Harry Offer
Encyclopedia
Henry Thomas "Harry" Offer (1871 – 12 January 1947) was an English footballer who scored Arsenal
's first-ever goal in the FA Cup
"proper" rounds in 1891, and Southampton
's first-ever league goal in 1894.
, Wiltshire
and played for Swindon Town
as a teenager, playing in defence in each of Swindon's FA Cup
matches in 1887–88 and 1888–89, both of which ended in defeat, to Old Brightonians and Great Marlow
respectively.
. At this time, the club were not fully professional and played mainly friendlies and Cup matches. They entered the FA Cup
for the first time in 1889–90, but failed to get past the qualifying rounds. The following season, they entered the cup at the First Round proper, losing 2–1 to Derby County
on 17 January 1891 with Offer scoring Arsenal's goal. In total, Offer played four times in the FA Cup for Arsenal, with one goal to his name, as well as 52 appearances and 16 appearances in other first-team games.
, where he failed to break into the first-team, before returning to Swindon Town
later that year. Now playing as a forward, he scored one of Swindon's goals in a 4–3 FA Cup qualifying round defeat to Luton Town
on 3 October 1891. The next season, he scored again at Cowes
in the first qualifying round on 15 October 1892, and played in the next three qualifying round matches, with Swindon going out to Marlow
once again.
in the summer of 1893 where he signed a professional contract, as the "Saints" were putting together a side to compete with the best teams. At first, Offer was played as a full-back — according to "Holley & Chalk" he was "an aggressive player (whose) enthusiasm sometimes overtook him in efforts to obtain the ball". By the end of the 1893–94 season, Offer had reverted to his role as a forward as the Saints reached the finals of three local cup competitions, winning the Hampshire County Cricket Club
Charity Cup, defeating the Royal Artillery 5–0 in the final, with Offer scoring twice.
In 1894, Southampton were one of the nine founder members of the Southern League
, which had been created to enable clubs in southern England, who were not admitted to the Football League
to play competitive football on a regular basis. For Southampton's inaugural league season, Offer was part of a forward line-up including Jack Angus
, Charles Baker
, Fred Hollands
and Herbert Ward. Saints' first league match was played at The Antelope Ground
on 6 October 1894; Offer opened the scoring in a 3–1 victory over Chatham.
A week later, on 13 October 1894, Southampton met Newbury
in the first qualifying round of the FA Cup. Saints were "in particularly rampant mood" and won 14–0, with Offer scoring twice; this is still Southampton's biggest victory in a competitive match. Offer scored a hat-trick
in a 7–3 victory over Marlow
(gaining a measure of revenge for the defeats whilst with Swindon Town) in the third qualifying round as the Saints went on to reach the First Round proper for the first time, going out 1–4 to Football League First Division
opponents Nottingham Forest
.
Saints finished third in the league
with Offer scoring four goals, to bring his total for the season to ten goals from eighteen appearances.
At the end of the season, Offer retired from his professional football career and resumed his previous trade of joiner
, settling on the Isle of Wight
, where he died in January 1947.
Arsenal F.C.
Arsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups...
's first-ever goal in the FA Cup
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
"proper" rounds in 1891, and Southampton
Southampton F.C.
Southampton Football Club is an English football team, nicknamed The Saints, based in the city of Southampton, Hampshire. The club gained promotion to the Championship from League One in the 2010–2011 season after being relegated in 2009. Their home ground is the St Mary's Stadium, where the club...
's first-ever league goal in 1894.
Swindon Town
Offer was born in DevizesDevizes
Devizes is a market town and civil parish in Wiltshire, England. The town is about southeast of Chippenham and about east of Trowbridge.Devizes serves as a centre for banks, solicitors and shops, with a large open market place where a market is held once a week...
, Wiltshire
Wiltshire
Wiltshire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers...
and played for Swindon Town
Swindon Town F.C.
