Fred Spiksley

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Fred Spiksley
Personal information
Full name Fred Spiksley
Date of birth January 25, 1870
Place of birth    Gainsborough, England
Date of death    July 28, 1948 (aged 78)
Place of death    Goodwood, England
Playing position Outside Left
Youth clubs
1887 Gainsborough Jubilee Swifts
Senior clubs1
Years Club App (Gls)*
1887-1891
1891-1903
1904
1904-1905
1905-1906
1906-1907		 Gainsborough Trinity
Sheffield Wednesday
Glossop North End
Leeds City
Southern United F.C.
Watford		 126 (131)
293 (100)
003 00(1)


011 00(5)   
National team
1893-1898 England 007 00(5)
Teams managed
1911
1911
1913
1913-1914
192x
192x
1927
1928		 AIK Stockholm
Sweden
TSV 1860 München
1. FC Nürnberg
Reforma Club, Mexico
Real Club España, Mexico
1. FC Nürnberg
Lausanne Sports

1 Senior club appearances and goals
counted for the domestic league only.
* Appearances (Goals)

Fred Spiksley (born January 25, 1870, Gainsborough - died July 28, 1948, Goodwood ) is a former English footballer and coach, who played as a forward for Sheffield Wednesday F.C. and England. He also played for Gainsborough Trinity, Glossop North End, Leeds City and Watford. After retiring as a player in 1906 he worked as a coach and won national league titles in Sweden, Mexico and Germany. During the First World War he was interned at Ruhleben, a civilian detention camp in Germany. He later worked as a bookmaker and died at Goodwood Racecourse in 1948.

Contents

[edit] Early Career

Spiksley initially played as a junior for Gainsborough Jubilee Swifts. In 1887 he helped them reach the semi-finals of the Lincolnshire Junior Cup, finishing the competition as top scorer with 31 goals in 6 games. On March 19 1887 at the age of 17 he made his senior debut for Gainsborough Trinity in a game against Notts Jardines. Although Trinity lost 3-1, Spiksley created the teams only goal, providing his captain Billy Brown with a simple tap in after a good run. During his first season at Trinity he scored 31 goals in 29 games and was the teams second highest goalscorer behind Jack Madden, later to play for Scotland and Celtic. He also scored twice on both his FA Cup debut, a 7-0 victory over Boston Town, and in the final of the Gainsborough News Charity Cup. In his second season Spiksley scored 28 goals in 21 games and, despite breaking his leg on his 19th birthday in a Gainsborough News Charity cup tie against The Wednesday Football Club, he was the team's leading goal-scorer for the 1888-1889 season. During the 1889-90 season Spiksley won a cup double, helping Trinity win both the Lincolnshire F.A. Cup and the Gainsborough News Charity Cup and during the 1890-91 season he was a prominent member of the Trinity team that won the Midland League.

[edit] Sheffield Wednesday

In January 1891 he almost signed for Accrington F.C. but asked for time to consider their offer before signing. However while travelling to Accrington he stopped in Sheffield and was persuaded by two directors, John Holmes and Fred Thompson, to sign for Sheffield Wednesday F.C.. He subsequently spent the next eleven seasons at Wednesday scoring 100 goals in 293 league appearances. He also scored a further 14 goals in 28 FA Cup appearances. He scored twice in the 1896 FA Cup final as Wednesday beat Wolves 2-1. Along with his two goals, Spiksley's back heals stole the show during final. He also helped them win the English Second Division in 1900 and the English First Division in 1903.

Fred's Wednesday Stats
Season Appearances Goals
1891-92 3 2
1892-93 31 18
1893-94 33 16
1894-95 33 10
1895-96 35 13
1896-97 28 10
1897-98 32 17
1898-99 30 3
1899-1900 34 10
1900-01 14 4
1901-02 27 5
1902-03 34 8
TOTAL 324 116

[edit] England International

Spiksley also played 7 times and scored 5 goals for England and helped them win the British Home Championship in both 1893 and 1898. In 1893 he scored twice on his debut against Wales in a 6-0 win. Other goalscorers on that day included Jack Reynolds and John Goodall. He then scored a further two goals in a 5-2 win over Scotland. In 1894 he scored his fifth goal in three games in 2-2 draw with Ireland. Spiksley’s other England team mates included Steve Bloomer and Ernest Needham. On March 14 1903 Spiksley also scored once for the English League XI in a 3-0 win over the Scottish League XI at Celtic Park.

