William Stride
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | William Francis Stride | ||
| Date of birth | 1865 | ||
| Place of birth | Southampton, England | ||
| Date of death | 21 February 1942 (aged 76–77) | ||
| Place of death | Southampton, England | ||
| Playing position | Half-back | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| Freemantle | |||
| 1887–1888 | Southampton Harriers | ||
| 1888–1894 | Southampton St. Mary's | 0 | (0) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. | |||
William Francis Stride (1865 – 21 February 1942) was an English footballer who made four appearances as a half-back in the FA Cup for Southampton St. Mary's between 1888 and 1894. Throughout his career, he was known as "Banquo" Stride.
In his youth, Stride was an all-round sportsman, who was described as an athlete "par excellence", winning many prizes as a runner with the Southampton Athletic Association. He started his football career with Freemantle before joining the short-lived Southampton Harriers club.
The Harriers had started life as the Temperance Amateur Athletic Association but changed their name in 1885. In 1887, they decided to enter the inaugural Hampshire Junior Cup unlike Freemantle who declined the invitation; as a consequence, many Freemantle players, including Stride, signed on for the Harriers instead.
On 10 March 1888, Harriers met St. Mary's in the first final of the Hampshire Junior Cup. The first match, played at the County Cricket Ground ended in a 2–2 draw, with St. Mary's taking the replay on 24 March by a 2–1 margin, thus winning the trophy for the first time. In the summer of 1888, the Freemantle club acquired their own ground in Southampton following which, most of the Harriers' players returned, with the exception of Stride, who joined St. Mary's.
In the third round of the Hampshire Junior Cup, St. Mary's were drawn to play Fordingbridge Turks on 12 January 1889. Stride and three other St. Mary's players had been selected to play for the Hampshire F.A. against Berks & Bucks on the same day. St. Mary's tried to get the match against the Turks re-arranged but the New Forest club refused. Consequently, St. Mary's withdrew their four players from the county match to play in the cup. The "Saints" won the match (played at the Antelope Ground) 3–2, earning them a semi-final appearance against Cowes. St. Mary's eventually defeated Cowes after three replays, going on to retain the trophy, defeating Christchurch in the final.
In 1891, St. Mary's had a relatively straightforward passage to the final of the Hampshire Junior Cup, where they defeated Lymington 2–0. Having won the cup for three consecutive years, the Saints retained the trophy permanently.
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