FOOTBALL was first held at the 1900 Paris Olympics and has been held at every Games since, with the exception of Los Angeles in 1932. Whilst the IOC recognise the first Games in Paris, the sport's world governing body FIFA does not. The first Games officially recognised by FIFA was at London in 1908.

Great Britain won the first tournament in 1900; in fact, they won three of the first four tournaments. They could have made it four wins out of four but did not send a team to the St Louis Games in 1904.

Women took part for the first time 1996 and the British women competed for the first time in 2012, reaching the quarter-finals. The British men compete in 2012 for the first time since 1960.

Arthur Berry (below) and Vivian Woodward (below) have both won two football gold medals for Britain.

Great Britain Results:

1900	Opponents	Result	Scorers
Final	v France	won 4-0	Nicholas (2). Turner, Zealley
1908
Quarter-final	v Sweden	won 12-1	Purnell (4), Hawkes (2), Stapley (2), Woodward (2), Berry, Chapman
Semi-final	v Netherlands	won 4-0	Stapley (4)
Final	v Denmark	won 2-0	Chapman, Woodward
1912
1st Round	Bye
2nd Round	v Hungary	won 7-0	Walden (6), Woodward
Semi-final	v Finland	won 4-0	Walden (2), Woodward, Holopainen (og)
Final	v Denmark	won 4-2	Hoare (2), Berry, Walden

For further information about the 1900 Upton Park gold medal winning team see the entry for Upton Park FC in the British Sports Club and Teams who have won Olympic Gold Medals section

For a rare match report on the 1900 from the West Ham Guardian click here

Action during the 1900 'final' - picture courtesy of Peter Hamersley

British gold medallists

THE 1900 SQUAD

Whilst information about the Upton Park team at the turn of the century is very patchy every effort has been made to make sure the information is as accurate as possible. If anybody can add or correct any information about the Upton Park team then please contact us at: igmsantaponsa@atlas.com.es

BUCKENHAM, Claude Percival
Born: 16 January 1876, Herne Hill, England
Died: 23 February 1937, Dundee, Angus, Scotland
Olympics competed in: 1 (1900)
Olympic medals: 1900 Gold - Football

Buckenham was right-back in the 1900 Olympic gold medal winning football team.

Percy Buckenham was a fine all-round sportsman and in addition to playing football for Essex and Upton Park FC, he played first class cricket for Essex and for England on four occasions on the tour of South Africa in 1909-10. He scored 5,641 first class runs and took 1,150 wickets. He took 21 wickets in his four Tests.

After serving with the Royal Garrison Artillery in World War One Buckenham became a cricket coach at Repton School.

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BURRIDGE, Tom Eustace
Born: 30 April 1881, Pimlico, London, England
Died: 16 September 1965, Chatham, Kent, England
Olympics competed in: 1 (1900)
Olympic medals: 1900 Gold - Football

Tom Burridge was centre half in the 1900 gold medal winning football team.

A veterinary student, Burridge went on to serve in the Royal Army Vetinerary Corps during World War One, and beyond. He rose to the rank of Brevet Lieutenant Colonel and was decorated with the Victory Medal, British Medal and the 1914 Star.

Tom had twin sons, born in 1922. Tom junior served in the Royal Artillery but lost his life in 1946 serving in the Middle East, aged just 23. His other son John became the Vicar at Swaffham in Norfolk and Tom lived with him at the Vicarage up to the time of his death, at Chatham Hospital, in 1965.

Perhaps the strangest thing about Tom Burridge senior is that he was Christened "Tom" and not Thomas which was the normal in the 19th century.

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CHALK, Alfred Ernest
Born: 27 November 1874, Plaistow, Newham, Essex, England
Died: 25 June 1954, Bridge, Kent, England
Olympics competed in: 1 (1900)
Olympic medals: 1900 Gold - Football

Alf Chalk was right-half in the 1900 Olympic gold medal winning football team. He joined Upton Park in 1894, four years after his brother Fred had joined the amateurs. Alf went on to become the club captain. He also played for other well known clubs in the London area like Ilford and Barking Rovers. He also represented Essex County.

Chalk was one of 18 children, 16 of who survived infancy which was quite remarkable at the turn of the 19th century. His father was a Railway Station Master, and like several of his brothers, Alf followed his father and became a railway clerk.

Chalk married Ethel Bishop in 1937 when he was 62 but she died in 1946. Alf died in 1954 and left over £5,000 (around £120,000 in 2013 money), a tidy sum in those days, to his two sisters Lily and Nellie

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GOSLING, William Sullivan
Born: 19 July 1869, Hassobury, Farnham, Essex, England
Died: 2 October 1952, Stansted Mountfitchet, Essex, England
Olympics competed in: 1 (1900)
Olympic medals: 1900 Gold - Football

One of nine children born into a wealthy family, William Gosling was a sturdy full-back with Chelmsford Town at the time of his slection for Upton Park to go to Paris in 1900, and despite injury he was part of the gold medal winning team.

He was one of three sporting brothers who were all Old Etonians, out of a family of nine children. Older brother Cunliffe Gosling had the most impressive sporting career, playing first class cricket for Cambridge University and Essex, and international football for the senior England team five times, scoring two goals and skippering the side on at least one occasion.  

Gosling served as a Major with the Scots Guards during the Great War and was apponted High Sheriff of Essex in 1927, a post which his brother Cunliffe and previously held 25 years earlier.

