "defended fiercely", but also conceded four goals in a 4–1 loss. During this period, Beau had the likes of Verlet and Bilot in front of him, playing as full-backs, and together, they formed a great defensive partnership. In the following year, on 8 May, Beau started in the final of the 1910 Coupe Dewar, in which he "made no mistakes" to help his side to a 3–1 win over Gallia Club. The journalists of the French newspaper L'Auto (the forerunner of L'Équipe) noted that Beau was very "regular" throughout the whole 1910 season. During the summer of 1910, Beau's name disappeared from the reports, to make way for Coulon's, his pseudonym, which he only adopted after 13 years of career and with a well-established reputation. This victory allowed the club to compete in the 1911 Trophée de France, an inter-federation national competition organized by the CFI; Coulon started in the final on 11 June against Étoile des Deux Lacs, winners of the FGSPF, in which he kept another clean-sheet in another 1–0 victory, thus winning a trophy that had been donated by Pierre de Coubertin himself. The journalists of L'Auto stated that the winner's best players were "Coulon, C. Bilot, Bigué, Cyprès, and Gravier".

International career In March 1902, Beau played for a Paris XI that went to London to challenge Marlow FC, which ended in a 4–0 loss.

Outside football, Beau worked for a fabric merchant since at least 1902.

Death Beau died in 14th arrondissement of Paris on 27 June 1928, at the age of 46, from a long illness most likely caused by exposure to gas at the Battle of Verdun during the War.

Honours CA Paris USFSA Paris Championship: 1905–06, 1908–09 USFSA Football Championship runner-up: 1906, 1909 Trophée de France: 1911 Coupe Manier: 1905, 1906, 1907; runner-up 1904 Coupe Dewar: 1910 Challenge international du Nord runner-up: 1910