Ernest Proud

Educated at Charterhouse school, Ernest Pound was a fine footballer as well as a county cricketer and hockey player. He failed to make the Charterhouse cricket first XI but on his début for Bishop Auckland cricket cub in 1896 he scored 37 runs in his first innings when only 16 years of age. His cricket career saw him play for Durham in the Minor Counties Championship from 1906 to 1919 and he captained the county for seven years from 1913. His footballing career saw him play for Bishop Auckland and in 1900 he played in goal in their 5-1 win over Lowestoft Town in the Amateur Cup final but two years later Proud conceded five goals as Old Malverians beat Bishops 5-1 and in his third final in 1906, Proud was again on the losing side as Oxford City beat Bishop Auckland 3–0. He then moved to the Middlesbrough-based South Bank FC and made his début for England in their first ever international match when they beat France 15-0 in Paris on 1 November 1906. He won two other caps against Belgium and Germany on England’s European tour in April 1908. In his three internationals, England scored 28 goals and conceded just three. He was one of the non-travelling reserves for the Great Britain squad at the 1908 Olympics.

Proud was the son of Durham solicitor who later became the county coroner and Ernest followed in his father footsteps and also became a Bishop Auckland solicitor and then the deputy county coroner. He was also appointed Registrar of the Durham County Court in 1944 and served the Durham FA as President. Ernest’s own son Bill was an Oxford cricket Blue in 1939 who went on to play First Class cricket for Hampshire, and also Minor Counties cricket for Durham but died suddenly of a heart attack in 1961 aged 42.