crossed out, along with a note: "withdrawn by desire of their captain". The extent to which Thring's principles were actually put into practice at Uppingham is not clear. Contemporary descriptions of Uppingham football from 1863 and 1864 indicate that the ball was oval rather than round, a "bully" was a method of scoring, awarded when the ball was touched down behind the goal-line, and the ball could be "caught" and "carried". The 1871 edition of Uppingham's rules was broadly similar to the 1857 version, and continued to permit Rugby-style running with the ball. Uppingham would eventually abandon its own code of football for rugby in 1889. Writing in 1899, N. L. Jackson drew attention to the manner in which Thring's "Simplest Game" anticipated many later developments in the FA's code, even going so far as to credit it with being "the groundwork on which the [Football] Association code was built". Thring's set of laws is also acknowledged as the inspiration behind the title of Paul Gardner's 1976 book The Simplest Game. Later career and death Thring continued to serve as master at Uppingham until 1868 or 1869, but in 1864, following a dispute with his brother Edward, he and his wife ceased to live at the school, instead residing at the Chantry House at Bradford-on-Avon. In January 1866, Thring captained Bradford Football Club in a match against local rivals Trowbridge. From 1870 to 1874, Thring again served as curate at Alford. From 1875 to 1891, he served as chaplain to the Bradford Union (a workhouse for the poor in Bradford-on Avon). He subsequently moved to Hemel Hempstead, and then to Dunmow, Essex for the last decade of his life. He died there in 1909. He was survived by his widow Lydia, five sons, and three daughters. One of his sons was the cricketer Charles Thring. Works Notes References Football people in England 1824 births 1909 deaths Laws of association football People educated at Winchester College People educated at Shrewsbury School Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge