Vivian Woodward

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Template:Short description Template:Distinguish Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox football biography

Vivian John Woodward (3 June 1879 – 31 January 1954) was an English footballer who 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 Hotspur and Chelsea.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Internationally, Woodward captained Great Britain to gold medals at the 1908 Olympics in London and in Stockholm in 1912, and made a combined 59 international appearances for a combination of England, England Amateurs, and Great Britain. His combined record for England of 75 goals in 53 matches (1.42 goals a game) is still the highest international record of any player to have scored more than 50 goals for their country, whilst his record of 75 goals was the highest combined total of international goals scored by any English footballer until Harry Kane scored his 75th and 76th goals for England in October 2025. Woodward took part in ten British Home Championships, lifting the trophy eight times. In the 1903-04 Home Championship, Woodward was the top scorer with 4 goals, whilst in the 1908-09 tournament he was the joint top goalscorer with 3 goals. Woodward is the 5th highest all-time record goalscorer of the Home Championship with 14 goals in total.

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 Chelsea's Board between 1922 and 1930 as a director of the club.

Club career

An architect by profession, Woodward began his career at Clacton Town. Following spells at Harwich & Parkeston and Chelmsford, he joined Tottenham Hotspur in March 1901,<ref name="FATFWW">Template:Cite news</ref> who in the same year would win the FA Cup.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Woodward's debut for Tottenham occurred in the Southern League on 6 April 1901 in a home match against Bristol City which Spurs won 1–0.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn Due to work and cricket commitments, he did not begin to appear regularly for the team until the 1902–03 season.<ref name="spartacus-educational">Template:Cite news</ref> In nine seasons at White Hart Lane, he made 169 appearances and scored 73 goals.<ref name="11v11">Template:Cite web</ref> Tottenham was elected to the Second Division of the Football League for the 1908–09 season, and Woodward scored Spurs' first-ever goal in the Football League in September 1908 against Wolverhampton Wanderers that finished 3–0.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He helped the team win promotion to the First Division that season.<ref name="welch">Template:Cite book</ref>

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.<ref name="spartacus-educational" /><ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He was their leading scorer in the 1912–13 season with ten goals.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

At the start of the First World War Woodward enlisted in the British Army and as a result did not play many matches during the 1914–15 season. He was given special leave to join Chelsea at Old Trafford for the FA Cup Final as Bob Thomson was injured, however Thomson recovered and Woodward refused to play, believing it was immoral to deny Thomson his chance to play in an FA Cup final as Woodward himself had not played in any of Chelsea's matches in their run to the final.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

In January 1916, Woodward was injured in the right thigh by a German Grenade whilst fighting for Britain in the Great War. Following this injury he was unable to return to top-tier football, returning to his first club, Clacton Town before retiring.<ref name="spartacus-educational" /><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

International career

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 Finney 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.<ref name=Amateurs>Template:Cite web</ref> 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 Netherlands in 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 Football Association.<ref name=Amateurs/><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> However, the remaining 30 appearances for England amateurs and 46 goals (including 6 matches and 5 goals for Great Britain at the Olympics) were made in matches recognised as full internationals only by the opposition's Football Associations, though not by the FA, UEFA or FIFA,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> which means that Woodward scored a total of 75 goals in 53 matches that were considered official internationals by the opposing sides,<ref name=rsssf>Template:Cite web</ref> which could make him the first footballer to score 50 international goals, ahead of Imre Schlosser, who achieved it on 3 June 1917.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Woodward scored a combined total of 10 international hat-tricks for the England teams,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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 1907–08 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,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and four 4-goal hauls, two for each of the England teams.

Woodward also represented the Football League XI and the Southern League XI.<ref name="FATFWW" /> He also toured the United States with The Pilgrims in 1905.<ref name="FATFWW" />

His combined 75 goals for England at amatuer and senior level remained a record for any of the British sides until 14 October 2025, when Harry Kane equalled and then surpassed it against in a FIFA World Cup qualifier against Latvia.

Olympic career

Woodward captained Great Britain to gold medals at the 1908 Olympics in London and then in Stockholm in 1912, scoring three goals in 1908, including one in the final, and other two in 1912.<ref name="FATFWW" /><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Military career

He joined the 17th Battalion of the Middlesex Regiment.<ref name="FATFWW" /> This was one of the Pals battalions formed during the early stages of World War I.<ref name="FootballersBattalions">Template:Cite news</ref> It was known as a "Footballers Battalion" and it included many members of Woodward's former team Tottenham Hotspur.<ref name="FootballersBattalions" /> He served on the Western Front and was wounded in 1916.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He attained the rank of Captain.<ref name="FATFWW" />

