David Forsyth (soccer)

David Forsyth
Forsyth, circa 1900
Born	(1852-12-15)December 15, 1852 Perthshire, Scotland, United Kingdom
Died	September 14, 1936(1936-09-14) (aged 83) Beamsville, Ontario, Canada
Resting place	Kitchener, Ontario, Canada
Residence	Berlin / Kitchener, Ontario, Canada
Nationality	Canadian
Education	University of Toronto, BA in mathematics 1875
Occupation	Educator Soccer player and administrator
Years active	1876–1921
Employer	Berlin High School
Organization	Western Football Association Dominion of Canada Football Association
Known for	"Father of Canadian Soccer"
Home town	Lynden, Ontario, Canada

David Forsyth (December 15, 1852 – September 14, 1936) was a Canadian educator and soccer player and administrator. A member of the Canadian Soccer Hall of Fame, he is known as the "Father of Canadian Soccer".

Forsyth was born in Perthshire, Scotland, in 1852. His family emigrated to Canada when he was one year old, settling in the village of Lynden, Ontario. Educated at local schools in Lynden, then Dundas High School and Galt Collegiate Institute, he went on to study mathematics at the University of Toronto, graduating with a silver medal in 1875. He was married to Augusta Mylius from 1882 until her death in 1912.

After graduating, Forsyth became master of mathematics and science at Berlin High School in Berlin, Ontario, where was the first science teacher in Ontario to introduce practical laboratory work for students. Having acquired an interest in soccer while at university, he was also responsible for popularizing the sport at the school and in the Berlin area generally. He eventually became principal of Berlin High School in 1901. The school became one of the most prominent in Ontario during Forsyth's career there; William Lyon Mackenzie King, a future Prime Minister of Canada, was one of his pupils. He also served on a Royal Commission on Industrial Training and Technical Education.

Forsyth was an influential figure in the early history of soccer to Berlin, which he introduced at Berlin High School in the late 1870s. As the sport spread throughout the local area, the Western Football Association (WFA) was formed in January 1880, with Forsyth as its first secretary-treasurer, a post he held until 1906. He also served as president and honorary president. The Berlin High School team, with Forsyth playing as a forward, won the WFA Challenge Cup four years running from 1880 to 1883. Forsyth was also one of the founders of the Berlin town football club, later known as the Berlin Rangers, which formed around 1884 and won the Challenge Cup in 1885.