William John Wheeler (13 July 1919 – 10 January 2009) was a professional

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 as a

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

for

Cheltenham Town Cheltenham Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England. From the 2021–22 season, the club compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league syst ...

Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. Since 2011, the first te ...

, Huddersfield Town and

Kettering Town Kettering Town Football Club is a football club based in Burton Latimer, Northamptonshire, England. They are currently members of and play at Latimer Park in Burton Latimer. Kettering were the first club to wear sponsorship on their shirts in ...

. He helped Huddersfield Town to promotion to the First Division, and played more than 150 matches in

the Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

for the club. After his playing career finished, he spent more than 25 years with Notts County, in a variety of roles including coach, trainer,

caretaker manager In association footballing terms, a caretaker manager or interim manager is somebody who takes temporary charge of the management of a football team, usually when the regular Manager (association football), manager is dismissed or leaves for a ...

and

scout Scout may refer to: Youth movement *Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement **Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom **Scouts BSA, sectio ...

Personal

Wheeler was born in North Littleton, near

Evesham Evesham () is a market town and parish in the Wychavon district of Worcestershire, in the West Midlands region of England. It is located roughly equidistant between Worcester, Cheltenham and Stratford-upon-Avon. It lies within the Vale of Evesha ...

, Worcestershire. He died in Queen's Medical Centre,

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east ...

on 10 January 2009 at the age of 89. A minute's applause was observed before Notts County's

League Two The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football Lea ...

game with Exeter City later the same day.

Playing career

Wheeler started playing in village and mid week football in the

area for teams such as Cleeve Prior Amateurs and Evesham Early Closers, he also played in the Evesham Town reserve team before returning to mid week football. While at Evesham Early Closers he had a trial with

Coventry City Coventry City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Coventry, West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. The team currently compete in the EFL Championship, Championship, the second tier of the English footbal ...

. He joined

in the summer of 1937 and played for them in the Southern League before joining First Division

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

as a professional in 1938. He was signed as understudy and potential successor to

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 ...

goalkeeper Harry Hibbs, but played only five first-team matches – as the youngest goalkeeper in the First Division – before the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

interrupted his career. During the war he served in the 6th Armoured Division in North Africa and Italy, but when he returned to his club, future England international

Gil Merrick Gilbert Harold Merrick (26 January 1922 – 3 February 2010) was an English footballer and football manager. Considered one of the best goalkeepers in the UK during the mid-1950s, Merrick was one in a long line of great Birmingham City keepers ...

had established himself as first-choice goalkeeper. Wheeler played six matches in the renamed Birmingham City's

Second Division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...

championship-winning 1947–48 season when Merrick was injured, but before the next season started he was transferred to Huddersfield Town. Wheeler had to spend some time in the reserves before becoming a first-team regular at Huddersfield. They were relegated in 1952, but promoted back to the First Division in the following season. Wheeler and the five defenders in the side (

Ron Staniforth Ronald Staniforth (13 April 1924 – 5 October 1988) was an English footballer, described as a tall, cultured full-back. His attacking excursions down the right wing sometimes caused concern to his team's supporters but probably more to his oppon ...

, Laurie Kelly,

Bill McGarry William Harry McGarry (10 June 1927 – 15 March 2005) was an England international association footballer and manager who spent 40 years in the professional game. He had a reputation for toughness, both as a player and as a manager. A right- ...

, Don McEvoy and

Len Quested Wilfred Leonard "Len" Quested (9 January 1925 – 20 August 2012) was an English footballer. Quested played one match for England B as well as being selected as a travelling reserve for a Full International for England. He played two unofficial ...

) shared the distinction of playing every game of the club's 42-match promotion campaign, a league record. In 1956 he joined Southern League club

, where the former

international

Tommy Lawton Thomas Lawton (6 October 1919 – 6 November 1996) was an English football player and manager. A strong centre-forward with excellent all-round attacking skills, he was able to head the ball with tremendous power and accuracy. Born in Fa ...

was

player-manager A player-coach (also playing coach, captain-coach, or player-manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. A player-coach may be a head coach or an assistant coach. They may make changes to the sq ...

. Though the club had struggled the previous season, Wheeler helped them win the Southern League title in 1956–57, playing 47 matches in all competitions. When Lawton took over as manager of Notts County at the end of that season, he asked Wheeler to come with him as coach and trainer.

Notts County

Between joining the club in 1957 and retirement enforced by arthritis in the hip in 1983, during which time he filled numerous roles including trainer, coach,

and

, Wheeler never missed a first-team match – 1,152 consecutive games. In recognition of such service, the club awarded him life membership and a permanent seat in the Meadow Lane directors' box, and had announced plans to rename their clubhouse "Wheeler's" in his honour.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wheeler, Jack 1919 births 2009 deaths People from Evesham English footballers Association football goalkeepers Cheltenham Town F.C. players Birmingham City F.C. players Huddersfield Town A.F.C. players Kettering Town F.C. players English Football League players Southern Football League players English football managers Notts County F.C. managers English Football League managers Sportspeople from Worcestershire British Army personnel of World War II