Tom Wilkes (footballer)

Thomas Henry Wilkes (19 May 1874 – 1921) was an English footballer who played in the Football League for Aston Villa and Stoke.[1]

For the art professional, see Tom Wilkes.

Tom Wilkes
Personal information
Full name Thomas Henry Wilkes[1]
Date of birth (1874-05-19)19 May 1874
Place of birth Alcester, England[1]
Date of death 1921 (aged 47)[1]
Position(s) Goalkeeper
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1891–1894 Redditch Town
1894–1897 Aston Villa 66 (0)
1897–1898 → Stoke (loan) 5 (0)
1899–1903 Stoke 74 (0)
Total 145 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Career

Wilkes was born in Alcester and played amateur football with Redditch Town before joining Aston Villa in 1894.[1] Wilkes enjoyed a considerable amount of success at Villa, winning the English league title on three occasions as well as earning two FA Cup victories.[1] The best season he enjoyed was in 1895–96 as he only missed once match of Villa's title-winning season. However, he lost his place to Billy George; Wilkes subsequently went on loan to Stoke towards the end of the 1897–98 season.

Stoke were struggling at the bottom of the First Division before Wilkes joined; when he became a part of the team and played in the final five matches of the season, Stoke went unbeaten. It mattered little, however, as Stoke still finished bottom on goal average after finishing level on points with four teams.[1] They had to play the end-of-season test matches against the best teams in the Second Division in order to stay up.[1] 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]

Wilkes returned to Villa at the end of the season and played four matches in 1898–99 before he rejoined Stoke on a permanent basis in 1899. He played four seasons for Stoke before retiring in 1903. He later owned the Wharf Tavern in Stoke.

Career statistics

Source:[2]

Club Season League FA Cup Test Match Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Aston Villa 1894–95 First Division 20050—250
1895–96 First Division 29010—300
1896–97 First Division 8050—130
1897–98 First Division 5000—50
1898–99 First Division 4000—40
Total 660110—770
Stoke (loan) 1897–98 First Division 50004090
Stoke 1899–1900 First Division 31020—330
1900–01 First Division 27030—300
1901–02 First Division 8000—80
1902–03 First Division 8010—90
Total 7906040890
Career total 1450170401660

Honours
Aston Villa

References
  1. Matthews, Tony (1994). The Encyclopaedia of Stoke City. Lion Press. ISBN 0-9524151-0-0.
  2. Tom Wilkes at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)
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