Full name Henry Alfred Cursham Playing position Date of birth 27 November 1859 Name Henry Cursham | Place of birth Wilford, England Role Footballer Date of death 6 August 1941 Position Forward | |
Place of death Holme Pierrepont, England Died August 6, 1941, Holme Pierrepont, United Kingdom | ||
Henry "Harry" Cursham (27 November 1859 – 6 August 1941) was an English footballer and cricketer. Cursham was born in Wilford, Nottinghamshire, and played for Notts County, as well as playing first-class cricket for Nottinghamshire. He was born in Wilford and died in Holme Pierrepont.
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Football career
Henry "Harry" Cusham is hardly a household name today but no player in history has scored more goals in the FA Cup. In a ten-year period, from 1877 to 1887, he scored 49. He got 48 in the Competition Proper and one in a Fourth Round Qualifying tie against Staveley. His biggest haul was six against Wednesbury Strollers in an 11-1 win. Henry achieved this record while playing for Notts County. He is also County's unofficial top goalscorer of all-time scoring 208 goals between 1877–78 and 1890–91, but only 53 came in competitive games.
Cursham accrued eight caps for the England national football team, the first of which came in a 3-2 victory against Wales in 1880. Cursham's first international goal came in just his second match, in a 13-0 win against Ireland. He scored another one in a 5-3 home defeat against Wales, and his final three came in a hat trick against Ireland on 23 February 1884; this was his final game for the national side.
Cricket career
Cursham's first-class cricket career began in 1880. He debuted in a draw against Surrey. His second and final match was against a team of touring South Africans, coming at the age of 44, some 24 years later. Cursham was a lower-order batsman for the Nottinghamshire team. Cursham's brother, Arthur was also a first-class cricketer and football player, picking up six international caps.
Records
Henry "Harry" Cursham is the current top goalscorer in the FA Cup and has held the record since 1887 with 49 goals. The closest anyone has come to breaking the record is Ian Rush when he scored his 44th FA Cup goal in 1998.
Cursham holds Notts County's all time FA Cup appearance record with 43 games played.