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Caps: 1 (of 1)
Goals: 0
Herbert Banks has the distinction of being Millwall Football Club's first-ever England international.
A free scoring forward, he played a key role in The Lions' domination of the Southern League during the last days of the 19th Century, but it was his performances during the club's run to the F.A Cup Semi-Finals in 1900 that earned him his England call-up. It was Banks who opened the scoring against the mighty Aston Villa in the quarter-final and in the following round, The Lions' first appearance in the last four, he almost opened the scoring with a rasping shot that had Southampton on the back-foot before missing a golden opportunity just before half-time. An injury early in the second half kept him off the field of play long enough for The Saints to take a strangle hold and despite his return - complete with bandaged head - Banks couldn't prevent Millwall from a 3-0 defeat.
But the inside forward had done enough to be rewarded with an England trail - along with fellow Lion J.H. Gettins - in a North vs. South game. The following season he was selected for England's game against Northern Ireland at The Dell - one of twelve new caps on display - and despite the home side strolling to a 3-0 victory, Banks failed to score and was never selected again.
What should have been a solid foundation on which the club could build almost turned out to be the last hurrah of a dying in club. At the beginning of the 1900-01 season, the Millwall Dock Company informed the team that they were going to be taking over their ground at East Ferry Road on the Isle of Dogs and turn it into a Timber Yard. With the future looking so bleak, many of the players found clubs elsewhere including Banks, who joined Aston Villa. By the time the club played their first game at their new stadium in North Greenwich, only a handful of the players who nearly took The Lions to their first Cup Final were left.