Wilfred Wooller (20 November 1912 – 10 March 1997) was a Welsh

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

er, rugby union footballer, cricket administrator and journalist. He was acclaimed as one of the greatest all-round sportsmen that Wales has ever produced. He captained

Glamorgan County Cricket Club Glamorgan County Cricket Club ( cy, Criced Morgannwg) is one of eighteen first-class county clubs within the domestic cricket structure of England and Wales. It represents the historic county of Glamorgan ( cy, Morgannwg). Founded in 1888, ...

for 14 years, was Secretary for thirty and President for six.

Personal history

Wilf Wooller was born at Rhos-on-Sea in Denbighshire. He was educated at

John Bright School Ysgol John Bright is a secondary school on Maesdu Road, Llandudno in Conwy County Borough, Wales. It was founded with money and support from the social reformer John Bright, whose son died in Llandudno in 1864. Until 1969 the school was a sele ...

, Llandudno, Rydal School (now Rydal Penrhos) and

Christ's College, Cambridge Christ's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college includes the Master, the Fellows of the College, and about 450 undergraduate and 170 graduate students. The college was founded by William Byngham in 1437 as ...

, where he graduated with a third-class degree in Archaeology and Anthropology in 1936.Richards, Huw
"Wooller, Wilfred (1912-1997)"
''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004; online edition, September 2004. Retrieved 3 June 2019 He married twice, first to Gillian Windsor-Clive, an unsuccessful wartime marriage that was dissolved in 1946, and in 1948 to Enid James. The couple had five children. Wooller survived incarceration by the

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

ese in the

Changi prisoner of war camp Changi Prison Complex, often known simply as Changi Prison, is a prison in Changi in the eastern part of Singapore. History First prison Before Changi Prison was constructed, the only penal facility in Singapore was at Pearl's Hill, beside ...

in Singapore during the Second World War. He was a successful BBC broadcaster and ''Sunday Telegraph'' sports journalist.

Rugby career

Wooller first played rugby for Rydal School and played his first international game for Wales while still a schoolboy. This was mainly due to the fact that in October 1932 Wooller failed to pass Latin, and therefore could not progress to Cambridge.Thomas (1979), p. 85. In 1932 he played a few games for North Wales Schoolboys, then he turned out for Sale at centre in the school holidays. While representing Sale he played alongside established Welsh international

Claude Davey Claude Davey (14 December 1908 – 18 February 2001) was a Wales international rugby union player who played club rugby for several teams, most notably Sale and Swansea. He was awarded 23 caps for Wales and captained his country eight times. Dave ...

and the two joined up in a 1933 Welsh selection game as part of the 'Possibles' team. Wooller himself believed the selectors were 'mucking about' with him and Davey, so the two were over physical with their opposing numbers, which forced the selectors to choose both of them to face England at Twickenham in 1933. The 1933 England game is seen as a classic in Welsh rugby history as it was the game when the 'Twickenham bogey' was broken after nine failed attempts to beat England on their home ground. Wooler played his part in the match, which is normally remembered as Ronnie Boon's game, when he chased a breakaway Walter Elliot with forty yards to the tryline and tackled him ten yards short of a try.Smith (1980), p. 277. Wooller won 18 international rugby union caps for Wales and represented

Cardiff RFC Cardiff Rugby Football Club ( cy, Clwb Rygbi Caerdydd) is a rugby union club based in Cardiff, the capital city of Wales. The club was founded in 1876Parry-Jones (1989), pg 59 and played their first few matches at Sophia Gardens, shortly after ...

at club level. In 1935 he was inspirational in the Welsh victory over the All Blacks. He was a Cambridge blue in 1935 and 1936.

International rugby matches played

WalesSmith (1980), p. 474. * 1933, 1935, 1936, 1937, 1939 * 1933, 1935, 1936, 1937, 1938, 1939 * 1933, 1935, 1936, 1937, 1938, 1939 * 1935

Cricket career

Wooller's first cricket was played at Rydal School and the local club, Colwyn Bay where he played alongside his father Roy and brothers Jack and Gordon. He made his Minor Counties debut for Denbighshire in 1930 and his first-class debut for Cambridge University in May 1935 against

Sussex Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the English ...

. In the same year he was selected for Cambridge University against Oxford University, so becoming a Double Blue. After graduating from Cambridge, Wooller took employment in Cardiff and joined the St Fagans club north of the city. His bowling performances and aggressive batting attracted the attention of

Maurice Turnbull Maurice Joseph Lawson Turnbull (16 March 1906 – 5 August 1944) was a Welsh cricketer who played in nine Test matches for the England cricket team between 1930 and 1936. A talented all round sportsman, Turnbull excelled in several sports. In ...

, Glamorgan's influential county captain and he was selected for the Championship match against Yorkshire at the Cardiff Arms Park ground. He debuted on 15 June 1938 and in his first bowling spell for the county took 3 wickets for 22 runs in nine overs. After the war Wooller was appointed Captain-Secretary of Glamorgan in 1947 and led them to an unexpected County Championship triumph in 1948. As a formidable all rounder, he was twice thwarted from playing Test cricket for England in 1948–49 and 1951–52, due to business commitments. He retired from first-class cricket in 1960 (reappearing briefly in 1962) and as Secretary in 1977. He served as a Test selector from 1955 to 1961.

Football and other sporting career

Wooller played for

Cardiff City Cardiff City Football Club ( cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Dinas Caerdydd) is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. It competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1899 as R ...

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

, once scoring a hat-trick at centre-forward. He also signed for

Barry Town Barry Town United Football Club ( cy, Clwb Pêl Droed Tref Y Barri) is a semi-professional association football team based in Barry, Wales. They are known for representing Wales in Europe as winners of the Cymru Premier and Welsh Cup during ...

in 1938, with the intent of playing for the club on week nights while continuing his rugby at weekends. Wooller also represented Wales at

squash racquets Squash is a racket-and-ball sport played by two or four players in a four-walled court with a small, hollow, rubber ball. The players alternate in striking the ball with their rackets onto the playable surfaces of the four walls of the court. Th ...

and the Cardiff Athletic Club at

bowls Bowls, also known as lawn bowls or lawn bowling, is a sport in which the objective is to roll biased balls so that they stop close to a smaller ball called a "jack" or "kitty". It is played on a bowling green, which may be flat (for "flat-gre ...

Bibliography

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References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wooller, Wilf 1912 births 1997 deaths Alumni of Christ's College, Cambridge Rugby union players from Denbighshire Barbarian F.C. players British World War II prisoners of war Cambridge University R.U.F.C. players Cardiff RFC players Sale Sharks players Welsh cricket administrators Glamorgan County RFC players Glamorgan cricket captains Glamorgan cricketers People educated at Rydal Penrhos Rugby union centres Wales rugby union captains Welsh cricket captains Welsh cricketers Welsh journalists Welsh rugby union players Wales international rugby union players England cricket team selectors World War II prisoners of war held by Japan Denbighshire cricketers Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers Gentlemen cricketers North v South cricketers Barry Town United F.C. players Gentlemen of England cricketers Cambridge University cricketers Association football forwards H. D. G. Leveson Gower's XI cricketers Welsh footballers Rugby union players from Conwy County Borough