Lives in Cricket No 46 - George Raikes

29 goals in 137 games for Corinthians and was capped 20 times for England, netting on 11 occasions. First appointed skipper of England in 1896, the relatively shy and retiring Smith had a more ‘modern’ relationship with his fellow professionals than ‘Pa’ Jackson or Charles Wreford-Brown and, as a result, was popular with those professionals. Leading professional, Steve Bloomer, who went on to score 28 goals for England in just 23 matches between 1892 and 1914, described Smith as “the finest type of amateur”. It should be noted that the Corinthians, who were very strong in the early- and mid-1890s, continued to go head-to-head with professional clubs, and played twice a year against their fellow amateurs of Queen’s Park, fulfilling their home fixtures at Leyton and at Queen’s Club, Kensington. They even determined to play the occasional competitive fixture, playing in the Sheriff of London’s Charity from 1898 and the FA Cup from 1922. They also developed a penchant for arranging international tours. Alas, declining fortunes meant that, in January 1939, they found themselves officially merging with the Casuals, a club with whom they had been in a working relationship for many years (note 7) . Thus was formed the Corinthian-Casuals Football Club. The Casuals are often compared with (and sometimes confused with) the Corinthians for, like the latter club, their purpose was to provide football for their amateur members, to which end they aimed to provide a full fixture list, arranging over 80 matches a season in their early days (note 8) . Although the two clubs had similar aims it was always understood that the Corinthians were the senior of the two, not only in age but also in playing ability and social status. Such was the rapidly changing world into which Raikes, the novice goalkeeper, was about to enter. Raikes – the Raw Materials The adult Raikes, at 6ft 2in and 12st 8lb, had the benefit of a very extensive reach and also had the physical presence required to thrive in the ‘good old days’; he was rarely to be found face down in the mud while his team conceded a ‘point’ (or goal). Although his kicking (or ‘punting’) was at first acknowledged by the press to be a little weak, he worked to improve on this facet of his game until he was routinely able to reach the opponents’ half with a clearance – a feat that required a more powerful ‘boot’ in the days of wet leather balls that weighed considerably more than the 15 ounce maximum permitted for a dry ‘pill’, than it does when employing the modern synthetic equivalent (note 9) . By contrast, his punching game always appeared to have been more than adequately powerful and on many occasions he was reported as having returned the ball directly to the opposition half using only his clenched fists. The Association Football Handbook of 1895/96 reported that, as well as power, Raikes “has all the requisites which go to make a great goalkeeper. [He] is good with hands and feet but has something to learn in kicking off. Has his ‘off days’.” Raikes also had the joie de vivre needed to succeed as a top level amateur in a world becoming more and more professional but no less tough - Raikes’ Meteoric Rise as a Top Quality Footballer