Spiksley's England goal record has been disputed. In his book 50 Years of Football 1895-1934, Sir Frederick Wall, secretary of the Football Association, recalls that in 1893 Spiksley actually scored a hat-trick against Scotland.

Fred's England Stats
Date Opponent Score
March 13 1893 Wales 6-0
April 1 1893 Scotland 5-2
March 3 1894 Ireland 2-2
April 7 1894 Scotland 2-2
March 7 1896 Ireland 2-0
March 28 1898 Wales 3-0
April 2 1898 Scotland 3-1

[edit] Coaching Career

[edit] Sweden

After retiring as a player in 1906, Spiksley embarked on a well travelled career as a coach. In 1911 he accepted a position with AIK Stockholm and guided them to the Swedish Championship. He was briefly appointed coach of Swedish national team. However his spell was cut short following a dispute between two rival factions within the Swedish Football Association. Spiksley was seen as the Stockholm candidate and his appointment was opposed by the Gothenburg faction. In 1912 the association offered Spiksley the job once again. However on this occasion he declined.

[edit] Prisoner in Germany

By 1913 Spiksley was in Germany, first with TSV 1860 München and then 1. FC Nürnberg. However while there, the First World War broke out and Spiksley and his son, Fred Jr, were interned at Ruhleben, a civilian detention camp near Berlin. The camp contained between 4,000 and 5,500 prisoners and gradually a mini-society evolved and football became a popular activity. Spiksley was one of several former professional footballers in the camp. Others included fellow former England internationals Fred Pentland, Samuel Wolstenholme and Steve Bloomer, a Scotland international, John Cameron, a German international Edwin Dutton, and John Brearley, once of Everton and Tottenham Hotspur.

Cup and league competitions were organised and as many as 1,000 attended the bigger games. The teams adopted the names of established teams and on November 16, 1914 Spiksley played in a cup final between an Oldham Athletic team and a Tottenham Hotspur team. It is uncertain which team Spiksley played for but the Oldham team was basically a Public School XI. It is therefore more likely that he played for Tottenham along with Bloomer and Dutton. The game itself was refereed by Wolstenholme. Spiksley escaped from Ruhleben in early 1915 and, after briefly returning to England, he sailed to the United States and worked in a munitions factory in Pittsburgh.

[edit] Later Coaching Career

By 1918 he was working as a coach in Spain. In 1921 he returned to the United States and eventually made his way to Mexico. While there he coached the Reforma Club and Real Club España. Both teams played in the Primera Fuerza, a Mexico City-based league whose champions were also considered to be champions of Mexico. In 1924 Spiksley guided España to the Primera Fuerza title. He then returned to England and between 1924 and 1926 he worked as an assistant coach at Fulham. During his time at Fulham the club embarked on a successful FA Cup run and knocked out an Everton team that included Dixie Dean. He subsequently returned to Germany and rejoined 1. FC Nürnberg who he led to the German football championship in 1927.

In 1931 Spiksley was invited back to Craven Cottage by Fulham to make a series of training films with two players, Barrett and Oliver. A section of the film has survived. In the film he demonstrates his famous backheal.

[edit] Honours

Player

Gainsborough Trinity

  • Gainsborough News Charity Cup Winner:2
    • 1888, 1890
  • Lincolnshire Football Association Challenge Cup Winner:1
    • 1890

Sheffield Wednesday

England

Manager/Coach

AIK Stockholm

Real Club España

1. FC Nürnberg

[edit] Sources

  • Sir Frederck Wall: 50 Years of Football 1895-1934 (2005)[1]
  • Clive W. Nicholson: Flying Over an Olive Grove (unpublished)
    • This biography is currently being written and should be complete in a couple of years time. If you are interested in this book or Fred Spiksley please email clive_w_nicholson@yahoo.co.uk

[edit] External Links

Biographies

Sheffield Wednesday

England

Leeds City

Ruhleban

Coach

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