Background
Fairclough was born in Mile End, east London and was educated at Forest School, Walthamstow, where he played for the school football team
Fairclough was born in Mile End, east London and was educated at Forest School, Walthamstow, where he played for the school football team
After leaving school, he joined the Old Foresters. In 1878, shortly after his twentieth birthday, he was selected by England for the match at Hampden Park, Glasgow against Scotland on 2 March. Although England "fielded a side they thought capable of defeating the Scots..(they) returned home with a humiliating 7-2 defeat", with three of the Scottish goals coming from John McDougall.
Fairclough was described as a "powerful if somewhat ungainly forward" but was never selected to represent his country again.
He subsequently joined the Corinthian club, although he does not appear to have actually played for them. He also played representative football for Essex and London.
He was killed on 22 June 1947 in a road accident at the age of 89.
Fairclough was a partner in a stockbroking firm and became a member of the London Stock Exchange for forty years.