Frederick Wilkes (1869 – after 1892) 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 in the

Football Alliance The Football Alliance was an association football league in England which ran for three seasons, from 1889–90 to 1891–92. History In 1888, the same year the Football League was founded, The Combination was established by clubs who had been ...

for

Small Heath Small Heath is an inner-city area in south-east Birmingham, West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England situated on and around the Coventry Road about from the city centre. History Small Heath, which has been settled and used since Roman t ...

. Wilkes was born in the Handsworth district of

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

and began his football career with Handsworth Boys Club. He signed for Small Heath in April 1891, and played in a few

friendly matches An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, scrimmage, demonstration, training match, pre-season game, warmup match, or preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sporting event whose prize money and impact on the playe ...

at the end of that season. With Harry Morris struggling for fitness towards the end of his career, Wilkes was one of six players tried at

centre forward 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 ...

during the

1891–92 Football Alliance The 1891–92 Football Alliance was the third and final season of the Football Alliance, an association football league which was set up in England as an alternative to the Football League, which had begun in the 1888–89 season. Three new clu ...

season. He scored a

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three Wick ...

in the Fourth Qualifying Round of 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 ...

against Brierley Hill Alliance.Matthews, p. 141. At the end of the season he moved into

non-league football Non-League football describes association football, football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is ...

with Brownhills.

References

1869 births Year of death missing Footballers from Birmingham, West Midlands English men's footballers Men's association football forwards Birmingham City F.C. players Football Alliance players Date of birth missing Place of death missing Footballers from Handsworth, West Midlands {{England-footy-forward-1860s-stub