Alfred Royle "Alf" Wilson (1890 – after 1919) was an English

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 professional footballer born in Wortley, then in the West Riding of Yorkshire

West Riding of Yorkshire

The West Riding of Yorkshire is one of the three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the administrative county, County of York, West Riding , was based closely on the historic boundaries...

, who played in the Football League

The Football League

The Football League, also known as the npower Football League for sponsorship reasons, is a league competition featuring professional association football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest such competition in world football...

 for Birmingham

Birmingham City F.C.

Birmingham City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, they became Small Heath in 1888, then Birmingham in 1905, finally becoming Birmingham City in 1943.They were relegated at the end of the...

. Wilson was on the books of Sheffield Wednesday

Sheffield Wednesday F.C.

Sheffield Wednesday Football Club are a football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, who are currently competing in the Football League One in the 2011-12 season, in England. Sheffield Wednesday are one of the oldest professional clubs in the world and the fourth oldest in the...

 but failed to make an appearance for the League side for the duration of his tenure. He did play more regularly however for cross-town rivals Sheffield United

Sheffield United F.C.

Sheffield United Football Club is a professional English football club based in the city of Sheffield, South Yorkshire.They were the first sporting team to use the name 'United' and are nicknamed 'The Blades', thanks to Sheffield's worldwide reputation for steel production...

 as a guest player during World War I, making 43 appearances, before joining Birmingham in 1919 as cover at full back

Defender (association football)

Within the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to prevent the opposition from attacking....

. He made his debut in the Second Division

Football League Second Division

From 1892 until 1992, the Football League Second Division was the second highest division overall in English football.This ended with the creation of the FA Premier League, prior to the start of the 1992–93 season, which caused an administrative split between The Football League and the teams...

 on Christmas Day 1919, standing in for Frank Womack

Frank Womack

Francis "Frank" Womack was an English association football player and manager born in Stannington, Sheffield, Yorkshire. He still holds the league appearances record for Birmingham City playing 491 games and holds the league record for most games by an outfield player without scoring a goal...

 in a 1–0 defeat away at Leicester City

Leicester City F.C.

Leicester City Football Club , also known as The Foxes, is an English professional football club based at the King Power Stadium in Leicester...

. This and the next day's reverse fixture – also a 1–0 defeat – were the only first-team appearances Wilson made before he returned to Yorkshire

Yorkshire

Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...

 the following year and signed for Rotherham Town

Rotherham Town F.C.

Rotherham Town Football Club was the name of two English football clubs from Rotherham, Yorkshire. The first briefly played in the Football League, while the second became part of another Football League club, Rotherham United, who are still members of the League today...

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