William John Oakley (27 April 1873 — 20 September 1934) was an English footballer who, during the

Victorian era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the reign of Queen Victoria, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. Slightly different definitions are sometimes used. The era followed the ...

, played as a full-back for the renowned amateur clubs, the Corinthians and Casuals, and captained the

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 ...

team once, in a match against

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

in 1901. In 1895, he was also the British long jump champion.

Early life and education

Born at

Shrewsbury Shrewsbury ( , ) is a market town and civil parish in Shropshire (district), Shropshire, England. It is sited on the River Severn, northwest of Wolverhampton, west of Telford, southeast of Wrexham and north of Hereford. At the 2021 United ...

, Shropshire, the eldest of five children, Oakley was educated at

Shrewsbury School Shrewsbury School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Shrewsbury. Founded in 1552 by Edward VI by royal charter, to replace the town's Saxon collegiate foundations which were disestablished in the sixteenth century, Shrewsb ...

and

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church (, the temple or house, ''wikt:aedes, ædes'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by Henry V ...

.Published under Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians. Oakley played football for his school from 1887 to 1892, captaining the side in his final year, and also rowed for his school. After going up to Oxford, Oakley became President of the athletics club in 1895, representing the university in long jump and 120 yard hurdles. He won the

AAA Championships The AAA Championships was an annual track and field competition organised by the Amateur Athletic Association of England. It was the foremost domestic athletics event in the United Kingdom during its lifetime, despite the existence of the offi ...

long jump title at the 1895 AAA Championships.

Club career

Oakley played, in total, 121 games for

Corinthian FC Corinthian Football Club was an English amateur football club based in London between 1882 and 1939. Above all, the club is credited with having popularised football around the world, having promoted sportsmanship and fair play, and having cha ...

, in which he scored just 1 goal. Playing games against all the great professional sides of the era, Oakley was an assured defender whose peak years for the club were the 1898/99 season and the 1899/1900 season, during which he rarely missed a match. He would then play for

Casuals F.C. Casuals F.C. were an amateur football club based in London, formed in 1883. They merged with Corinthian in 1939 to form the Corinthian-Casuals, a club which still exists. History The club was formed in 1883, and was originally made up of pl ...

International career

Oakley made his

debut in a 1-1 draw against

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 ...

during the

1894–95 British Home Championship The 1894–95 British Home Championship was an international football tournament played between the British Home Nations. The competition was won by England, who like second placed Wales, did not lose a game. Wales however failed to win one eithe ...

. He would go on to win a total of 16 England caps between 1895 and 1901, and won his only game as captain against

in the

1900–01 British Home Championship The 1900–01 British Home Championship was an international football (soccer), football tournament between the British Home Nations. England national football team, England won the competition with five points after strong victories over Wales n ...

, England winning 3–0.

Cricket

Oakley also played cricket at club level for

and appeared at county level for

Shropshire Shropshire (; abbreviated SalopAlso used officially as the name of the county from 1974–1980. The demonym for inhabitants of the county "Salopian" derives from this name.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West M ...

in one match in 1900 when he made 20 runs.''Shropshire Cricketers 1844-1998'', pages 22, 49.

Personal life

He was a close friend of the England centre forward G. O. Smith, with whom he worked as a schoolmaster, and eventually as joint headmaster, of

Ludgrove School Ludgrove School is an English independent school, independent boys' Preparatory school (UK), preparatory boarding school. Ludgrove was founded in 1892 at Ludgrove Hall in Middlesex by the Old Etonian sportsman Arthur Dunn. Dunn had been employed ...

after retiring from football. He died at

Carlisle Carlisle ( , ; from ) is a city in the Cumberland district of Cumbria, England. Carlisle's early history is marked by the establishment of a settlement called Luguvalium to serve forts along Hadrian's Wall in Roman Britain. Due to its pro ...

Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is an area of North West England which was historically a county. The county was bordered by Northumberland to the north-east, County Durham to the east, Westmorland to the south-east, Lancashire to the south, and the Scottish ...

, in September 1934 aged 61 following injuries sustained in a road accident.

References

External links

*
William Oakley's football career at ''England Player Profile''

* ttp://www.englandfootballonline.com/TeamCapt/CaptMtch1872.html William Oakley listed among "England's Match Captains 1872-1914" at ''England Football Online'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Oakley, William 1873 births 1934 deaths England men's international footballers English men's footballers Oxford University A.F.C. players People educated at Shrewsbury School Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford Casuals F.C. players Corinthian F.C. players Men's association football fullbacks Footballers from Shrewsbury