John Wylie (footballer)

John George Wylie (5 October 1854 – 30 July 1924) was an English amateur footballer who played as a forward. He won the FA Cup with Wanderers in 1878 and played once for England in 1878. He also took part as an athlete, winning the Pentathlon at the National Olympian Games in 1879.

Career

Wylie was born in Shrewsbury and was educated at Shrewsbury School between 1869 and 1872. After leaving school he moved to Sheffield where he trained as a solicitor. He qualified in 1878 after which he joined a practice in London.[1] In 1881, he was living in Putney. He died, aged 69, in Wandsworth, London.[2]

Football career

His early football was played with Shropshire Wanderers, before moving to Sheffield where he earned representative honours for the city of Sheffield. In the 1874 match against London, he was "borrowed" by the opposition who had insufficient players available. In March 1874, he was selected for the England match against Scotland, but had to withdraw at a late stage, and was replaced by John Hawley Edwards[3] who thus made his solitary international appearance.

He then joined Wanderers making his first appearance for them in January 1875. He only made a significant contribution to the Wanderers in 1877-78, when he made eleven appearances, scoring nine goals, six of which came in FA Cup matches. Wanderers thus reached their third consecutive cup final, when on 23 March 1878 at the Kennington Oval, they defeated the Royal Engineers 3–1.

Three weeks before the Cup Final, Wylie (together with fellow Wanderers forwards Henry Wace and Hubert Heron) was again selected for the annual international fixture against Scotland. The game did not end happily for England as the Scots ran out 7–2 victors, although Wylie did score one of England's late consolation goals.[4]

Wylie remained with the Wanderers until 1879, making his final appearance on 28 November. He was described by C. W. Alcock in the 1879 "Football Annual" as "a good centre, with pace and strength (who) should play for his side more".[5]

Honours

Wanderers

Athletic achievement

As a member of the Shropshire Wanderers, Wylie took part in the National Olympian Games held at Shrewsbury in 1879, when he won a cup presented for the Pentathlon event by King George I of Greece. He also came joint winner in high jump, won a heat in the quarter-mile handicap, and third in heat of 100 yards flat race, 120 yards hurdles and pole leaping.[6]

References

  1. ↑ Graham Betts (2006). England: Player by player. Green Umbrella Publishing. p. 269. ISBN 1-905009-63-1.
  2. ↑ Warsop, Keith (2004). The Early F.A. Cup Finals and the Southern Amateurs. Tony Brown, Soccer Data. p. 138. ISBN 1-899468-78-1.
  3. ↑ Graham Betts. England: Player by player. p. 96.
  4. ↑ Scotland 7 - England 2; 2 March 1878 (Match summary)
  5. ↑ Rob Cavallini (2005). The Wanderers F.C. - "Five times F.A. Cup winners". Dog N Duck Publications. p. 92. ISBN 0-9550496-0-1.
  6. ↑ Catherine Beale (2011). Born out of Wenlock - William Penny Brookes and the British origins of the modern Olympics. Derby Books. pp. 109, 182. ISBN 978-1-85983-967-6.

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