Arthur Wilson (6 October 1908 – 31 January 2000) was an English professional

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 as either a half back or

inside forward In the sport of association football, a forward (attacker or striker) is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position which primarily plays further up the pitch than Midfielder, midfielders and Defender (association football), d ...

for various clubs in the 1920s and 1930s.

Football career

Wilson was born in

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne, or simply Newcastle ( , Received Pronunciation, RP: ), is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is England's northernmost metropolitan borough, located o ...

and represented Newcastle & Northumberland Schools before joining

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Since th ...

as a trainee. Never progressing beyond the third team, he was allowed to leave in early 1927 to join Scotswood playing in the

North Eastern League The North Eastern League was an association football league for teams in the North East of England. The league was founded in 1906 and was initially successful, with teams defecting from the rival Northern Football Alliance to play. Although ...

. He was quickly spotted by scouts from

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

and he joined the south coast club in August 1927. After spending two seasons in the reserves, where he showed "admirable skill", he made his first-team debut when he replaced the veteran

Bert Shelley Frederick Albert "Bert" Shelley (11 August 1899 – 29 December 1971) was an English footballer, who played as a half back for Southampton, for whom he made nearly 450 appearances, before becoming a coach at Southampton. His total of 448 appeara ...

for a

Second Division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...

match away to

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...

on 14 December 1929. Wilson retained his position at left-half for the remainder of the season and for the start of the 1930–31 season. After three matches, he lost his place to Bill Adams and briefly switched to

inside left In the sport of association football, a forward (attacker or striker) is an outfield position which primarily plays further up the pitch than midfielders and defenders. As with any attacking player, the role of the forward relies heavily on be ...

before being replaced by Herbert Coates. In the following season, Wilson alternated with Coates and

Peter Dougall Peter Dougall (21 March 1909 – 12 June 1974) was a Scottish footballer who played at inside left for various clubs in the 1920s and 1930s. He later managed in the Netherlands. Football career Dougall was born in Denny, Stirlingshire and play ...

for the inside-left position. In May 1932, with the club in financial difficulties, Southampton placed Wilson on the transfer list and he was soon signed by

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Stratford, London, Stratford, East London, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English f ...

for a fee of £500. In his first season at Upton Park, Wilson managed 33 appearances at inside-left in league and cup matches, scoring 15 goals, including two against his former club on 4 February 1933. The following season, however, he lost his place to

Len Goulden Leonard Arthur Goulden (16 July 1912 – 14 February 1995) was an English association football, footballer who played as an inside-left. His son Roy Goulden, Roy was also a footballer. Club career Goulden was born at Homerton, in Hackney, Lond ...

and made only two appearances before joining

Chester Chester is a cathedral city in Cheshire, England, on the River Dee, Wales, River Dee, close to the England–Wales border. With a built-up area population of 92,760 in 2021, it is the most populous settlement in the borough of Cheshire West an ...

in March 1934. At Chester, his signing helped the club win eight of their last ten fixtures, thus avoiding relegation from

Division Three 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 ...

. The following season, Chester finished third in the table, going one better in the next; at this time, only the champions were promoted. Wilson remained with Chester until November 1937, before joining

Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club ( ), commonly referred to as Wolves, is a professional association football, football club based in Wolverhampton, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league s ...

where he failed to make a first-team appearance. He moved on to his last club,

Torquay United Torquay United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Torquay, Devon, England. The team currently compete in the National League South, the sixth level of the English football league system. They have played their ho ...

, in January 1939 where he remained until the start of the Second World War.

References

External links

Career details on www.11v11.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Arthur 1908 births 2000 deaths Footballers from Newcastle upon Tyne English men's footballers Southampton F.C. players West Ham United F.C. players Chester City F.C. players Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. players Torquay United F.C. players English Football League players Men's association football midfielders Men's association football forwards Scotswood F.C. players 20th-century English sportsmen