William "Fatty" Foulkes

I've got a godawful cold, my nose is blocked, and I keep falling asleep and waking up with a parched mouth. I tried to get over this cold on Thursday evening by playing squash, but I just ended up with an even worse cold and very wobbly legs. This cold might explain why I'm writing so much, for in between sleeping and reading I've been looking at some good stuff on YouTube.

But to get you in the mood, here is a competition. Please identify, from the 1897 England team which beat Wales 4-0, William Foulkes. The only clue I'm giving is that his nickname was "Fatty".




Anway, I was watching this clip of the 1901 FA cup final replay between Tottenham Hotspur and Sheffield United (boo hiss, for I am a Sheffield Wednesday fan). I was struck by the size of the goalkeeper, and thought "Is it? Naa it can't be, no way, not the legendary Fatty Foulkes". But it was, and is. As United (in striped shirts) trot onto the pitch one of their players is a head taller and a few feet wider than all the others. We then see him taking a goal kick, before pulling up his shorts (perhaps he'd been on pre-final diet).

There are numerous stories about Foulkes, the Sheffield United website says that he hung from and broke a crossbar in the 1896/97 season, and this cartoon from the day after the cup final replay makes note of his famous punches (If I read it right then the caption bottom right says "Little Willie's little punch with all his weight behind it"), which were claimed to reach the half-way line. Here is a report from the Independent describing Foulkes "picking up the Liverpool centre-forward George Allan, turning him upside down, and standing him on his head in the mud".

He even found time between meals to play some cricket for Derbyshire, and his cricketing obituary appeared in Wisden.