George "Spry" Woodhall (5 September 1863 – 29 September 1924) 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 most of his career with

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club () is an English professional football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was formed in 1878 and has pla ...

, helping them to reach three consecutive

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 ...

s, including winning the cup in 1888. Woodhall was born in

West Bromwich West Bromwich ( ) is a market town in the borough of Sandwell, West Midlands, England. Historically part of Staffordshire, it is north-west of Birmingham. West Bromwich is part of the area known as the Black Country, in terms of geography, ...

and, after playing for West Bromwich All Saints and Churchfield Foresters, joined West Bromwich Albion in May 1883. He was a member of the West Bromwich team that reached the

1886 Events January–March * January 1 – Upper Burma is formally annexed to British Burma, following its conquest in the Third Anglo-Burmese War of November 1885. * January 5– 9 – Robert Louis Stevenson's novella ''Strange ...

and

1887 Events January–March * January 11 – Louis Pasteur's anti-rabies treatment is defended in the Académie Nationale de Médecine, by Dr. Joseph Grancher. * January 20 ** The United States Senate allows the Navy to lease Pearl Har ...

cup finals, going out 2–0 to

Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club, based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second tier of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. T ...

(in a replay) and

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa Park ...

respectively. In 1888, West Bromwich reached the final for the third consecutive year, when they met favourites,

Preston North End Preston North End Football Club, commonly referred to as Preston, North End or PNE, is a professional football club in Preston, Lancashire, England, who currently play in the EFL Championship, the second tier of the English football league syste ...

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 24 March 1888. Woodhall scored the winning goal with thirteen minutes remaining, when the West Bromwich forwards outjumped Preston's defence and Woodhall pounced on the rebound, turning sharply to steer the ball between the posts, thus enabling his team to claim the first of their five FA Cup victories. Spry Woodhall made his League debut on 8 September 1888, as a forward for West Bromwich Albion in a 2–0 win against

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 ...

at the

Victoria Ground The Victoria Ground was the home ground of Stoke City from 1878 until 1997, when the club relocated to the Britannia Stadium after 119 years. At the time of its demolition it was the oldest operational ground in the Football League. History ...

. He also scored the second goal in the match. He played ten of the "Throstles" 22 Football League matches and scored three goals in season 1888-89 and was part of a forward-line that scored three goals or more in a League match on one occasion. Described by one source as well-nicknamed, for he was indeed a sprightly player, figuring prominently at outside-right for Albion in the early days. He could centre with great accuracy and combined well in team work, especially with Billy Bassett as his partner. Woodhall represented

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 ...

twice, making his debut against

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 ...

on 4 February 1888, when he scored the third goal in a 5–1 victory. Woodhall's goal was England's 100th international goal. He also played in the next 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 ...

which was won 5–0; the following month, England defeated

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

5–1 (although Woodhall was not selected, his place on the right wing going to his West Bromwich team-mate

Billy Bassett William Isiah Bassett (27 January 1869 – 8 April 1937) was an English association footballer, director, and club chairman who served West Bromwich Albion for over half a century. Biography Playing career Born in West Bromwich, the eldest of ...

) to claim the 1888 British Home Championship convincingly.

Honours

;

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 ...

winners: 1888 *FA Cup runners-up:

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Woodhall, George 1863 births 1924 deaths Sportspeople from West Bromwich Association football forwards English footballers England international footballers West Bromwich Albion F.C. players Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. players Worcester City F.C. players Oldbury Town F.C. players English Football League players FA Cup Final players