Henry Williamson Wake (born 21 January 1901 — 1981) was an English professional footballer. He is most famous for playing for

Cardiff City Cardiff City Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. It currently competes in , the third tier of the English football league system in the 2025–26 season following relegation. Founded in 1899 a ...

in the

1925 FA Cup Final The 1925 FA Cup final was an association football match contested by Sheffield United F.C., Sheffield United and Cardiff City F.C., Cardiff City on 25 April 1925 at Wembley Stadium (1923), Wembley Stadium in London, England. The final was the s ...

and being part of the team that won the 1927 FA Cup, although he missed the final through injury.

Career

Born in

Seaton Delaval Seaton Delaval is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Seaton Valley, in Northumberland, England, with a population of 4,371. The largest of the five villages in Seaton Valley, it is the site of Seaton Delaval Hall, comple ...

, Wake began his career playing local football for Bigges Colliery before turning professional to join

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 ...

in 1919. He moved on to

in 1923, making his debut in February 1924 in a 1–1 draw with

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as simply Tottenham (, , , ) or Spurs, is a professional Association football, football club based in Tottenham, North London, England. The club itself has stated that it should always ...

. In 1925 he was a major part of the team that reached the final of the 1925

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 ...

, playing in all of the club's seven games leading up to the final. The final took place on 25 April with Cardiff losing 1–0 to

Sheffield United Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The club competes in the Championship, the second tier of English football. They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history ...

. It was a mistake from Wake that cost his team the match. United defender Harry Pantling hit a long pass down the pitch towards an area of the field Wake was covering but he hesitated and failed to cut out the pass, leaving the ball to fly past him to

Fred Tunstall Fred Tunstall (28 May 1897 – 21 July 1971) was an English 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, fo ...

who scored the only goal of the game. Following the match Wake was chastised in the Welsh media with headlines such as "Wake Not Awake" on newspapers across the country and it took several years for him to live down his mistake. He went on to reach a second final for Cardiff two years later in 1927 when they went on to win the match 1–0 against

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

. Wake scored one of Cardiff's goals in a 3–0 semi-final win over

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 ...

however he went on to miss the final as he suffered damage to his kidneys in a 3–2 win against

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 ...

in a league match. Despite one

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

newspaper reporting his death, he went on to play for Cardiff until 1931 when he joined

Mansfield Town Mansfield Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the third level of the English football league system. The club was formed in 1897 as Mans ...

, playing in the Stags first ever league match. He also played in the first ever match played by

Wigan Athletic Wigan Athletic Football Club is a professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. Founded in 1932, they have p ...

in 1932 following the club's founding after the collapse of the previous club,

Wigan Borough Wigan Borough Football Club was an English football club from the town of Wigan, Lancashire. their forerunners were Wigan A.F.C., Wigan County, Wigan United and Wigan Town, County and Town having folded. Beginnings According to the Wigan Ob ...

."The first game"
Ultimate Wigan Athletic Website Retrieved on 17 March 2008

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wake, Harry 1901 births 1981 deaths English men's footballers Newcastle United F.C. players Cardiff City F.C. players Mansfield Town F.C. players Wigan Athletic F.C. players English Football League players People from Seaton Delaval Footballers from Northumberland Men's association football forwards Men's association football midfielders 20th-century English sportsmen