Henry Williamson Wake (born 21 January 1901 — 1981) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

professional footballer. He is most famous for playing for

Cardiff City Cardiff City Football Club ( cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Dinas Caerdydd) is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. It competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1899 as R ...

in the

1925 FA Cup Final The 1925 FA Cup Final was an association football match contested by Sheffield United and Cardiff City on 25 April 1925 at Wembley Stadium in London, England. The final was the showpiece match of English football's primary cup competition, the ...

and being part of the team that won the 1927 FA Cup, although he missed the final through injury.

Career

Born in

Seaton Delaval Seaton Delaval is a village in Northumberland, England, with a population of 4,371. The largest of the five villages in Seaton Valley, it is the site of Seaton Delaval Hall, completed by Sir John Vanbrugh in 1727. In 2010 the armed robbery of ...

, Wake began his career playing local football for Bigges Colliery before turning professional to join

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Newcastle upon Tyne, that plays in the Premier League – the top flight of English football. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End ...

in 1919. He moved on to

in 1923, making his debut in February 1924 in a 1–1 draw with

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional association football, football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English footba ...

. In 1925 he was a major part of the team that reached the final of the 1925

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 ...

, playing in all of the club's seven games leading up to the final. The final took place on 25 April with Cardiff losing 1–0 to

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 ...

. It was a mistake from Wake that cost his team the match. United defender

Harry Pantling Harold "Harry" Pantling (16 May 1891 – 21 December 1952) was an English footballer. Career Pantling played for Watford, Sheffield United and Rotherham United in the Football League. He also made one appearance for England. He was part of the ...

hit a long pass down the pitch towards an area of the field Wake was covering but he hesitated and failed to cut out the pass, leaving the ball to fly past him to

Fred Tunstall Fred Tunstall (28 May 1897 – 21 July 1971) was an English football player and coach who played for Darfield St George's, Scunthorpe & Lindsey United, Sheffield United, Halifax Town FC Halifax Town is a professional association footba ...

who scored the only goal of the game. Following the match Wake was chastised in the Welsh media with headlines such as "Wake Not Awake" on newspapers across the country and it took several years for him to live down his mistake. He went on to reach a second final for Cardiff two years later in 1927 when they went on to win the match 1–0 against

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

. Wake scored one of Cardiff's goals in a 3–0 semi-final win over

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...

however he went on to miss the final as he suffered damage to his kidneys in a 3–2 win against

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 ...

in a league match. Despite one

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

newspaper reporting his death, he went on to play for Cardiff until 1931 when he joined

Mansfield Town Mansfield Town Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in the town of Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Stags', they ...

, playing in the Stags first ever league match. He also played in the first ever match played by

Wigan Athletic Wigan Athletic Football Club () is an English professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1932, ...

in 1932 following the club's founding after the collapse of the previous club, Wigan Borough."The first game"
Ultimate Wigan Athletic Website Retrieved on 17 March 2008

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wake, Harry 1901 births 1981 deaths English footballers Newcastle United F.C. players Cardiff City F.C. players Mansfield Town F.C. players Wigan Athletic F.C. players English Football League players People from Seaton Delaval Footballers from Northumberland Association football forwards Association football midfielders FA Cup Final players