Walter Martin Watkins (21 March 1880 – 14 May 1942) was a Welsh

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 League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in the world, and was the top-level football league in England from ...

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 ...

Stoke Stoke may refer to: Places Canada * Stoke, Quebec New Zealand * Stoke, New Zealand United Kingdom Berkshire * Stoke Row Bristol * Stoke Bishop * Stoke Gifford * Bradley Stoke * Little Stoke * Harry Stoke * Stoke Lodge Bucking ...

and

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 ...

Club career

Watkins was born in

Caersws Caersws (; ) is a village and community (Wales), community on the River Severn, in the Wales, Welsh county of Powys; it was formerly in Montgomeryshire. It is located west of Newtown, Powys, Newtown, halfway between Aberystwyth and Shrewsbury. ...

and was one of six sons of a Welsh farmer from

Llanwnnog Llanwnnog (also spelt Llanwnog) is a village in Powys, Wales. It is located one-and-a half miles north of Caersws in the Community (Wales), community of the same name, on the B4568 road. The Ordnance Survey spell the name with a single 'n'. Bui ...

Montgomeryshire Montgomeryshire ( ) was Historic counties of Wales, one of the thirteen counties of Wales that existed from 1536 until their abolishment in 1974. It was named after its county town, Montgomery, Powys, Montgomery, which in turn was named after ...

. Along with his elder brother

Ernie Ernie is a masculine given name, frequently a short form (hypocorism) of Ernest, Ernald, Ernesto, or Verner. It may refer to: People * Ernie Accorsi (born 1941), American football executive * Ernie Adams (disambiguation) * Ernie Afaganis ...

, Mart played for his local club, Oswestry Town where he was spotted by

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 ...

side

. He signed in August 1900 and with the "Potters" awful start to the 1900–01 season – one point from the first seven games – ensured a rapid entrance to first team football. Tall and slim with a neat moustache, Watkins was described as a 'smart player', possessing a whiplash shot who pass to his winger before dashing back into the penalty area to launch himself at the ensuing cross. Watkins helped Stoke avoid relegation in 1900–01, scoring the winning goal in the team's last three matches. In 1901–02 he finished top scorer with 16 and repeated the feat with 13 in 1902–03 which earned him some Welsh caps. In January 1904

Manchester City Manchester City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Manchester, England, that competes in the Premier League, the English football league system, top flight of Football in England, English footbal ...

offered Stoke £450 for Watkins' services. The deal collapsed, but with Stoke desperate for funds following the construction of a new stand

manager

George Ramsey George Leroy F. Ramsay (born 28 September 1912, date of death unknown) is a Bahamian former sailor who competed in the 1960 Summer Olympics, in the 1964 Summer Olympics, and in the 1968 Summer Olympics The 1968 Summer Olympics (), officially ...

signed Watkins for a 'high price' joining up with former Stoke winger

Arthur Lockett Arthur Lockett (11 March 1877 – 5 March 1959) was an English footballer who played in the Football League for Aston Villa, Preston North End and Stoke. Club career Lockett was born in Alsager and played for local amateur sides Alsager's Ban ...

. His career at

Villa Park Villa Park is a association football, football stadium in Aston, Birmingham, with a seating capacity of 42,918. It has been the home of Premier League club Aston Villa F.C., Aston Villa since 1897. The ground is less than a mile from both Witt ...

didn't last long after playing just six matches scoring once, ironically against Stoke, he signed for

in October 1904. Watkins made his debut for Sunderland on 22 October 1904 in a 3–0 defeat 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 ...

Roker Park Roker Park was a football ground in Roker, Sunderland, England, which was the home of Sunderland from 1898 to 1997, before the club moved to the Stadium of Light. Its final capacity was around 22,500, with only a small part being seated; it h ...

where he scored two goals. Over his career at the club, he made 15 league appearances scoring nine goals. Watkins then joined the newly formed

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 ...

in the

Southern Football League The Southern League is a football competition featuring semi-professional clubs from East Anglia, the South and Midlands of England, and South Wales. Together with the Isthmian League and the Northern Premier League it forms levels seven a ...

Division Two, helping them win the league and gain promotion to the First Division, scoring six goals in 15 league appearances and in the FA Cup netting six from six appearances. Watkins then moved to

Northampton Town Northampton Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Northampton, England. The team competes in EFL League One, League One, the third level of the English football league system. Founded in 1897, the c ...

then in 1907 he rejoined Stoke who at the time were on the brink of bankruptcy. He scored five goals in 20 matches as a Stoke endured a terrible 1907–08 which saw the supporters abandon the team and the club entered liquidation, resigning from

in the process. Watkins then played for

Crewe Alexandra Crewe Alexandra Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Crewe, Cheshire, England. Its first team competes in League Two, the fourth level of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Railwaymen' ...

followed by moves to

Stafford Rangers Stafford Rangers Football Club is a semi-professional English football team from Stafford which plays in the Northern Premier League Division One West. The team wear black and white stripes with black shorts. Stafford Rangers' rivals include ...

and Tunstall Park. Watkins did return to Stoke in 1911 but failed to win a contract and decided to retire from football.

International career

Watkins played ten times for the Wales national team scoring four goals. In July 2021 Watkins' Welsh cap from 1905 was donated to the Football Museum for Wales by the Watkins family who had emigrated to Australia.

Career statistics

Club

Source:

International

Source:

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Watkins, Mart 1880 births 1942 deaths Welsh men's footballers Wales men's international footballers English Football League players Southern Football League players Stoke City F.C. players Aston Villa F.C. players Crystal Palace F.C. players Northampton Town F.C. players Crewe Alexandra F.C. players Stafford Rangers F.C. players Sunderland A.F.C. players Caersws F.C. players Men's association football forwards