Henry Menzies (cricketer)

Henry Menzies

Menzies (second from left) in 1901
Personal information
Born	(1867-03-28)28 March 1867 Lambeth, London, England
Died	7 March 1936(1936-03-07) (aged 68) North Farnborough, Hampshire, England
Batting	Right-handed
Role	Wicketkeeper
Domestic team information
Years	Team
1890–91	Cambridge
1891–93	Middlesex
Association football career Position(s) Defender Senior career* Years Team Apps (Gls) 1895–1902 FC Liégeois 1902–1904 Beerschot AC *Club domestic league appearances and goals

Henry Menzies (28 March 1867 – 7 March 1936) was an English first-class cricketer active 1891–93 who played for Middlesex, and a footballer who played as a defender for Belgian clubs FC Liégeois and Beerschot AC between 1895 and 1904.

Early life

Henry Menzies was born on 28 March 1867 in Lambeth, London, as the son of Ronald Sutherland Menzies, who had been born in 1846 in Lee, then in Kent, now a London suburb. He was the oldest of seven children, of whom six survived to adulthood, with all of his siblings being born in Liège, Belgium, the city to which his father moved in the early 1890s, becoming the president of Belgian football club FC Liégeois, which had been founded by Englishmen in 1892. In 1903, his father became the British Vice-Consul in the city.

Cricket career

Menzies was a very good wicket-keeper who was unfortunate enough to be at Cambridge at the same time as Gregor McGregor, thus having no chance of getting his Blue. A well-known Free Forester, he played five times for Middlesex in 1891–93, including in a County Championship match against Kent on 23 August 1893, which Middlesex lost by 12 runs.

Football career

At some point in late 1894 or early 1895, Menzies arrived in Liège to reunite with his family, since his younger siblings, such as his brothers Alfred and Guy Menzies, all lived in Liège. Whilst there, he began playing football with the local club FC Liégeois in mid-1895, at the age of 28, helping his side win the very first Belgian championship in 1895–96. He stayed loyal to the club for seven years until 1902, when he left for Beerschot AC, where he retired two years later in 1904, at the age of 37.

Despite his nationality, Menzies participated in the first match of a Belgian national team at the 1901 Coupe Vanden Abeele on 28 April, which ended in an 8–0 trashing of a third-rate Dutch side. However, this match is not officially recognized by FIFA because of the presence of foreign players in the Belgium side, including Menzies.

Death

Menzies died in North Farnborough, Hampshire on 7 March 1936, at the age of 68.

Honours

FC Liégeois

• Belgian Championship:
  • Champions (2): 1896, 1898, and 1899

• Coupe Van der Straeten Ponthoz:
  • Champions (1): 1900