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Francis Wilson (footballer)

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Francis Wilson
Personal information
Full name Francis Heathcote Wilson
Date of birth (1848-04-09)9 April 1848
Place of birth Ampfield, Hampshire
Date of death 11 September 1886(1886-09-11) (aged 38)
Place of death Chelsea, London
Position(s) utility, mostly full-back
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1869–1972 Wanderers
1871–1976 Gitanos
1874–1976 Old Etonians
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Francis Heathcote Wilson (9 April 1848[1] – 11 September 1886) was an association footballer and barrister who played in the 1875 and 1876 FA Cup finals.

Education

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Wilson was the son of Robert Wilson, the vicar of Ampfield, and given the middle name Heathcote in honour of Sir William Heathcote, who donated the vicarage to the church.[2]

Wilson went up to Eton in 1860 and left in 1866.[3] On leaving he matriculated at University College, Oxford and took his Bachelor of Arts in 1871.[4]

Football career

[edit]

The first known association football match in which Wilson played was for a Wanderers XI against a XII from the Oxford Amalgamation club (the combined members of the athletics societies at the University of Oxford) at the Parks in November 1869.[5]

His first "regular" season was 1871–72, in which he played for both Wanderers[6] and Gitanos.[7] He did not feature in the 1871–72 FA Cup, and, as the Wanderers were exempt until the final in the 1872–73 FA Cup, and Gitanos did not enter, he did not play in that season either. His usual position of half-back was occupied by A. C. Thompson, but Thompson was unavailable for the 1873 FA Cup final, and Wilson - who had played for Gitanos against Wanderers two weeks before the final[8] - was also unavailable.[9] Leonard Howell therefore made his debut in their place.

Wilson therefore made his competitive debut in the 1873–74 FA Cup, for an 8-man Gitanos - reduced to 7 during the game due to injury - in its defeat to Uxbridge in the first round.[10] He spent the season playing for Gitanos and scored goals - rare for backs - in wins over the Civil Service in December 1873 and Harrow Chequers in February 1874,[11] both at the Kennington Oval.[12]

The Old Etonians entered the FA Cup for the first time in 1874–75, and, with the Etonians only rarely playing outside the Cup, Wilson played six times for Gitanos in the "regular" season, but for the Light Blues in all of its Cup matches. Wilson played in the initial Cup final match against the Royal Engineers as full-back, but the Etonians had to make four changes for the replay, and, in order to accommodate substitute players, Wilson was moved up to half-back.[13] The unchanged Sappers duly won 2–0.

He scored his only Cup goal for the Etonians in the first round win over Pilgrims in the 1875–76 FA Cup, shooting home after the ball came out of a scrimmage;[14] by now he was playing mostly as a forward, and he completed the full set of positions by playing as goalkeeper in the third round win against the Clapham Rovers, keeping a clean sheet.[15] He did not however play in the semi-final against Oxford University or original 1876 FA Cup final against the Wanderers, but did appear in the final replay, replacing Quintin Hogg in goal; the Wanderers won 3–0.[16]

His football however was greatly reduced in the season, his only match outside the competition coming for Gitanos against the Royal Engineers at the Prince's Ground in Chelsea in February 1876,[17] and the Cup final defeat seems to have been his final match.

[edit]

He was called to the Bar in 1873[18] and worked on the Western circuit. He lived at Belgrave Square in London[19] and practised out of chambers at 1 Paper Buildings.[20]

Personal life

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Wilson was a philatelist.[21] On 19 July 1877, he married Alice Clara Georgina Colt of Gartsherrie, near Coatbridge, in her home town.[22] In February 1886, Wilson suffered a serious injury after falling on ice,[23] and was admitted to the Munster House Asylum in Fulham Road, Middlesex,[24] where he died of his injuries on 11 September.[25]

References

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  1. ^ Lodge, Edmund (1907). The Peerage, Baronetage, Knightage & Companionage of the British Empire for 1907. London: Kelly's Directories. p. 200.
  2. ^ Hallett, Elizabeth. "The story of Ampfield Vicarage" (PDF). Eastleigh History. Retrieved 1 March 2024.
  3. ^ Eton College Register vol. 3. Eton: Eton College. 1903. p. 40.
  4. ^ Foster, Joseph (1888). Alumni Oxonienses: The Members of the University of Oxford, 1715-1886 S–Z. Oxford: O.U.P. p. 1582.
  5. ^ "Wanderers v Oxford Amalgamation Club". Sportsman: 3. 10 November 1869.
  6. ^ "Foot-ball matches". Morning Post: 2. 30 October 1871. (Against Upton Park.)
  7. ^ "Gitanos v Westminster School". Field: 417. 11 November 1871.
  8. ^ "Wanderers v Gitanos". Field: 274. 22 March 1873.
  9. ^ "Notes and notions". Sportsman: 3. 5 April 1873.
  10. ^ "Uxbridge v Gitanos". Bell's Life: 8. 1 November 1873.
  11. ^ "The Gitanos v Harrow Chequers". Hour: 7. 9 February 1874.
  12. ^ "The Civil Service v The Gitanos". Hour: 7. 11 December 1873.
  13. ^ "Royal Engineers v Old Etonians". Field: 276. 20 March 1875.
  14. ^ "Old Etonians v Pilgrims". Athletic News: 7. 13 November 1875.
  15. ^ "Old Etonians v Clapham Rovers". Athletic News: 7. 5 February 1876.
  16. ^ "Wanderers v Old Etonians". Sportsman: 4. 20 March 1876.
  17. ^ "Royal Engineers v Gitanos". Athletic News: 8. 12 February 1876.
  18. ^ "Calls to the Bar". Pall Mall Gazette: 7. 9 June 1873.
  19. ^ 1881 Census. Parish of St George, Hanover Square: HMSO. 1881. p. 39.
  20. ^ Foster, Joseph (1885). Men-at-the-bar. London and Aylesbury: Hazell, Watson, and Viney. p. 513.
  21. ^ "Letters of Charlotte Mary Yonge". Newcastle University. Retrieved 1 March 2024.
  22. ^ Rogers, Rev. Charles (1879). Genealogical memoirs of the families of Colt and Coutts. London: Cottonian Society. p. 46.
  23. ^ Eton College Register vol. 3. Eton: Eton College. 1903. p. 40.
  24. ^ Lunacy Patients Admission Registers, 1846-1921: Piece 6, 1886-1900. Munster Hose: Commissioners in Lunacy. 4 February 1886. p. 498.
  25. ^ "Death of a barrister-at-law". Hampshire Advertiser: 4. 15 September 1886.
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