Fred Spiksley (25 January 1870 – 28 July 1948) 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 ...
and coach, who played as a forward for
Sheffield Wednesday
Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an offshoot of ...
and
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 ...
. He also played for
Gainsborough Trinity
Gainsborough Trinity Football Club is a football club based in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, England. Established in 1873, the club became members of the Football League in 1893 and remained members of the Second Division until 1912, making Gainsbo ...
,
Glossop North End,
Leeds City
Leeds City Football Club was the leading professional club in Leeds, England, before the First World War. It was dissolved in 1919 due to financial irregularities, after which Leeds United was established as a replacement.
History
The club was ...
,
Watford
Watford () is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne.
Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal encouraged the construction of paper-making mills, print works, a ...
. After retiring as a player in 1906, he worked as a coach and won national league titles in
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
,
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
and
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
. During the
First World War
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 ...
he was arrested but escaped from a German Police prison.
Early and personal life
Spiksley was born in
Gainsborough Gainsborough or Gainsboro may refer to:
Places
* Gainsborough, Ipswich, Suffolk, England
** Gainsborough Ward, Ipswich
* Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, a town in England
** Gainsborough (UK Parliament constituency)
* Gainsborough, New South Wales, ...
, the son of a boilermaker.
He was married to Ellen with a son, Fred Jr.
He and Ellen later divorced due to his adultery.
Spiksley was also a gambler who suffered heavy losses and was made bankrupt in 1909.
Playing career
![Sheffield wednesday 1896 (spiksley)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/97/Sheffield_wednesday_1896_%28spiksley%29.jpg)
After playing for local teams in Gainsborough, including
Gainsborough Trinity
Gainsborough Trinity Football Club is a football club based in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, England. Established in 1873, the club became members of the Football League in 1893 and remained members of the Second Division until 1912, making Gainsbo ...
(for whom he had scored 131 goals in 126 appearances), he signed for
Wednesday
Wednesday is the day of the week between Tuesday and Thursday. According to international standard ISO 8601, it is the third day of the week. In countries which have Friday as their holiday, Wednesday is the fifth day of the week. In countrie ...
in 1891.
His later career was marred by injury (including a serious knee injury in 1903) and he played for
Leeds City
Leeds City Football Club was the leading professional club in Leeds, England, before the First World War. It was dissolved in 1919 due to financial irregularities, after which Leeds United was established as a replacement.
History
The club was ...
,
Southern United and
Watford
Watford () is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne.
Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal encouraged the construction of paper-making mills, print works, a ...
.
He was also an England international.
Coaching career
After retiring as a player Spiskley joined the circus, and worked in a theatre with
Charlie Chaplin
Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin Jr. (16 April 188925 December 1977) was an English comic actor, filmmaker, and composer who rose to fame in the era of silent film. He became a worldwide icon through his screen persona, the Tramp, and is consider ...
.
He then became a football coach who worked in Sweden, Germany, France, Switzerland, Belgium, Spain, the United States, Peru and Mexico, as well as in England.
After
World War I broke out, he was coaching in Germany and was held in
Ruhleben internment camp
Ruhleben internment camp was a civilian detention camp in Germany during World War I. It was located in Ruhleben, a former ''Vorwerk'' manor to the west of Berlin, now split between the districts of Spandau and Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf. The ...
along with his son.
His wife managed to secure their release, and the family moved to Switzerland.
He then returned to England but was deemed unfit to serve in the War due to his earlier knee injury, which Spiksley exacerbated by dislocating his knee at will to fool the medical examiner.
He spent the war working in Sheffield as a munitions inspector,
resuming his coaching career after the war ended.
He ended his career coaching at the
King Edward VII School in Sheffield.
Playing style
Spiksley was a "slight and silky winger" who was described as the "fastest man in football" by his England international team-mate
Billy Bassett.
Later life and death
Spiksley and his wife divorced due to his adultery.
He died from a heart attack at the age of 78 whilst attending Ladies' Day at
Goodwood Racecourse
Goodwood Racecourse is a horse-racing track five miles north of Chichester, West Sussex, in England controlled by the family of the Duke of Richmond, whose seat is nearby Goodwood House. It hosts the annual Glorious Goodwood meeting in la ...
in 1948.
References
External links
*
Profile on englandfootballonline
{{DEFAULTSORT:Spiksley, Fred
1870 births
1948 deaths
AIK Fotboll managers
English footballers
England international footballers
English football managers
Gainsborough Trinity F.C. players
Sheffield Wednesday F.C. players
Glossop North End A.F.C. players
Leeds City F.C. players
Watford F.C. players
Fulham F.C. non-playing staff
People from Gainsborough, Lincolnshire
TSV 1860 Munich managers
1. FC Nürnberg managers
FC Lausanne-Sport managers
World War I civilian detainees held by Germany
English expatriate football managers
English Football League representative players
English Football League players
Association football midfielders
Escapees from German detention
FA Cup Final players