Robert George Graham


Robert George Graham was a British sportsman.

Sportsman

Graham served as both secretary and treasurer of the Football Association from 1867 to 1870. The future for the FA did not look promising at this time: only ten clubs were members, resulting in low attendance at the 1867 annual meeting. During the next year, Graham attempted to increase membership by writing to every known club in the country. This increased membership to thirty by 1868, but did not prevent the association from running out of money, with the officers having to cover expenses out of their own pockets.
After his resignation as secretary in 1870, Graham continued to serve on the FA's committee from 1870 to 1871.
He was also a member of Barnes Football Club, and served as secretary of that club in 1868.
In both these posts, Graham succeeded Robert Willis, who married Graham's elder sister Helen in 1867.
Graham won the English pole jump championship in 1869.
In 1895, he invented a captive golf-ball game, known as "Linka".

Career

Graham worked as a stockbroker, and later a company director. For the last 36 years of his life, he also served as volunteer captain of the fire brigade of Hampton upon Thames, where he lived.

Family

Graham was the father of the prolific novelist and anti-Mormon campaigner Winifred Graham. After Robert's death, Winifred produced two books supposedly communicated by her father via automatic writing.

Works

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