William Alcock

William Jonathan Alcock (1860 – 3 January 1930) was an Irish footballer who was the first captain of Spanish club Recreativo de Huelva, leading his side in the first official football match in Spain in 1890, and later led the club to its first-ever piece of silverware in 1904.

Early life Born in 1860 in Cork, Alcock moved to Huelva in 1888, after being hired as head of the Groceries Department in the second warehouse of the Rio Tinto Company Limited. Whilst there, he opened a pub in the street currently known as Avenida de Italia. He thus quickly became linked with the club, and just three months later, on 8 March 1890, he already was the team captain when the club faced Sevilla FC at the Hipódromo de Tablada (horse racing track), which ended in a 2–0 loss. This match is now considered to be the first official football match in Spain, which means that Alcock was the first official captain in Spanish football history, alongside Sevilla's Hugh MacColl. On 20 February 1892, he lined up for Huelva as a forward 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 forward for Huelva, this time in a match against Rio Tinto FC, playing alongside the likes of George Wakelin, Benito Daniel, and James Reeves. In the press of Huelva, he was sometimes referred to as Guillermo Alcock.

On 20 November 1904, the 34-year-old Alcock captained Huelva to a victory over the British sailors of the Seamen's Institute, thus winning the so-called Copa Seamen's Institute, a silver cup that had been donated by Recreativo's vice-president José Muñoz Pérez, similar to how King Alfonso XIII had donated a trophy to the winners of the Copa del Rey, which had been founded only a year earlier. Thanks to his knowledge of English football, which at the time was much more advanced than the rest of Continental Europe, he began acting as the coach of the football team, and under his leadership, Recreativo maintained absolute hegemony in Andalusian football, winning all the competitions held until 1915, He headed the American vice-consulate of Huelva during the First World War. His services were terminated upon arrival of Consul Remillard in 1920. He was severely wounded by a madman in August 1913.

In 1930, José González Pérez published a book titled Historia del football en Huelva y su provincia ("History of football in Huelva and its province"), whose value comes from the crucial collaboration and insightful testimonial contributions of Alcock and Benito Daniel, two former Huelva players who were still alive in 1929, when the book was being made.

Death Alcock died in London on 3 January 1930, at the age of 68.