Walter Reginald Odell (19 March 1912 – 27 July 1971) was an English

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 a

left half A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

in 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 ...

for

Wrexham Wrexham ( ; cy, Wrecsam; ) is a city and the administrative centre of Wrexham County Borough in Wales. It is located between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley, near the border with Cheshire in England. Historically in the count ...

. He was on the books of

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional association football, football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English footba ...

without playing League football for them, and his only appearances for

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 ...

were in the

1939–40 Football League The abandoned 1939–40 season would have been the 48th season of The Football League. The kick-off in all divisions took place on Saturday 26 August 1939.Ian Laschke: ''Rothmans Book of Football League Records 1888–89 to 1978–79''. Macdonald ...

season abandoned when war broke out. He played

non-league football Non-League football describes football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is specifically used to de ...

for Sandy Albion,

Biggleswade Town Biggleswade Town Football Club is a football club based in Biggleswade, Bedfordshire, England. The club are currently members of the and play at Langford Road. History The club were established in 1874 as Biggleswade, later becoming known as ...

Hitchin Town Hitchin Town Football Club is an English semi-professional football club based in Hitchin, Hertfordshire. They are currently members of the . Founded in 1865 and known as 'The Canaries', Hitchin Town have been based at Top Field since their fou ...

and

Northfleet United Northfleet United Football Club was a football club based in Northfleet, Kent. Around 1890 organised team football was being played in the town and in 1892 the Northfleet F.C. club was founded. It flourished for a few years in the mid-1890s u ...

Life and career

Odell was born in

Biggleswade Biggleswade ( ) is a market town and civil parish in Central Bedfordshire in Bedfordshire, England. It lies on the River Ivel, 11 miles (18 km) south-east of Bedford. Its population was 16,551 in the 2011 United Kingdom census, and its es ...

Bedfordshire Bedfordshire (; abbreviated Beds) is a ceremonial county in the East of England. The county has been administered by three unitary authorities, Borough of Bedford, Central Bedfordshire and Borough of Luton, since Bedfordshire County Council wa ...

, and lived at nearby

Upper Caldecote Upper Caldecote is a village in the Central Bedfordshire district of Bedfordshire, England about south-east of Bedford. Its population at the 2011 census was 1,218. It is part of Northill civil parish. Most of Upper Caldecote is situated dir ...

, where he attended the local Church of England school. As a young man he worked as a porter at

Sandy railway station Sandy railway station serves the town of Sandy in Bedfordshire, England. It is on the East Coast Main Line, about 44 miles (71 km) from . Sandy is managed by Great Northern but all train services are operated by Thameslink. Sandy sta ...

, played

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 ...

for Caldecote Cricket Club and football for Sandy Albion and

, before joining

Spartan League The Spartan League was a football league in England covering London and adjacent counties. Established in 1907, it merged with the South Midlands League in 1997 to form the Spartan South Midlands League. History The Spartan League was establish ...

club

during the 1931–32 season. He played at

inside left 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 ...

and at

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 ...

before settling at

. He was a member of the Hitchin team that won the Herts Senior Cup in 1934, and made 38 appearances in all competitions as Hitchin won the Spartan League title in 1934–35. He was also selected for the Hertfordshire County side that won the Southern Counties Amateur Championship. Amid interest from other

clubs, including nearby

Luton Town Luton Town Football Club () is a professional association football club based in the town of Luton, Bedfordshire, England, that competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1885, it is nicknam ...

, for whose reserves he appeared, Odell signed for First Division club

in June 1935. He was one of three members of the 1934–35 Hitchin side who went on to play in the Football League: the others were Cyril Walker and future

England international The England national football team has represented England in international football since the first international match in 1872. It is controlled by The Football Association (FA), the governing body for football in England, which is affilia ...

Reg Smith James Christopher Reginald Smith (20 January 1912 – 6 January 2004), was an English footballer and manager, who played Outside left (the pre-modern day equivalent of left wing). Playing career The son of a South African rugby union intern ...

. Odell never appeared in Tottenham's first team. He spent one season with their nursery club,

Northfleet Northfleet is a town in the borough of Gravesham in Kent, England. It is located immediately west of Gravesend, and on the border with the Borough of Dartford. Northfleet has its own railway station on the North Kent Line, just east of Ebbsfl ...

, and one with Tottenham's reserve team before being released on a free transfer. He then signed for

of the

Third Division North The Third Division North of the Football League was a tier in the English football league system from 1921 to 1958. It ran in parallel with the Third Division South with clubs elected to the League or relegated from a higher division allocated to ...

, for whom he was a regular at left half in his first season, during which he made 40 league appearances. He appeared less frequently in the 1938–39 campaign, and was used at inside left and outside left as well as at left half. An ankle injury kept him out for several weeks towards the end of the season, during which he made 21 league appearances. He was not retained, and moved on to another Northern Section club,

. Odell scored twice in Darlington's three Northern Section matches before the Football League was suspended for the duration of the Second World War, and then returned to Bedfordshire. During the war he worked in a factory in

Letchworth Letchworth Garden City, commonly known as Letchworth, is a town in the North Hertfordshire district of Hertfordshire, England. It is noted for being the first garden city. The population at the time of the 2011 census was 33,249. Letchworth ...

, and kept up his football with Biggleswade Town, occasional appearances for Darlington, and regular guest appearances for

Clapton Orient Leyton Orient Football Club is a professional football club based in Leyton, East London, England, who compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. They are the second oldest football club in London to play at a profess ...

, until a back injury put an end to his playing career. When competitive football resumed after the war, Letchworth Town, a Hertfordshire County League club, appointed Odell as trainer-coach on the "strong recommendation" of Tottenham Hotspur. He remained in post until May 1950, when he resigned to concentrate on his business as licensee of a pub in nearby

Ickleford Ickleford is a large village situated on the northern outskirts of Hitchin in North Hertfordshire in England. It lies on the west bank of the River Hiz and to the east of the main A600 road. The population at the time of the 2011 census was 1,83 ...

. His wife Phyllis (née Bygrave), whom he married in 1937, had recently given birth to their second child. Odell returned to football on a part-time basis a year later as trainer-coach of one of his former clubs, Hitchin Town, then playing in the

Athenian League The Athenian League was an English amateur football league for clubs in and around London. The league was originally to be called the Corinthian League,Athenian Football League minutes 1912-1921 (National Football Museum, Preston). but this nam ...

. In November 1954, Odell and his wife took over the management of the Craufurd Arms pub in

Wolverton Wolverton is a constituent town of Milton Keynes, England. It is located at the northern edge of Milton Keynes, beside the West Coast Main Line, the Grand Union Canal and the river Great Ouse. It is the administrative seat of Wolverton and Gre ...

, and remained there for more than ten years. After a brief spell running a grocery shop, they returned to the licensed trade at the Embankment Hotel in

Bedford Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population of the Bedford built-up area (including Biddenham and Kempston) was 106,940, making it the second-largest settlement in Bedfordshire, behind Luton, whilst ...

. Odell died in Bedford in 1971 at the age of 59.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Odell, Wally 1912 births 1971 deaths People from Biggleswade English footballers Men's association football wing halves Sandy Albion F.C. players Biggleswade Town F.C. players Hitchin Town F.C. players Tottenham Hotspur F.C. players Northfleet United F.C. players Wrexham A.F.C. players Darlington F.C. players English Football League players Clapton Orient F.C. wartime guest players Footballers from Bedfordshire