Walter Anderson (1879 – 3 March 1904) was an English 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 an inside forward. A diminutive forward, Anderson began his career with

Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. The River Skerne flows through the town; it is a tributary of the River Tees. The Tees itself flows south of the town. In the 19th century, Darlington underwen ...

before moving to Thornaby Utopians. He became a professional in 1899 with Sheffield United and made four appearances in the First Division of 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 ...

over the next two years. Anderson was transferred to

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 ...

side Woolwich Arsenal in December 1901. He made his first team debut against

Preston North End Preston North End Football Club, commonly referred to as Preston, North End or PNE, is a professional football club in Preston, Lancashire, England, who currently play in the EFL Championship, the second tier of the English football league syste ...

in a 0–0 draw on 11 January 1902 and scored his first goal for the club in a 3–1 win at Chesterfield Town three weeks later. Having formed a partnership in the team's forward line with Bill Gooing, Anderson scored five goals in 13 league games as the club finished fifth in the Second Division table. The following season, he competed with Tim Coleman for a place in the team. Anderson scored five league goals in 15 matches that season and one in 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 ...

, a 3–1 defeat at home to Sheffield United, taking his overall tally to 11 goals in 30 appearances. Anderson was transferred to Southern League club

Plymouth Argyle Plymouth Argyle Football Club is a professional football club based in the city of Plymouth, Devon, England. As of the 2021–22 season, the team are competing in League One, the third tier of English football. They have played at Home Park, ...

in the summer of 1903. Commonly known as Wattie, he was signed by

Frank Brettell Frank E. Brettell (1862–1936) was an English football player, manager and administrator. He played as a full-back for Everton, a club that was originally called St. Domingo's. He combined his role as player-secretary-manager with his full ...

to form part of the

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...

club's first professional squad. He made his debut in a 1–0 win at West Ham United on 1 September 1903 and scored his first goal in a 2–1 win at

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

eight days later. Having established himself as their first choice inside right, he scored a

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three wic ...

against Wellingborough on 5 December at Home Park as part of a 4–1 win. Two months later, Anderson contracted

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...

. He carried on playing, ignoring doctors' advice that he should rest, and collapsed after a match against

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandsworth ...

Craven Cottage Craven Cottage is a football ground in Fulham, West London, England, which has been the home of Fulham F.C. since 1896.According to the club'official website The ground's capacity is 22,384; the record attendance is 49,335, for a game against M ...

on 27 February 1904. He was rushed to hospital and died four days later, at the age of 25. He made 38 appearances in all competitions for Plymouth Argyle, scoring 13 goals. A memorial fund was created by the club in his honour and a souvenir handbook was published, which described Anderson as "one of the greatest, cleverest and whole-hearted players a club ever commanded."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Anderson, Walter 1879 births 1904 deaths English footballers Association football forwards Darlington F.C. players Sheffield United F.C. players Arsenal F.C. players Plymouth Argyle F.C. players English Football League players Southern Football League players Western Football League players Deaths from pneumonia in England