Career statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season, and competition. Only official games are included in this table.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="ReferenceA"/>
Club Season League FA Cup Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Clacton Town 1895–96 Division 2 1 2 0 0 0 0 1 2
1896–97 7 13 0 0 0 0 7 13
1897–98 1 2 0 0 1Template:Efn 0 2 2
1898–99 8 18 0 0 1Template:Efn 0 9 18
1899–1900 4 4 0 0 1Template:Efn 0 5 4
1900–01 Division 1 4 7 0 0 1Template:Efn 0 5 7
Total 25 46 0 0 4 0 29 46
Harwich 1900–01 Division 1 0 0 0 0 1Template:Efn 3 1 3
Tottenham Hotspur 1900–01 Southern League First Division 1 0 0 0 1Template:Efn 1 2 1
1901–02 2 0 0 0 1Template:Efn 2 3 2
1902–03 12 4 4 3 3Template:Efn 0 19 7
1903–04 17 10 4 1 6Template:Efn 2 27 13
1904–05 20 7 4 0 3Template:Efn 5 27 12
1905–06 12 5 3 1 1Template:Efn 2 16 8
1906–07 20 7 3 0 0 0 23 7
1907–08 20 10 1 0 1Template:Efn 0 22 10
1908–09 Second Division 27 18 4 0 — 31 18
Total 131 61 23 5 16 12 170 78
Chelsea 1909–10 First Division 13 5 2 0 — 15 5
1910–11 Second Division 19 6 3 3 — 22 9
1911–12 14 2 0 0 — 14 2
1912–13 First Division 27 10 3 1 — 30 11
1913–14 27 4 2 0 — 29 4
1914–15 6 3 0 0 — 6 3
Total 106 30 10 4 — 116 34
Career total 262 137 33 9 21 15 316 161

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International goals

Sources:<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

England national team
Year Apps Goals
1903 3 4
1904 2 0
1905 3 2
1906 0 0
1907 1 0
1908 7 10
1909 5 11
1910 1 0
1911 1 2
Total 23 29
Scores and results of England is listed first and score column indicates the score after each Woodward goal.
List of international goals scored by Vivian Woodward
No. Cap Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition Template:Abbr
1 1 14 February 1903 Molineux Stadium, Wolverhampton, England Template:Fb Template:Center 4–0 1902–03 British Home Championship Template:Center
2 Template:Center
3 2 2 March 1903 Fratton Park, Portsmouth, England Template:Fb Template:Center 2–1 Template:Center
4 3 4 April 1903 Bramall Lane, Sheffield, England Template:Fb Template:Center 1–2 Template:Center
5 7 27 March 1905 Anfield, Liverpool, England Template:Fb Template:Center 3–1 1904–05 British Home Championship Template:Center
6 Template:Center
7 10 15 February 1908 Solitude, Belfast, Northern Ireland Template:Fb Template:Center 3–1 1907–08 British Home Championship Template:Center
8 11 16 March 1908 Racecourse Ground, Wrexham, Wales Template:Fb Template:Center 7–1 Template:Center
9 Template:Center
10 Template:Center
11 13 6 June 1908 Cricketer Platz, Vienna, Austria Template:Fb Template:Center 6–1 Friendly Template:Center
12 14 8 June 1908 Hohe Warte Stadium, Vienna, Austria Template:Center 11–1 Template:Center
13 Template:Center
14 Template:Center
15 Template:Center
16 15 10 June 1908 Millenáris Sporttelep, Budapest, Hungary Template:Fb Template:Center 7–0 Template:Center
17 17 13 February 1909 Park Avenue, Bradford, England Template:Fb Template:Center 4–0 1908–09 British Home Championship Template:Center
18 Template:Center
19 19 29 May 1909Template:Efn Millenáris Sporttelep, Budapest, Hungary Template:Fb Template:Center 4–2 Friendly Template:Center
20 Template:Center
21 20 31 May 1909 Template:Center 8–2 Template:Center
22 Template:Center
23 Template:Center
24 Template:Center
25 21 1 June 1909 Hohe Warte Stadium, Vienna, Austria Template:Fb Template:Center 7–1 Template:Center
26 Template:Center
27 Template:Center
28 23 13 March 1911 The Den, London, England Template:Fb Template:Center 3–0 1910–11 British Home Championship Template:Center
29 Template:Center

