Geoffrey Plumpton Wilson (21 February 1878 – 30 July 1934) was an English

amateur An amateur () is generally considered a person who pursues an avocation independent from their source of income. Amateurs and their pursuits are also described as popular, informal, autodidacticism, self-taught, user-generated, do it yourself, DI ...

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 at

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 ...

. He made two appearances 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 ...

in 1900, scoring once. He was a member of the Corinthian amateur club and made three appearances for

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, ...

in 1901.

Early life and education

Wilson was born in

Bourne, Lincolnshire Bourne is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the South Kesteven Non-metropolitan district, district of Lincolnshire, England. It lies on the eastern slopes of the limestone Kesteven Uplands and the western edge of the ...

, the son of the Revd. Plumpton Stravenson Wilson, and the younger brother of Charles Plumpton Wilson. Their sister Mary was the mother of Archbishop

Michael Ramsey Arthur Michael Ramsey, Baron Ramsey of Canterbury (14 November 1904 – 23 April 1988), was a British Anglican bishop and life peer. He served as the 100th Archbishop of Canterbury in the Church of England. He was appointed on 31 May 1961 and ...

. He was educated at

Rossall School Rossall School is a private Day school, day and boarding school, boarding school in the United Kingdom for 0–18 year olds, between Cleveleys and Fleetwood, Lancashire. Rossall was founded in 1844 by St. Vincent Beechey, St Vincent Beechey as a ...

and played for the school XI between 1894 and 1896, captaining the side in 1896.

Football career

On leaving school he joined the amateur Corinthian club, where he played between 1897 and 1902, as well as turning out occasionally for Casuals. He made his Corinthian debut at inside-left on 30 October 1897, in a 2–0 victory over

Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an off ...

(Corinthian's goals were both scored by

Gilbert Smith Gilbert Oswald Smith (25 November 1872 – 6 December 1943
), familiarly known as G. O. Smith or simply as G. O. ...

). His medical career restricted his opportunities to play for Corinthians, and over five years he made 32 appearances, scoring nine goals. He was called up for

for the

Home International Championship The British Home Championship (historically known as the British International Championship or simply the International Championship) was an annual football competition contested between the United Kingdom's four national teams: England, Scotlan ...

match 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 ...

on 26 March 1900. He played alongside his Corinthian colleagues

Tip Foster Reginald Erskine Foster (16 April 1878 – 13 May 1914), nicknamed Tip Foster, commonly designated R. E. Foster in sporting literature, was an English first-class cricketer and association football, footballer. He is the only man to have captain ...

(also making his international debut) and

Gilbert Smith Gilbert Oswald Smith (25 November 1872 – 6 December 1943
), familiarly known as G. O. Smith or simply as G. O. ...

up front, with William Oakley in defence. Wilson scored after three minutes, but Wales equalized through

Billy Meredith William Henry Meredith (30 July 1874 – 19 April 1958) was a Welsh professional footballer. He was considered one of the early superstars of football due to his performances, notably for Manchester City and Manchester United. He won each ...

and the match finished 1–1. He retained his place for the next England match, 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 ...

on 7 April. Scotland won the match easily by four goals to one, with a

hat trick A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mechan ...

from Robert McColl. He was a friend and colleague of C. B. Fry, who recommended him to

who engaged him as cover for the injured Albert Brown for three consecutive matches in October/November 1901. Although he showed "flashes of his international quality", he left The Dell in November to concentrate on his medical studies.

Life outside football

He qualified as a physician and surgeon in 1902, and went on to make a number of appearances for the London Hospitals side. He also played Minor Counties

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

for

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (), abbreviated ''Lincs'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands and Yorkshire and the Humber regions of England. It is bordered by the East Riding of Yorkshire across the Humber estuary to th ...

including playing against

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

in 1911.Lincolnshire v Indians; July 1911 (Match summary)
/ref> He died on 30 July 1934 at

Ketton Ketton is a village and civil parish in Rutland in the East Midlands of England. It is about east of Oakham and west of Stamford, Lincolnshire. The 2011 Census recorded a parish population of 1,926, making it the fourth largest settlement in ...

near

Stamford, Lincolnshire Stamford is a market town and civil parish in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. The population at the 2011 census was 19,701 and estimated at 20,645 in 2019. The town has 17th- and 18th-century stone buildings, older timber ...

References

External links

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Cricket Archive profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Geoffrey Plumpton 1878 births 1934 deaths People from Bourne, Lincolnshire People educated at Rossall School English men's footballers England men's international footballers Corinthian F.C. players Casuals F.C. players Southampton F.C. players English cricketers Lincolnshire cricketers Men's association football forwards