Wilfred Threlfall (15 October 1906 – 13 February 1988) was an English professional footballer who played in the Football League for Birmingham and Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic.[3]

Wilf Threlfall
Personal information
Full name Wilfred Threlfall
Date of birth (1906-10-18)18 October 1906
Place of birth Morecambe, Lancashire, England
Date of death 13 February 1988(1988-02-13) (aged 81)
Place of death Morecambe, Lancashire, England[1]
Height 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)[2]
Position(s) Outside left
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
Morecambe
1926–1927 Sunderland 0 (0)
1927–1928 Birmingham 5 (0)
1928–1929 Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic 3 (0)
1929–19?? Morecambe
Lancaster Town
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Threlfall was born in Morecambe, Lancashire, the son of fishmonger Richard Threlfall and Alice Johnson Threlfall.[4] The Threfall family originated from Lancashire and took their surname from a former manor known as Trelefelt or Threlfield.[5][6] Wilf Threlfall had an uncle of the same name from Morecambe who joined the Rochdale Hornets F.C. as a full back in 1906.[7]

He played for Morecambe F.C. before joining Sunderland, but moved on to fellow First Division club Birmingham in July 1927 without having played for Sunderland's first team,[8] even though he had been highly impressive in training. The Derby Daily Telegraph reported in 1926:

It will be rather surprising if Sunderland overlook the claims of Billy Ellis and George Death for their outside left position, but the prospects are that a newcomer in Wilfred Threlfall will have done duty this afternoon. Wilf is a youngster who did extremely well with the Morecambe club last season, and was signed up by the Roker Park club as a soon as the old campaign ended. His form in trial matches has been startling.[9]

Threlfall made his debut in a 1–0 defeat at Tottenham Hotspur on the opening day of the 1927–28 season, and he and Arthur Johnson shared the outside left position for the next couple of months.[10] In November 1927, Birmingham signed Billy Ellis, the same winger who had kept Threlfall out of the Sunderland team,[8] and both Threlfall and Johnson moved on at the end of the season without playing again.[10] After only three appearances for Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic in the Third Division South, Threlfall returned home to non-league football with Morecambe and later with Lancaster Town.[3]

He married Margaret H. Cooper in January 1931.[11][12]

References edit

  1. ^ England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858-1966, 1973-1995
  2. ^ "Birmingham". Athletic News. Manchester. 23 August 1926. p. 10.
  3. ^ a b Joyce, Michael (2004). Football League Players' Records 1888 to 1939. Nottingham: SoccerData. p. 260. ISBN 978-1-899468-67-6.
  4. ^ 1911 England Census
  5. ^ Barber, Henry (1903). British Family Names: Their Origin and Meaning, with Lists of Scandinavian, Frisian, Anglo-Saxon, and Norman Names. 257: Gale Research Company. Retrieved 5 August 2017.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link)
  6. ^ Baines, Edward (1836). History of the County Palatine and Duchy of Lancaster: I. Fisher. p. 109. Retrieved 5 August 2017.
  7. ^ "New Players for Rochdale Hornets". Manchester Courier and Lancashire General Advertiser. 30 August 1906. p. 3. Retrieved 5 August 2017.
  8. ^ a b Matthews, Tony (1995). Birmingham City: A Complete Record. Derby: Breedon Books. p. 129. ISBN 978-1-85983-010-9.
  9. ^ "Sunderland's New Winger". Derby Daily Telegraph. 28 August 1926. p. 3. Retrieved 5 August 2017.
  10. ^ a b Matthews, pp. 101, 170.
  11. ^ "Mainly About Players". Lancashire Evening Post. 10 January 1931. p. 7. Retrieved 5 August 2017.
  12. ^ England & Wales, Civil Registration Marriage Index, 1916-2005