Graham George Wilkins (born 28 June 1955) is an English retired professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

full-back who made over 130 appearances in the

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...

for Chelsea. He also played league football for

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West (London sub region), West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the River Thames, Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has dive ...

and

Southend United Southend United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, England, which competes in the National League, the fifth level of English football. The team are known as "The Shrimpers", a reference ...

Career

Wilkins was born in

Hillingdon Hillingdon is an area of Uxbridge within the London Borough of Hillingdon, centred 14.2 miles (22.8 km) west of Charing Cross. It was an ancient parish in Middlesex that included the market town of Uxbridge. During the 1920s the civil pari ...

. Able to play on either flank as a full-back, he began his career at Chelsea at the age of 10 and signed his first professional contract in 1972. He remained a bit-part player until the 1976–77 season, when he made 29 appearances to help the Blues to promotion back to the

First Division 1st Division or First Division may refer to: Military Airborne divisions *1st Parachute Division (Germany) *1st Airborne Division (United Kingdom) * 1st Airmobile Division (Ukraine) * 1st Guards Airborne Division Armoured divisions *1st Armoure ...

. Wilkins remained at

Stamford Bridge Stamford Bridge may refer to: * Stamford Bridge, East Riding of Yorkshire, a village in England ** Battle of Stamford Bridge, 25 September 1066 * Stamford Bridge (bridge), a bridge in the village of Stamford Bridge * Stamford Bridge (stadium), in ...

until July 1982, by which time he had made 151 appearances and scored one goal. He dropped down to the Third Division to join West London neighbours

on a free transfer, but with the Bees he experienced "the worst two years of my life. I dislocated my shoulder, had seven teeth kicked out, ruptured my

cruciate ligament Cruciate ligaments (also cruciform ligaments) are pairs of ligaments arranged like a letter X. They occur in several joints of the body, such as the knee joint, wrist joint and the atlanto-axial joint. In a fashion similar to the cords in ...

s and that was it". Wilkins' final appearances as a professional came late in the 1983–84 season, on loan at Third Division club

Personal life

Wilkins was the son of footballer

George Wilkins George Wilkins (died 1618) was an English dramatist and pamphleteer best known for his possible collaboration with William Shakespeare on the play ''Pericles, Prince of Tyre''. By profession he was an inn-keeper, but he was also apparently invol ...

and the eldest of four Hillingdon-born brothers who played professional football. He later worked at

Heathrow Airport Heathrow Airport , also colloquially known as London Heathrow Airport and named ''London Airport'' until 1966, is the primary and largest international airport serving London, the capital and most populous city of England and the United Kingdo ...

Career statistics

Honours

Chelsea *

Football League Second Division The Football League Second Division was the second level division in the English football league system between 1892 and 1992. Following the foundation of the FA Premier League, the Football League divisions were renumbered and the third tier ...

second-place promotion: 1976–77

References

External links

Graham Wilkins
at Sporting Heroes 1955 births Living people People from Hillingdon English men's footballers Footballers from the London Borough of Hillingdon Men's association football fullbacks English Football League players Chelsea F.C. players Brentford F.C. players Southend United F.C. players Graham {{England-footy-defender-1950s-stub