When he died at the family home at Bentfield Place in 1952 Gosling left the sum of around £380,000 which would have been worth nearly £10 million in 2014.

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HASLAM, N H
Born: Not known
Died: Not known
Olympics competed in: 1 (1900)
Olympic medals: 1900 Gold - Football

Very little is known about Haslam other than he was outside-left and was believed to be the captain of the 1900 Olympic gold medal winning football team. A regular gaoscorer, he toured with the Upton Park team in 1900 and 1901, hence his appearance in the Olympic final.

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JONES, James Harry
Born: December 1873, Camberwell, London
Died: 27 December 1955, Hove Sussex, England
Olympics competed in: 1 (1900)
Olympic medals: 1900 Gold - Football

James Jones was the goalkeeper in the 1900 Olympic gold medal winning football team. He was also the Secretary of the Upton Park team, which he served for 16 years from 1895-1911.

As he was the man responsible for many of the pioneering overseas tours the club ventured on at the end of the 19th century and early part of the 20th century, he was probably responsible for getting Upton Park an invitation for the international tournament in Paris.

A stationer by trade, Jones worked in the family business, Samuel Jones & Co. Ltd of Camberwell, who were pioneers of sticky backed paper products in the United Kingdom at the end of the 19th century, and in 1924 they secured a 10 year contract to provide gum for British postage stamps.

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NICHOLAS, J
Born: Not known
Died: Not known
Olympics competed in: 1 (1900)
Olympic medals: 1900 Gold - Football

Nicholas was centre-forward in the 1900 Olympic gold medal winning football team and being a prolific goalscorer he claimed two of the four goals in the 4-0 win over the French. This was Nicholas' only tour with the Upton Park team.

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QUASH, William Francis Patterson
Born: 27 December 1868, Barking, Essex, London, England
Died: 17 May 1938, Barking, Essex, London, England
Olympics competed in: 1 (1900)
Olympic medals: 1900 Gold - Football

Bill Quash was left-half in the 1900 Olympic gold medal winning football team. A member of Barking Woodville FC, he joined Upton Park for the 1900 tour. In addition he was a fine cricketer and played for Barking Cricket Club - probably being one of their founder members in 1901.

Quash spent most of his life living in the Barking area and was a shipbroker's clerk at the time of the Paris Olympics but in 1912 he joined the Post Office as a contracts clerk.

When he died in 1938 Bill Quash was a widower as his wife Alice died 10 years earlier; he was survived by his two daughters Kathleen and Joan.

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An inside forward, Fred Spackman was a regular tourist with Upton Park at the turn of the 20th century, appearing in six tours between 1897-1908, and representing them at the Paris Olympics where it is reported that he had an outstanding game in the win over France.

Spackman and his brother Harry played for Wandsworth FC before joining Fulham in November 1899 after a year at Queens Park Rangers. The Spackmans were two of several pairs of brothers who played for Fulham at the time. Originally a centre-forward, Harry played at full-back for Fulham, but it was inside-forward Fred who made the most appearances for the Cottagers, 53 in total.

Being an amateur throughout his career, Fred was free to tour with the Upton Park team at the start of each season. The only season in which he was a regular at Fulham was in 1902-03 when he won a Southern League second division winners medal.

Spackman was an all-round sportsman, and was an excellent cricketer, swimmer, runner and tennis player. One of 13 children, Fred, along with two of his brothers, two of his brothers, including Harry, were in the printing trade and all three worked for The Times. Fred served the newspaper for nearly 50 years as a proof reader and was working for them at the time of his death in 1942.

Additional information on Spackman was provided by Fulham historians Alex White and Dennis Turner, Upton Park FC historian Peter Hamersley, and Editor LBNo11 from the Friends of Fulham web site: www.friendsoffulham.com

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Turner, often referred to as Arthur, was outside-right for the Crouch End Vampires FC and teamed up with Upton Park on the 1900 tour and he scored one of the goals in the 4-0 win over France in the Olympic 'final'.

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ZEALLEY, Walter John "Jack"
Born: November/December 1874, Bothenhampton, Bridport, Dorset, England
Died: 15 May 1956, Weymouth, Dorset, England
Olympics competed in: 1 (1900)
Olympic medals: 1900 Gold - Football

Many records show that the inside-left of the Upton Park team that won the gold medal in 1900 was James Zealley when in fact it was Walter John Zealley, better known as Jack. Click here for confirmation

Zealley worked on the family farm in Dorset and played football for Bridport FC, scoring 73 goals in 226 appearances between 1892 and 1910. He also made 44 appearances for Dorset County.

When the Upton Park team made their annual trip to the West Country, the Channel islands and France, Zealley would play for Bridport against them, and then join the Londoners for the remainder of the tour. Zealley went on at last six tours with Upton Park between 1899-1908. And it was on the 1900 tour that that he played for them in the Olympic match in Paris, scoring one of the goals in the 4-0 win.

Like his father before him, Jack served as a Sergeant in the Dorset Yeomanry. He was one of two sons, his brother Arthur played Minor Countes cricket for Dorset between 1902-07 and in 1905 and 1906 he played at Lord's against the MCC on two occasions, taking six MCC wickets for 70 runs in their first innings in 1906.

