Julian Russell Sturgis (21 October 1848 – 13 April 1904) was a British-American novelist, poet, librettist and lyricist. Educated at Eton and Balliol College, Oxford, Sturgis distinguished himself in Eton's sporting activities and rowed for Balliol for three years. He then played association football as an amateur, from 1872 to 1876, and was the first foreigner to play in, and the first to win, an FA Cup Final. Sturgis qualified as a barrister, but he embarked on a writing career in 1874, producing novels, poetry, plays and libretti. He wrote the words for four operas, with music by Arthur Goring Thomas, Arthur Sullivan, Alexander Mackenzie and Charles Villiers Stanford, respectively. He is, perhaps, best remembered as the librettist for Sullivan's 1891 opera Ivanhoe. Early life and education Sturgis was born in Boston, Massachusetts, the fourth son of merchant and lawyer Russell Sturgis and his third wife, Julia Overing ( Boit; 1820–1888). His great-grandfather was another Russell Sturgis, and his older half-brother was John Hubbard Sturgis. When Julian was seven months old, the family moved to England, where Russell Sturgis joined Baring Brothers in London. The writer Howard Sturgis was Julian's younger brother. Sturgis attended Eton from 1862 to 1867, where he played an active role in the mixed Wall and Field XI games in 1867, serving as Keeper of the Field. He also edited the Eton College Journal and was chairman of Pop. On leaving Eton, he went to Balliol College, Oxford, where he rowed for three years for the college. Career Law and sport After graduating in 1872, Sturgis entered the legal profession, becoming a barrister of the Inner Temple in 1876. During the same four years, he distinguished himself as a footballer, playing for the amateur team Wanderers when they won the FA Cup in 1873. As all the other players in this and the previous Cup Final were either English, Irish or Scottish, Sturgis was the first American to appear in, let alone play on the winning side of, an FA Cup Final. He also played for the Old Etonians, and in the FA Cup semi-final against Oxford University at The Oval on 19 February 1876, he scored the only goal for the public school old boys to take them to their second consecutive final, against the Wanderers. He played in the final at The Oval. Sturgis also played for the Gitanos Football Club and at county