Nicholas Lane Jackson

[[File:Nicholas Lane Jackson.png|thumb|Nicholas Lane Jackson.<br />Original caption: THE FOUNDER OF THE CORINTHIANS:<br /> MR. N. L. JACKSON.<br /> (Photo: [[Elliott & Fry|Elliott &. Fry]], Baker Street. W)]]

'''Nicholas Lane Jackson''' (1 November 1849 – 26 October 1937),<ref name="odnb">{{cite book |title=Oxford Dictionary of National Biography |page=512 |volume=29 |publisher=Oxford University Press |first1=H. C. G. |last1=Matthew |first2=Brian |last2=Harrison |location=Oxford |year=2004}}</ref><ref name="death">{{cite journal |title=Death of Grand Old Sportsman |journal=Gloucestershire Echo |date=26 October 1937 |page=8}}</ref> known as '''N. L. Jackson''' and "'''Pa'''" '''Jackson''', was an English sports administrator and author.

== Early life == Jackson was born in [[Hackney, London|Hackney]], London in 1849 to his father, also named Nicholas Lane Jackson, and mother Mary. The elder Jackson was a cattle salesman who had moved to the capital from Devon.<ref>{{cite archive |item = Census record |date = 30 March 1851 |page=17 | collection = 1851 England, Wales & Scotland Census:Shaftesbury Street, Shoreditch, London & Middlesex, England |institution=Public Record Office| item-url=https://search.findmypast.co.uk/record?id=GBC%2F1851%2F4304018%2F00229&parentid=GBC%2F1851%2F0004204922}}</ref> In 1869, the younger Jackson married Mary Ann Williams. By 1871, the young married couple were living in [[Isleworth]] with two infant children and a servant, with Jackson's occupation listed as "land steward".<ref>{{cite archive |item = Census record |date = 2 April 1871 |page=17 | collection =1871 England, Wales & Scotland Census: Wellington Road Denmark Villa, Isleworth, Brentford, Middlesex |institution=Public Record Office| item-url=https://search.findmypast.co.uk/record?id=GBC%2F1871%2F1312%2F0260&parentid=GBC%2F1871%2F0003208457}}</ref>

== Sports ==

=== Football === In 1877, Jackson founded [[Finchley F.C.]] (initially known as "Finchley Petrels"), also captaining the club.<ref>{{cite journal |page=5 |title=Finchley Football Club |journal=Hendon and Finchley Times |date=3 May 1879}}</ref> He soon started officiating matches, for example serving as [[assistant referee|umpire]] alongside [[C. W. Alcock]] in an F. A. Cup tie between Old Etonians and Minerva in January 1879.<ref>{{cite journal |journal=Sporting Gazette |date=18 January 1881 |page=22 |title=Association Challenge Cup: Old Etonians v Minerva}}</ref>

In 1880, he was elected to the committee of the [[Football Association]] (FA).<ref>{{cite journal |url=https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Football_Association_(Athletic_News)_1880-03-03.png |title=The Football Association |journal=The Athletic News |volume=v |issue=244 |page=7 |date=3 March 1880}}</ref> Between 1881 and 1883, he served as assistant secretary to the FA, working alongside Alcock.<ref>{{cite journal |title=The Football Association |journal=Nottingham Evening Post |date=1 September 1881 |page=2}}</ref> According to one source, although Alcock was the nominal secretary, "the burden of the work [was] borne by Jackson".<ref>{{cite journal |journal=Sheffield Daily Telegraph |date=6 October 1883 |page=7 |title=The Football Association}}</ref>

Jackson also founded [[Corinthian FC]] (1882) and the [[London Football Association]] (1882).

==== Professionalism ==== In January 1884, Jackson investigated allegations that [[Preston North End]] had offered financial inducements to attract Scottish players.<ref>{{cite journal |journal=York Herald |date=17 January 1884 |page=8 |title=Preston North End and Professionalism}}</ref> As a result of Jackson's investigation, an FA committee voted to disqualify the Preston club from [[1883–84 FA Cup|that season's FA Cup]].<ref>{{cite journal |journal=Blackburn Standard |date=2 February 1884 |page=3 |title=The Football Association and the Preston North End Club}}</ref> At the FA's meeting in February 1884, Jackson successfully proposed that "this meeting considers the existence of veiled professionalism and the importation of players are serious evils calling for prompt attention" and called for the creation of a committee to study the matter.<ref>{{cite journal |journal=Sheffield and Rotherham Independent |date=29 February 1884 |page=4 |title=The Football Association: The Professional Difficulty}}</ref> Jackson led the resulting committee, whose hardline anti-professionalism recommendations were adopted by the FA for the 1884–85 season.<ref>{{cite journal |journal=Sportsman |page=4 |date=26 June 1884 |title=The Football Association and Professionalism}}</ref>