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THE 1908 SQUAD    

BAILEY, Horace Peter
Born: 3 July 1881, Derby, England
Died: 1 August 1960, Biggleswade, Bedfordshire, England
Olympics competed in: 1 (1908)
Olympic medals: 1908 Gold - Football

A railway worker from Derby, Bailey was a goalkeeper who first played for his home town club before joining Leicester Imperial and then he moved to Leicester Fosse (now Leicester City). He made his full international debut for England, as an amateur, against Wales March 1908, and he won four more senior caps before the start of he 1908 Olympic tournament.

Bailey joined Leicester Fosse in January 1907 and within two years he had helped then gain promotion from the second to the first division. He was also Leicester City's first international.

Bailey returned to Derby County in 1909-10 for one season and then had brief spells at Blackburn Rovers and Stoke City before moving to Birmingham where he ended his playing days.

He played in all three games at the 1908 London Olympics, conceding just one goal – an own goal from Fred Chapman.

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BERRY, Arthur
Born: 3 January 1888, Liverpool, Lancashire, England
Died: 15 March 1953, Liverpool, Lancashire, England
Olympics competed in: 2 (1908, 1912)
Olympic medals:
1908 Gold - Football
1912 Gold - Football

Arthur Berry had showed promise as a cricketer when captain of the famous Denstone College XI. He also played rugby, was a great tennis player and a prominent athlete. But when he went to Oxford it was at football that he won two Blues, scoring one goal in the 4-1 win over Cambridge in 1907. A team-mate that day was Kenneth Hunt, who played alongside Berry in the 1908 Olympic gold medal winning team.

Berry's father Edwin was the chairman of Liverpool Football Club from 1904-09 and was instrumental in getting him to join the Merseyside club and he made his debut for them in 1908 while still at Oxford University.

That same year Berry was picked for the Great Britain team to play at the Olympics. He was the youngest member of the British team at 20. A right-winger, Berry played in all three games in 1908 and was then selected for his second Olympics in 1912 and after missing the semi-final he was recalled and scored the fourth goal, just before half time, in the 4-2 win over Denmark in the final. Berry, along with Vivian Woodward played in both the 1908 and 1912 finals.

Berry was on the books of Liverpool at the time of both his Olympic gold medals and was the first Liverpool player to win two golds until Javier Maschareno of Argentine who won gold in 2004 and 2008.

Despite scoring nine goals in 24 appearances for the England amateur side, including two as capain, Berry won just one senior cap, against Ireland in the Home International Championship in February 1909.

After Liverpool, Berry played for Fulham, Everton, Wrexham, Northern Nomads and Oxford City before returning to Liverpool. He won an FA Amateur Cup runners-up medal with Oxford City in 1913.

Berry was only 26 when he finished playing football in 1914 and served as Adjutant of the Lancashire Fusiliers during World War One. After the War he joined the family law firm, which his father headed.

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CHAPMAN, Frederick William
Born: 10 May 1883, Nottingham, England
Died: 7 September 1951, Newstead Abbey, Nottinghamshire, England
Olympics competed in: 1 (1908)
Olympic medals: 1908 Gold - Football

At the time of the 1908 Olympics, Fred Chapman played for South Nottingham and during his career he also had spells at Nottingham Forest, Port Vale, Oxford City and Brentford, as well as several non-League clubs.

A centre-half, Chapman opened the scoring after 20 minutes in the 1908 Olympic final against Denmark.

During World War One he served, first as a Gunner, then later as a Major with the Notts Battery serving in Mesopotamia. Chapman won 16 England amateur international caps but never played in a full international. He captained the amateur side in one match, a 10-1 win over France at Brighton in 1910. He ended his playing career after the War and joined the family drapery business, Lord & Chapman, in Nottingham.

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CORBETT, Walter Samuel “Watty”
Born: 26 November 1880, Wellington, Shropshire, England
Died: 23 November 1960, Handsworth, Birmingham, England
Olympics competed in: 1 (1908)
Olympic medals: 1908 Gold - Football

Walter Corbett played just three full internationals and all were on England's first European tour, against Austria, Hungary and Bohemia in 1908, and all were within seven days. Known as Watty, Corbett started his Football League career at Aston Villa in 1904. He played in 13 League games in three seasons before moving to rivals Birmingham FC (now Birmingham City). He spent four seasons at Birmingham, playing 46 matches. He also played one game for Queens Park Rangers, and also played for non-League Wellington Town.

In addition to his three full caps he won 18 England amateur caps. He was a full-back and played in all three of Great Britain's matches at the 1908 Olympics. A very reserved person, he always carried a handkerchief with him when he played football.

He never turned professional and worked for the Birmingham City Tram Department for over 30 years. Well educated, Corbett spoke seven languages. He died at his son's house in Handsworth, Birmingham in 1960 just days before his 80th birthday.

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HARDMAN, Harold Payne
Born: 4 April 1882, Kirkmanshulme, Manchester, England
Died: 9 June 1965, Sale, Cheshire, England
Olympics competed in: 1 (1908)
Olympic medals: 1908 Gold - Football

A solicitor, Harold Hardman played football for fun. He was the left winger in the team that won the 1908 Olympic Gold medal and he played in all three matches at the London Games.

Because of his dedication to his legal profession he spent all of his footballing career with clubs close to his Manchester base where, like his father before him, he practiced as a solicitor.

An amateur throughout his career, Harold Hardman started his Football League career with Blackpool as an 18-yaer-old and made his debut in September 1900 against Gainsborough Trinity in the first ever match played at the Bloomfield Road ground. He joined Everton in 1903 and scored 29 goals in 156 games with the Toffees and was a member of their 1906 FA Cup winning team. He also won a runners-up medal the year after. In the 1906 semi-final against Liverpool, Hardman secured victory with Everton's second goal. He is one of only a few amateurs to have won an FA Cup winner's medal since the days of professionalism.

