Wilfred Toman (October 1874 – 2 May 1917) 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 ...

who played as a

centre 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 ...

for

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River Bru ...

and Everton around the turn of the twentieth century.

Playing career

Toman was born in

Bishop Auckland Bishop Auckland () is a market town and civil parish at the confluence of the River Wear and the River Gaunless in County Durham, northern England. It is northwest of Darlington and southwest of Durham. Much of the town's early history surro ...

, England, but started his football career in Scotland with

Victoria United :''Victoria United is also the name of a defunct Scottish soccer team, see Victoria United F.C.'' Victoria United is a Canadian soccer team based in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. With lineage to clubs founded in 1904, the team plays in th ...

(

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...

), Aberdeen Strollers and

Dundee Dundee (; sco, Dundee; gd, Dùn Dè or ) is Scotland's fourth-largest city and the 51st-most-populous built-up area in the United Kingdom. The mid-year population estimate for 2016 was , giving Dundee a population density of 2,478/km2 or ...

before returning to England to join

in 1896. In his first season at

Turf Moor Turf Moor is an association football stadium in Burnley, Lancashire, England, which has been the home of Burnley F.C. since 1883. This unbroken service makes Turf Moor the second-longest continuously used ground in English professional football ...

he made eight appearances with four goals as Burnley were relegated to the

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 ...

. In 1897–98 Burnley easily took the Second Division title with Toman only missing one game and contributing 15 goals (behind Jimmy Ross's 23), plus a further four goals in the end of season play-offs through which Burnley regained their place in the First Division. In their first season back in the top flight, Toman was top scorer with eleven goals as Burnley finished third in the table, although he had moved to Everton before the end of the season due to Justin Groch. He remained at Everton until the summer of 1900, making 27 appearances with 9 goals before he was enticed to the south coast to join

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

in the Southern League to replace Roddy McLeod who had departed following the "Saints" defeat in the 1900 FA Cup Final. According to Holley & Chalk, Toman was "rather prone to accidents (but) was a game player who often turned out despite his injuries; his ability was to support other forwards." Playing alongside former Evertonians

Edgar Chadwick Edgar Wallace Chadwick (14 June 1869 – 14 February 1942) was a left-sided footballer who had a long and distinguished career with Everton during the 1890s. He was also the national coach for the Netherlands from 1908 to 1913. His cousin, ...

and

Alf Milward Alfred Milward (12 September 1870 – 1 June 1941) was a professional footballer who played in the 1893 and 1897 FA Cup Finals for Everton and in the 1900 FA Cup Final for Southampton. Early career Born in Great Marlow, Milward was one of the ...

, Toman helped Southampton reclaim the Southern League title before returning to Everton at the end of the season. He scored in his first match back with Everton before sustaining a serious injury in his second game which effectively ended his career. After spending two and a half years on the sidelines he attempted a comeback with

Stockport County Stockport County Football Club are a professional football club in Stockport, England, who compete in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1883 as Heaton Norris Rovers, they were renamed Stockport Co ...

before spells with

Oldham Athletic Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is a professional football club in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. The history of Oldham Athletic ...

and

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Newcastle upon Tyne, that plays in the Premier League – the top flight of English football. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End ...

After football

After retiring from playing he returned to settle in Scotland in 1909. He became a

purser A purser is the person on a ship principally responsible for the handling of money on board. On modern merchant ships, the purser is the officer responsible for all administration (including the ship's cargo and passenger manifests) and supply. ...

for

White Star Line The White Star Line was a British shipping company. Founded out of the remains of a defunct packet company, it gradually rose up to become one of the most prominent shipping lines in the world, providing passenger and cargo services between t ...

, but was conscripted in 1916 to serve in 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 ...

in the

King's Regiment (Liverpool) The King's Regiment (Liverpool) was one of the oldest line infantry regiments of the British Army, having been formed in 1685 and numbered as the 8th (The King's) Regiment of Foot in 1751. Unlike most British Army infantry regiments, which we ...

. He arrived at the Western Front in February 1917, and became a

lance-corporal Lance corporal is a military rank, used by many armed forces worldwide, and also by some police forces and other uniformed organisations. It is below the rank of corporal, and is typically the lowest non-commissioned officer (NCO), usually equi ...

. He was wounded by shellfire on the frontline near

Armentières Armentières (; vls, Armentiers) is a commune in the Nord department in the Hauts-de-France region in northern France. It is part of the Métropole Européenne de Lille. The motto of the town is ''Pauvre mais fière'' (Poor but proud). Geogra ...

, and died of wounds in the sector on 2 May 1917. He was buried in

Erquinghem-Lys Erquinghem-Lys () is a commune situated in the Nord department in northern France. It is part of the Métropole Européenne de Lille. Erquinghem is one of a series of villages on the river Lys established by the Viking Rikiwulf in 880 AD at the ...

Churchyard Extension.

Honours

As a player

Southampton * Southern League: 1900–01

References

External links

Everton profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Toman, Wilf 1874 births 1917 deaths Sportspeople from Bishop Auckland Footballers from County Durham English footballers Association football forwards Victoria United F.C. players Burnley F.C. players Dundee F.C. players Everton F.C. players Newcastle United F.C. players Oldham Athletic A.F.C. players Southampton F.C. players Stockport County F.C. players English Football League players Southern Football League players English Football League representative players British Army personnel of World War I British military personnel killed in World War I King's Regiment (Liverpool) soldiers Military personnel from County Durham