James F.M. Prinsep

James Frederick McLeod Prinsep (27 July 1861 – 22 November 1895) was an English footballer who held two 'youngest player' records for almost 125 years, before they were both broken within the space of just over a year.

He made his debut (and only appearance) for England, against Scotland on 5 April 1879, at the age of 17 years and 252 days, which made him England's youngest-ever player at the time. He held this record for almost 124 years, until Wayne Rooney made his debut at the age of 17 years and 111 days against Australia on 12 February 2003. Prinsep was selected for a further England v Scotland international fixture in 1882 but was unavailable.

Prinsep played for Clapham Rovers, and also formerly held the record for being the youngest player to play in an FA Cup final, playing in the 1879 final against Old Etonians at the age of 17 years and 245 days. This record was broken not long after his England record, by then Millwall player Curtis Weston, who played in the 2004 final aged 17 years and 119 days.

Prinsep, born in India, was a descendant of the Anglo-Indian merchant John Prinsep. His namesake, the scholar James Prinsep, was his grandfather's brother. He attended Charterhouse School from 1874 to 1878 and played for their football XI in 1876 and 1877, as well as their cricket XI.

He played as half-back, being described by C.W. Alcock as "..always cool, very strong on his legs, and combining plenty of strength with great accuracy; kicks splendidly and with judgement; seldom makes a mistake", also "can kick the ball in any position, and passes it admirably to his forwards".

His first FA Cup Final in 1879 saw Clapham Rovers lose 1–0 to Old Etonians. The second however, for his old boy club Old Carthusians two years later, saw his team defeat the Old Etonians 3–0.

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