Moses Russell

Moses Richard Russell (20 May 1888 – 18 December 1946) was a Welsh international footballer, who played most of his career with Plymouth Argyle. A full back, he attained 23 caps for the Wales national football team. His first professional club was Ton Pentre, whom he joined in 1911 before transferring to Merthyr Town later that year.

He made his debut for Wales playing at left half against Scotland on 2 March 1912. Although he was not selected for the next international, against England, he was called up to play Ireland on 13 April, this time in his preferred position at left back. Both matches ended in defeats, with Wales taking the "wooden spoon" in the 1912 British Home Championship.

In the summer of 1912, Russell left South Wales to join Southport but with the club having financial problems, he returned to Merthyr on a free transfer in February 1913, rather than take a cut in his wages.

As a result of a bout of rheumatic fever, Russell lost most of his hair; his bald head made him appear some years older than his true age. As a result, several clubs rejected him as a "veteran". Despite the outbreak of the First World War, the Southern League season continued, although international football was suspended. During his first season at Home Park, Russell soon became the established choice at left back, making 25 league appearances.

On the cessation of hostilities, league football resumed at the start of the 1919–20 season, with Argyle spending one further season in the Southern League before transferring to the newly formed Football League Third Division in 1920.

Described as a player with "unquenchable enthusiasm and gritty determination", Russell was "an inspiration throughout the 1920s at (both) club and country level". A "big, strong defender, he was quick, had good positional sense and was of inestimable value to Plymouth Argyle".

Russell became club captain and led his side to the runners-up position in the Football League Division Three South for six successive seasons between 1921–22 and 1926–27. With only the champions being promoted to the Second Division, Argyle continued to miss out on promotion until 1930, by when Russell was coming to the end of his career. As a result of the failure to reach the top place in the table, Russell was dubbed "the unluckiest captain in soccer".

In the tour match against Boca Juniors on 9 July 1924, the home supporters invaded the pitch after their team had scored the opening goal and carried all eleven home players shoulder high around the stadium. After a half-hour delay, the referee restarted the match, but a further invasion was sparked when the referee awarded a penalty against the home side. When the match was again restarted, the Argyle players had agreed that Patsy Corcoran would take the spot-kick and miss. The ultra-competitive Russell was not prepared to accept this and pushed Corcoran aside and took the penalty himself. This prompted a further pitch invasion by the Boca fans and this time the match was abandoned. on 15 March 1920 gave them only their second British Home Championship title.

Scotland took the championship in each of the next three years, but in 1924, Wales claimed the "Triple Crown". After victories over Scotland and England, Wales met Ireland at Windsor Park, Belfast on 15 March with the Irish needing a victory to claim a share of the title. In a hard-fought match, Russell converted the penalty which gave Wales the victory by a 1–0 margin.

Russell continued to turn out for Wales over the next few years, helping them to claim a fourth championship in 1927–28 before making his final appearance, aged 40, on 17 November 1928 in a 2–3 defeat by England. His 20 international appearances during his Plymouth Argyle career, made him Argyle's most-capped player, a record he held until Tony Capaldi made his 21st appearance for Northern Ireland (against Wales) on 6 February 2007.

Although Russell made no further full international appearances, he accompanied a Welsh party that toured Canada in 1929. In a match at Hamilton, Ontario, play was getting a "little rough" when Russell fouled one of the Hamilton players, George Chambers. This precipitated a pitch invasion by the Hamilton supporters who surrounded Russell, who ended up leaving the pitch on a stretcher. Some reports claim that during the altercation, one of the spectators threatened Russell with a pistol.

Date Venue Opponent Result Goals Competition 2 March 1912 Tynecastle Park, Edinburgh 0–1 0 British Home Championship 13 April 1912 Ninian Park, Cardiff 2–3 0 British Home Championship 16 March 1914 Ninian Park, Cardiff 0–2 0 British Home Championship 14 February 1920 The Oval, Belfast 2–2 0 British Home Championship 26 February 1920 Ninian Park, Cardiff 2–2 0 British Home Championship 15 March 1920 Highbury, London 2–1 0 British Home Championship (Winners) 12 February 1921 Pittodrie, Aberdeen 1–2 0 British Home Championship 14 March 1921 Ninian Park, Cardiff 0–0 0 British Home Championship 9 April 1921 Vetch Field, Swansea 2–1 0 British Home Championship 13 March 1922 Anfield, Liverpool 0–1 0 British Home Championship 1 April 1922 Windsor Park, Belfast 1–1 0 British Home Championship 5 March 1923 Ninian Park, Cardiff 2–2 0 British Home Championship 17 March 1923 Love Street, Paisley 0–2 0 British Home Championship 14 April 1923 Racecourse Ground, Wrexham 3–1 0 British Home Championship 16 February 1924 Ninian Park, Cardiff 2–0 0 British Home Championship 3 March 1924 Ewood Park, Blackburn 2–1 0 British Home Championship 15 March 1924 Windsor Park, Belfast 1–0 1 (Pen) British Home Championship (Winners) 14 February 1925 Tynecastle, Edinburgh 1–3 0 British Home Championship 28 February 1925 Vetch Field, Swansea 1–2 0 British Home Championship 18 April 1925 Racecourse Ground, Wrexham 0–0 0 British Home Championship 1 March 1926 Selhurst Park, London 3–1 0 British Home Championship 29 October 1927 Racecourse Ground, Wrexham 2–2 0 British Home Championship (Winners) 17 November 1928 Vetch Field, Swansea 2–3 0 British Home Championship

Honours Merthyr Town South Wales & Monmouthshire FA Cup: 1912

Wales British Home Championship: 1920, 1924, 1928 Individual

Merthyr Town Hall of Fame