Francis Heathcote Wilson (9 April 1848 – 11 September 1886) was an

association 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 ...

and

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include taking cases in superior courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching law and ...

who played in the

1875 Events January–March * January 1 – The Midland Railway of England abolishes the Second Class passenger category, leaving First Class and Third Class. Other British railway companies follow Midland's lead during the rest of the ...

and

1876 Events January–March * January 1 ** The Reichsbank opens in Berlin. ** The Bass Brewery Red Triangle becomes the world's first registered trademark symbol. * February 2 – The National League of Professional Base Ball Clubs i ...

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 ...

finals.

Education

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. Wilson went up to Eton in 1860 and left in 1866. On leaving he matriculated at

University College, Oxford University College (in full The College of the Great Hall of the University of Oxford, colloquially referred to as "Univ") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. It has a claim to being the oldest college of the univer ...

and took his

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

in 1871.

Football career

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 , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

) at

the Parks The Oxford University Parks, commonly referred to locally as the University Parks, or just The Parks, is a large parkland area slightly northeast of the city centre in Oxford, England. The park is bounded to the east by the River Cherwell, thoug ...

in November 1869. His first "regular" season was 1871–72, in which he played for both Wanderers and Gitanos. He did not feature in the

1871–72 FA Cup The 1871–72 Football Association Challenge Cup was the first staging of the Football Association Challenge Cup, usually known in the modern era as the FA Cup, the oldest association football competition in the world. Fifteen of the association' ...

, and, as the Wanderers were exempt until the final in the

1872–73 FA Cup The 1872–73 Football Association Challenge Cup was the second staging of the FA Cup, England's oldest national football tournament. Sixteen teams entered, one more than the previous season, although two of the sixteen never actually played a ma ...

, 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 Adam Clay "A.C." Thompson (born c.1972 Robinson, Eugene S."THE PUNK ROCK JOURNALIST MAKING REAL NEWS AT THE SOURCE" ''ozy.com'', OCTOBER 31, 2017) is an investigative journalist and staff reporter with ''ProPublica''. His work has appeared on the ...

, but Thompson was unavailable for the

1873 FA Cup final The 1873 FA Cup Final was a football match between Wanderers and Oxford University on 29 March 1873 at Lillie Bridge in London. It was the second final of the world's oldest football competition, the Football Association Challenge Cup (known i ...

, and Wilson - who had played for Gitanos against Wanderers two weeks before the final - was also unavailable.

Leonard Howell Leonard Percival Howell (16 June 1898 – 23 January 1981), also known as The Gong or G.G. Maragh (for ''Gangun Guru''), was a Jamaican religious figure. According to his biographer Hélène Lee, Howell was born into an Anglican family. He was one ...

therefore made his debut in their place. Wilson therefore made his competitive debut in the

1873–74 FA Cup The 1873–74 Football Association Challenge Cup was the third staging of the FA Cup, England's oldest football tournament. Twenty-eight teams entered, twelve more than the previous season, although six of the twenty-eight never played a match. ...

, for an 8-man Gitanos - reduced to 7 during the game due to injury - in its defeat to

Uxbridge Uxbridge () is a suburban town in west London and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Hillingdon. Situated west-northwest of Charing Cross, it is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan. Uxbrid ...

in the first round. He spent the season playing for Gitanos and scored goals - rare for backs - in wins over the

Civil Service The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil servants hired on professional merit rather than appointed or elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leaders ...

in December 1873 and

Harrow Chequers Harrow Chequers Football Club was a football club from London, England in the 1860s to early 1890s. It played as the Harrow Chequers from 1865 to 1876, when it was then renamed the Old Harrovians, and continued play until at least 1891. Derive ...

in February 1874, both at the Kennington Oval. The

Old Etonians Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, C ...

entered the

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 The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is a corps of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces and is heade ...

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. 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 The 1875–76 Football Association Challenge Cup was the fifth staging of the FA Cup, England's oldest football tournament. Thirty-two teams entered, three more than the previous season, although five of the thirty-two never played a match. Format ...

, shooting home after the ball came out of a scrimmage; 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 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 ...

, keeping a clean sheet. He did not however play in the semi-final against

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 ...

or original

1876 FA Cup final The 1876 FA Cup Final was a football match between Wanderers and Old Etonians on 11 March 1876 at Kennington Oval in London. It was the fifth final of the world's oldest football competition, the Football Association Challenge Cup (known in t ...

against the Wanderers, but did appear in the final replay, replacing Quintin Hogg in goal; the Wanderers won 3–0. 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, and the Cup final defeat seems to have been his final match.

Legal career

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

Personal life

Wilson was a philatelist. On 19 July 1877, he married Alice Clara Georgina Colt of Gartsherrie, near Coatbridge, in her home town. In February 1886, Wilson suffered a serious injury after falling on ice, and was admitted to the Munster House Asylum in Fulham Road,

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, historic county in South East England, southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the Ceremonial counties of ...

, where he died of his injuries on 11 September.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Francis Heathcote 1848 births 1886 deaths Men's association football goalkeepers Men's association football defenders Men's association football midfielders Men's association football forwards English men's footballers Old Etonians F.C. players People educated at Eton College People from Romsey Footballers from Hampshire Gitanos F.C. players Wanderers F.C. players Accidental deaths from falls