Page:Football, The Association Game.djvu/35

 Prominent among those who helped to consolidate the Association in its early days, and to establish it on a permanent basis, may be mentioned three keen football players—Messrs. Arthur Pember, the captain of the N.N.'s; E. C. Morley, the ruling spirit of the Barnes club; and J. Forster Alcock, captain of the Forest club, Leytonstone. It was in a great measure, indeed, to the indefatigable efforts of these three gentlemen at the outset of its career that the Association was able to surmount the numerous difficulties which interfered for a time with its advancement. The requirements of more important work soon compelled Mr. Morley to give up the position of Hon. Secretary, to which he had been elected at the inaugural meeting, in favour of Mr. R. W. Willis, as previously stated. The former, though, continued to do good work as one of the committee, and, on the retirement of Mr. Pember, he was unanimously elected to fill the highest office, that of President At that time the committee only consisted of four members, and in the early part of 1867 the affairs of the Association were managed by a directorate of six, composed of the President; the Hon. Secretary and Treasurer, a dual office; and the committee, consisting of Messrs. C. W, Alcock, of the Wanderers; W. J. Cutbill, of the Crystal Palace; W. Chesterman, of Sheffield and R. W. Willis, of Barnes, who had just before given up the post of Hon. Secretary.

The earliest revision of the rules saw the abolition of the free kick, and though a provision was at first inserted allowing a player to stop the ball with his hands, it was soon afterwards removed, as was, indeed, everything that could by any chance be considered to savour of the Rugby game. An attempt by the Sheffield club to introduce rouges, after the fashion of the Eton field game, met with no favour;