In 1879, on this day, the former England footballer, Vivian Woodward was born. He appeared in 23 internationals and scored 28 goals for his country. He died on January 31st 1954.
Vivian John Woodward (3 June 1879 – 31 January 1954) enjoyed the peak of his career from the turn of the 20th century to the outbreak of the First World War. He played for Tottenham Hostpur and Chelsea.
He captained Great Britain to gold medals at the 1908 Paris Olympics and in Stockholm in 1912. Woodward's tally of 29 goals in 23 matches for EEngland remained a record from 1911 to 1958; his strike rate of 1.26 goals per game is the second highest for an England player.
He served in the British Army during the First World War and as a result missed out on Chelsea's run to their first-ever FA Cup final in 1915. Woodward's injuries during the war caused his retirement from football. He then served on Cheleas's Board between 1922 and 1930 as a director of the club.
Before the start of the 1909 season, Woodward decided to retire to concentrate on his architectural practice and cricket. He had a short spell back with Chelmsford, but was persuaded to join David Calderhead's Chelsea on 20 November 1909. He went on to play in a total of 116 games for them, scoring 34 goals. He was their leading scorer in the 1912–13 season with ten goals.
At the start of the First World War he enlisted in the British Army and as a result did not play many matches during the 1914-15 season, but he was given special leave to join Chelsea at Old Trafford for the Cup following an injury to Bob Thomson who was injured. Thomson recovered and Woodward refused to play givingThomson his chance to play in an FA Cup final. Woodward had not played in any of Chelsea's matches in their run to the final.
Woodward was injured in the right thigh during the war and did not return to top class football.
He made his England debut in 1903, scoring twice in a 4–0 win against Ireland. Between 1903 and 1911, he won 23 full caps and scored 29 goals, setting an English record that would last until the 1950s. He also played in three unofficial international matches against South Africa in 1910, scoring a further four goals. At the time, England only usually played three matches a season, for the British Home Championship, but two tours to central Europe in 1908 and 1909, netted Woodward 15 goals (over half his total). He held the overall England goalscoring record, either jointly or alone, for 47 years – longer than any other player until surpassed by Tom Finney in 1958. With his 28th and 29th goals, the last of his career, he overhauled Steve Bloomer against Wales in March 1911, and was not himself overtaken until Tom Finnel scored his 30th (and last) goal in October 1958.
He also turned out 44 times for England Amateurs and scored 57 goals. England Amateurs played most of its internationals against the full representative sides of Europe, whose football was much less developed than that of the British at the time, and this huge gap between them often resulted in the Europeans getting trashed by the English, and Woodward would thus often score several goals per match. For instance, in one match against France in 1906, the Times and Sporting Life credit Woodward with eight goals in a 15–0 win, although FIFA's official record of the match credits him with only four goals. However, he did score six against Netherlandsin 1909.
The Home Nations did not recognise its matches against England Amateurs, and thus, 12 goals in 14 of his appearances are considered unofficial, four against Ireland, six against Wales, and 2 goals in an unofficial match against Sweden on 12 June 1914 as this game was not regarded as a full international by the Swedish FA. However, the remaining 30 appearances for England amateurs and 45 goals (including 6 matches and 5 goals for Great Britain at the Olympics) were made in matches recognised as full internationals by FIFA and the opposition's Football Associations, though not by the FA, which means that Woodward scored a total of 75 goals in 53 matches that were considered official internationals by the opposing sides, which would make him the first footballer to score 50 international goals. Woodward scored a combined total of 10 international hat-tricks for the England teams, 4 for the main side and 6 for the Amateurs, all of which in friendlies sept for the one he netted against Wales at the British Home Championship on 16 March 1908, which is also the only one he netted against a Home Nation. His hat-trick tally also includes a 6-goal haul in a 9–1 win over the Netherlands on 11 December 1909, and four 4-goal hauls, two for each of the England teams.
Woodward also represented the Footbasll League XI and the Soukthern League XI and also toured the Ubnited States with The Pilgrins in 1905.
In the Olympics, Woodward captained Great Britain to gold medals at the 1908 London Olympics, scoring three goals, including one in the final and then in Stockhom in 1912, scoring two in 1912.
He joined the 17th Battalion of the Middlesex regiment. This was one of the Pals Battalions formed during the early stages of World War 1, to encourage enlistment. It was known as a Footballers Battalion and it included many members of Woodward's former team Tottenham Hotspur. He served on the Western Front and was wounded in 1916. He attained the Army rank of Captain
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