Just before the 1908 Olympics, Hardman joined his hometown team of Manchester United. He only played four games for United in his five months at the club but his debut was in a 2-1 win away to local rivals Manchester City. He also played against his former club Everton in one if his four United appearances. He moved to Bradford City and then Stoke City before ending his career in 1913 after 279 League games and 47 goals.

An England international, Hardman won ten amateur caps and four full England caps, all with Everton.

Two years before he ended his playing career, Hardman became a director of Manchester united and was on the board for nearly 53 years in two spells up to the time of his death in 1965. Hardman also served on the FA Council, and in September 1951 he was appointed Chairman of United and he held that post at the time of United's darkest hour – the Munich Air Disaster in 1958.

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HAWKES, Robert Murray
Born: 18 October 1890, Breachwood Green, King's Walden, Hertfordshire, England
Died: 12 September 1945, Luton, Bedfordshire, England
Olympics competed in: 1 (1908)
Olympic medals: 1908 Gold - Football

A left-half, Bob Hawkes joined his local team Luton Town as an amateur in 1900 while working at a straw hat manufacturers. He remained with the Hatters until his retirement at the age of 39 in 1920 after 382 games and 43 goals.

Throughout his time at Luton they were a non-League team - they rejoined the League in the year of Bob's retirement. Despite many offers from other clubs to join the League Bob, who turned professional in 1911, rejected all such offers.

By the time the 1908 Olympics came around Hawkes was captain of Luton and the previous year, whilst still an amateur, he made the first of his five full international appearance for England against Ireland at Goodison Park. He was Luton Town's first international and, along with Paul Walsh he remains Luton's most capped player as at the end of the 2012-13 season with five caps. He also won 22 amateur international caps, and captained the side four times.

Bob Hawkes played in all three of Great Britain's matches at the 1908 London Olympics, scoring two goals in the 12-1 win over Sweden.

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HUNT, Kenneth Reginald Gunnery
Born: 24 February 1884, Oxford, England
Died: 28 April 1949, Heathfield, East Sussex, England
Olympics competed in: 2 (1908, 1920)
Olympic medals: 1908 Gold - Football

Educated at Wolverhampton Grammar School and Trent College, Long Eaton, Hunt went to Oxford in 1904 and between 1904-07 won a rare four Blues at football. He was on the winning side three times and scored a goal on his debut.

Having played for non-League teams whilst an undergraduate he was signed by Wolverhampton Wanderers in 1907 and the following year as a wing-half he scored the opening goal for Wolves after 40 minutes in their 3-1 FA Cup Final win over Newcastle United at Crystal Palace. It was Hunt's first goal for the club. A few months later Hunt won a gold medal as part of the Great Britain team at the London Olympics.

Hunt never turned professional and in 1909 he followed his father's footsteps and entered the Church when he was ordained in the Church of England and he became a teacher at Highgate School where one of his pupils was motor racing commentator Murray Walker.

Hunt continued playing football and in 1911 he made his only two full international appearances for England, against Wales and Scotland. After the War he was again selected for the Great Britain squad for the 1920 Olympics but Norway put an end to any hopes of a further medal with a 3-1 win in the first round. Hunt became the oldest person at the time to play in the Olympic football competition at the age of 36 years and 149 days. Between 1907-20 Hunt won 16 England amateur caps.

Hunt also played for Leyton Orient and Oxford City with whom nearly made it a rare FA Cup/FA Amateur Cup double but they were beaten by in the 1913 final replay by South Bank.

He returned to play his 61st and last game for Wolves against Stoke City in 1920.

In 1948 Hunt became the first president of Pegasus Football Club but died in April 1949 just two days before his beloved Wolverhampton Wanderers beat Leicester City to win the FA Cup - for the first time since … 1908.

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PURNELL, Clyde Honeysett
Born: 14 May 1877, Ryde, Isle of Wight, Hampshire, England
Died: 14 August 1934, Westenhanger, Kent, England
Olympics competed in: 1 (1908)
Olympic medals: 1908 Gold - Football

Clyde Purnell was the inside-left and oldest member of the 1908 gold medal winning team at the age of 31. He played in all three matches at the White City and scored four goals in the 12-1 quarter-final demolition of Sweden.

The year after his Olympic triumph, Purnell was a member of the Clapton team that beat Eston United 6-0 to win the FA Amateur Cup.

He moved from the Isle of Wight to London when he was 18 and joined the Olympic Club and became a proficient all-round sportsman.

He joined the cricket section and became the club captain and topped the batting averages for many years. Had it not been for business interests he could well have played county cricket. He was also in the Olympic Club team that won the City of London Lawn Tennis Shield five years in succession, and was also vice captain of the water polo team that won the City of London Shield. He was also the club's 100 yards sprint champion seven years in succession. He was also outstanding at table tennis, billiards, cycling and tobogganing.

At the turn of the 20th century he played for Upton Park FC but not in 1900 when they represented Great Britain at the Olymics, otherwise he would have ben the first man to win football gold medals at two Olympics, which Vivian Woodward achieved in 1908 and 1912.

He won four amateur football caps but was never capped at full international level. A travelling salesman with a firm of sports outfitters Purnell lived in London and collapsed and died of a heart attack at Folkestone racecourse in 1934.

