{{short description|English footballer}} {{Use dmy dates|date=June 2016}} {{Use British English|date=June 2016}} {{Infobox football biography |name = Edgar Kail |image = |fullname = Edgar Isaac Lewis Kail |birth_date = {{birth date|1900|11|26|df=y}} |birth_place = London, England |death_date = {{death date and age|1976|1|17|1900|11|26|df=y}} |death_place = Skelmorlie, Scotland |height = |position = Inside right |youthyears1 = |youthclubs1 = |years1 = 1915–1933 |clubs1 = Dulwich Hamlet |caps1 = |goals1 = 427 |nationalyears1 = 1920-1933 |nationalteam1 = England Amateurs |nationalcaps1 = 30 |nationalgoals1 = 12 |nationalyears2 = 1929 |nationalteam2 = England |nationalcaps2 = 3 |nationalgoals2 = 2 }} '''Edgar Isaac Lewis Kail''' (26 November 1900 – 17 January 1976) was an English footballer who played for Dulwich Hamlet and the England national team, as an inside forward. He was the last non-league player to play for the full England team.
==Early life== Edgar Kail was born in Camberwell, London on 26 November 1900 to James Walker Issac Kail, a post office sorter and Rosa Mary Kail (née Yells).<ref name=Lamming>{{cite book|last1=Lamming|first1=Douglas|title=An English football internationalists' who's who : 1872-1988|date=1990|publisher=Hutton Press|location=Beverley|isbn=9780907033936}}<!--|accessdate=10 December 2015--></ref><ref name=EFO>{{cite web|title=Edgar Kail|url=http://www.englandfootballonline.com/TeamPlyrsBios/PlayersK/BioKailEIL.html|website=England Football Online|accessdate=10 December 2015}}</ref> At the time of his birth, the family lived at 11 Thompson Road and Edgar was the youngest of three sons. By 1911, the Kails had moved round the corner 80a Landcroft Road, Dulwich during which time Rosa had given birth to three more sons and a daughter.<ref name=Lamming/><ref name=EFO/>
==Club career==
===Dulwich Hamlet=== After representing various South London schools, Kail signed for Dulwich Hamlet in 1915 aged 15 years.<ref name=Lamming/> Kail was a committed amateur at Dulwich Hamlet, turning down moves to professional clubs to stay at the club.<ref name=bbc1/> With Dulwich he won the FA Amateur Cup in 1920 and 1932.<ref name=Lamming/> He played for the "Amateurs" in the 1929 FA Charity Shield.<ref>{{Cite news | work = Derby Daily Telegraph | title = Professionals v. Amateurs – selected teams for annual match | date = 26 September 1929 | accessdate = 21 March 2016 | page=10| via = British Newspaper Archive| url = http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000327/19290926/085/0010}}</ref>
===Links with other clubs=== Kail played a charity match for Queen's Park against Rangers in May 1932.<ref name=Lamming/> He also signed amateur forms for Chelsea in March 1930 but did not make any league appearances.<ref name=Lamming/>
==International career== Kail had a short international career, only six days long, gaining three caps on England's brief continental tour of 1929 against Spain, Belgium and France. He scored two goals on his debut against France.<ref name=EFO/>
During the match against Spain, he became the last non-league player to play for the full England team,<ref name=bbc1/> although not the last amateur – Bernard Joy of Casuals and Arsenal played for England in 1936.
==Personal life== Kail married Irene Margaret Ramsey, daughter of Dulwich Hamlet groundsman, Dalhousie Ramsey in Camberwell in February 1926.<ref name=Lamming/><ref name=EFO/>
He died in Skelmorlie, Ayrshire in 1976 from a stroke.<ref name=EFO/>
==Legacy== In the 1990s the approach to Dulwich's ground, Champion Hill, was renamed Edgar Kail Way in his honour.
In 2003, a blue plaque dedicated to Kail was unveiled by Southwark Council at the site of Champion Hill.<ref name=bbc1>{{cite news|last1=Keogh|first1=Frank|title=Football's local hero|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/2771931.stm|access-date=9 December 2015|work=news.bbc.co.uk|issue=17 February 2003|date=17 February 2003}}</ref><ref name=SHA>{{cite web|title=Southwark Blue Plaque Register|url=http://www.southwark.org.uk/SHAFrame800.htm|website=Southwark Heritage Association|accessdate=9 December 2015|archive-date=30 April 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170430160221/http://southwark.org.uk/SHAFrame800.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref>
Edgar Kail remains a cult figure amongst Dulwich Hamlet FC fans, with his name still sung at games each week.<ref name=bbc1/><ref name=Guardian1>{{cite web|last1=Ashdown|first1=John|title=Who are the oldest players still celebrated in football club chants?|url=https://www.theguardian.com/football/2013/apr/09/oldest-players-celebrated-football-club-chants| website=www.theguardian.com |accessdate=9 December 2015|date=9 April 2013}}</ref><ref name=PITCHERO1>{{cite web|last1=Morath|first1=Mishi|title="Edgar Kail in my heart, keep me Dulwich!"|url=http://www.pitchero.com/clubs/dulwichhamlet/news/edgar-kail-in-my-heart-keep-918807.html|website=www.pitchero.com|accessdate=8 December 2015}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kail, Edgar}} Category:1900 births Category:1976 deaths Category:Footballers from the London Borough of Southwark Category:People from Camberwell Category:English men's footballers Category:England men's international footballers Category:Dulwich Hamlet F.C. players Category:Men's association football inside forwards Category:England men's amateur international footballers {{England-footy-forward-1900s-stub}}