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

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area. Until the early 1800s, the a ...

, Heart of Midlothian,

Dunfermline Athletic Dunfermline Athletic Football Club is a Scottish Association football, football club based in the city of Dunfermline, Fife. Founded in 1885, the club currently play in Scottish League One after being relegated from the 2021–22 Scottish Champ ...

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament const ...

Queens Park Rangers Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England, which compete in the . After a nomadic early existence, they have played home matches at Loftus ...

, Sporting Club Nîmois and the

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to th ...

national team.

Playing career

Middlesbrough and military service

Wilson was born in

Newmains Newmains is a village and former mining community on the eastern edge of Wishaw, North Lanarkshire, Scotland, south-east of Glasgow. Although it is considered by the local authority to have a town centre in its own right. History The story of ...

Lanarkshire Lanarkshire, also called the County of Lanark ( gd, Siorrachd Lannraig; sco, Lanrikshire), is a historic county, lieutenancy area and registration county in the central Lowlands of Scotland. Lanarkshire is the most populous county in Scot ...

. He joined

from junior side

Cambuslang Rangers Cambuslang Rangers Football Club are a Scottish football club based in Cambuslang, South Lanarkshire. Nicknamed ''The Lang'', ''Camby'' or ''The Wee Gers'', were formed in 1899, they play at Somervell Park and wear blue strips (uniforms). They ...

in 1914. His early career was interrupted by the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fig ...

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

Arras Arras ( , ; pcd, Aro; historical nl, Atrecht ) 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 ...

. 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 Hamilton Academical Football Club, often known as Hamilton Accies, or The Accies, is a Scottish football club from Hamilton, South Lanarkshire who currently compete in the Scottish Championship, having been relegated from the 2020–21 Scottis ...

. 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

when they were part of the rebel

Central League The or is one of the two professional baseball leagues that constitute Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. The winner of the league championship plays against the winner of the Pacific League in the annual Japan Series. It currently cons ...

, a body outside

Scottish Football League The Scottish Football League (SFL) was a 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 km so ...

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 David Calderhead (19 June 1864 – 9 January 1938) was a Scottish football player and manager. Calderhead played for Queen of the South Wanderers, Notts County and Lincoln City. He won the FA Cup with Notts County in 1894 and was capped onc ...

's sizeable contingent of Scots at

mid-season for £6,500. He was replaced at Middlesbrough the following month with Ian Dickson from

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa P ...

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 William Copeland Ferguson (13 February 1901 – 31 August 1960) was a Scottish footballer and manager best known for his time at Chelsea and Dumfries side Queen of the South. His position was usually as a left winger. Early years Ferguso ...

, Tommy Law,

Hughie Gallacher Hugh Kilpatrick Gallacher (2 February 1903 – 11 June 1957) was a Scottish football player in the 1920s and 1930s. In 624 senior games, Gallacher scored 463 goals, playing senior league football for Airdrieonians, Newcastle United, Chelsea, ...

, Alex Jackson and

Alec Cheyne Alexander George Cheyne (28 April 1907 – 5 July 1983) was a Scottish footballer who played as an inside forward. He is reputed to have been responsible for the Hampden Roar following his goal in the 'Cheyne International' of 1929. Playing c ...

Queens Park Rangers, Nimes

He joined

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

International

When 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 The British Home Championship * sco, Hame Internaitional Kemp * gd, Farpais lìg eadar-nàiseanta * cy, Pencampwriaeth y Pedair Gwlad, name=lang (historically known as the British International Championship or simply the International Champio ...

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 in the West Midlands County, England. Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located north-west of Birmingham, east of Wolverhampton and from Lichfield. Walsall is t ...

manager. He then accepted a series of coaching positions, including at Chelsea and

Gravesend and Northfleet Ebbsfleet United Football Club is a professional football club based in Northfleet, Kent, England. As of the 2021–22 season, the club competes in the National League South, the sixth tier of English football. The club was formed in 1946 fro ...

, 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'' was a European term to refer to the geographical regions that includes East and Southeast Asia as well as the Russian Far East to a lesser extent. South Asia is sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons. The te ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. Jimmy played for

Watford Watford () is a town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne, Hertfordshire, River Colne. Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal en ...

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