Walter Martin Watkins (21 March 1880 – 14 May 1942) was a Welsh footballer who played in the Football League for

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa Park ...

, Stoke and

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...

Club career

Watkins was born in Caersws and was one of six sons of a Welsh farmer from Llanwnnog in

Montgomeryshire Montgomeryshire, also known as ''Maldwyn'' ( cy, Sir Drefaldwyn meaning "the Shire of Baldwin's town"), is one of thirteen historic counties of Wales, historic counties and a former administrative county of Wales. It is named after its county tow ...

. Along with his elder brother Ernie, Mart played for his local club,

Oswestry Town Oswestry Town Football Club was a football club from Shropshire, playing at Victoria Road. They joined the Birmingham League in 1924 and switched to the Cheshire County League in 1959. In 1975 they made the move to the Southern League before ...

where he was spotted by

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 ...

side Stoke. He signed in August 1900 and with the "Potters" awful start to the 1900–01 season – one point from the first seven games – ensured a rapid entrance to first team football. Tall and slim with a neat moustache, Watkins was described as a 'smart player', possessing a whiplash shot who pass to his winger before dashing back into the penalty area to launch himself at the ensuing cross. Watkins helped Stoke avoid relegation in 1900–01, scoring the winning goal in the team's last three matches. In 1901–02 he finished top scorer with 16 and repeated the feat with 13 in 1902–03 which earned him some Welsh caps. In January 1904

Manchester City Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The tw ...

offered Stoke £450 for Watkins' services. The deal collapsed, but with Stoke desperate for funds following the construction of a new stand

manager George Ramsey signed Watkins for a 'high price' joining up with former Stoke winger Arthur Lockett. His career at Villa Park didn't last long after playing just six matches scoring once, ironically against Stoke, he signed for

in October 1904. Watkins made his debut for Sunderland on 22 October 1904 in a 3–0 defeat against Sheffield Wednesday at Roker Park where he scored two goals. Over his career at the club, he made 15 league appearances scoring nine goals. Watkins then joined the newly formed Crystal Palace in the

Southern Football League The Southern League is a men's football competition featuring semi-professional clubs from the South and Midlands of England. Together with the Isthmian League and the Northern Premier League it forms levels seven and eight of the English fo ...

Division Two, helping them win the league and gain promotion to the First Division, scoring six goals in 15 league appearances and in the FA Cup netting six from six appearances. Watkins then moved to Northampton Town then in 1907 he rejoined Stoke who at the time were on the brink of bankruptcy. He scored five goals in 20 matches as a Stoke endured a terrible 1907–08 which saw the supporters abandon the team and the club entered liquidation, resigning from the Football League in the process. Watkins then played for Crewe Alexandra followed by moves to

Stafford Rangers Stafford Rangers Football Club is a semi-professional English football team from Stafford which plays in the Northern Premier League Premier Division. The team wear black and white stripes with black shorts. Stafford Rangers' rivals include T ...

and Tunstall Park. Watkins did return to Stoke in 1911 but failed to win a contract and decided to retire from football.

International career

Watkins played ten times for the Wales national team scoring four goals. In July 2021 Watkins' Welsh cap from 1905 was donated to the Football Museum for Wales by the Watkins family who had emigrated to Australia.

Career statistics

Club

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International

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Watkins, Mart 1880 births 1942 deaths Welsh men's footballers Wales men's international footballers English Football League players Southern Football League players Stoke City F.C. players Aston Villa F.C. players Crystal Palace F.C. players Northampton Town F.C. players Crewe Alexandra F.C. players Stafford Rangers F.C. players Sunderland A.F.C. players Caersws F.C. players Men's association football forwards