Fred Spiksley
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| Fred Spiksley | ||
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| Personal information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Frederick 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 | ||
| 1883-c.1886 c. 1884 1887 |
Holy Trinity School, Gainsborough Eclipse Gainsborough Jubilee Swifts |
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| Senior clubs1 | ||
| Years | Club | App (Gls)* |
| 1886 1887-1891 1891-1903 1904 1905 1905-1906 1906 1907 |
Gainsborough Working Men's Club Gainsborough Trinity Sheffield Wednesday Glossop North End Leeds City Southern United F.C. Watford Corinthian |
1 (0) 126 (131) 293 (100) 3 (1) 7 (0) ? (?) 11 (5) 0 (0) |
| National team | ||
| 1893-1898 | England | 7 (5) |
| Teams managed | ||
| 1911 1911 1913 1913-1914 192x 192x 1927 1928 1933-1936 |
AIK Stockholm Sweden TSV 1860 München 1. FC Nuremberg Reforma Club, Mexico Real Club España, Mexico 1. FC Nuremberg Lausanne Sports King Edward VII School, Sheffiled |
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1 Senior club appearances and goals |
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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, Watford and in 1907 became the only professional footballer to play for the Corinthians. 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.
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[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 team's 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 1888-89 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, starting with a brace in a memorable 4-1 victory over League side Bolton Wanderers in 1892[1]. He scored twice in the 1896 FA Cup Final as Wednesday beat Wolves 2-1. Along with his two goals, Spiksley's back-heels stole the show during the final. He also helped them win the English Second Division in 1900 and the English First Division in 1903.
| 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] Southern United
In the 1905-06 season Fred Joined a new club called Southern United. The club was based in London, but has been lost in history with many people thinking that Fred actually played for Southend United. Southend formed a year later and played in the Southern League Division 2, just like Southern United had done the previous season. So it is eay to see why people have got it wrong. The Southern United story is a short but facinating one that will feature in Fred Spiksley's biography - Flying Over an Olive Grove.
[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 14 March 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 by several sources. 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. The final goal in the 6-0 defeat of Wales on his debut was never credited to anyone by the majority of newspaper match reports, including the times and Athletic News, which has led to the goal being credited incorrectly. However match reports that do credit to goal, credit it to Spiksley, this includes the Guardian Newspaper. Spiksley always maintained that he scored a hat trick on his debut and in his second international, the Scotland match.
| 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 Nuremberg. 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 Nuremberg 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 back-heel.
Between 1933 and 1936 Spiksley took over coaching responsibilities for the King Edward VII School Football team in Sheffield. During his time there the First XI were unbeaten against school opposition. This achievement was recognised in an unusual way when the 'Ardath Tobacco Company' included the school team of 1935-36 in their Cigarette Card Collection for the season, this was alongside all the top football teams of the day!
[edit] Biography
Spiksley had several items published;
- In 1907, his reminiscences were published
- Letters to a Swedish journalist were turned into an early Swedish book on how to play football
- In 1920 his Autobigraphy was written and published as a newspaper serial
- In 1928 Fred wrote a serial in a newspaper teaching people how to train and play football, each week looking at a different position or skill.
His Autobiography was only discovered in 2007 and is over 56,000 words long. The Fred Spiksley biography - Flying Over an Olive Grove is currently being written with an aim for publication before 2010. This will feature over 200 never seen before photographs and illustrations.
[edit] Honours
Player
Gainsborough Trinity
- Gainsborough News Charity Cup Winner:2
- 1888, 1890
- Lincolnshire Football Association Challenge Cup Winner:1
- 1890
- Midland League Champions: 1
- 1890-91
Sheffield Wednesday
- English First Division Champions: 1
- 1902-03
- FA Cup Winner: 1
- 1896
- English Second Division Champions: 1
- 1899-1900
England
- British Home Championship: 2
- 1893, 1898
Manager/Coach
AIK Stockholm
- Swedish Champions
- 1911
Real Club España
- Mexican Champions
- 1924
1. FC Nuremberg
- German Champions: 1
- 1927
[edit] Sources
- Fred Spiksley: Fred Spiksley's Reminisences (1907)
- Fred Spiksley: Fred Spiksley's Autobigraphy (1920)
- Sir Frederick 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
- Richard Sparling: The Romance of the Wednesday (1926)
- Kieth Farnsworth: Wednesday! (1982)
- Percy Young: Football in Sheffield (1964)
- Kieth Farnsworth: Sheffield Wedneday - A Complete Record (1987)
- Kieth Farnsworth: Sheffield Footbal - A History Volume one 1857-1961 (1995)
- Kieth Farnsworth: The Blades and The Owls (1995)
- Nick Johnson: Images of Sport - Sheffield Wednesday (2003)
- Jason Dickinson and John Brodie: The Wednesday Boys (2005)
- Jason Dickinson: One Hundered Years at Hillsborough (1999)
- Ian Bevan: To the palace for the Cup (1999)
- The Book of Football (1906)
- IFFHS: Sweden (1908 - 1940)
- Earnest Needham: Association Football (1901)
- Ambrose Langley: Tales of Ambrose Langley (1925)
[edit] External links
Biographies
Sheffield Wednesday
England
- Spiksley at www.englandfc.com
- England games during Spiksley era
- English League V Scottish League stats
- England stats
Leeds City
Ruhleban
- 1914 Ruhleban Cup Final
- Spiksley mentioned at Ruhleban in Wolstenholme bio
- Picture of Spiksley and his son as POW's. Fred Sr. is seated on the right and Fred Jr. is sat in front of him
Coach
[edit] References
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