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SMITH, Herbert
Born: 22 November 1877, Witney. Oxfordshire, England
Died: 6 January 1951, Witney, Oxfordshire
Olympics competed in: 1 (1908)
Olympic medals: 1908 Gold - Football

Herbert smith was a full-back in the 1908 Great Britain team and played in all three matches.

He played non-League football for Witney Town, Reading and Oxford City and had two brief spells playing in the Football League with Stoke City and Derby County but played just four League games in total. Whilst at Oxford he played in the 1903 FA Amateur Cup final but was on the losing side. He won a Southern League Second Division Championship medal with Reading in 1911.

Prior to the 1908 Olympics, Smith had won four full international caps for the senior England team in 1905 and 1906 whilst with Reading, and the following year he won the first of his 14 England amateur caps, captaining the side just once, but in a 9-0 win over Germany in 1909, the same year he rejoined Oxford City.

He was President of the Oxfordshire FA from 1919 until his death in 1951.

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STAPLEY, Henry
Born: 29 April 1883, Southborough, Tunbridge Wells, Kent, England
Died: 29 April 1937, Glossop, Derbyshire, England
Olympics competed in: 1 (1908)
Olympic medals: 1908 Gold - Football

Centre-forward Henry Stapley, known as Harry, was Great Britain's leading scorer in the 1908 football competition with six, aided thanks to all four goals in the 4-0 win over the Netherlands in the semi-final.

A schoolteacher by professional his first senior football club was Woodford Town but he was spotted by West Ham, who he joined in the 1905-06 season. He stayed with the Hammers two and a half seasons and scored 41 goals in 75 matches. However, he was poached by Glossop North End in 1908 and Harold and his brother Will joined the Derbyshire club.

Will, like his brother, was also an amateur international, and was a centre-half while at the other end Harry was knocking in the goals where he had left off at West Ham and was Glossop's top scorer in each of his first five seasons with the club. Despite his scoring ability he was surprisingly overlooked for a full England international cap. in 12 games for the England amateur side he scored 26 goals, second only to Vivian Woodward's England record.

Perhaps even more surprisingly, Harry Stapley's presence in the team could not help Glossop get out of the second division and into the first as was the dream of the clubs benefactor Sir Samuel Hill-Wood - the Roman Abramovich of his day

Whilst at Glossop, Stapley was used by the club's benefactor Sir Samuel to act as a tutor to his sons and also to coach them in football and cricket, Stapley's cricketing skills must have also been good as all three of Hill-Wood's sons became University Blues at the sport.

Samuel Hill-Wood was captain of Derbyshire cricket club and he made history in 1900 when he hit the most runs off one ball when he ran ten runs.

After his playing days Harry Stapley continued working for Sir Samuel in various capacities, including as his Private Secretary when Sir Samuel became an MP for the High Peak constituency in 1910, a seat he held for 19 years. Hill-Wood became chairman pf Arsenal FC in 1929 and his son Denis and his grandson Peter both also served as chairman of Arsenal Football Club.

Henry Stapley died on 29 April 1937, his 54th birthday.

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WOODWARD, Vivian John
Born: 3 June 1879, Kennington, London, England
Died: 31 January 1954, Ealing, London, England
Olympics competed in: 2 (1908, 1912)
Olympic medals:
1908 Gold - Football
1912 Gold - Football

Along with Arthur Berry (see above), Vivian Woodward is one of only two men to win two Olympic football gold medals for Great Britain. Woodward played in all six of Britain's matches on their way to winning gold in 1900 and 1908. Woodward has appeared in more Olympic matches than any other Britain.

The captain of the team on both occasions, in the 1908 final Woodward scored Britain's second goal just after the start of the second half in the 2-0 win over Denmark in the final.

Woodward was the oldest member of the squad that regained the title four years later. He was 32 at the time and scored in the opening two games against Hungary and Finland.

An outstanding goalscorer he was equally at home playing at centre-forward or as an inside-forward. Woodward made his senior England debut in 1903 and between then and 1911 scored 29 goals in 23 full internationals, making him England's eighth highest top goalscorer and his total was not bettered until the 1950s when Tom Finney and Nat Lofthouse each scored 30 goals – and remember Woodward was as an amateur.

He made his amateur international debut in England's first amateur international against France in 1906. England won 15-0 and Woodward scored four goals (although some sources say he scored eight). He scored a record 44 goals in 30 amateur internationals and adding his amateur and senior appearances together he scored 73 goals in 53 matches and in those 53 games he was only on the losing side three times. His total of 73 goals betters Bobby Charlton's England tally by 24.

Before he took up football seriously Woodward was an architect, having been educated at Ancham College. He lived with his parents in Clacton, and started his football career with Clacton Town as a 16-year-old after a promising career as a cricketer and tennis player, which is what his father preferred he took up. He won an Essex Junior Cup medal in 1900 and two years later played a prominent part in Chelmsford's victory over Leytonstone in the Senior Cup.

He joined Tottenham Hotspur in 1900-01, the season they became the first and only non-League team to win the FA Cup, although Woodward did not play in the Cup Final team. In fact, he did not become a regular first team player until the 1902-03 season.

When Spurs joined the second division of the Football League in 1908-09 Woodward's 18 goals played a significant role in helping them in winning promotion to the first division in their inaugural League season. He scored Spurs' first ever goal in League football against Wolverhampton Wanderers on 1 September 1908.

