Claude William Wilson (12 May 1858 – 29 June 1881) was an English

amateur An amateur () is generally considered a person who pursues an avocation independent from their source of income. Amateurs and their pursuits are also described as popular, informal, autodidacticism, self-taught, user-generated, do it yourself, DI ...

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 1880 FA Cup Final for

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

and made two appearances for

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

Career

Education

Wilson was born in

Banbury Banbury is a historic market town on the River Cherwell in Oxfordshire, South East England. It had a population of 54,335 at the 2021 Census. Banbury is a significant commercial and retail centre for the surrounding area of north Oxfordshire ...

, Oxfordshire, and educated at

Brighton College Brighton College is an independent, co-educational boarding and day school for boys and girls aged 3 to 18 in Brighton, England. The school has three sites: Brighton College (the senior school, ages 11 to 18); Brighton College Preparatory Sc ...

, where he played for the college football team in 1876 and 1877, being captain in the latter year. He then went up to

Exeter College, Oxford Exeter College (in full: The Rector and Scholars of Exeter College in the University of Oxford) is one of the Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England and the fourth-oldest college of the un ...

, where he won

blue Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between violet and cyan on the spectrum of visible light. The eye perceives blue when obs ...

s for football in 1879, 1880 and 1881.

Football career

Wilson was called into the

team for their first-ever meeting with

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

. The match was played at the

Kennington Oval The Oval, currently known for sponsorship reasons as the Kia Oval, is an international cricket ground in Kennington, located in the borough of Lambeth, in south London. The Oval has been the home ground of Surrey County Cricket Club since it ...

on 18 January 1879 in a

blizzard A blizzard is a severe snowstorm characterized by strong sustained winds and low visibility, lasting for a prolonged period of time—typically at least three or four hours. A ground blizzard is a weather condition where snow is not falling b ...

. Due to the atrocious snowfall both captains agreed to play halves of only 30 minutes each. The poor attendance (reports range from 85 to 300) was also attributed to the weather. Some sources suggest that William Clegg turned up 20 minutes late for the game. Clegg, a

solicitor A solicitor is a legal practitioner who traditionally deals with most of the legal matters in some jurisdictions. A person must have legally-defined qualifications, which vary from one jurisdiction to another, to be described as a solicitor and ...

, was working late on a case (the trial of

Charles Peace Charles Peace (14 May 1832 – 25 February 1879) was an English burglar and murderer, who embarked on a life of crime after being maimed in an industrial accident as a boy. After killing a policeman in Manchester, he fled to his native Shef ...

, the Banner Cross murderer) and was unable to leave

Sheffield Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...

for London on the Friday night. The next morning, the southbound train with Clegg on it, was delayed by heavy snow. The match started without Clegg and England played with ten men until he arrived. Despite this, England won the match by two goals to one, with

Herbert Whitfeld Herbert Whitfeld (15 November 1858 – 6 May 1909) was an English amateur sportsman who played association football and county cricket. In football, he helped Old Etonians win the 1879 FA Cup Final and was on the losing side in 1881 as well ...

and Thomas Sorby scoring for England. In

1880 Events January–March * January 22 – Toowong State School is founded in Queensland, Australia. * January – The international White slave trade affair scandal in Brussels is exposed and attracts international infamy. * February � ...

, he was part of the

team that reached the

FA Cup Final The FA Cup Final, commonly referred to in England as just the Cup Final, is the last match in the FA Cup, Football Association Challenge Cup. It has regularly been one of the List of sports attendance figures, most attended domestic football ev ...

, where they met the previous year's losing finalists,

Clapham Rovers Clapham Rovers was from its foundation in 1869 a leading English sports organisation in the two dominant codes of football, association football and rugby union. It was a prominent club in the late 19th century but is now defunct. The club playe ...

. This was the university's fourth appearance in the Cup Final since the Cup was inaugurated in 1872, and, having "conquered much-fancied Nottingham Forest in the semi-final" were favourites to take the trophy. In the event, the Rovers defence were able to keep the university forwards at bay, and with Wilson and his fellow full-back Robert King tiring towards the end of the second half, and the prospect of extra time imminent,

Francis Sparks Francis John Sparks (4 July 1855 – 13 February 1934) was an English amateur footballer, who played as a forward. He won the FA Cup in 1880 with Clapham Rovers and made three appearances for England, scoring three goals and being appointed ...

"made a clever run down the wing, crossed to the waiting

Clopton Lloyd-Jones Clopton Allen Lloyd-Jones (12 November 1858 – 7 March 1918) was an English businessman and amateur sportsman, best known for football and cricket. He played for the Clapham Rovers when they won the FA Cup in 1880 and was selected, but did not ...

who had the simple task of slotting the ball between the Oxford goalposts to secure a one-goal lead." This was the last appearance in an FA Cup Final for both teams. His second England call-up came for the match against

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

on 12 March 1881, in which England went down to a "humiliating" 6–1 defeat, with Scotland's goals including a

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three wic ...

from John Smith and two from

George Ker George "Geordie" Ker (born in Glasgow) was a Scottish footballer of the 1870s and 1880s. Ker played for ''Queen's Park Juniors'', ''Kerland FC'', and Alexandra Athletic before joining Queen's Park in 1877. Until 1878, Ker had played as a de ...

. Wilson also played for the Old Brightonians and represented

Sussex Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the English ...

. He was described by Charles Alcock in his 1882 ''"Football Annual"'' as "a splendid back; strong kick; very fast and active; his unexpected demise, in June, was deeply regretted by all who knew him".

Cricket career

Wilson also played cricket at first-class level. He played in one match for the

University A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

against the Gentlemen of England in June 1881, when he scored 51 in the university's second innings in a drawn match. Immediately after this match, he played for

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

against

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gl ...

. In this match, in which he was the

wicketkeeper The wicket-keeper in the sport of cricket is the player on the fielding side who stands behind the wicket or stumps being watchful of the batsman and ready to take a catch, stump the batsman out and run out a batsman when occasion arises. Th ...

, he was dismissed lbw to

W. G. Grace William Gilbert Grace (18 July 1848 – 23 October 1915) was an English Amateur status in first-class cricket, amateur cricketer who was important in the development of the sport and is widely considered one of its greatest players. He played ...

, who led his team to a victory by 8 wickets.

Death

In June 1881, he caught

sunstroke Heat stroke or heatstroke, also known as sun stroke, is a severe heat illness that results in a body temperature greater than , along with red skin, headache, dizziness, and confusion. Sweating is generally present in exertional heatstroke, b ...

during a cricket match and subsequently died at

Betchworth Betchworth is a village and civil parish in the Mole Valley district of Surrey, England. The village centre is on the north bank of the River Mole and south of the A25 road, almost east of Dorking and west of Reigate. London is north of the ...

, Surrey, on 29 June.

Honours

Oxford University *

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 ...

runners-up:

References

External links

England profile on www.englandstats.comEngland profile on www.englandfc.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Claude 1858 births 1881 deaths Sportspeople from Banbury People educated at Brighton College Alumni of Exeter College, Oxford English footballers England international footballers Oxford University A.F.C. players English cricketers English cricketers of 1864 to 1889 Oxford University cricketers Surrey cricketers Sport deaths in England Deaths from hyperthermia Cricket deaths Old Brightonians A.F.C. players Association football fullbacks FA Cup Final players