Horace Coles was one of the club’s founding members. Having been an original St Sidwell’s United player in 1901, he later appeared for the newly-named Exeter City during the 1904/05 season. 

Having previously turned out for St David’s, Horace joined the new St Sidwell’s United club that had been formed largely by a group of 16- and 17-year olds who had attended St Sidwell’s school and lived close to the current St James’ Park.. 

He is listed as a scorer in the opening friendly against Dawlish on 21 September 1901 and as the scorer of a hat-trick in the new club’s second league game against St David’s on 12 October 1901. Prior to that it is possible Horace played in the first league game against Exeter YMCA on 5 October 1901 although no line-up is available.

Invariably a regular goalscorer, Horace regularly featured for St Sidwell’s over the following three seasons and, remaining into the Exeter City era, first appeared for the freshly-renamed club at Dawlish on 5 November 1904, the first of three appearances in the 1904/05 season. There is no record of him appearing in the first-team beyond that point.

The 1901 census records a Horace Coles (17), a brass finisher living in West View Terrace, Exeter. Additional sources suggest he died in his nineties in Exeter in 1977.