Woodward then moved to Chelsea in 1909 and despite a relegation he helped Chelsea back into the top division in 1912 and in 1915 Chelsea reached their first FA Cup final, against Sheffield United.

Vivian Woodward was away serving with the Army at the time of the final and had only played six League games for them all season. Chelsea's leading scorer that season, Bob Thompson got injured ten days before the final. Woodward was given leave to play in the final but very sportingly said that as Thompson had helped Chelsea get to the final he should play if he could, which he did although not fully fit, and Chelsea lost 3-0.

Woodward became a Major in the famous Footballer's Battalion during the War and was wounded in action in 1916 when a grenade exploded damaging part of his thigh. That put paid to his senior competitive football career. He became a Chelsea director in 1922, having earlier been a Tottenham director.

He never turned professional and came from a wealthy family. His father was an architect and Freeman of the City of London. When Woodward signed for Spurs he never claimed any bus fares, train fares or other legitimate out of pocket expenses he was entitled to as an amateur.

Vivian Woodward, one of England's greatest goalscorers died in a nursing home in Ealing in 1954,

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[NOTE] The following were all unused reserve players in 1908 and did not receive medals: George Barlow (Wigan Grammar School Old Boys), Albert Bell (Woking), Ronald Brebner (Darlington), W Crabtree (Blackburn Crosshill), Walter Daffern (Royal Engineers), Thomas Porter (Stockport County) and Albert Scothern (Oxford City)

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BERRY, Arthur(see 1908)  

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BREBNER, Ronald Gilchrist
Born: 23 September 1881, Darlington, Durham, England
Died: 11 November 1914, Chiswick, London, England
Olympics competed in: 1 (1912)
Olympic medals: 1912 Gold - Football

The reserve goalkeeper to Horace Bailey at the 1908 Olympics, Ron Brebner played in all three games for the 1912 gold medal winning team, conceding just two goals. His 206 minutes without conceding a goal was an Olympic record until surpassed by two minutes, by the great Spanish goalkeeper Ricardo Zamora in 1920.

Born in Darlington Brebner played non-League football before he had the first of two spells at Chelsea when he played just one game for them in their 1906-07 promotion season. He moved to Huddersfield Town in 1911 and returned to Chelsea the following year when he played 18 more games for the Pensioners.

His last club was Leicester Fosse, now Leicester City, who he joined in May 1913 from Northern Nomads. He made his debut at the start of the 1913-14 season in the local derby against Nottingham Forest but three months and 17 games later, on Boxing Day, he sustained a head injury when diving at the feet of a Lincoln City player. Brebner's playing career ended that day. Also in the Leicester side was 1912 Olympic team-mate Douglas McWhirter.

Less than a year after the accident Brebner died at the age of 32, almost certainly as a result of that head injury received at Sincil Bank.

Educated at Darlington Grammar School he went to Edinburgh University to study dentistry and he became a qualified dentist, consequently he remained an amateur footballer throughout his career. He ‘guested' for several clubs including Sunderland, Glasgow Rangers, Queens Park Rangers, Elgin City and his hometown team Darlington, who he had helped to reach the last 16 of the FA Cup in 1910-11. He won 23 amateur international caps.

He is buried alongside his mother, and father David, who also died young, when he was 38, after drowning in an accident in the River Tees when his horse and cart overturned into the river. Ron was only two at the time of his father's death.

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BURN, Thomas Christopher
Born: 29 November 1888, Spittal, Berwick-upon-Tweed, Northumberland, England
Died: see below
Olympics competed in: 1 (1912)
Olympic medals: 1912 Gold - Football  

Tom Burn was one of the full backs in the 1912 Olympic team and played in all three matches.   Born in Berwick, the son of a Northumberland railway clerk and Scottish mother, he moved to London where he was a clerk at a firm of accountants. He played football for the London Caledonians and won 12 amateur caps.

After the War he went to South Africa with a touring FA team in the Summer of 1920, and he later emigrated to South Africa where he worked for several well known companies before, in 1926, being appointed the Rhodesian manager for whisky distillers John Drewar & Sons. He was made their General Manager in 1930.

It is not known when Burn died but it is known that he was still alive on his 80th birthday in 1968, which he celebrated in Johannesburg.

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DINES, Joseph James
Born: 12 April 1886, King's Lynn, Norfolk, England
Died: 27 September 1918, Pas de Calais, France
Olympics competed in: 1 (1912)
Olympic medals: 1912 Gold - Football  

A wing-half, Joe Dines played in all three games at the 1912 Olympics. Like team mate Arthur Berry he was on Liverpool's books at one time. He joined Liverpool the month after the Olympics from Ilford FC. He played just one League game for the reds - a 2-1 win at Chelsea on 9 September 1912.

Capped by England 24 times at amateur level he started his career at his home town team in King's Lynn before studying at Peterborough to become a teacher. He returned to King's Lynn and appeared in their classic encounter with Aston Villa in the FA Cup in January 1906 which the Villa won 11-0.

He took a teaching post at Ilford and joined the local side who were a leading amateur club of the day. He also played for Queens Park Rangers, Millwall and Walthamstow Avenue.

Joe joined the Army in November 1915 but, less than three years later, “The Smiling Footballer” was killed by enemy machine gun fire in a battle on the Western Front at Pas de Calais. He is buried in the Grand Ravine British Cemetery at Havrincourt in France.

