George Waller (3 December 1864 – 11 December 1937) 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

first-class cricket First-class cricket, along with List A cricket and Twenty20 cricket, is one of the highest-standard forms of cricket. A first-class match is one of three or more days' scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officia ...

er. Born in Pitsmoor,

Sheffield Sheffield is a 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 historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire a ...

Waller played for both

The 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 ...

(with whom he played in the 1890 FA Cup final) and

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 ...

in his home town, as well as a spell with

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area. Until the early 1800s, the a ...

. He was appointed as first team trainer at Sheffield United in 1894, helping the team to one championship and four

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 ...

victories in a 36-year tenure. Waller also played cricket for Sheffield United Cricket Club and a number of matches for

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other English counties, functions have ...

Football career

Playing career

Having started his playing career with his local church, Waller was signed by

's leading side

in 1885. He played regularly, spending five years with the club, culminating in an appearance in the 1890 FA Cup final. This was to prove his last game for the club and, with his contract expired, he intended to sign for newly formed

. Issues with the paperwork and his registration, however, meant that the deal fell through and instead he joined

where he played for a further two seasons. Waller finally joined United in August 1892, signed as captain of the reserves; the Sheffield Strollers. Despite his role in the reserves Waller regularly played for the first team during his first two seasons, usually in friendly fixtures but he did also play a number of games in

The Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in Association football around the wor ...

. Primarily a defender, Waller agreed to play in goal in March 1894 for a fixture against

Newton Heath Newton Heath is an area of Manchester, England, north-east of Manchester city centre and with a population of 9,883. Historically part of Lancashire, Newton was formerly a farming area, but adopted the factory system following the Industrial R ...

due to an injury crisis. United won the fixture 2–0 and Waller impressed to the point that he was selected in goal for the next two fixtures, despite experienced keepers being available once more. He began to play more infrequently over the following seasons, but despite wearing borrowed boots, he did score in his last league appearance. Concentrating on his role as club trainer, Waller remained registered by United as a player until 1915 and made occasional appearances for the Strollers.

Coaching career

For almost the first 45 years of its existence,

did not employ what would be described in the modern game as a

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities ...

. Instead the duties associated with a manager were split across a number of people, in the same structure utilised by Sheffield United Cricket Club from where the football club had grown. The team was selected by a committee, while transfers, dealings with the FA and the day-to-day running of the club were undertaken by the club secretary. The players were coached by a trainer, and it was this position that was offered to George Waller in the close season of 1894. The club had been impressed by Waller's fitness, his knowledge of the game and his willingness to learn, and his appointment would soon reap dividends. Using his experience of football and cricket he quickly became respected as one of the foremost – what would now be termed –

physiotherapist Physical therapy (PT), also known as physiotherapy, is one of the allied health professions. It is provided by physical therapists who promote, maintain, or restore health through physical examination, diagnosis, management, prognosis, patien ...

s operating in the game. His use of science and modern techniques led players to refer to his as having 'magic hands' and he would often be consulted by sportsmen, athletes and dancers from across the country. Waller's other role was, alongside the team captain, to train the players and work on matchday tactics, and under his tutelage the team achieved a sustained period of success. The First Division championship was achieved in

1898 Events January–March * January 1 – New York City annexes land from surrounding counties, creating the City of Greater New York as the world's second largest. The city is geographically divided into five boroughs: Manhattan, B ...

and the club won the

1899 Events January 1899 * January 1 ** Spanish rule ends in Cuba, concluding 400 years of the Spanish Empire in the Americas. ** Queens and Staten Island become administratively part of New York City. * January 2 – **Bolivia sets up a c ...

and

1902 Events January * January 1 ** The Nurses Registration Act 1901 comes into effect in New Zealand, making it the first country in the world to require state registration of nurses. On January 10, Ellen Dougherty becomes the world' ...

, along with a losing final appearance in

1901 Events January * January 1 – The British colonies of New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria and Western Australia federate as the Commonwealth of Australia; Edmund Barton becomes the first Prime Minist ...

, and United could field a team packed with internationals. Waller was a tactical innovator, and introduced the idea of using one inside forward to play in a deeper role, capable of accurate passing, who could bring faster wide men into play, often with long cross–field balls. This would remain United's style of play well into the 1930s and only began to change following Waller's departure in 1930.

Honours

* Football League Division Two **Runner-up: 1892–93

Cricket career

Waller played three matches for

Yorkshire County Cricket Club Yorkshire County Cricket Club is one of 18 first-class county clubs within the domestic cricket structure of England and Wales. It represents the historic county of Yorkshire. Yorkshire are the most successful team in English cricketing hi ...

in 1893 and 1894. He took four wickets with his right arm medium pace at 17.50, and he scored seventeen runs at 4.25, with a best innings score of 13. He played for the Yorkshire Second XI, and for Yorkshire in some non-first-class games, from 1893 to 1897.Obituaries in 1937
ESPN cricinfo

Personal life

Waller ran a sports shop near Bramall Lane in his later years and died in

in December 1937.

References

External links

Cricinfo Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Waller, George 1864 births 1937 deaths Footballers from Sheffield English men's footballers Men's association football defenders Men's association football goalkeepers Sheffield Wednesday F.C. players Middlesbrough F.C. players Sheffield United F.C. players Yorkshire cricketers English cricketers Sheffield United F.C. non-playing staff Northern Football League players English Football League players Pyebank F.C. players