William Chesterman | |
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Born | |
Died | 6 January 1930 Sheffield | (aged 92)
Nationality | English |
Occupation | Industrialist |
Known for | Secretary of Sheffield Football Club |
William Chesterman (22 December 1837 – 6 January 1930) [1] was a British sportsman and industrialist. By his own confession a "weak but ardent footballer", [2] Chesterman served as secretary of Sheffield Football Club from February 1862 to September 1866, replacing club founder Nathaniel Creswick in this role; [3] [4] [5] he also acted as treasurer of the club during that period. Chesterman was succeeded in both these roles by Harry Chambers. In February 1866, Chesterman proposed the idea of a match between Sheffield and a representative FA team, subsequently leading the "Sheffield" team in the historic London v Sheffield football match in March of that year. Chesterman continued to be associated with Sheffield FC for decades. He was a member of the committee in 1889, when the club took the decision to remain amateur. [1]
Although he was no longer secretary of Sheffield FC at the time, Chesterman represented the club at the 1867 meeting of the Football Association (FA). [6] At that meeting, which was attended by only six representatives, Chesterman was elected to the FA's committee. He continued to serve on the FA committee until 1871. [7]
As an industrialist, Chesterman was the principal partner of James Chesterman and Co, a manufacturer of measuring instruments. Chesterman's father, James, had founded the company after inventing a spring-loaded tape measure with an automatic recoil mechanism. [8] As a result of his prominence in business, Chesterman served as Master Cutler from 1880 to 1881. [9]