William John Oakley (27 April 1873 — 20 September 1934) was an English footballer who, during the

Victorian era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria's reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. The era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edwardia ...

, played as a full-back for the renowned amateur clubs, the Corinthians and Casuals, and captained the

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 ...

team once, in a match against

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

in 1901. In 1894, he was also the English

long jump The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a takeoff point. Along with the triple jump, the two events that measure jumping for distance as a gr ...

champion.

Early life and education

Born at

Shrewsbury Shrewsbury ( , also ) is a market town, civil parish, and the county town of Shropshire, England, on the River Severn, north-west of London; at the 2021 census, it had a population of 76,782. The town's name can be pronounced as either 'Sh ...

, Shropshire, the eldest of five children, Oakley was educated at

Shrewsbury School Shrewsbury School is a public school (English independent boarding school for pupils aged 13 –18) in Shrewsbury. Founded in 1552 by Edward VI by Royal Charter, it was originally a boarding school for boys; girls have been admitted into the ...

and

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church ( la, Ædes Christi, the temple or house, '' ædēs'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, the college is uniqu ...

.Published under Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians. Oakley played football for his school from 1887-1892, captaining the side in his final year, and also rowed for his school. After going up to Oxford, Oakley became President of the athletics club in 1895, representing the university in long jump and 120 yard hurdles.

Club career

Oakley played, in total, 121 games for

Corinthian FC Corinthian Football Club was an English amateur football club based in London between 1882 and 1939. Above all, the club is credited with having popularised football around the world, having promoted sportsmanship and fair play, and having ch ...

, in which he scored just 1 goal. Playing games against all the great professional sides of the era, Oakley was an assured defender whose peak years for the club were the 1898/99 season and the 1899/1900 season, during which he rarely missed a match. He would then play for

Casuals F.C. Casuals F.C. were an amateur football club based in London, formed in 1883. They merged with Corinthian in 1939 to form the Corinthian-Casuals, a club which still exists. History The club was formed in 1883, and was originally made up of p ...

International career

Oakley made his

debut in a 1-1 draw against

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

during the

1894–95 British Home Championship The 1894–95 British Home Championship was an international football tournament played between the British Home Nations. The competition was won by England, who like second placed Wales, did not lose a game. Wales however failed to win one eith ...

. He would go on to win a total of 16 England caps between 1895 and 1901, and won his only game as captain against

in the

1900–01 British Home Championship The 1900–01 British Home Championship was an international football tournament between the British Home Nations. England won the competition with five points after strong victories over Wales and Ireland. Scotland too performed well, coming s ...

, England winning 3–0.

Cricket

Oakley also played cricket at club level for

and appeared at county level for

Shropshire Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to th ...

in one match in 1900 when he made 20 runs.''Shropshire Cricketers 1844-1998'', pages 22, 49.

Personal life

He was a close friend of the England centre forward

G. O. Smith Gilbert Oswald Smith (25 November 1872 – 6 December 1943
), familiarly known as G. O. Smith or simply as G. O. ...

, with whom he worked as a schoolmaster, and eventually as joint headmaster, of

Ludgrove School Ludgrove School is an English independent boys preparatory boarding school. Ludgrove was founded in 1892 at Ludgrove Hall in Middlesex by the Old Etonian sportsman Arthur Dunn. Dunn had been employed as a master at Elstree School, which sent boys ...

after retiring from football. He died at

Carlisle Carlisle ( , ; from xcb, Caer Luel) is a city that lies within the Northern England, Northern English county of Cumbria, south of the Anglo-Scottish border, Scottish border at the confluence of the rivers River Eden, Cumbria, Eden, River C ...

Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is a historic county in the far North West England. It covers part of the Lake District as well as the north Pennines and Solway Firth coast. Cumberland had an administrative function from the 12th century until 1974. From 19 ...

, in September 1934 aged 61 following injuries sustained in a road accident.

References

External links

*
William Oakley's football career at ''England Player Profile''
* ttp://www.englandfootballonline.com/TeamCapt/CaptMtch1872.html William Oakley listed among "England's Match Captains 1872-1914" at ''England Football Online'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Oakley, William 1873 births 1934 deaths England men's international footballers English men's footballers Oxford University A.F.C. players People educated at Shrewsbury School Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford Casuals F.C. players Corinthian F.C. players Men's association football fullbacks Footballers from Shrewsbury