Viv Woodward (Welsh footballer)

Vivian Woodward was a Welsh professional footballer who played in the Football League for Fulham, Aldershot, Millwall and Brentford as an inside forward. He represented Wales in a wartime international match in 1941.

Viv Woodward
Personal information
Full name Vivian Woodward[1]
Date of birth 25 May 1914
Place of birth Troed-y-rhiw, Wales
Position(s) Inside forward, wing half
Youth career
1932–1933 Troed-y-rhiw
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1933–1936 Folkestone
1936–1947 Fulham 95 (26)
1947–1948 Millwall 42 (13)
1948–1950 Brentford 20 (1)
1950–1951 Aldershot 53 (5)
1951–1954 Bedford Town 149 (62)
Biggleswade Town
International career
Wales Schoolboys
1941 Wales (wartime) 1 (1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Career

Early years in non-League football

An inside forward, Woodward played for hometown club Troed-y-rhiw as a youth and moved to Southern League club Folkestone in 1933 and departed in 1936.[2]

Football League (1936–1951)

In January 1936,[1] Woodard earned a move to the Football League with Second Division club Fulham for a £300 fee.[3] During an 11-year spell at Craven Cottage, which was interrupted by the Second World War, he made 95 appearances and scored 26 goals.[4] Woodward signed for Second Division strugglers Millwall in February 1947.[1] He scored seven goals in 15 league games to help the Lions stave off relegation to the Third Division South.[5] He was in and out of the team during the 1947–48 season, making 27 appearances and scoring six goals.[6] He departed the club at the end of the campaign after Millwall's relegation was confirmed with a bottom-place finish in the Second Division.[3] Woodward made 42 appearances and scored 13 goals in just over a year with Millwall.[7]

Woodward moved back to West London to sign for Second Division club Brentford in July 1948.[1] He began his time with the Bees as a regular in the team,[8] before being dropped for large part of the 1948–49 season and not returning until the final month of the campaign.[9] He made just 10 appearances and scored one goal.[9] He failed to fare much better in the following season, scoring one goal in 10 games and eventually departing Griffin Park in February 1950.[8][9] Woodward signed for Third Division South strugglers Aldershot in February 1950.[1] He quickly established himself in the team, making 16 league appearances before the end of the 1949–50 season. He made 37 appearances during the 1950–51 season (the highest of his career), but failed to inspire the Shots to more than an 18th-place finish. He left the club in May 1951, after making 53 league appearances and scoring five goals.[1]

Return to non-League football

Woodward dropped into non-League football to sign for Southern League club Bedford Town in 1951.[10] Despite failing to enjoy much success in the league, he was a regular pick for the team and showed good goalscoring form, scoring 62 goals in 149 appearances for the club.[10] In 1954, he transferred to Eastern Counties League club Biggleswade Town in exchange for Percy Duggan.[10][11]

International career

Woodward represented Wales at schoolboy level.[8] He represented the senior team in a wartime international on 7 June 1941, scoring in a 3–2 defeat to England at Ninian Park.[12]

Coaching career

During his time as a player with Bedford Town, Woodward also served as assistant manager and had a coaching spell at South Midlands League club Potton United.[8][10]

Personal life

One of Woodward's relatives, Laurence (nicknamed 'Dai'), was also a footballer and made over 270 appearances for Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic.[10] Woodward served as a lorry driver in the Royal Army Ordnance Corps during the Second World War.[13]

Career statistics
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League FA Cup Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Millwall 1946–47[5] Second Division 15 7 — 15 7
1947–48[6] 27 6 0 0 27 6
Total 42 13 0 0 42 13
Brentford 1948–49[9] Second Division 10 1 0 0 10 1
1949–50[9] 10 3 0 0 10 3
Total 20 4 0 0 20 4
Career total 62 17 0 0 62 17

References
  1. "Viv Woodward". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 1 November 2017.
  2. "Woodward Viv Fulham 1938". Vintage Footballers. Archived from the original on 28 January 2022. Retrieved 24 December 2018.
  3. "Viv Woodward". 11v11.com. Archived from the original on 5 December 2014. Retrieved 30 November 2014.
  4. Turner, Dennis (4 January 2012). Fulham The Complete Record. Derby: DB Publishing. ISBN 9781780911328.
  5. "Millwall Season 46/47 Stats". millwall-history.org.uk. Archived from the original on 19 January 2017. Retrieved 14 January 2017.
  6. "Millwall Season 47/48 Stats". millwall-history.org.uk. Archived from the original on 20 May 2019. Retrieved 14 January 2017.
  7. "Millwall Players S to Z". Archived from the original on 6 October 2014. Retrieved 30 November 2014.
  8. Haynes, Graham; Coumbe, Frank (2006). Timeless Bees: Brentford F.C. Who's Who 1920–2006. Yore Publications. p. 171. ISBN 978-0955294914.
  9. White, Eric, ed. (1989). 100 Years of Brentford. Brentford FC. p. 380. ISBN 0951526200.
  10. "Best Years Players S-Z". bedfordoldeagles. Archived from the original on 24 December 2014. Retrieved 30 November 2014.
  11. "1954/5 -back in the basement". bedfordoldeagles. Archived from the original on 26 October 2020. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
  12. "Wales v England, 07 June 1941 – 11v11 match report". Archived from the original on 27 March 2023. Retrieved 27 March 2023.
  13. "Fulham and the Second World War Part 3 – Seasons 1943/44-1944/45". University of Wolverhampton. Archived from the original on 27 March 2023. Retrieved 27 March 2023.
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