In March 1885, when the question was once again considered by FA, Jackson supported a motion that "it is expedient to legalise professionalism".<ref>{{cite journal |date=24 March 1885 |page=8 |title=The Football Association and Professionalism |journal=Birmingham Daily Post}}</ref> He served on the committee whose recommendations led to the FA allowing professionalism, with certain restrictions, in July of that year.<ref>{{cite journal |journal=Sporting Life |title=Football Association |date=21 July 1885 |page=4}}</ref>

=== Tennis === Jackson contributed to the founding of the [[Lawn Tennis Association]] (1888).<ref name="odnb" /> He was one of the most important referees at early tennis tournaments.<ref name="whoswho">{{cite book |title=Who's Who 1938 |pages=1930–1931 |url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.85014/page/n1993/mode/2up |location=London |publisher=A. and C. Black |date=n.d. |orig-year=1938}}</ref>

=== Golf === Jackson founded golf clubs at [[Le Touquet]], [[Cabourg]], and [[Stoke Park, Buckinghamshire#The Club|Stoke Poges]] (the last being the first country club in England).<ref name="odnb" /> He continued to play the game into old age, allegedly having a handicap of 9 at the age of 82.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Golfer of 82 Years |journal= Daily Mail |location=Hull |date=27 August 1931 |page=4}}</ref>

=== Other sports === Jackson gave his name to the "Lane-Jackson Championship", an important [[curling]] title in [[Switzerland]].<ref name="whoswho" /><ref>{{cite journal |journal=Western Mail |date=18 January 1927 |page=3 |title=Golf Notes}}</ref> He invented a sport known as "ringoal", in which players used two sticks to throw a ring, which had to be caught by an opponent.<ref>{{cite journal |page=11 |title=Forgotten Games |first=Andrew |last=Seymour |journal=Midland Daily Telegraph |date=20 March 1936}}</ref>

== Author ==

Jackson was a prolific author. He founded the tennis journal ''Pastime'' (1883) and the cricket periodical ''Cricket Field'' (1892), both of which were later purchased by ''[[The Field (magazine)|The Field]]''. His ''Association Football'' (1899) is an important source for the early history of that sport. He also edited reference works for football and rugby. His autobiography ''Sporting Days and Sporting Ways'' was published in 1932.

== Death ==

Jackson died in 1937 at the age of 87. He is said to have boasted that he weighed the same at the age of 80 as he did at 18 (10 stone 8.5 pounds). He also claimed to have never smoked or drunk alcohol.<ref name="death" />

== Works == * {{cite book |title=The National Football Calendar for 1881 |first1=C. W. |last1=Alcock |first2=N. L. |last2=Jackson |location=London |date=n.d.}} * Jackson, N. L. (ed.), ''Pastime: the Lawn-Tennis Journal'' (from 1883) * {{cite book |title=The Athlete's Guide |first=Nick Lane |last=Jackson |year=1887 |edition=second |location=London |publisher=Simpkin, Marshall & co.}} * {{cite book |title=The Association Football Handbook 1892-3 |year=1892 |first=N. L. |last=Jackson |location=London |publisher=Pastime}} * {{cite book |title=The Association Football Handbook, 1894-5, 1895-6| first=N. L. |last=Jackson |location=London |date=n.d.}} * {{cite book |title=The Rugby Union Football handbook 1895/96 |first=N. L |last=Jackson |location=London |publisher=Cox}} * {{cite book |title=Association Football |date=1899 |location=London |publisher=[[George Newnes Ltd]] |first=N. L. |last=Jackson}} * {{cite book |title=Always Fit and Well |first=N. L. |last=Jackson |location=London |publisher=George Newnes |date=n.d. |orig-year=1931}} * {{cite book |title=Sporting Days and Sporting Ways |first=N. L. |last=Jackson |location=London |publisher=Hurst & Blackett |year=1932}}

== Notes ==

== External links == {{Commonscatinline}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jackson, Nicholas Lane}} [[Category:1849 births]] [[Category:1937 deaths]] [[Category:Founders of association football institutions]] [[Category:English men's footballers]] [[Category:History of football in England]] [[Category:Corinthian F.C. players]] [[Category:English male journalists]] [[Category:Men's association football players not categorized by position]]