Thomas Hughes (footballer)

Thomas Bridges Hughes (17 September 1851 – 10 August 1940) was an English amateur footballer who was the first player to score two goals in an FA Cup Final, with Wanderers in 1876. He subsequently had a long career as a schoolteacher.

Hughes attended Highgate School from 1861 to 1863 and then Winchester College between 1863 and 1870, where he excelled academically, becoming a school prefect and in 1869-70 "Prefect of Hall", effectively the head boy. He was also a keen cricketer and represented the school from 1868 to 1870. He attained a scholarship to New College, Oxford, although this took him three years to achieve.

After graduating, in 1876 he initially studied law at the Inner Temple, before embarking on his career as a teacher.

His football career included appearances for Oxford University (when he played against Cambridge University in March 1874), Swifts and Old Wykehamists, but he achieved notability for his exploits with the Wanderers amateur club, who won five of the first seven FA Cup finals.

His first Wanderers match came on 29 January 1876 in a 2–0 victory over Sheffield in the FA Cup third round, with both goals coming from Francis Heron. Hughes retained his place for the rest of the season, helping Wanderers to reach their third final in the first five years of the tournament, when they met the Old Etonians at the Kennington Oval in the final on 11 March, which ended in a 1–1 draw. In the replay a week later, again at the Oval, Charles Wollaston scored Wanderers' first after a scramble in front of goal. Their next attack saw a fast run down the field by Hubert Heron, and Hughes slamming in the second goal. Heron and Hughes made another good run early in the second half and, being well supported, Hughes was able to notch another goal for the Wanderers. It was the first year of Wanderers' "hat-trick" of Final victories. Hughes thus became the first player to score more than once in an FA Cup final.

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