Walter Wadsworth (7 October 1890 – 12 October 1951) was a footballer who played for

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

in the early part of the 20th century.

Life and playing career

Born in

Bootle Bootle (pronounced ) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, Merseyside, England, which had a population of 51,394 in 2011; the wider Bootle (UK Parliament constituency), Parliamentary constituency had a population of 98,449. Histo ...

Merseyside Merseyside ( ) is a metropolitan county, metropolitan and ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England, with a population of List of ceremonial counties of England, 1.38 million. It encompasses both banks of the Merse ...

, England, local lad Wadsworth played for Lingdale and Ormskirk before being signed, as an amateur, by Liverpool manager Tom Watson, on 23 April 1912, he was to make his debut on 20 March 1915 in a First Division fixture at

Ayresome Park Ayresome Park was a football stadium in Middlesbrough, Yorkshire, England. It was the home of Middlesbrough F.C. from its construction in time for the 1903–04 season, until the Riverside Stadium opened in 1995. It was demolished in 1997 and r ...

against

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area. Until the early 1800s, the a ...

, the game ended badly for the Reds as they slumped to a heavy 3–0 defeat. He didn't manage to score his first Liverpool goal until 28 August 1920, this was mainly due to the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, it came in a match at

Anfield Anfield is a football stadium in Anfield, Liverpool, Merseyside, England, which has a seating capacity of 53,394, making it the seventh largest football stadium in England. It has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since their formation in 1892. ...

against Man City, more happily for Wadsworth, Liverpool won the match 4–2. Although the

Great War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

interrupted Wadsworth's career, the uncompromising centre-half did play for Liverpool during this spell in the Lancashire tournament that was set up along with the other 3 regional tournaments. Upon returning to Liverpool after the conclusion of the war, Walter had a strong season playing in 33 of Liverpool's league fixtures, he was joined during this spell by his brother Harold, unfortunately, Harold never had the same impact on the club that Walter had and only made just over 50 sporadic appearances in five years. Walter was a major player in the back-to-back championship winning seasons, missing just 10 of the 84 leagues games available. He remained a stalwart of the side for the next two campaigns but towards the end of the 1924–25 season, David Pratt replaced him in the starting line-up. He would subsequently make only four appearances during the following season which turned out to be his last as he was allowed to leave for

Bristol City Bristol City Football Club is a professional football club based in Bristol, England, which compete in the , the second tier of English football. They have played their home games at Ashton Gate since moving from St John's Lane in 1904. The ...

on 14 May 1926. Before finally retiring Wadsworth went on to represent Flint Town, New Brighton and Oswestry Town.

Career details

* Liverpool F.C (1912–1926)† 241 appearances, 8 goals - Two First Division Championships winners medals (1922 and 1923) †Wadsworth career was interrupted for 4 years due to the 1914/18 war.

External links

Player profile at LFChistory.netLetter to Daily Telegraph - 11 January 2008Article at LFCHistory.net
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wadsworth, Walter 1890 births 1951 deaths English men's footballers Bristol City F.C. players Liverpool F.C. players New Brighton A.F.C. players Flint Town United F.C. players Men's association football defenders Footballers from Bootle