The Owls have it

The Owls have it

Paul Frith(front right)

In the 1880s football was taking off as a popular sport. Paul Frith, elder brother of Mary Ann Frith was good at the sport. He became a professional player with one of the clubs in his home city, Sheffield Wednesday.

When he was about 19 he met Fanny Miller who was 17 at the time. They married in Sheffield. The marriage did not last long and Fanny spent some time in the workhouse. In the meantime Paul had been training in Derbyshire and fell for his landlord’s daughter Eliza Cocker. They were married in Calver. It then came to light that Paul was still married to Fanny Miller and he was convicted of bigamy. Paul served 15 months in prison for his crime. Eliza stood by him and they went on to have eight children.

Eliza Cocker

When Polly Creek was expecting her fourth child in 1911 her uncle, Paul Frith asked her if he could name the child. He said that in return he would buy the boy his first suit. Oliver, as Paul named him, always hated his name preferring people to call him Peter. He also complained that his mother’s uncle never bought him the promised suit.