David "Soldier" Wilson (23 July 1883 – 27 October 1906) 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 ...

who played as a

centre forward Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...

. Born in

Hebburn Hebburn is a town in the metropolitan county of Tyne and Wear, England. It governed under the borough of South Tyneside; formerly governed under the county of Durham until 1974 with its own urban district from 1894 until 1974. It is on the sou ...

, he earned his nickname as a teenager while serving with the Cameron Highlanders and the 1st Battalion,

Black Watch The Black Watch, 3rd Battalion, Royal Regiment of Scotland (3 SCOTS) is an infantry battalion of the Royal Regiment of Scotland. The regiment was created as part of the Childers Reforms in 1881, when the 42nd (Royal Highland) Regim ...

. He also served in South Africa during the

Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sout ...

. Wilson began his footballing career in Scotland with

Raith Rovers Raith Rovers Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in the town of Kirkcaldy, Fife. The club was founded in 1883 and currently competes in the Scottish Championship as a member of the Scottish Professional Football Leag ...

. He left the Army to play professional football with

Scottish Football League Division One Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

side Dundee and later had a spell with

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

club Heart of Midlothian. At the start of the 1905–06 season, Wilson moved to England to join

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 t ...

side

Hull City Hull City Association Football Club is a professional football club based in Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England, that compete in the . They have played home games at the MKM Stadium since moving from Boothferry Park in 2002. The club's ...

. After scoring three goals in ten league matches, he was signed by Leeds City for a transfer fee of £150. During his first season at Leeds Wilson made 15 league appearances and scored 13 goals, making him the club's top scorer in the 1905–06 campaign. While playing for Leeds City against

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River ...

on 27 October 1906, Wilson left the pitch during the second half after suffering chest pains. When two of his teammates sustained injuries at the same time, he returned to the field of play against medical advice. However, he was unable to complete the match and had departed the pitch when Burnley inside forward Arthur Bell scored a late winner for the visitors. Wilson collapsed and had to be carried to the Leeds dressing room where he died despite efforts to resuscitate him. A subsequent post mortem found that Wilson had died from a heart attack.Matches: 27 October 1906 - Leeds City 0 Burnley 1
The Mighty Mighty Whites

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Soldier 1883 births 1906 deaths Sportspeople from Hebburn Footballers from Tyne and Wear English men's footballers Men's association football forwards Raith Rovers F.C. players Dundee F.C. players Heart of Midlothian F.C. players Scottish Football League players English Football League players Hull City A.F.C. players Leeds City F.C. players Black Watch soldiers Association football players who died while playing British Army personnel of the Second Boer War English people of Scottish descent Sport deaths in England Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders soldiers

See also

References