James Reeves

Herbert James Reeves (1869 – 4 June 1937), also known as James Reeves or Captain Reeves, was an English football pioneer who is regarded as one of the most important figures in the amateur beginnings of football in Catalonia, being noted for his prominent role in promoting football in the city and as the undisputed leader and fundamental head behind the foundations of some of the earliest Catalan clubs in existence such as British Club de Barcelona and Sociedad de Foot-Ball de Barcelona, serving both teams as its captain. In addition to his leadership skills, he also stood out as a great striker, netting some of the first goals in the history of Catalan football.

Early life and education Herbert James Reeves was born in 1869 in Hackney, then a municipality in the county of Middlesex (now a district of Greater London). The exact date of birth is not known, but he was registered in the civil registry between April and June of that year. On 20 February 1892, he lined up for Huelva as a defender in a friendly match against Sevilla FC, which had been set to serve as a tie-breaker between the two teams, since their previous two encounters had ended in a draw; Huelva won 2–0. Three months later, on 6 May, he again started as a defender for Huelva, this time in a match against Rio Tinto FC, playing alongside the likes of George Wakelin, William Alcock, and Luis Birchall. In the press of Huelva, he was sometimes referred to as D. Herberto J. Reeves.

In May 1892, Reeves was appointed to a committee tasked with the preparation of the "Program of Events" organized by Recreativo de Huelva in commemoration of the fourth Centenary of the Discovery of America by Christopher Columbus, which consisted of several sporting events that took place in the months of August, September, and October, held at the so-called Campo del Velódromo, which had been inaugurated by Recreativo on 20 August, Unlike Recreativo, however, the Cricket Club was a strictly British entity, so instead of joining this team, Reeves, an enthusiastic and passionate lover of the game, aimed to create an organization that was not only exclusively dedicated to the practice of football, but also open to everyone, regardless of their origin.

The individual from the English colony, Reeves, was the soul of that Club and managed to impress some of his countrymen with his entrepreneurial spirit so that in a short time he achieved a respectable number of members. — Joaquim Escardó of Los Deportes in 1906. Apparently, this group of football pioneers led by Reeves was constituted as Barcelona Football Club, thus following the same structure of English club names.

1892–93 season Even though the British colony of Barcelona had a large presence in the city, finding 22 individuals (plus the referee) was not an easy task, given that the expatriates came to work and many of them had positions of responsibility. In their next match, Cochran had already lost the captaincy, which was given to the 20-year-old John Beaty-Pownall. Something that did not change, however, was the captain, as Reeves remained the undisputed leader of the entity, captaining one of the sides that disputed the first football match played in Bonanova on 27 January 1895, which was played by 16 players from the Barcelona Football Society divided into two teams (Blues vs Reds). On 2 February, he captained the Blue Team in a match against the Reds led by Beaty-Pownall, and once again he led by example, netting his side's only goal in a 4–1 loss, courtesy of Pownall and John Parsons (2).

Apart from the Blue v Red games, the Barcelona Football Society only played two matches in the 1894–95 season, both against a team from Torelló (Torelló Foot-ball Association), which was the very first time that teams from two different cities played against each other in Catalonia, and Reeves was the captain in both games. In the return fixture in Torelló, he captained his side in a 5–3 loss, courtesy of a hat-trick from Cochran.

1895–96 season Reeves played several friendly matches at Can Tunis and a few others at Bonanova between 1892 and 1895, where he stood out as a great goal scorer, however, due to the little statistical rigor that the newspapers had at that time, the exact number of goals he netted is unknown.

Coinciding with the closure of the Barcelona Waterworks Company Ltd, Reeves returned to the United Kingdom in November 1895, leaving the club orphaned in its management, Following his departure, it was the Catalans who took the reins of the team, but without him, the entity soon declined, collapsed and around 1896 this society, which was never officially established, seems to disappear. For this reason, no Briton played football in Spain (that we know of) in 1897 and 1898.

In 1908, Reeves married Katherine Margaret Beaty-Pownall (1870–1942), widow of Henry Wood and sister of John Beaty-Pownall. Katherine already had two children from her previous marriage to Wood, and in 1910 they had a child of their own, John Pownall Reeves.

In June 1930, the partnership between Reeves and Potter was dissolved, which meant the end of "A. C. Potter & CO", then based at Dysart Road, Grantham, in the county of Lincoln.

Death Reeves died on 4 June 1937 at the age of 68.