Ken Willingham
Encyclopedia
Charles Kenneth "Ken" Willingham (1 December 1912 – May 1975) was a professional
footballer, born in Sheffield
. As a school boy he captained the Yorkshire Schools' team and won the half-mile county running championship.
, he joined Worksop Town
in 1928 at the age of 16. He became a member of Huddersfield's ground staff at Leeds Road in 1930, before signing professionally for Huddersfield Town
in 1930, where he spent most of his playing career. Whilst there he played in the 1938 FA Cup Final
(which was the first FA Cup Final
to be transmitted live on British television) in which Huddersfield Town lost 1–0 to Preston North End
.
He holds the record for the fastest ever goal scored by a Huddersfield Town player, against Sunderland
on 14 December 1935, putting the ball in the back of the net after just ten seconds, with his fourth touch of the ball. He is also in the top 100 Huddersfield Town players as voted for by the fans as their favourite players.
He was capped twelve times for England
, scoring on his debut against Finland
in a 8–0 win. He also made six appearances for England during the war, as well as representing the Football League
on another six occasions.
After World War II
, in which he worked in the steel industry in Sheffield, he signed for Sunderland where he made fourteen appearances. He later signed for Leeds United
as a player-coach in 1947 before retiring a year later to become the landlord of the Hopewell Inn in Hunslet
. He briefly returned to the game in 1952, where he became coach at Halifax Town
.
Professional
A professional is a person who is paid to undertake a specialised set of tasks and to complete them for a fee. The traditional professions were doctors, lawyers, clergymen, and commissioned military officers. Today, the term is applied to estate agents, surveyors , environmental scientists,...
footballer, born in Sheffield
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...
. As a school boy he captained the Yorkshire Schools' team and won the half-mile county running championship.
Football career
After playing for EcclesfieldEcclesfield
Ecclesfield is a suburb and civil parish in the City of Sheffield in South Yorkshire, England, about north of Sheffield City Centre. At the 2001 census the civil parish— which also includes the Sheffield suburbs of Chapeltown, Grenoside, High Green, and formerly Thorpe Hesley —had a population...
, he joined Worksop Town
Worksop Town F.C.
Worksop Town Football Club are a semi-professional English football club from Worksop, Nottinghamshire who play in the Northern Premier League Premier Division...
in 1928 at the age of 16. He became a member of Huddersfield's ground staff at Leeds Road in 1930, before signing professionally for Huddersfield Town
Huddersfield Town F.C.
Huddersfield Town Football Club is an English football club formed in 1908 and based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire. They currently play in League One...
in 1930, where he spent most of his playing career. Whilst there he played in the 1938 FA Cup Final
1938 FA Cup Final
The 1938 FA Cup Final was contested by Preston North End and Huddersfield Town at Wembley Stadium. Preston, losing finalists the previous year, won by a single goal. After 29 minutes of extra time it was still 0–0 and BBC commentator Thomas Woodrooffe said "if there's a goal scored now, I'll...
(which was the first FA Cup Final
FA Cup Final
The FA Cup Final, commonly referred to in England as just the Cup Final, is the last match in the Football Association Challenge Cup. With an official attendance of 89,826 at the 2007 FA Cup Final, it is the fourth best attended domestic club championship event in the world and the second most...
to be transmitted live on British television) in which Huddersfield Town lost 1–0 to Preston North End
Preston North End F.C.
Preston North End Football Club is an English professional football club located in the Deepdale area of the city of Preston, Lancashire, currently playing in the third tier of English league football, League One...
.
He holds the record for the fastest ever goal scored by a Huddersfield Town player, against Sunderland
Sunderland A.F.C.
Sunderland Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear who currently play in the Premier League...
on 14 December 1935, putting the ball in the back of the net after just ten seconds, with his fourth touch of the ball. He is also in the top 100 Huddersfield Town players as voted for by the fans as their favourite players.
He was capped twelve times for England
England national football team
The England national football team represents England in association football and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in England. England is the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside Scotland, whom they played in the world's first...
, scoring on his debut against Finland
Finland national football team
The Finland national football team represents Finland in international football competitions and is controlled by the Football Association of Finland....
in a 8–0 win. He also made six appearances for England during the war, as well as representing 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...
on another six occasions.
After World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, in which he worked in the steel industry in Sheffield, he signed for Sunderland where he made fourteen appearances. He later signed for Leeds United
Leeds United A.F.C.
Leeds United Association Football Club are an English professional association football club based in Beeston, Leeds, West Yorkshire, who play in the Football League Championship, the second tier of the English football league system...
as a player-coach in 1947 before retiring a year later to become the landlord of the Hopewell Inn in Hunslet
Hunslet
Hunslet is an inner-city area in south Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is south east of the city centre and has an industrial past.Hunslet had many engineering companies based in the district, such as John Fowler & Co...
. He briefly returned to the game in 1952, where he became coach at Halifax Town
Halifax Town A.F.C.
