Walter Robert Radford (July 1886 – 1943) was an English

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 an

inside-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 rol ...

in the 1900s with

Southampton Southampton () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire, S ...

and

Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club (), commonly known as Wolves, is a professional association football, football club based in Wolverhampton, England, which compete in the . The club has played at Molineux Stadium since moving from Dudley Ro ...

, with whom he won the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competit ...

1908 Events January * January 1 – The British ''Nimrod'' Expedition led by Ernest Shackleton sets sail from New Zealand on the ''Nimrod'' for Antarctica. * January 3 – A total solar eclipse is visible in the Pacific Ocean, and is the 4 ...

Football career

Radford was born in

Pinxton Pinxton is a village and civil parish in Derbyshire on the eastern boundary of Nottinghamshire, England, just south of the Pinxton Interchange at Junction 28 of the M1 motorway where the A38 road meets the M1. Pinxton is part of the Bolsov ...

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the no ...

, where he played football as a youth before joining

, then in the

Football League First Division The Football League First Division was a division of the Football League in England from 1888 until 2004. It was the top division in the English football league system from the season 1888–89 until 1991–92, a century in which the First D ...

, as a trainee. He made two first-team appearances in the 1905–06 season, at the end of which the "Wolves" were relegated. In January 1906, he moved to the south coast, to join

of the Southern League. The "Saints" finished the season as runners-up, and were hopeful of regaining the championship title in 1907, which they had won six times in the previous ten years. Radford made his debut in the opening match of the 1906–07 season, playing at

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 ...

; after the team picked up only one point from the first three matches, Radford moved to

outside-right Forwards (also known as attackers) are Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring Goal (sport)#Association footbal ...

, with Fred Harrison moving into the centre. This had little effect on the team's performances, and Radford lost his place to

Frank Jefferis Frank Jefferis (3 July 1884 – 21 May 1938) was an English footballer. Playing career He initially played football for his local non-league team, Fordingbridge Turks, before being invited for a trial at The Dell by Southampton of the Southe ...

. Radford was recalled at the end of the season, initially replacing George Harris at

inside-left 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 ...

, before three games back at centre-forward. In the first of these, away to

Northampton Town Northampton Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Northampton, England. The team plays in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1897, the club competed in the Midland L ...

on 6 April, Radford scored his only goals for the Saints in a 4–2 victory. Saints finished the season 11th in the League, their lowest position since joining the Southern League in 1894. In the summer of 1907, Radford returned to Molineux, to rejoin his former club, now starting their second season in the

Second Division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...

. Radford made 26 League appearances in the 1907–08 season, scoring nine goals. In the

, Radford's goals at

Bury Bury may refer to: *The burial of human remains *-bury, a suffix in English placenames Places England * Bury, Cambridgeshire, a village * Bury, Greater Manchester, a town, historically in Lancashire ** Bury (UK Parliament constituency) (1832–1 ...

and

Stoke Stoke is a common place name in the United Kingdom. Stoke may refer to: Places United Kingdom The largest city called Stoke is Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire. See below. Berkshire * Stoke Row, Berkshire Bristol * Stoke Bishop * Sto ...

helped Wolves reach the

semi-final A single-elimination, knockout, or sudden death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final mat ...

against his former club, Southampton. In the semi-final, played 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) ...

, Radford and another former Southampton player, George Hedley, scored the goals to put Wolves into the final. In

the final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...

, played at

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 ...

on 25 April 1908, Wolves met

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional Association football, football club, based in Newcastle upon Tyne, that plays in the Premier League – the top flight of English football league system, English football. The club was ...

. Despite playing a team from the First Division, Wolves upset the odds by winning the match 3–1, with goals by Kenneth Hunt, Hedley and Billy Harrison.FA Cup Giant Killers – 1908
/ref> In the following season, Wolves' defence of the cup ended at the first hurdle, where Radford's three goals couldn't prevent

of the Southern League going through after a replay. In the league, Radford scored 21 goals from 37 appearances, making him the club's top-scorer. Radford remained at Molineux for one further season, before dropping down to

non-league football Non-League football describes association football, football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is s ...

with

Southport Central Southport Central is an 18,130 m² mixed Use, multi-purpose development at the corner of Scarborough and Lawson Streets in Southport, Queensland, Australia. It comprises three towers with integrated shopping and commercial precincts with a to ...

of the

Lancashire Combination The Lancashire Combination was a football league founded in the North West of England in 1891–92. It absorbed the Lancashire League in 1903. In 1968 the Combination lost five of its clubs to the newly formed Northern Premier League. In 1982 it ...

in 1910.

Later career

Radford returned to

and in 1919 became a

referee A referee is an official, in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The official tasked with this job may be known by a variety of other tit ...

in the Erewash Amateur League, before progressing to the

English 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, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engl ...

list of referees.

Honours

Wolverhampton Wanderers *

winner:

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Radford, Wally 1886 births People from Pinxton Footballers from Derbyshire 1943 deaths English men's footballers Men's association football forwards English Football League players Southern Football League players Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. players Southampton F.C. players Southport F.C. players English football referees