CAESAR AUGUSTUS LLEWELLYN JENKYNS

Born Boughrood 1866; died Birmingham 1941

Eight caps: (Small Heath) v Ireland, England, Scotland, 1892; v England 1895; (Woolwich Arsenal) v Scotland 1896; (Newton Heath) v Ireland 1897; (Walsall) v Scotland, England 1898, 1 goal.

Career: Southfield; Small Heath St Andrews; Walsall Swifts; Small Heath Alliance 1884; Unity Gas FC (Birmingham League) 1886-88; Small Heath 1888-95 75 apps 11 goals; Woolwich Arsenal 1895-96 27 apps six goals; Newton Heath 1896-97 35 apps five goals; Walsall 1897-1901 63 apps; Coventry C (coach) 1902-03; Unity Gas FC; Saltley Wednesday FC 1904; Walsall 1905.

CAESAR August Llewellyn Jenkyns was a man who left his mark on the Victorian football world – as well as many an opposition player.

For the Boughrood born defender was as feared as he was respected during a career which saw him represent several clubs which would go onto become giants.

Jenkyns was known as ‘The Mighty Caesar’ or, ‘Jumbo’ to opponents, and likely much worse.

Despite his nickname he was a player of skill and master of the shoulder charge which was a valid tactic in Victorian times.

One reporter described him as having ‘an atomic shoulder charge’.

The physicality of his game got him into trouble with referees on a number of occasions and he became a player opposition supporters loved to hate.

After playing for several amateur sides in the Birmingham area, Jenkyns joined Small Heath in 1888, and was at the club as they first joined the Football Alliance in 1889 and then became founder members of the Football League Second Division in 1892.

By now he had made his debut for Wales and was club captain when Small Heath won promotion to the First Division in 1894.

He was sent off four times while playing for Small Heath and that at a time when such occurrences were extremely rare.

His career at Small Heath ended in March 1895 when he was released after an incident at Derby where, after being ordered from the field, he attempted to assault two spectators.

Jenkyns moved to London in 1895, joining Woolwich Arsenal, who had joined the Second Division less than two years ago.

He was immediately made Arsenal captain, and made his mark in Arsenal history by becoming the club’s first ever international player, after winning a cap for Wales against Scotland on 21 March 1896.

Jenkyns scored six times in 27 matches for Arsenal and was regarded by the club as one of their star players.

However, his stay at the Gunners did not last long; in the summer of 1896 he moved to Newton Heath who later became Manchester United.

Jenkyns spent two seasons with the Manchester club, taking over as captain before joining Walsall where he spent five years before joining Coventry City as coach

After retirement, Jenkyns ran a public house in Moxley , The George Inn, before joining the police force which both his father and brother, the equally memorably named Plato, had also served.

Jenkyns, who was Arsenal’s first international player, did not receive his cap until 1933 due to an oversight.

His birthplace was often given as Builth but his birth was registered in the Hay district, not Builth. Boughrood is also supported by the 1871 census