William McCrum : Short Biography

William McCrum was born on the 20th of February 1865 in Ballynahone Beg, which is in the civil parish of Lisnadill in County Armagh. 

His father, Robert Garmany McCrum, founded the famous line manufacturing fIrm, McCrum Watson and Mercer. He was a self-made industrialist, benefactor and inventor who revolutionized the linen industry. He also built the famous Milford House pictured below. it was the one of its age and the first in Ireland to be lit with hydroelectricity. Today Milford House is one of the top ten listed buildings at most serious risk in Northern Ireland.

The business was never Williams's strong point and he lost heavily in the Wall Street Crash of 1929 and was forced to auction the contents of the house the following year and sell the mill the year after that. Mr McCrum died penniless in 1932 and the Milford House became the Northern Bank's ownership. In 1936, the bank leased it to a private boarding school for girls (Manor House School), who bought it outright for £3,000 in 1940.

Despite this, William was described as a great scholar, graduated from Trinity College Dublin in 1886, and was elected the High Sherriff of Armagh in 1909 following in his father's footsteps.

Football as we know it was only developing and William had a hand in founding the first Irish league, in 1890, he played as a goalkeeper for Milford FC. Along with seven teams from Belfast, they took part in the very first Irish championship. From his position in front of the goalposts at Milford’s sodden football pitch, he was unhappy to see that many defenders professionally fouled attacking players to prevent them from scoring.

So, as a member of the Irish Football Association, he proposed the introduction of penalty kicks to curb this practice. His idea was then submitted to the International Football Association Board (IFAB) meeting in June 1980.

William's true passion was football. He played for Milford FC as a goalkeeper and was also a member of the Irish Football Association (IFA). It was in this regard that he is best known. During his time with the IFA, William came up with the idea of introducing penalty kicks as a deterrent to deliberate fouls being performed on players.

If any player shall intentionally trip or hold an opposing player, or deliberately handle the ball within twelve yards from his own goal line, the referee shall, on appeal, award the opposing side a penalty kick, to be taken from any point 12 yards from the goal line, under the following conditions: All players, with the exception of the player taking the penalty kick and the goalkeeper, shall stand behind the ball and at least six yards from it; the ball shall be in play when the kick is taken. A goal may be scored from a penalty kick

The motion carried but was not well received, with some going so far as to say that introducing penalties would mean the death of football. 

The penalty kick rule became the 13th law of the game of football.  The pitch in Armagh where William is said to have invented the penalty kick has been named in his honour as William McCrum Park. It is open to the public.