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England amateurs

Scores and results of England amateur is listed first and the score column indicates the score after each Woodward goal.
List of international goals scored by Vivian Woodward<ref name=Amateurs/><ref name=rsssf/>
No. Cap Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition Template:Abbr
1 1 1 November 1906 Parc des Princes, Paris, France Template:Fb Template:Center 15–0 Friendly Template:CenterTemplate:Center
2 Template:Center
3 Template:Center
4 Template:Center
5 2 1 April 1907 De Diepput, Den Haag, The Hague, Netherlands Template:Fb Template:Center 8–1 Template:Center
6 3 21 December 1907 Feethams, Darlington, England Template:Fb Template:Center 12–2 Template:Center
7 Template:Center
8 Template:Center
9 4 23 March 1908 Park Royal Stadium, London, England Template:Fb Template:Center 12–0 Template:CenterTemplate:Center
10 Template:Center
11 Template:Center
12 5 18 April 1908 Sukkelweg, Bruxelles, Belgium Template:Fb Template:Center 8–2 Template:Center
13 Template:Center
14 Template:Center
15 6 20 April 1908 Viktoria field, Berlin-Mariendorf, Germany Template:Fb Template:Center 5–1 Template:CenterTemplate:Center
16 Template:Center
17 7 20 October 1908 White City, London, England Template:Fb Template:Center 12–1 1908 Summer Olympics First round Template:Center
18 Template:Center
19 9 24 October 1908 Template:Fb Template:Center 2–0 1908 Summer Olympics Final Template:Center
20 10 17 April 1909 White Hart Lane, London, England Template:Fb Template:Center 11–2 Friendly Template:Center
21 Template:Center
22 11 20 May 1909 Landhof, Basel, Switzerland Template:Fb Template:Center 9–0 Template:Center
23 Template:Center
24 Template:Center
25 Template:Center
26 12 22 May 1909 Stade de la F.G.S.P.F., Paris, France Template:Fb Template:Center 11–0 Template:Center
27 13 6 November 1909 Anlaby Road, Hull, England Template:Fb Template:Center 7–0 Template:Center
28 14 11 December 1909 Stamford Bridge, Fullham, England Template:Fb Template:Center 9–1 Template:CenterTemplate:CenterTemplate:Center
29 Template:Center
30 Template:Center
31 Template:Center
32 Template:Center
33 Template:Center
34 15 4 March 1911 Crystal Palace Park, London, England Template:Fb Template:Center 4–0 Template:Center
35 17 25 May 1911 Spitalacker, Bern, Switzerland Template:Fb Template:Center 4–1 Template:Center
36 19 16 March 1912 Anlaby Road, Hull, England Template:Fb Template:Center 4–0 Template:CenterTemplate:Center
37 21 30 June 1912Template:Efn Stockholms Olympiastadion, Stockholm, Sweden Template:Fb Template:Center 7–0 1912 Summer Olympics Quarter-finals Template:Center
38 22 2 July 1912 Template:Fb Template:Center 4–0 1912 Summer Olympics Semi-finals Template:Center
39 24 9 November 1912 County Ground, Swindon, England Template:Fb Template:Center 4–0 Friendly Template:Center
40 Template:Center
41 25 21 March 1913 Viktoria field, Berlin-Mariendorf, Germany Template:Fb Template:Center 3–0 Template:Center Template:Center
42 26 24 March 1913 HBS Craeyenhout, The Hague, Netherlands Template:Fb Template:Center 1–2 Template:Center
43 27 15 November 1913 Anlaby Road, Hull, England Template:Center 2–1 Template:Center
44 28 24 February 1914 Stade du Vivier d'Oie, Bruxelles, Belgium Template:Fb Template:Center 2–0 Template:Center
45 30 10 June 1914 Råsunda IP, Solna, Sweden Template:Fb Template:Center 5–1 Template:Center

Template:Reflist

England amateurs (non-official)

Scores and results of England amateur is listed first and the score column indicates the score after each Woodward goal.<ref name=Amateurs/>
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition Template:Abbr
1 15 December 1906 Dalymount Park, Dublin, Ireland Template:Fb Template:Center 1–2 Friendly Template:Center
2 7 December 1907 White Hart Lane, London, England Template:Center 12–2 Template:Center
3 22 February 1908 Edgeley Park, Stockport, England Template:Fb Template:Center 1–0 Template:Center
4 6 November 1909 Elland Road, Leeds, England Template:Fb Template:Center 4–4 Template:Center
5 19 February 1910 Leeds Road, Huddersfield, England Template:Fb Template:Center 6–0 Template:Center
6 18 February 1911 Recreation Ground, Newtown Template:Center 5–1 Template:Center
7 Template:Center
8 18 November 1911 Leeds Road, Huddersfield, England Template:Fb Template:Center 2–0 Template:Center
9 7 February 1914 Home Park, Plymouth, England Template:Fb Template:Center 9–1 Template:Center
10 Template:Center
11 12 June 1914 Råsunda IP, Solna, Sweden Template:Fb Template:Center 5–0 Template:Center
12 Template:Center

See also

References

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Bibliography

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