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HANNEY, Terance Percival “Ted”
Born: 19 January 1889, Reading, Berkshire, England
Died: 30 November 1964, Reading, Berkshire, England
Olympics competed in: 1 (1912)
Olympic medals: 1912 Gold - Football  

A defender, Ted Hanney only played in the opening game against Hungary at the 1912 Olympics. He got injured just before half-time and was taken off the field, he took no further part in the tournament.  

An England amateur international, Hanney started his career at Wokingham Town before moving to Reading - he was born only a few hundred yards from Reading's old Elm Park ground. He turned professional with his home town team and in 1913 he moved to Manchester City for £1,250 – a fair old sum in those days and just £50 less than the British transfer record at the time.

Just before he moved to City, Hanney toured Italy with Reading and scored one of their goals in a 2-0 win over the Italian National side. They also beat Milan 5-0!

He served on the Western front as a sergeant with the 17th Middlesex Regiment during the War and won the Victory Medal. Despite receiving injuries whilst in active service he continued playing on the resumption of football after the hostilities and in 1919 he moved to the other ‘Sky Blues', Coventry City, before making a return to finish his playing days at Reading in 1921.

He went into coaching and in 1924 became coach to the German side Vfb Stuttgart and less than three years later he guided them to its first ever Regional league title. He later coached the Munich side Wacker München. After his stint in Germany Ted became the landlord of the Russell Arms on Oxford Road, Reading. Hanney died on his way to hospital after collapsing at Reading's Salisbury Club in 1964.

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HOARE, Gordon Rahere
Born: 18 April 1884, Blackheath, Kent, England
Died: 27 October 1973, Wandsworth, London, England
Olympics competed in: 1 (1912)
Olympic medals: 1912 Gold - Football  

An ever-present in the Great Britain team at Stockholm in 1912, inside-left Gordon Hoare scored two first half goals in the final against Denmark which helped seal Britain's victory.

Hoare scored 11 goals in 13 appearances at amateur level, captaining the side against France in 1913, and he joined Woolwich Arsenal from Bromley in 1907. But the lack of regular first team football saw him move to Glossop North End before a return to Arsenal and then in 1912 he went back to Glossop. He then went on to play for Queens Park Rangers and Fulham before retiring in 1920.

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KNIGHT, Arthur Egerton
Born: 7 September 1887, Godalming, Surrey, England
Died: 10 March 1956, Milton, Hampshire, England
Olympics competed in: 2 (1912, 1920)
Olympic medals: 1912 Gold - Football  

A full back A E Knight, as he was known, played in all three matches in the Great Britain team that won gold in 1912 an was also a member of the team that lost in their only match to Norway in the 1920 competition. Having started his career with his home team Godalming, he went to live in Portsmouth and signed for Pompey in 1909 and soon established himself as a first team regular and stayed with the club until 1922. He helped them to win the Southern League title in 1920-21 which saw them earn a place in the Football League the following season.

Following the outbreak of World War One he served in Egypt and India with the Hampshire Regiment before getting a commission an becoming a captain with the Border Regiment.

He returned to playing for Portsmouth after the War and on 25 October 1919 in a Victory international against Ireland at Stoke he won his one and only senior England cap and was honoured with the captaincy of the side. Knight also won 30 amateur caps. He finished his playing career with the Corinthians before retiring in 1931.

A manager for Atlas Assurance Company, Knight also played First Class cricket for Hampshire before and after World War One, playing just four matches but he was captain of the side.

Having served in the Army in the First World War he served with the RAF in the 1939-45 hostilities.

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LITTLEWORT, Henry Charles
Born: 7 July 1882, Ipswich, Suffolk, England
Died: 21 November 1934, Edmonton, London, England
Olympics competed in: 1 (1912)
Olympic medals: 1912 Gold - Football

A central defender or wing-half Henry Littlewort played in all three matches at the 1912 Olympics.

He spent most of career with Glossop North End but also appeared for Tottenham Hotspur and Fulham. He won nine England amateur caps.

Littlewort served with the 51st Royal Fusiliers during the First World War and he was wounded, which caused damage to his left knee which effectively put an end to his football career.

After his playing days Littlewort was a journalist with the News Chronicle. He was also a fine cricketer and could well have been a First Class player with Essex but declined their invitation to play for them due to injury.

Littlewort died of pneumonia in 1934 after being taken ill a week earlier.

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McWHIRTER, Douglas
Born: 13 August 1886, Erith, Kent, England
Died: 14 October 1966, Plumstead, London, England
Olympics competed in: 1 (1912)
Olympic medals: 1912 Gold - Football  

A defender, McWhirter played only one game for the 1912 gold medal winning team, and that was in the 4-2 win over Denmark in the final. McWhirter took over from Henry Littlewort at right-half while Littlewort moved to centre-half.

McWhirter was amateur with Bromley at the time of the Olympics and had been in their FA Amateur Cup winning side that beat Bishop Auckland in 1911.

He joined Leicester Fosse as an amateur in March 1912. He played 58 games for the Foxes in the old second division and scored two goals before a move in the Summer of 1914 to Southend United. In 1921 McWhirter applied to the FA to be re-instated as an amateur, but the FA - being the FA - refused.

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SHARPE, Ivan Gordon
Born: 15 June 1889, St Albans, Hertfordshire, England
Died: 9 February 1968, Southport, Lancashire, England
Olympics competed in: 1 (1912)
Olympic medals: 1912 Gold - Football  

Ivan Sharpe was an outside-left and played in all three of Great Britain's matches in 1912.

