Wilfred Wooller (20 November 1912 – 10 March 1997) was a Welsh sportsman (playing

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

, and football), cricket administrator, and

journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

. He was acclaimed as one of the greatest all-round sportsmen that Wales has ever produced. He captained

Glamorgan County Cricket Club Glamorgan County Cricket Club () is one of eighteen first-class cricket, first-class county cricket, county clubs within the domestic cricket structure of England and Wales. It represents the Historic counties of Wales, historic county of Gla ...

for 14 years, was Secretary for thirty and President for six.

Personal history

Wilf Wooller was born at

Rhos-on-Sea Rhos-on-Sea () is a seaside resort and community in Conwy County Borough, Wales. The population was 7,593 at the 2011 census. It adjoins Colwyn Bay and is named after the Welsh kingdom of Rhos established there in late Roman Britain as a sub- ...

Denbighshire Denbighshire ( ; ) is a county in the north-east of Wales. It borders the Irish Sea to the north, Flintshire to the east, Wrexham to the southeast, Powys to the south, and Gwynedd and Conwy to the west. Rhyl is the largest town, and Ruthi ...

. He was educated at John Bright School, Llandudno, Rydal School (now

Rydal Penrhos Rydal Penrhos School is a private day school in Colwyn Bay, North Wales. It is the only Methodist school in the independent sector in Wales. It is located on multiple sites around the town with a site in the neighbouring village of Rhos-on-Sea ...

) and

Christ's College, Cambridge Christ's College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college includes the Master, the Fellows of the College, and about 450 undergraduate and 250 graduate students. The c ...

, where he graduated with a third-class degree in Archaeology and Anthropology in 1936.Richards, Huw
"Wooller, Wilfred (1912-1997)"
''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004; online edition, September 2004. Retrieved 3 June 2019 He married twice, first to Gillian Windsor-Clive, an unsuccessful wartime marriage that was dissolved in 1946, and in 1948 to Enid James. The couple had five children. Wooller survived incarceration by the Japanese in the Changi prisoner of war camp in

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. He was a successful BBC broadcaster and ''Sunday Telegraph'' sports journalist.

Rugby career

Wooller first played

rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby union: 15 players per side *** American flag rugby *** Beach rugby *** Mini rugby *** Rugby sevens, 7 players per side *** Rugby tens, 10 players per side *** Snow rugby *** Tou ...

for Rydal School and played his first international game for

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

while still a schoolboy. This was mainly due to the fact that in October 1932 Wooller failed to pass Latin, and therefore could not progress to Cambridge.Thomas (1979), p. 85. In 1932 he played a few games for North Wales Schoolboys, then he turned out for Sale at centre in the school holidays. While representing Sale he played alongside established Welsh international

Claude Davey Claude Davey (14 December 1908 – 18 February 2001) was a Wales international rugby union player who played club rugby for several teams, most notably Sale and Swansea. He was awarded 23 caps for Wales and captained his country eight times. Dave ...

and the two joined up in a 1933 Welsh selection game as part of the 'Possibles' team. Wooller himself believed the selectors were 'mucking about' with him and Davey, so the two were over physical with their opposing numbers, which forced the selectors to choose both of them to face England at

Twickenham Twickenham ( ) is a suburban district of London, England, on the River Thames southwest of Charing Cross. Historic counties of England, Historically in Middlesex, since 1965 it has formed part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, who ...

in 1933. The 1933 England game is seen as a classic in Welsh rugby history as it was the game when the 'Twickenham bogey' was broken after nine failed attempts to beat England on their home ground. Wooller played his part in the match, which is normally remembered as

Ronnie Boon Ronald Winston Boon (11 June 1909 – 3 August 1998) was an international rugby union wing for Wales national rugby union team, Wales who played club rugby for Cardiff RFC, Cardiff. Boon possessed a tremendous self-confidence in his own ability ...

's game, when he chased a breakaway Walter Elliot with forty yards to the tryline and tackled him ten yards short of a try.Smith (1980), p. 277. Wooller won 18 international

caps for Wales and represented

Cardiff RFC Cardiff Rugby Football Club () is a rugby union club based in Cardiff, the capital city of Wales. The club was founded in 1876Parry-Jones (1989), pg 59 and played their first few matches at Sophia Gardens, shortly after which relocating to Ca ...

at club level. In 1935 he was inspirational in the Welsh victory over the

All Blacks The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks, is the representative men's national team in the sport of rugby union for the nation of New Zealand, which is considered the country's national sport. Famed for th ...

