Nathaniel Walton (28 May 1867 – 3 March 1930) was an English international

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 an

inside forward Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...

Career

Born in Preston, Walton played professionally for

Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club, based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second tier of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. T ...

, and earned one cap 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 1890. Like so many other players of his era, Walton graduated through local football to join the ranks of Blackburn Rovers at a time when the club was becoming the dominant force in the town. He was an industrious inside-forward who earned himself a regular place in the endless round of friendly fixtures during the 1884–1885 season. Unfortunately, he looked destined to continually miss out on the big occasions when he was overlooked for the FA Cup Finals of 1885 and 1886. He did play in the replayed final of 1886 against

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club () is an English professional football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was formed in 1878 and has pla ...

and Walton helped his team to win 2–0. Walton, playing as a forward, made his League debut at

Leamington Road Leamington Road was a football ground in Blackburn in England. It was the home ground of Blackburn Rovers between 1881 and 1890. History Blackburn Rovers moved to Leamington Road from their Alexandra Meadows ground in 1881.Paul Smith & Shirley S ...

, then home of Blackburn Rovers, on 15 September 1888 in a match against

Accrington Accrington is a town in the Hyndburn borough of Lancashire, England. It lies about east of Blackburn, west of Burnley, east of Preston, north of Manchester and is situated on the culverted River Hyndburn. Commonly abbreviated by locals to ...

. The match was drawn 5–5. He scored his debut League goal on 22 September 1888 in a match played at Leamington Road, against West Bromwich Albion. Blackburn Rovers won 6-2 and Walton scored two of the six. Walton played in the two FA Cup semi-final matches against

Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club (), commonly known as Wolves, is a professional football club based in Wolverhampton, England, which compete in the . The club has played at Molineux Stadium since moving from Dudley Road in 1889. The club's ...

(the first match ended 1-1). Blackburn Rovers lost the replay 3–1. In season 1888–89 Nat Walton played 20 League matches and scored ten League goals. As a forward he played in a forward-line that scored three-League-goals-or-more-in-a-match on ten separate occasions. In scoring 10 League goals Walton scored two-in-a-match twice. One source described Nat Walton thus, "Walton is always good, though, perhaps, rarely brilliant".

References

1867 births 1930 deaths English footballers England international footballers Blackburn Rovers F.C. players English Football League players Association football inside forwards FA Cup Final players {{England-footy-forward-1860s-stub