Henry Lesur
 Lesur (standing, first from right) in 1902 | ||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Henry Lesur | |||||||||||
| Date of birth | 8 September 1875 | |||||||||||
| Place of birth | Lille, Nord, France | |||||||||||
| Date of death | 5 July 1955 (aged 79) | |||||||||||
| Place of death | Versailles, Yvelines, France | |||||||||||
| Senior career* | ||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | |||||||||
| 1895–1898 | RC Roubaix | |||||||||||
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| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | ||||||||||||
Henry Lesur (8 September 1875 – 5 July 1955) was a French football pioneer who was the founding president of RC Roubaix in 1895.[1]
Early and personal life
[edit]Henry Lesur was born in Lille on 8 September 1875, as the son of Caroline Marie-Henriette Bernard (1847–1901) and Henry Lesur (1845–1903), a judge in Saint-Omer, Public Prosecutor in Montreuil-sur-Mer.[2]
On 2 March 1903, the 27-year-old Lesur married Paule Froment (1882–1975) in Haute-Garonne, and the couple had six children, Jean Marie (1904–1966), Michel (1906–1957), Françoise (1907–1926), André Marie (1911–1996), Roger Marie (1913–1971), and Guy Lesur (1921–2004).[2]
Sporting career
[edit]Founding RC Roubaix
[edit]In 1892, the 17-year-old Lesur, together with his younger brother Ernest and the Dubly brothers (Maurice and Léon), formed a sports group called "French-Club de Roubaix-Tourcoing", which played association football and "Foot-Rugby".[1] On 2 April 1895, after three years of playing this sport in informal meetings, either on a field located near the Croix-Wasquehal station or later on a meadow belonging to the Binet farm, this group finally decided to take a step further and officially established the club under the name "Racing-Club Roubaisien", doing so in a meeting held at the Brasserie "La Terrasse", rue de la Gare (currently avenue Jean-Baptiste Lebas) in Roubaix, and Henry was chosen as club's first-ever president while his brother Ernest was named equipment manager.[1]
The founders' ambition was to create an "all-sports" club and so, just a few weeks after this founding meeting, the directors decided to purchase the equipment needed to practice shot putting, then to form a boxing section, in 1895 a tug-of-war team, and in 1897 they formed sections for pole vaulting and tennis.[1] All these sports were considered, along with running, to promote the athletic development of the members of the football team, which remained the club's main asset.[1]
Golden age
[edit]Under Lesur's presidency, Roubaix became arguably the best team in the country at the start of the 20th century, with Léon Dubly, the team's captain, leading the club to a three-peat of French national championships between 1902 and 1904.[4] In the 1902 final, Roubaix fielded two of his younger brothers, Ernest and Émile, who helped their club to an epic 4–3 win over Racing Club de France.[5] Following the 1903 final, in which Roubaix again defeated RC France (), Lesur, then vice president of the Nord committee, congratulated his winning players.[6] And finally, in the 1904 final, Roubaix claimed a 4–2 win over United Sports Club.[4]
At some point, Lesur stepped down from the presidency of RC Roubaix.
Later career
[edit]In 1913, RC Roubaix, on the proposal of Lesur, requested to reduce the Northern Serie A Championship from 8 clubs and 14 matches to just 6 clubs and 10 matches.[7] This proposal was voted, but a mistake was made, the automatic relegation of 2 clubs, and to repair it, it was decided that no changes would be made.[7]
In 1914, a local newspaper described him as "a northerner of the good school who defends ideas and not interests".[7]
Later life and death
[edit]During the First World War, Lesur was a General of Infantry.[2]
Lesur died in Versailles, Yvelines on 5 July 1955, at the age of 79.[2]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e "Le Racing club de Roubaix". www.histoirederoubaix.com (in French). 14 May 2019. Retrieved 27 December 2024.
- ^ a b c d "Family tree of Henry Lesur". gw.geneanet.org (in Spanish). Retrieved 27 December 2024.
- ^ "L'équipe du Racing Club Roubaisien, vainqueur du Championnat de France de Football" [The Racing Club Roubaisien team, winner of the French Football Championship]. gallica.bnf.fr (in French). La Vie au grand air. 10 May 1902. p. 12. Retrieved 27 December 2024.
- ^ a b "Le dernier match d'un athlète" [The last match of an athlete]. gallica.bnf.fr (in French). Tous les sports. 23 April 1904. p. 5. Retrieved 27 December 2024.
- ^ "Roubaix champion de France". gallica.bnf.fr (in French). L'Auto. 21 April 1902. p. 7. Retrieved 27 December 2024.
- ^ "Championnat de France - La finale" [French Championship - The final]. gallica.bnf.fr (in French). L'Auto. 20 April 1903. p. 7. Retrieved 27 December 2024.
- ^ a b c "Les Nordistes contre les Nordistes" [Northerners against Northerners]. gallica.bnf.fr (in French). La Vie sportive du Nord et du Pas-de-Calais et l'Union sportive. 16 May 1914. p. 2. Retrieved 27 December 2024.