Swindon Town Football Club are a team based in Swindon, Wiltshire. Currently in League Two, Swindon have been managed by Paolo Di Canio since 23 May 2011...
as a teenager, playing in defence in each of Swindon's FA Cup
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
matches in 1887–88 and 1888–89, both of which ended in defeat, to Old Brightonians and Great Marlow
Marlow F.C.
Marlow F.C. is an English football club based in Marlow, Buckinghamshire. The club are currently members of Division One Central of the Southern League and play at the Alfred Davis Memorial Ground...
respectively.
Royal Arsenal
In September 1889, Offer moved to London to join Royal ArsenalArsenal F.C.
Arsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups...
. At this time, the club were not fully professional and played mainly friendlies and Cup matches. They entered the FA Cup
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
for the first time in 1889–90, but failed to get past the qualifying rounds. The following season, they entered the cup at the First Round proper, losing 2–1 to Derby County
Derby County F.C.
Derby County Football Club is an English football based in Derby. the club play in the Football League Championship and is notable as being one of the twelve founder members of the Football League in 1888 and is, therefore, one of only ten clubs to have competed in every season of the English...
on 17 January 1891 with Offer scoring Arsenal's goal. In total, Offer played four times in the FA Cup for Arsenal, with one goal to his name, as well as 52 appearances and 16 appearances in other first-team games.
Return to Swindon Town
In February 1891, Offer moved to join BurnleyBurnley F.C.
Burnley Football Club are a professional English Football League club based in Burnley, Lancashire. Nicknamed the Clarets, due to the dominant colour of their home shirts, they were founder members of the Football League in 1888...
, where he failed to break into the first-team, before returning to Swindon Town
Swindon Town F.C.
Swindon Town Football Club are a team based in Swindon, Wiltshire. Currently in League Two, Swindon have been managed by Paolo Di Canio since 23 May 2011...
later that year. Now playing as a forward, he scored one of Swindon's goals in a 4–3 FA Cup qualifying round defeat to Luton Town
Luton Town F.C.
Luton Town Football Club is an English professional football club based since 1905 at Kenilworth Road, Luton, Bedfordshire. The club currently competes in the fifth tier of English football, the Conference National, for the third consecutive season during the 2011–12 season.Formed in 1885, it was...
on 3 October 1891. The next season, he scored again at Cowes
Cowes Sports F.C.
Cowes Sports F.C. is a football club based in Cowes, Isle of Wight, England. They were established in 1881.The history of Cowes Football Club can be traced back to 1881, when the club was originally formed, although competitive action did not arrive until 1886 in the shape of the Hants and Dorset...
in the first qualifying round on 15 October 1892, and played in the next three qualifying round matches, with Swindon going out to Marlow
Marlow F.C.
Marlow F.C. is an English football club based in Marlow, Buckinghamshire. The club are currently members of Division One Central of the Southern League and play at the Alfred Davis Memorial Ground...
once again.
Southampton
Offer moved to Southampton St Mary'sSouthampton F.C.
Southampton Football Club is an English football team, nicknamed The Saints, based in the city of Southampton, Hampshire. The club gained promotion to the Championship from League One in the 2010–2011 season after being relegated in 2009. Their home ground is the St Mary's Stadium, where the club...
in the summer of 1893 where he signed a professional contract, as the "Saints" were putting together a side to compete with the best teams. At first, Offer was played as a full-back — according to "Holley & Chalk" he was "an aggressive player (whose) enthusiasm sometimes overtook him in efforts to obtain the ball". By the end of the 1893–94 season, Offer had reverted to his role as a forward as the Saints reached the finals of three local cup competitions, winning the Hampshire County Cricket Club
Hampshire County Cricket Club
Hampshire County Cricket Club represents the historic county of Hampshire in cricket's County Championship. The club was founded in 1863 as a successor to the Hampshire county cricket teams and has played at the Antelope Ground from then until 1885, before moving to the County Ground where it...
