Charles William Wallace (20 January 1885 – 7 January 1970) 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 lea ...

who played for

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club (commonly referred to as simply Villa) is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club, founded in 1874, compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The team have p ...

Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition buildin ...

and

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 ...

Playing career

Wallace was born in

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...

and played for local club Southwick before signing with

for the club's inaugural season of 1905–06. He was initially signed as a reserve player, but made the transition to first team football, making 19 League appearances that season (out of 24), scoring five goals and helping Palace to win the Southern League second division title and promotion to division one. The next season, Wallace missed only one of 38 games, scoring eight goals, and in the 1907 close season moved on to

. Wallace made 314

League League or The League may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band * ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football * ''League of Legends'', a 2009 multiplayer online battle a ...

appearances for Aston Villa over 14 years but only 9 competitive seasons due to sport being interrupted by the outbreak 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 ...

. Wallace was the first player to miss a

penalty kick A penalty shot or penalty kick is a play used in several sports whereby a goal is attempted during untimed play. Depending on the sport, when a player commits certain types of penalties, the opposition is awarded a penalty shot or kick attempt. ...

in an

FA Cup Final The FA Cup Final is the last match in the FA Cup, Football Association Challenge Cup. It has regularly been one of the List of sports attendance figures, most attended domestic football events in the world, with an official attendance of 89,472 ...

, when he missed the target from the spot in

1913 Events January * January – Joseph Stalin travels to Vienna to research his ''Marxism and the National Question''. This means that, during this month, Stalin, Hitler, Trotsky and Tito are all living in the city. * January 3 &ndash ...

against

at London's Crystal Palace. A penalty kick miss would not occur again in an FA Cup Final until

1988 1988 was a crucial year in the early history of the Internet—it was the year of the first well-known computer virus, the Morris worm, 1988 Internet worm. The first permanent intercontinental Internet link was made between the United State ...

, when

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

player

John Aldridge John William Aldridge (born 18 September 1958) is a former footballer and manager. Nicknamed "Aldo", he was a prolific, record-breaking striker. His tally of 329 Football League goals is the sixth-highest in the history of English football. ...

had his penalty saved by

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goalkeeper

Dave Beasant David John Beasant (; born 20 March 1959) is an English football coach and former goalkeeper. As a player, he was a goalkeeper, who notably played top-flight football for Wimbledon, Newcastle United, Chelsea, Southampton and Nottingham Fo ...

. Villa still went on to win 1–0 in the 1913 FA Cup Final, despite Wallace's penalty miss. Villa's goal that day came from Tommy Barber courtesy of a Wallace assist from a corner kick. Wallace also played in Villa's 1920 FA Cup Final winning side. In 1921 Wallace moved on to

before retiring from playing in 1923 when he returned to Aston Villa as a coach and

scout Scout may refer to: Youth movement *Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement ** Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom ** Scouts BSA, sect ...

. He also spent time as a dressing room attendant and steward with the club, until retiring in 1960. Wallace's honours included a league championship in

1910 Events January * January 6 – Abé people in the French West Africa colony of Côte d'Ivoire rise against the colonial administration; the rebellion is brutally suppressed by the military. * January 8 – By the Treaty of Punakha, t ...

and two

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 ...

winner's medals, in 1913 and 1920. Wallace was also capped 3 times for

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 ...

, making his debut on 17 March 1913 in a 4–3 victory against

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

at Ashton Gate. He went on to gain his second cap in a 3–0 defeat to

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

Ayresome Park Ayresome Park was a football stadium in the Ayresome area of Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England. It was the home of Middlesbrough F.C. from its construction in time for the 1903–04 season, until the Riverside Stadium opened in 1995. It ...

on 14 February 1914 in front of 25,000 spectators. His final cap for England came in a famous 5–4 victory against

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 ...

in front of 40,000 at Hillsborough on 10 April 1920.

Later career

After retiring from full-time football, Wallace also worked as a painter and decorator. Charlie Wallace died on 26 January 1970, aged 85.

References

External links

*
Aston Villa Player DatabaseCharlie Wallace at holmesdale.net
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wallace, Charlie Aston Villa F.C. players Arsenal F.C. wartime guest players 1970 deaths 1885 births England men's international footballers Men's association football wingers English men's footballers English Football League players English Football League representative players Southern Football League players Crystal Palace F.C. players Oldham Athletic A.F.C. players Aston Villa F.C. non-playing staff British Army personnel of World War I Royal Garrison Artillery soldiers Military personnel from Sunderland Footballers from Sunderland