He signed for Watford in 1907 before a move to Glossop North End a year later. He moved to Derby in 1911 and was a member of their team that beat Chelsea on goal average to win the old second division title in 1911-12. In 1913 he joined Leeds City. He was a member of their team when they were expelled from the League eight games into the 1919-20 season. He then joined the newly formed Leeds United who joined the League in 1920-21 and became the firs man to play for the two Leeds clubs. He scored 17 goals in 65 appearances for City.

While he was at Glossop, Ivan shared digs with team-mate Will Stapley who was the brother of 1908 Olympic football gold medallist Harry Stapley.

Sharpe never won a full England cap but made 12 amateur appearances.

Sharpe retired in 1923 and he later became a noted journalist and was the editor of the sports newspaper Athletic News. He edited the Athletics News cricket and football annuals on several occasions. He also worked for the Sunday Chronicle and in 1947 was the first Chairman of the Football Writers' Association. He was also BBC commentator and was behind the microphone for many FA Cup Finals including the BBC's first live coverage of a final for the Arsenal versus Sheffield United game in 1936.

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STAMPER, Harold
Born: 6 October 1889, Stockton-on-Tees, Durham, England
Died: January 1939, Durham, England
Olympics competed in: 1 (1912)
Olympic medals: 1912 Gold - Football  

Harold Stamper's senior football career was spent entirely with his home town team Stockton whom he joined in 1909 and stayed until his retirement in 1922.   Known as “Collie” by the Stockton fans, Stamper was part of the team that beat Eston United in a replay to win the 1912 FA Amateur Cup and a few months later he won an Olympic gold medal when Great Britain won the title in Stockholm.

The youngest member of the 1912 Olympic squad Stamper played in just one game, in the semi-final win over Finland, when he came in at centre-half in place of the injured Ted Hanney.

After his playing days were over he turned to coaching and had spells at Spanish club Barcelona and in Italy with Genoa before his untimely death at the age of 49 just before the outbreak of World War II. Five years later Harold's son Basil died during the war while serving as a sergeant with the RAF.

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WALDEN, Harold Adrian
Born: 10 October 1887, Haryana, India
Died: 2 December 1955, Leeds, West Riding of Yorkshire, England
Olympics competed in: 1 (1912)
Olympic medals: 1912 Gold - Football  

Harold Walden was born in India while his father was serving with the British Army. The family returned to England when Walden was two but when he was 14 Walden joined his father's regiment, the Cheshire Regiment as a Drummer Boy. Having served in India and Ireland, where he played football occasionally for Cliftonville and Linfield, he then did service during the First World War and became a Captain and later Battalion Adjutant, while serving as a volunteer with the West Yorkshire Regiment.

As a footballer, he started his career at Halifax Town before joining Bradford City in 1911. With War curtailing his League appearances, Walden scored 25 goals in 67 League games for the Bantams. He was Bradford's top scorer in 1911—12. He joined Arsenal in October 1920 and scored one goal in his only two League appearances, back-to-back matches against Oldham Athletic. He rejoined Bradford City at the end of the 1920-21 season.

At the 1912 Olympics, centre-forward Walden Scored six of Britain's seven goals in their 7-0 win over Hungary in the opening match of the tournament. He scored two more in the 4-0 win over Finland in the semi-final [NB some sources state he scored all four goals in this match] and in the final he put England ahead in the 10th minute to set them on their way to a 4-2 victory over Denmark. His seven goals is a record for Great Britain at the Olympics.

Walden later became a popular music hall comedian.

He started his career as a singer at the Bradford Alhambra whilst he was still playing football but he returned to comedy on a tour of Australia when the regular comedian fell ill and Waldden agreed to step in. He regularly appeared at the London Palladium in the 1930s. On stage he wore a straw hat and always had a kiss curl protruding from it – pre-dating Bill Haley's ‘trademark' by some 20 years,

He appeared in the 1920 silent movie The Winning Goal which featured England internationals Sam Hardy, Jack Cock and Jesse Pennington. Walden played the lead male role and was the star player with a local team who had to be sold in order to save the club from ruin. He also played himself in the 1948 movie Cup-Tie Honeymoon.

Walden died at Leeds railway station of a heart attack in 1955 just two weeks after taking part in a charity show to raise money for the Yorkshire Evening News' Christmas Appeal.

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WOODWARD, Vivian (see 1908)  

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WRIGHT, Edward Gordon Dundas
Born: 3 October 1884. Englefield Green, Surrey, England
Died: 5 June 1947, Johannesburg, South Africa
Olympics competed in: 1 (1912)
Olympic medals: 1912 Gold - Football

Although regarded as an outside-left Gordon Wright replaced Arthur Berry on the right wing in the Olympic semi-final win over Finland in 1912. It was his only Olympic appearance.

Wright studied at Cambridge and was a three times football Blue between 1904-06. On leaving University he took up a teaching post in Kingston-upon-Hull and joined Hull City from Corinthians, becoming captain for seven years. He was also the first Hull player to gain a full international cap when he played for England against Wales at the age of 21. Records show that he was a Cambridge University player but other records suggest he was on Hull's books at the time. He also won 20 amateur caps and for Hull he scored 14 goals in 168 League and Cup games.

Wright also played for Portsmouth, Leyton, Worthing and Reigate Priory throughout his completely amateur career.

After leaving Hull in 1913 Gordon Wright emigrated to South Africa where he became a mining engineer and he died in his adopted home in 1947.

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