A couple of days ago we posted another William Townley item from 1890 which went down very well with our followers on Facebook, and here we have another!
This 1890 England International Cap was awarded to the Blackburn Rovers player on 15th March 1890, when he played in a 9 – 1 British Championship win over Ireland at Ballynafeigh Park, Belfast. Townley scored twice in this match.
Ireland’s only goal was scored by John Reynolds, who was English, but played for both nations during his career.
Due to an increasingly crowded domestic schedule, England also played a second British Championship international match against Wales in Wrexham on the same day, with the FA picking two separate squads to play in the two separate games.
The photographs in the background show Townley in his Stockton AFC kit on the left, and Blackburn Rovers FC kit on the right.
It is possible that only one cap colour was produced for use in both of these games, as Townley’s cap is red, whereas the cap colour for playing against Ireland should be white. Red is normally the cap colour for playing against Wales.