Halifax Town Association Football Club were an English football team who most recently played in the Conference National, although prior to that they participated in the Football League for over eighty years...
.
International career details
| Match Date | Opponent | Stadium | Score | Result | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 May 1937 | Finland Finland national football team The Finland national football team represents Finland in international football competitions and is controlled by the Football Association of Finland.... |
Töölön Pallokenttä | 0–8 | (W) | 1 |
| 9 April 1938 | Scotland Scotland national football team The Scotland national football team represents Scotland in international football and is controlled by the Scottish Football Association. Scotland are the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside England, whom they played in the world's first international football match in 1872... |
Wembley | 0–1 | (L) | 0 |
| 14 May 1938 | Germany Germany national football team The Germany national football team is the football team that has represented Germany in international competition since 1908. It is governed by the German Football Association , which was founded in 1900.... |
Olympia Olympic Stadium (Berlin) The Olympiastadion is a sports stadium in Berlin, Germany. There have been two stadiums on the site: the present facility, and one that is called the Deutsches Stadion which was built for the aborted 1916 Summer Olympics. Both were designed by members of the same family, the first by Otto March... |
3–6 | (W) | 0 |
| 21 May 1938 | Switzerland Switzerland national football team The Swiss national football team is the national football team of Switzerland... |
Hardturm | 2–1 | (L) | 0 |
| 26 May 1938 | France France national football team The France national football team represents the nation of France in international football. It is fielded by the French Football Federation , the governing body of football in France, and competes as a member of UEFA, which encompasses the countries of Europe... |
Yves du Manoir Stade Olympique Yves-du-Manoir The Stade Olympique Yves-du-Manoir - stadium in Colombes, near Paris, France . Named in memory of French rugby player Yves du Manoir in 1928. Was the main stadium for the 1924 Summer Olympics and had a capacity of 45,000 at the time... |
2–4 | (W) | 0 |
| 22 October 1938 | Wales Wales national football team The Wales national football team represents Wales in international football. It is controlled by the Football Association of Wales , the governing body for football in Wales, and the third oldest national football association in the world. The team have only qualified for a major international... |
Ninian Park Ninian Park Ninian Park was a football stadium in Leckwith, Cardiff, Wales. Until 2009, it was the home ground of Cardiff City F.C., who compete in the English Football League Championship... |
4–2 | (L) | 0 |
| 26 October 1938 | Rest Of Europe | Highbury | 3–0 | (W) | 0 |
| 9 November 1938 | Norway Norway national football team The Norway national football team represents Norway in association football and is controlled by the Football Association of Norway, the governing body for football in Norway. Norway's home ground is Ullevaal Stadion in Oslo and their head coach is Egil Olsen... |
St James' Park St James' Park St James' Park, known for sponsorship reasons as the Sports Direct Arena, is an all-seater stadium in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It is the home of Newcastle United Football Club and is the sixth largest football stadium in the United Kingdom with a capacity of between 52,387 and 52,409.St James'... |
4–0 | (W) | 0 |
| 16 November 1938 | Ireland Republic of Ireland national football team The Republic of Ireland national football team represents Ireland in association football. It is run by the Football Association of Ireland and currently plays home fixtures at Aviva Stadium in Dublin, which opened in May 2010.... |
Old Trafford | 7–0 | (W) | 0 |
| 15 April 1939 | Scotland Scotland national football team The Scotland national football team represents Scotland in international football and is controlled by the Scottish Football Association. Scotland are the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside England, whom they played in the world's first international football match in 1872... |
Hampden Park Hampden Park Hampden Park is a football stadium in the Mount Florida area of Glasgow, Scotland. The 52,063 capacity venue serves as the national stadium of football in Scotland... |
1–2 | (W) | 0 |
| 13 May 1939 | Italy Italy national football team The Italy National Football Team , represents Italy in association football and is controlled by the Italian Football Federation , the governing body for football in Italy. Italy is the second most successful national team in the history of the World Cup having won four titles , just one fewer than... |
San Siro | 2–2 | (D) | 0 |
| 18 May 1939 | Yugoslavia Yugoslavia national football team The Yugoslavia national football team represented the Kingdom of Yugoslavia and the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in association football. It enjoyed a modicum of success in international competition. In 1992, during the Yugoslav wars, the team was suspended from international... |
BSK | 2–1 | (L) | 0 |
Honours
Huddersfield TownHuddersfield Town F.C.
Huddersfield Town Football Club is an English football club formed in 1908 and based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire. They currently play in League One...
- FA CupFA CupThe Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
finalist - 19381938 FA Cup FinalThe 1938 FA Cup Final was contested by Preston North End and Huddersfield Town at Wembley Stadium. Preston, losing finalists the previous year, won by a single goal. After 29 minutes of extra time it was still 0–0 and BBC commentator Thomas Woodrooffe said "if there's a goal scored now, I'll...