Charity Cup, defeating the Royal Artillery 5–0 in the final, with Offer scoring twice.
In 1894, Southampton were one of the nine founder members of the Southern League
Southern Football League
The Southern League is an English football competition featuring semi-professional and amateur clubs from the South West, South Central and Midlands of England and South Wales...
, which had been created to enable clubs in southern England, who were not admitted to the Football League
The Football League
The Football League, also known as the npower Football League for sponsorship reasons, is a league competition featuring professional association football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest such competition in world football...
to play competitive football on a regular basis. For Southampton's inaugural league season, Offer was part of a forward line-up including Jack Angus
Jack Angus
John William Angus was a Scottish professional footballer who played as a forward in Southampton's inaugural season in the Southern League.-Football career:...
, Charles Baker
Charles Baker (footballer)
Charles Baker was an English professional footballer who played as an inside forward in Southampton's inaugural season in the Southern League.-Playing career:...
, Fred Hollands
Fred Hollands
Frederick George "Fred" Hollands was an English professional footballer who played as an outside-forward for Millwall Athletic and Southampton St Mary's in the 1890s.-Football career:...
and Herbert Ward. Saints' first league match was played at The Antelope Ground
Antelope Ground
The Antelope Ground, Southampton was a sports ground that was the first home of both Hampshire County Cricket Club, who played there prior to 1884, and of Southampton Football Club, who played there from 1887 to 1896 as "Southampton St...
on 6 October 1894; Offer opened the scoring in a 3–1 victory over Chatham.
A week later, on 13 October 1894, Southampton met Newbury
Newbury Town F.C.
Newbury Town F.C. is a now-defunct football club based in Newbury, England. They won the Hellenic League title two times in their history. They also won the Isthmian League Division Two in 1994, but ceased to exist just before the start of the 1995–96 season...
in the first qualifying round of the FA Cup. Saints were "in particularly rampant mood" and won 14–0, with Offer scoring twice; this is still Southampton's biggest victory in a competitive match. Offer scored a hat-trick
Hat-trick
A hat-trick or hat trick in sport is the achievement of a positive feat three times during a game, or other achievements based on threes. The term was first used in 1858 in cricket to describe HH Stephenson's feat of taking three wickets in three balls. A collection was held for Stephenson, and he...
in a 7–3 victory over Marlow
Marlow F.C.
Marlow F.C. is an English football club based in Marlow, Buckinghamshire. The club are currently members of Division One Central of the Southern League and play at the Alfred Davis Memorial Ground...
(gaining a measure of revenge for the defeats whilst with Swindon Town) in the third qualifying round as the Saints went on to reach the First Round proper for the first time, going out 1–4 to Football League First Division
Football League First Division
The First Division was a division of The Football League between 1888 and 2004 and the highest division in English football until the creation of the Premier League in 1992. The secondary tier in English football has since become known as the Championship....
opponents Nottingham Forest
Nottingham Forest F.C.
Nottingham Forest Football Club is an English Association Football club based in West Bridgford, Nottingham, that plays in the Football League Championship...
.
Saints finished third in the league
Southern Football League 1894-95
The 1894-95 season was the first in the history of the Southern League. Sixteen clubs joined the new league, which was split into two divisions...
with Offer scoring four goals, to bring his total for the season to ten goals from eighteen appearances.
At the end of the season, Offer retired from his professional football career and resumed his previous trade of joiner
Joiner
A joiner differs from a carpenter in that joiners cut and fit joints in wood that do not use nails. Joiners usually work in a workshop since the formation of various joints generally requires non-portable machinery. A carpenter normally works on site...
, settling on the Isle of Wight
Isle of Wight
The Isle of Wight is a county and the largest island of England, located in the English Channel, on average about 2–4 miles off the south coast of the county of Hampshire, separated from the mainland by a strait called the Solent...
, where he died in January 1947.