. He was a Cambridge blue in 1935 and 1936.

International rugby matches played

WalesSmith (1980), p. 474. * 1933, 1935, 1936, 1937, 1939 * 1933, 1935, 1936, 1937, 1938, 1939 * 1933, 1935, 1936, 1937, 1938, 1939 * 1935

Cricket career

Wooller's first cricket was played at Rydal School and the local club, Colwyn Bay where he played alongside his father Roy and brothers Jack and Gordon. He made his Minor Counties debut for

in 1930 and his first-class debut for

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

in May 1935 against

Sussex Sussex (Help:IPA/English, /ˈsʌsɪks/; from the Old English ''Sūþseaxe''; lit. 'South Saxons'; 'Sussex') is an area within South East England that was historically a kingdom of Sussex, kingdom and, later, a Historic counties of England, ...

. In the same year he was selected for Cambridge University against

Oxford University The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...

, so becoming a Double Blue. After graduating from Cambridge, Wooller took employment in Cardiff and joined the St Fagans club north of the city. His bowling performances and aggressive batting attracted the attention of Maurice Turnbull,

Glamorgan Glamorgan (), or sometimes Glamorganshire ( or ), was Historic counties of Wales, one of the thirteen counties of Wales that existed from 1536 until their abolishment in 1974. It is located in the South Wales, south of Wales. Originally an ea ...

's influential county captain and he was selected for the Championship match against

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

at the

Cardiff Arms Park Cardiff Arms Park (), also known as The Arms Park, is primarily a rugby union stadium, and also has a bowling green. It is situated in Cardiff, Wales, next to the Millennium Stadium. The Arms Park was host to the 1958 British Empire and Common ...

ground. He debuted on 15 June 1938 and in his first bowling spell for the county took 3 wickets for 22 runs in nine overs. After the war Wooller was appointed Captain-Secretary of Glamorgan in 1947 and led them to an unexpected County Championship triumph in 1948. As a formidable all rounder, he was twice thwarted from playing

Test cricket Test cricket is a Forms of cricket, format of the sport of cricket, considered the game’s most prestigious and traditional form. Often referred to as the "ultimate test" of a cricketer's skill, endurance, and temperament, it is a format of i ...

for

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

in 1948–49 and 1951–52, due to business commitments. He retired from first-class cricket in 1960 (reappearing briefly in 1962) and as Secretary in 1977. He served as a Test selector from 1955 to 1961.

Football and other sporting career

Wooller played 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 ...

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

, once scoring a hat-trick at centre-forward. He also signed for Barry Town in 1938, with the intent of playing for the club on week nights while continuing his rugby at weekends. Wooller also represented Wales at

squash racquets A racket or racquet is an item of sporting equipment used to strike a ball or shuttlecock in a variety of sports. A racket consists of three major components: a widened distal end known as the ''head'', an elongated handle known as the ''grip' ...

and the Cardiff Athletic Club at

bowls Bowls, also known as lawn bowls or lawn bowling, is a sport in which players try to roll their ball (called a bowl) closest to a smaller ball (known as a "jack" or sometimes a "kitty"). The bowls are shaped (biased), so that they follow a curve ...

Bibliography

* * * * *

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wooller, Wilf 1912 births 1997 deaths Alumni of Christ's College, Cambridge Rugby union players from Denbighshire Barbarian F.C. players British World War II prisoners of war Cambridge University R.U.F.C. players Cardiff RFC players Sale Sharks players Welsh cricket administrators Glamorgan County RFC players Glamorgan cricket captains Glamorgan cricketers People educated at Rydal Penrhos Rugby union centres Wales rugby union captains Welsh cricket captains Welsh cricketers Welsh journalists Welsh rugby union players Wales international rugby union players England cricket team selectors World War II prisoners of war held by Japan Denbighshire cricketers Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers Gentlemen cricketers North v South cricketers Barry Town United F.C. players Gentlemen of England cricketers Cambridge University cricketers Men's association football forwards H. D. G. Leveson Gower's XI cricketers Welsh men's footballers Rugby union players from Conwy County Borough