Andrew Wilson (10 December 1879 – 13 March 1945) was a Scottish

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 lea ...

who played the majority of his career at

Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an off ...

, and was also called up to the Scotland national team. At Wednesday he won the

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...

in 1903 and 1904, and the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

in 1907. He holds the club's all-time records for appearances made and goals scored."Players, Managers and Administrators"
Sheffield Wednesday F.C.

Club career

Born into a farming family in Colmonell and raised in

Dundonald, South Ayrshire Dundonald ( Gaelic: ''Dùn Dhòmhnaill'') is a village in South Ayrshire, Scotland. The village The village is mostly known for Dundonald Castle, which was built in the 14th century by King Robert II, on the ruins of a stone castle built in ...

, Wilson started his football career at local

junior Junior or Juniors may refer to: Aircraft * Ekolot JK-05L Junior, a Polish ultralight aircraft * PZL-112 Junior, a Polish training aircraft * SZD-51 Junior, a Polish-made training and club glider Arts and entertainment Characters * Bowser Jr., ...

club Irvine Meadow before moving onto Clyde in

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

. Wilson moved to newly promoted The Wednesday in 1900 where he spent the rest of his playing days. During his time in

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, situated south of Leeds and east of Manchester. The city is the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and some of its so ...

, he won the

in 1902–03 and 1903–04, and the

1907 Events January * January 14 – 1907 Kingston earthquake: A 6.5 Moment magnitude scale, Mw earthquake in Kingston, Jamaica, kills between 800 and 1,000. February * February 9 – The "Mud March (suffragists), Mud March", the ...

. He became the club's all-time record top scorer with 216 goals including 199 in the league (all in the top division). He was top scorer in six different seasons. He appeared for the team 545 times, more than any other player. Both records stand to the present day. With his career seemingly having come to an enforced end as a result of the onset of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, he made one final league appearance before retiring on 10 March 1920, aged 39 years and 91 days, becoming the oldest player to play for the ''Owls''; this record stood until it was beaten by player-manager

Trevor Francis Trevor John Francis (19 April 1954 – 24 July 2023) was an English footballer who played as a forward for a number of clubs in England, the United States, Italy, Scotland and Australia. In 1979 he became Britain's first £1 million pla ...

in 1993.

International career

Wilson was

capped In sport, a cap is a player's appearance in a game at international level. The term dates from the practice in the United Kingdom of awarding a cap to every player in an international match of rugby football and association football. In the e ...

for

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

six times between April 1907 and March 1914. He scored two goals, both against

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, in the 1907–08 and 1911–12 editions of the

British Home Championship The British Home Championship (historically known as the British International Championship or simply the International Championship) was an annual football competition contested between the United Kingdom's four national teams: England, Scotlan ...

(in each case the venue was

Hampden Park Hampden Park ( ; Scottish Gaelic: ''Pàirc Hampden'') is a association football, football stadium in the Mount Florida area of Glasgow, Scotland, which is the national stadium of football in Scotland and home of the Scotland national football ...

, he opened the scoring, the match ended as a 1–1 draw, and the title was shared between the teams).

Managerial career

Wilson began a managerial career after his playing retirement, initially with

Bristol Rovers Bristol Rovers FC is a men's professional football club in Bristol. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club is affiliated to Bristol Rovers W.F.C., whose team play in the FA Women's National Leag ...

where he spent over five years between March 1921 and the end of the 1925-26 season. He joined

Oldham Athletic Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is a professional association football club in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England. As of the 2025–26 EFL League Two, 2025–26 season, the team competes in EFL League Two, the fourth level of the Eng ...

in 1927 and was later manager of

Stockport County Stockport County Football Club is a professional association football club based in Stockport, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in EFL League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1883 as Heaton ...

for the 1932-33 season.

Personal life

Three of Wilson's brothers were also professional footballers:

David David (; , "beloved one") was a king of ancient Israel and Judah and the third king of the United Monarchy, according to the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament. The Tel Dan stele, an Aramaic-inscribed stone erected by a king of Aram-Dam ...

spent most of his career with

and was selected once by Scotland in 1913 (a match in which Andrew also played – the last occasion when siblings took the field together until after the Second World War);

James James may refer to: People * James (given name) * James (surname) * James (musician), aka Faruq Mahfuz Anam James, (born 1964), Bollywood musician * James, brother of Jesus * King James (disambiguation), various kings named James * Prince Ja ...

played with St Mirren and

Preston North End Preston North End Football Club, commonly referred to as Preston, North End or PNE, is a professional association football club in Preston, Lancashire, England. They currently play in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English footbal ...

and was selected for the

Scottish Football League XI The Scottish League XI was a representative side of the Scottish Football League. The team regularly played against the (English) Football League and other national league select teams between 1892 and 1980. For a long period the annual fixture be ...

; and Alec played for Preston and Oldham.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Andrew Scottish men's footballers 1879 births 1945 deaths Footballers from South Ayrshire Scotland men's international footballers Clyde F.C. players Sheffield Wednesday F.C. players Scottish football managers English Football League managers Bristol Rovers F.C. managers Oldham Athletic A.F.C. managers Stockport County F.C. managers Irvine Meadow XI F.C. players Scottish Junior Football Association players English Football League players Scottish Football League players Men's association football forwards People from Dundonald, South Ayrshire

Club career

International career

Managerial career

Personal life

See also

References