John George Wylie (5 October 1854 – 30 July 1924) was an English amateur

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 ...

who played as a forward. He won the

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 ...

with Wanderers in

1878 Events January–March * January 5 – Russo-Turkish War – Battle of Shipka Pass IV: Russian and Bulgarian forces defeat the Ottoman Empire. * January 9 – Umberto I becomes King of Italy. * January 17 – Bat ...

and played once for

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 ...

in 1878. He also took part as an athlete, winning the Pentathlon at the National Olympian Games in 1879.

Career

Wylie was born in Shrewsbury and was educated at

Shrewsbury School Shrewsbury School is a public school (English independent boarding school for pupils aged 13 –18) in Shrewsbury. Founded in 1552 by Edward VI by Royal Charter, it was originally a boarding school for boys; girls have been admitted into ...

between 1869 and 1872. After leaving school he moved to

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 ...

where he trained as a solicitor. He qualified in 1878 after which he joined a practice in

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 ...

. In 1881, he was living in

Putney Putney () is a district of southwest London, England, in the London Borough of Wandsworth, southwest of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. History Putney is an ancient paris ...

. He died, aged 69, in

Wandsworth Wandsworth Town () is a district of south London, within the London Borough of Wandsworth southwest of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. Toponymy Wandsworth takes its nam ...

, London.

Football career

His early football was played with Shropshire Wanderers, before moving to

where he earned representative honours for the city of

. In the 1874 match against London, he was "borrowed" by the opposition who had insufficient players available. In March 1874, he was selected for the

match against

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

, but had to withdraw at a late stage, and was replaced by

John Hawley Edwards John Hawley Edwards (21 March 1850 – 14 January 1893) was an English footballer who made one appearance for England in 1874, before going on to play for Wales in 1876. He was a member of the Wanderers team that won the 1876 FA Cup Final. Ca ...

who thus made his solitary England international appearance. He then joined Wanderers making his first appearance for them in January 1875. He only made a significant contribution to the Wanderers in 1877-78, when he made eleven appearances, scoring nine goals, six of which came in

matches. Wanderers thus reached their third consecutive cup final, when on 23 March 1878 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 ...

, they defeated the Royal Engineers 3–1. Three weeks before the Cup Final, Wylie (together with fellow Wanderers forwards Henry Wace and Hubert Heron) was again selected for the annual international fixture against

. The game did not end happily for England as the Scots ran out 7–2 victors, although Wylie did score one of England's late consolation goals. Wylie remained with the Wanderers until 1879, making his final appearance on 28 November. He was described by

C. W. Alcock Charles William Alcock (2 December 1842 – 26 February 1907) was an English sportsman, administrator, author and editor. He was a major instigator in the development of both international football and cricket, as well as being the creator of ...

in the 1879 ''

Football Annual __NOTOC__ The ''Football Annual'' was a reference work published annually from 1868 to 1908. It reported on the various codes of football played in England, and also provided some coverage of the other home nations, supplemented on occasion by r ...

'' as "a good centre, with pace and strength (who) should play for his side more".

Honours

Wanderers *

winner:

International goals

:''Scores and results list England's goal tally first.''

Athletic achievement

As a member of the Shropshire Wanderers, Wylie took part in the National Olympian Games held at Shrewsbury in 1879, when he won a cup presented for the Pentathlon event by King

George I of Greece George I ( Greek: Γεώργιος Α΄, ''Geórgios I''; 24 December 1845 – 18 March 1913) was King of Greece from 30 March 1863 until his assassination in 1913. Originally a Danish prince, he was born in Copenhagen, and seemed destined for ...

. He also came joint winner in high jump, won a heat in the quarter-mile handicap, and third in heat of 100 yards flat race, 120 yards hurdles and pole leaping.

References

External links

*
Profile on www.englandfc.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wylie, John 1854 births Sportspeople from Shrewsbury 1924 deaths People educated at Shrewsbury School English footballers Sheffield F.C. players Wanderers F.C. players England international footballers Shropshire Wanderers F.C. players Association football forwards FA Cup Final players