Nicholas Lane Jackson

Nicholas Lane Jackson (1 November 1849 – 26 October 1937), known as N. L. Jackson and "Pa" Jackson, was an English sports administrator and author.

Jackson was born in Hackney, London in 1849 to his father, also named Nicholas Lane Jackson, and mother Mary. The elder Jackson was a cattle salesman who had moved to the capital from Devon. In 1869, the younger Jackson married Mary Ann Williams. By 1871, the young married couple were living in Isleworth with two infant children and a servant, with Jackson's occupation listed as "land steward".

In 1877, Jackson founded Finchley F.C. (initially known as "Finchley Petrels"), also captaining the club. He soon started officiating matches, for example serving as umpire alongside C. W. Alcock in an F. A. Cup tie between Old Etonians and Minerva in January 1879.

In 1880, he was elected to the committee of the Football Association (FA). Between 1881 and 1883, he served as assistant secretary to the FA, working alongside Alcock. According to one source, although Alcock was the nominal secretary, "the burden of the work [was] borne by Jackson".

Jackson also founded Corinthian FC (1882) and the London Football Association (1882).

In January 1884, Jackson investigated allegations that Preston North End had offered financial inducements to attract Scottish players. As a result of Jackson's investigation, an FA committee voted to disqualify the Preston club from that season's FA Cup. At the FA's meeting in February 1884, Jackson successfully proposed that "this meeting considers the existence of veiled professionalism and the importation of players are serious evils calling for prompt attention" and called for the creation of a committee to study the matter. Jackson led the resulting committee, whose hardline anti-professionalism recommendations were adopted by the FA for the 1884–85 season.

In March 1885, when the question was once again considered by FA, Jackson supported a motion that "it is expedient to legalise professionalism". He served on the committee whose recommendations led to the FA allowing professionalism, with certain restrictions, in July of that year.

Jackson contributed to the founding of the Lawn Tennis Association (1888). He was one of the most important referees at early tennis tournaments.