Andrew Nesbit Wilson (14 February 1896 – 15 October 1973) was a Scottish footballer who played for

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ), colloquially known as Boro, is a port town in the Borough of Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England. Lying to the south of the River Tees, Middlesbrough forms part of the Teesside Built up area, built-up area and the Tees Va ...

, Heart of Midlothian, Dunfermline Athletic, Chelsea, Queens Park Rangers, Sporting Club Nîmois and the

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 ...

national team.

Playing career

Middlesbrough and military service

Wilson was born in Newmains,

Lanarkshire Lanarkshire, also called the County of Lanark (; ), is a Counties of Scotland, historic county, Lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area and registration county in the Central Lowlands and Southern Uplands of Scotland. The county is no l ...

. He joined

from junior side Cambuslang Rangers in 1914. His early career was interrupted by the

First World War 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 ...

during which his left hand and forearm were shattered by enemy fire at

Arras Arras ( , ; ; historical ) is the prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais department, which forms part of the region of Hauts-de-France; before the reorganization of 2014 it was in Nord-Pas-de-Calais. The historic centre of the Artois region, with a ...

. He wore a glove to mask the withered hand and forearm for the rest of his life.

Heart of Midlothian and Leeds City

Wilson debuted for Heart of Midlothian in January 1918, playing for them until the end of the following season. The Scottish League championship continued to be played during the conflict, and he scored 32 times in 33 official appearances. He also played a handful of league matches for Hamilton Academical. He guested a couple of times for Leeds City in April 1918, scoring twice on his ''Peacocks'' debut at Bradford Park Avenue on 6 April.

Dunfermline Athletic and return to Middlesbrough

In 1919 Wilson joined Dunfermline Athletic when they were part of the rebel Central League, a body outside

Scottish Football League The Scottish Football League (SFL) is a defunct league featuring professional and semi-professional football clubs mostly from Scotland.One club, Berwick Rangers, is based in the town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, which is located approximately 4&nbs ...

jurisdiction. When this league was absorbed by the SFL in 1921, those players previously contracted to a Scottish or English league side were obliged to return to whichever side held their registration as part of the agreement. Thus Wilson returned to Middlesbrough in time for the 1921–22 season. He ended that season as not just 'Boro's top scorer but also the League's, with 31 strikes.

Chelsea

In November 1923 Wilson joined David Calderhead's sizeable contingent of Scots at Chelsea mid-season for £6,500. He was replaced at Middlesbrough the following month with Ian Dickson from Aston Villa for £3,000. Wilson ended the 1923–24 season as both Middlesbrough and Chelsea's top scorer; both clubs were relegated from the top flight that season. He made 253 appearances for Chelsea and scored 52 goals in the next eight years. In that time he lined up beside compatriots such as Willie Ferguson, Tommy Law,

Hughie Gallacher Hugh Kilpatrick Gallacher (2 February 1903 – 11 June 1957) was a Scottish people, Scottish association football, football player in the 1920s and 1930s. In 597 senior club games, Gallacher scored 419 goals, playing league football for Airdri ...

, Alex Jackson and Alec Cheyne.

Queens Park Rangers, Nîmes

He joined Queens Park Rangers in 1931, scoring three times in 20 league games, then spent a two-season sojourn in France with Sporting Club Nîmes.

International

At Dunfermline and Middlesbrough, Wilson was capped 12 times by

between 1920 and 1923; he averaged more than a goal per game with 13 goals. He scored another four in two unofficial wartime internationals. Ten of his Scotland goals, across nine matches, helped the nation to win the British Home Championship three times in a row between 1920–21 and 1922–23.

Managerial and coaching

In 1934 he became

Walsall Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall, in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located ...

manager. He then accepted a series of coaching positions, including at Chelsea, Gravesend and Northfleet, where he was the club's first manager following their formation in 1946. He spent the 1946–47 season at Gravesend before departing.

Personal life

Wilson was a keen lawn bowler and reached the final of the 1945 National Championship triples. His younger son, Jimmy, survived a tour as a tail-gunner in the

far east The Far East is the geographical region that encompasses the easternmost portion of the Asian continent, including North Asia, North, East Asia, East and Southeast Asia. South Asia is sometimes also included in the definition of the term. In mod ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Jimmy played for

Watford Watford () is a town and non-metropolitan district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of Central London, on the banks of the River Colne, Hertfordshire, River Colne. Initially a smal ...

after the war.

International goals

:''Scores and results list Scotland's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Wilson goal.''

References

External links

*
London Hearts profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Andrew Nesbit 1896 births 1973 deaths Scottish men's footballers Scotland men's international footballers Scotland men's wartime international footballers Scottish expatriate men's footballers Scottish Football League players English Football League players First Division/Premier League top scorers Hamilton Academical F.C. wartime guest players Heart of Midlothian F.C. wartime guest players Leeds City F.C. wartime guest players Dunfermline Athletic F.C. players Cambuslang Rangers F.C. players Middlesbrough F.C. players Chelsea F.C. players Queens Park Rangers F.C. players Walsall F.C. managers Chelsea F.C. non-playing staff Expatriate men's footballers in France Men's association football forwards British Army personnel of World War I Scottish Junior Football Association players Footballers from Wishaw People from Newmains Scottish football managers Sportsmen with disabilities Scottish people with disabilities