Charles Edward Wilkinson (7 May 1907 – 1975) was an English professional

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 as a full back for

Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire in England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of England's football league system, and plays its home matches at Elland Road S ...

Sheffield United Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history of cutlery production. The team have played home games at ...

and

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

in the 1930s. He was a member of Sheffield United's

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 ...

team that reached the final in

1936 Events January–February * January 20 – George V of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India, dies at his Sandringham Estate. The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King E ...

, where they were defeated by

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

Football career

Wilkinson was born in

Medomsley Medomsley is a village in County Durham, England, about northeast of the centre of Consett, south of Hamsterley and southeast of Ebchester. Medomsley is about above sea level, atop a hill overlooking the Derwent Valley. The village has ...

, near

Consett Consett is a town in County Durham, England, about south-west of Newcastle upon Tyne. It had a population of 27,394 in 2001 and an estimate of 25,812 in 2019. History Consett sits high on the edge of the Pennines. Its' name originates in the ...

in County Durham. After playing his early football for local sides,

Wallsend Wallsend is a town in North Tyneside, England, at the eastern end of Hadrian's Wall. It has a population of 43,842 and lies east of Newcastle upon Tyne. History Roman Wallsend In Roman times, this was the site of the fort of Segedunum. This fo ...

and

, he joined

of the

Football League First Division The Football League First Division was a division of the Football League in England from 1888 until 2004. It was the top division in the English football league system from the season 1888–89 until 1991–92, a century in which the First ...

in September 1928. Although he remained with the

Elland Road Elland Road is a football stadium in Beeston, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, which has been the home of Premier League club Leeds United since the club's formation in 1919. The stadium is the 14th largest football stadium in England. The g ...

club for five years, he only made three first-team appearances before he moved to fellow First Division club

in October 1933, for a fee of £2,000. A bout of

influenza Influenza, commonly known as "the flu", is an infectious disease caused by influenza viruses. Symptoms range from mild to severe and often include fever, runny nose, sore throat, muscle pain, headache, coughing, and fatigue. These symptoms ...

caused Wilkinson to miss much of his first season with the Blades, who were relegated to the Second Division. On his recovery, he soon became a regular player at

left back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

, staying with the

Bramall Lane Bramall Lane is a association football, football stadium in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which is the home of Sheffield United F.C., Sheffield United. The stadium was originally a cricket ground, built on a road named after the Bramal ...

club for five years, making 133 first-team appearances. In 1936, Wilkinson helped Sheffield United reach the

FA Cup semi-finals The FA Cup semi-finals are played to determine which teams will contest the FA Cup Final. They are the penultimate phase of the FA Cup, the oldest Association football, football tournament in the world. Location The semi-finals have always be ...

, where they met fellow Second Division side

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandsworth ...

. Wilkinson was injured and unavailable to play in the semi-final, with Albert Cox taking his place as Fulham were defeated 2–1. Wilkinson recovered from his injury in time for the final and manager,

Teddy Davison John Edward Davison (2 September 1887 – 1 February 1971) was an English footballer and manager who had a long and successful association with the football clubs of Sheffield, playing for Sheffield Wednesday for 18 years and later managing Shef ...

, "opted for (Wilkinson's) age and experience" over Cox.

The final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...

, against

of the First Division, was a fairly even contest which "produced few quality moments" and was won by the only goal of the match from

Ted Drake Edward Joseph Drake (16 August 1912 – 30 May 1995) was an English football player and manager. As a player, he first played for Southampton but made his name playing for Arsenal in the 1930s, winning two league titles and an FA Cup, as wel ...

. In the summer of 1938, Wilkinson left Sheffield to join fellow Second Division club

. He played the first two matches of the 1938–39 season, both 2–1 defeats, but sustained a serious leg injury in the second match at

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River Bru ...

. The injury required the removal of a

cartilage Cartilage is a resilient and smooth type of connective tissue. In tetrapods, it covers and protects the ends of long bones at the joints as articular cartilage, and is a structural component of many body parts including the rib cage, the neck an ...

and by the time he had recovered, new signing

Tom Emanuel Thomas D. Emanuel (1 August 1915 – 1997) was a Welsh footballer who played at left-back for Swansea Town and Southampton in the 1930s and 1940s. Football career Emanuel was born in the Treboeth district of Swansea and played rugby in his sc ...

had become established at left back. Wilkinson only managed one further appearance before he left at the end of the season to join

Bournemouth Bournemouth () is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole council area of Dorset, England. At the 2011 census, the town had a population of 183,491, making it the largest town in Dorset. It is situated on the Southern ...

as player-coach.

Honours

Sheffield United *

finalists:

References

External links

Career details on 11 v 11.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilkinson, Charlie 1907 births 1975 deaths Footballers from Consett English men's footballers Leeds United F.C. players Sheffield United F.C. players Southampton F.C. players AFC Bournemouth players English Football League players Men's association football defenders