Arthur Watkin (30 July 1895 – 27 August 1972) was an English

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who played in

the Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

for

Stoke Stoke is a common place name in the United Kingdom. Stoke may refer to: Places United Kingdom The largest city called Stoke is Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire. See below. Berkshire * Stoke Row, Berkshire Bristol * Stoke Bishop * Stok ...

. His brother

Frank Watkin Frank Watkin (30 March 1904 – 26 January 1979) was an English footballer who played at centre-forward for Congleton Town, Stoke City, and Port Vale. He won the Third Division North title with both Stoke and Vale, but never nailed down a regul ...

was also a footballer who played for Stoke.

Career

Watkin was born in Burslem and joined

in 1913 from Hanley Swifts. The 18-year-old was a regular during 1914–15 and his 24 goals in 20 games propelled Stoke to the Southern League Division Two title. He scored three hat tricks and also hit five twice firstly in a 10–0 victory against

Ebbw Vale Ebbw Vale (; cy, Glynebwy) is a town at the head of the valley formed by the Ebbw Fawr tributary of the Ebbw River in Wales. It is the largest town and the administrative centre of Blaenau Gwent county borough. The Ebbw Vale and Brynmawr con ...

and in an 11–0

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

win against Stourbridge which helped Stoke re-claim their place in

. The outbreak of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

interrupted his career but he did return in 1919–20. A long-standing knee injury prevented Watkin living up to expectations surrounding him and he scored three goals in eleven matches taking over from the ailing

Bob Whittingham Robert Whittingham (1888 – 9 June 1926) was an English footballer who played as an inside-forward for various clubs, mainly prior to the First World War. He played in the Football League for Stoke, Blackpool, Bradford City, and Chelsea. He ...

. He scored on his Football League debut which was in the Potteries derby against

Port Vale Port Vale Football Club are a professional football club based in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, England, which compete in . Vale are the only English Football League club not to be named after a place; their name being a reference to the valley o ...

, Watkin scoring a 3–0 victory. Stoke spent heavily before the start of the 1920–21 season, signing centre forward Jimmy McColl from

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language * Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Fo ...

. Manager

Arthur Shallcross Arthur J. Shallcross (1876 – 1950) was an English association football manager who managed Stoke City between February 1919 and March 1923. Career Shallcross played for his native Leek before becoming a Football League referee in 1895. He was ...

moved Watkin to inside-left where he developed into a tricky linkman between McColl and

Harry Crossthwaite Harold Crossthwaite (9 September 1890 – November 1939) was an English footballer who played in the Football League for Stockport County and Stoke. His nephew Bert was also a footballer. Career Crossthwaite was born in Stockport and played a ...

. Watkin still retained his eye for goal, top scoring with 16. Of his hat tricks early on against

Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is an association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. Nottingham Forest was founded in 1865 and have been playing their home games at the City Ground, on the banks of the River Tren ...

the Sentinel's Nimrod wrote: "Stoke followers have waited patiently for a glimpse of the real Watkin and they were rewarded by an exhibition which very few forwards can surpass. How the mind went back to season 1914–15, when he struck terror to the hearts of opposing defenders." But dreams of promotion faded and Watkin's goals tailed off and Stoke were almost relegated. By this time Watkin had developed a reputation for either scoring two or three in a game or being anonymous. Some reporters believed that his experiences in the army had given him a nervous temperament. Watkin also had problems combining football with his job as a pottery department manager at Grimwade's. Once Stoke were relegated his company pressured him into quitting Stoke and he duly spent a season with

Congleton Town Congleton Town Football Club is an association football club based in Congleton, Cheshire, England. They currently play in the and are full members of the Cheshire County Football Association. The club have played in a number of regional league ...

. New Stoke manager

Tom Mather Tom or TOM may refer to: * Tom (given name), a diminutive of Thomas or Tomás or an independent Aramaic given name (and a list of people with the name) Characters * Tom Anderson, a character in ''Beavis and Butt-Head'' * Tom Beck, a character ...

brought him back for a short spell in 1924. Watkin worked as a full-time manager at the pot bank until retirement and he died on 27 August 1972.

Career statistics

Source:

Honours

* Southern League Division Two champion: 1914–15 *

Football League Second Division The Football League Second Division was the second level division in the English football league system between 1892 and 1992. Following the foundation of the FA Premier League, the Football League divisions were renumbered and the third ti ...

runners-up: 1921–22

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Watkin, Arthur English men's footballers Stoke City F.C. players Congleton Town F.C. players English Football League players 1890s births 1965 deaths Men's association football forwards Footballers from Burslem