Alf Wheeler (footballer, born 1910)

Alfred James Wheeler (4 April 1910 – 1978) was an English professional footballer who played as a forward for various clubs in the Football League in the 1930s.

Alf Wheeler
Personal information
Full name Alfred James Wheeler[1]
Date of birth 4 April 1910[1]
Place of birth Bilston, England
Date of death 1978 (aged 67–68)[1]
Place of death Wolverhampton, England[2]
Position(s) Inside forward, centre forward
Youth career
Thompson Brothers
1929–1931 Wolverhampton Wanderers
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1931–1932 Walsall 11 (3)
1932 Mossley 1 (0)
1932–1933 Brentford 1 (0)
1933–1934 Northampton Town 5 (1)
1934–1935 Southampton 11 (6)
1935 Barnsley 0 (0)
1935–1936 Norwich City 0 (0)
1936–1937 Gillingham 8 (3)
1937 Dudley
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Football career

Wheeler was born in Bilston, near Wolverhampton[3] and started his professional career with Walsall in the Football League Third Division North, for whom he scored three goals in eleven league appearances.[1] After a spell in the Cheshire County League with Mossley,[4] Wheeler joined Brentford, before joining Northampton Town for the 1933–34 season, in which he made five appearances, scoring once.[1]

In July 1934, he joined Southampton of the Second Division,[3] making his debut playing at inside-left at home to Port Vale on 27 August. He was in and out of the side for most of the season, with Arthur Holt the preferred inside-left. In November 1934, Wheeler played three matches at centre-forward in place of Norman Cole, scoring an "outstanding" hat-trick in the first 27 minutes of a 4–1 victory over Bradford City.[5] A lack of consistency led to him being dropped in favour of new signing, Walter Pollard, and Wheeler was transfer listed at the end of the season.[3]

In August 1935, he joined Barnsley for a fee of £100,[3] and in October he moved on to Norwich City,[3] but he never played first-team football for either club.[1] In the summer of 1936, he joined his final league club, Gillingham, making a further eight league appearances, scoring three goals.[1]

References
  1. Joyce, Michael (2012). Football League Players' Records 1888 to 1939. Nottingham: Tony Brown. p. 307. ISBN 978-1905891610.
  2. "Fred Wheeler". SaintsPlayers.co.uk. Retrieved 17 September 2021.
  3. Holley, Duncan; Chalk, Gary (1992). The Alphabet of the Saints. ACL & Polar Publishing. p. 360. ISBN 0-9514862-3-3.
  4. "MOSSLEYWEB The Original Official Mossley AFC Website". www.mossleyweb.com. Retrieved 3 February 2020.
  5. Chalk, Gary; Holley, Duncan (1987). Saints – A Complete Record. Breedon Books. pp. 92–93. ISBN 0-907969-22-4.
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