Alf Wood (footballer, born 1876)

For other people named Alfred Wood, see Alfred Wood (disambiguation).
Alf Wood
Personal information
Full name Alfred Josiah Edward Wood[1]
Date of birth June 1876[2]
Place of birth Smallthorne, England[1]
Date of death April 1919 (aged 42)[1]
Playing position Half-back
Youth career
1891 Smallthorne Albion
Senior career*
Years Team Apps† (Gls)†
1892–1895 Burslem Port Vale 63 (18)
1895–1901 Stoke 118 (10)
1901–1905 Aston Villa 103 (7)
1905–1907 Derby County 60 (2)
Bradford Park Avenue
Total 344 (37)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.

† Appearances (goals)

Alfred Josiah Edward "Alf" Wood (June 1876 – April 1919) was an English footballer who played in the Football League for Aston Villa, Burslem Port Vale, Derby County and Stoke.[1] He helped Villa to finish second in the First Division in 1902–03, and helped Stoke to reach the FA Cup semi-finals in 1899.

Playing career

Wood played for local side Smallthorne Albion, before joining Burslem Port Vale in December 1892, aged 16.[2] He made seven Second Division appearances in the 1892–93 season, claiming two goals in a 4–0 win over Northwich Victoria at the Athletic Ground on 4 March.[2] He was an ever-present for the Vale in the 32 game 1893–94 season, and scored 12 goals in 28 league games.[2] He scored four goals in 28 league games in the 1894–95 campaign.[2] A versatile player, he was utilised in most positions during his time at the club; including in goal at Rotherham Town on 28 October 1893, where he actually kept a clean sheet in a 1–0 win.[2]

However, he signed for Southampton St Mary's in the summer of 1895. Port Vale lodged a complaint with The Football Association about "poaching", claiming that the contract was signed before the League season had ended. An emergency FA meeting was held at Sheffield, resulting in the "Saints" being severely censured for negligence. St Mary's were ordered to pay their own costs, plus £1 13s to Port Vale. The Southampton director, Alfred McMinn was suspended for a year and trainer Bill Dawson for a month; Wood's registration with St Mary's was cancelled.[3][4] Wood never played for Port Vale again either, and instead returned to the Potteries and signed for Stoke in October 1895. He made an instant impact, scoring on his debut against Derby County at the Baseball Ground.[1] He slowly established himself in Horace Austerberry's squad and was involved in controversial scenes at the end of the 1897–98 season. Stoke had a poor campaign and finished bottom of the First Division, meaning they had to play a test match series against Newcastle United and Burnley. In the final match against Burnley, both teams went into the match knowing that a draw would see them remain in the First Division and throughout the 90 minutes not a single attempt on goal was made, this led to the introduction of automatic promotion and relegation.[1] The following season saw an improvement, as Stoke reached the semi-final of the FA Cup for the first time, losing out 3–1 to Derby County. Wood spent two more seasons at the Victoria Ground, before joining Aston Villa in March 1901.

Wood became a regular at Villa Park for the next three seasons, and almost won a league championship medal in 1902–03 as Villa finished as runner-up to The Wednesday. Wood left the "Villans" in May 1905, having scored seven goals in 111 league and cup games.[5] He then played two seasons with Derby County, making 60 First Division appearances for the club. He later played for Bradford Park Avenue.

Career statistics

Club Season Division League FA Cup Test Match Total
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Burslem Port Vale 1892–93 Second Division 7200–72
1893–94 281210–2912
1894–95 28410–294
Total 631820006518
Stoke 1895–96 First Division 4100–41
1896–97 12400–124
1897–98 1922040252
1898–99 27060–330
1899–1900 27120–291
1900–01 29220–312
Total 118101204013410
Aston Villa 1900–01 First Division 4000–40
1901–02 33220–352
1902–03 31240–352
1903–04 29220–312
1904–05 6100–61
Total 103780001117
Derby County 1905–06 First Division 34230–372
1906–07 26031–291
Total 6026100663
Career Total 344372814037638

Honours

Aston Villa

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Matthews, Tony (1994). The Encyclopaedia of Stoke City. Lion Press. ISBN 0-9524151-0-0.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Kent, Jeff (1996). Port Vale Personalities. Witan Books. p. 314. ISBN 0-9529152-0-0.
  3. ↑ Chalk, Gary; Holley, Duncan (1987). Saints – A complete record. Breedon Books. p. 18. ISBN 0-907969-22-4.
  4. ↑ Juson, Dave; Bull, David (2001). Full-Time at The Dell. Hagiology Publishing. pp. 36–37. ISBN 0-9534474-2-1.
  5. ↑ Aston Villa profile at Aston Villa Player Database
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