Joseph Samuel Wade (7 July 1921 – 12 November 2005) 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 manager. Wade was born in Shoreditch,

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, 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 dow ...

and joined Arsenal as an amateur in 1944. Wade was serving in the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

during

World War II 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 opposing ...

; stationed at RAF Credenhill in

Herefordshire Herefordshire () is a county in the West Midlands of England, governed by Herefordshire Council. It is bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh counties of Monmouthsh ...

, he guested a few times for Southern League side

Hereford United Hereford United Football Club was an association football club based in Hereford, England. They played at Edgar Street for their entire history. They were nicknamed 'The Whites' or 'The Lilywhites', after their predominantly white kit, or 'Th ...

during this period as well. Wade was a reserve full back and only played in a handful of matches during the 1940s; he made his debut in an

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 ...

match against

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...

on 5 January 1946; a mainly reserve Arsenal side were thrashed 6–0, which remains to this day Arsenal's worst FA Cup defeat in modern times. Wade continued to be a bit-part player; he made his league debut in a 4–2 win over

Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire in England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of England's football league system, and plays its home matches at Elland Road ...

on 16 November 1946, but in all he only made sixteen appearances between 1946 and 1952; the likes of

Walley Barnes Walley Barnes (16 January 1920 – 4 September 1975) was a Welsh footballer and broadcaster. Whilst playing as a defender he featured for Southampton and Arsenal and captained the Welsh national side. Early career He was born in Brecon to Engli ...

and Laurie Scott keeping him out of the side. Arsenal won the old First Division in 1947-48 but he only made three league appearances all season. Barnes had badly injured his knee in the 1952 FA Cup Final, and Wade duly filled in for him for the whole of the 1952-53 season. Wade was a near ever-present and played 44 times as Arsenal won their seventh league title, pipping Preston North End on

goal average A goal is an idea of the future or desired result that a person or a group of people envision, plan and commit to achieve. People endeavour to reach goals within a finite time by setting deadlines. A goal is roughly similar to a purpose or ai ...

; it would turn out to be their last trophy until 1970. However, the following season, 1953-54, Wade himself injured his knee in a floodlit friendly against

Queens Park Rangers Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England, which compete in the . After a nomadic early existence, they have played home matches at Loftus Ro ...

and after recovering, he struggled to take his place back off Len Wills and a now-recovered Barnes. He continued to flit in and out of the first team but spent all of the 1955-56 season in the reserve side, at the same time carrying out a role as coach of the Arsenal youth team. In spring 1956 he left Arsenal to return to non-league Hereford United as player-manager. He played 91 first-team matches for Arsenal in total, never scoring a goal. At Hereford, he started the club's long-running tradition for knocking League sides out of the FA Cup, including

Aldershot Aldershot () is a town in Hampshire, England. It lies on heathland in the extreme northeast corner of the county, southwest of London. The area is administered by Rushmoor Borough Council. The town has a population of 37,131, while the Alder ...

in 1956-57 and Queens Park Rangers in 1957-58. Wade won the "Double" of Southern League Cup and Southern League North-West Division in 1958-59, before leaving in 1962 to concentrate on his sports shop business. Wade briefly returned as Hereford's caretaker manager after

John Charles William John Charles (27 December 1931 – 21 February 2004) was a Welsh footballer who played as a centre-forward or as a centre-back. Best known for his first stint at Leeds United and Juventus, he was rated by many as the greatest all-ro ...

had quit in 1971, but apart from that he did not return to football management. He died in 2005, at the age of 84.

Honours

* First Division: 1952-53

References

* *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wade, Joe 1921 births 2005 deaths English men's footballers Men's association football fullbacks Arsenal F.C. players Hereford United F.C. players English football managers Hereford United F.C. managers Arsenal F.C. non-playing staff English Football League players English Football League representative players Footballers from Shoreditch Royal Air Force personnel of World War II