Hubert "Jimmy" Boughton
Hubert "Jimmy" Boughton
By Malc King
Hubert James Boughton, commonly known as “Jimmy” in Gloucester sporting circles, was the son of a founder member of the Gloucester club, John Boughton of Adsett Court, Westbury-on-Severn. His elder brother, W A Boughton, was also a founder member, and played with their father in the first matches of the newly formed club in 1873. The first 2 matches were away and home to the King’s School, Gloucester, where Jimmy, aged 14, was then a pupil. Unfortunately there is no record of individual players in the school team, so we do not know if Jimmy played in those matches against his father and brother. However, on leaving school he was soon playing for the club, and was articled to the law firm of Messrs Bretherton and Sons, where he qualified as a solicitor and became managing clerk to the firm.
He was a gifted sportsman, who became involved as player and administrator for many sports clubs in the City, and was later referred to as “the father of sport in the City”. However, his principle loves were football (as rugby was then known) and cricket. He was captain of Gloucester rugby for 2 seasons, 1883-85, and was also captain of the Gloucester cricket club. Whilst still playing, he became Treasurer of the rugby club in 1879. In this capacity, he led the defence of the club against criticism following the damage done to the Spa by spectators attending the floodlit match against Rockleaze. He was keen to promote sport in any context – for example, in 1886, he played rugby for the Conservatives against the Liberals.
When he gave up playing, Jimmy expanded his role in encouraging and organising sport in Gloucester. In 1891, Rowland Hill, Secretary of the RFU, commented on the upward-looking and supportive relationship that officials of the club, notably H J Boughton, had with the RFU. Hubert became the first president of Gloucester Rugby club in 1892, but resigned in 1896 in order to avoid a conflict of interest with his duties at county level.
He was also central to the organisation of rugby at county level – in 1878, the Gloucester County Football Club was formed by members of the Gloucester club, led by Jimmy, and he became the first Chairman. When this was superceded by the County Union in 1890, Jimmy was unanimously elected as the first President, and was re-elected every year until 1900, when he resigned and again became President of the Gloucester club. In 1897, he also became the first county representative on the RFU committee, a position he retained up to the time of his death in 1902.
Jimmy had strong views on how the game should be played, and went on record as believing that “to play for the love of the game should be the desire of any footballer”. He opposed the creation of a Cup Competition on the grounds that it would lead to rough play, ill temper and partisanship.
He reported to the 1889 AGM of the club on attempts to procure their own ground, presenting various options, although none were then thought to be affordable. Later in 1889, he identified a possible site at Kingsholm, but it too was regarded as prohibitively expensive at an estimated cost of £4,000.
On 1st January 1891, following the death of Mr Bretherton sen, Jimmy became a partner in the firm of solicitors, which henceforward carried on business as Bretherton and Boughton. In March 1891, he persuaded Hatton, a local brewer and a fellow Freemason, to buy the Castle Grim estate. In May 1891, he engaged in a public exchange of letters with A W Vears about the need to find the rugby club a separate ground away from the Spa (although he did not advertise that this was well in hand). He was instrumental in setting up the Gloucester Football and Athletic Ground Co Ltd, which then purchased the Kingsholm ground from Hatton (who made a tidy profit). Jimmy bought 100 shares in the company - this stake facilitated his appointment as one of the first directors of the company, and he also acted as solicitor for the company.
He was a talented cricketer, both as batsman and as lob bowler. He was just as influential as captain and administrator for the Gloucester and county cricket clubs as he was for their rugby equivalents. He played for Gloucestershire alongside W G Grace, and scored 48 in his last match for the county second team in 1898. He served on the county committee, and was instrumental in establishing the annual match at the Spa, and in 1902, the year of his death, in expanding this to a full week with 2 county matches played in Gloucester, a legacy which was to last for well over a century.
He encouraged the expansion of local rugby clubs in Gloucester, and likewise in cricket, was involved in the formation of the Gloucester Cricket League. Jimmy was recognised by his contemporaries as “a wonderful organiser, and a man tremendously keen on the advancement of the game”. “What he did for Rugby Football in the West cannot be measured in mere words, but it would not be too much to say that this Gloucester sportsman, more than anyone else, “made” the game in a centre that was honoured by his activities.”