A 15ct gold medal, the obverse inscribed 1897, the reverse inscribed The Football Association, Aston Villa F.C., Winners, English Cup, G.F. Wheldon, with ring suspension

FRED WHELDON George Frederick Wheldon was born in Langley Green, Worcestershire on 1st November 1869 and started his footballing career with Rood End White Star and Langley Green Victoria before joining Small Heath in 1890. He helped Small Heath (later to be re-named Birmingham and then Birmingham City) to the first-ever Football League Division 2 Championship in season 1892-93. He joined Aston Villa in June 1896 and in his first season with Villa he helped the club to the 'Double' when they won the Division 1 Championship with 47 points and the F.A. Cup in a 3-2 win over Everton at the Crystal Palace. He was the club's leading goalscorer in the League Championship win this season and went on to help Villa to further Division 1 Championship's in season 1898-99 and 1899-1900. His first season at Villa coincided with his England International debut, which took place on 20th February 1897 against Ireland. In a 6-0 win over Ireland he helped himself to a hat-trick. The following year saw him make three further winning appearances for England, scoring three goals and rather mysteriously his International career, after four wins out of four, came to an end. In June of 1900 Wheldon joined West Bromwich Albion and thereafter there were periods with Queen's Park Rangers, Portsmouth, Worcester City and Coventry City before retiring in January 1907. On 13th January 1924 Fred Wheldon died at the agee of 55. The following eight lots were awarded to FRED WHELDON (See also lots 181-184 and 343)

Details

A 15ct gold medal, the obverse inscribed 1897, the reverse inscribed The Football Association, Aston Villa F.C., Winners, English Cup, G.F. Wheldon, with ring suspension

Lot Essay

Aston Villa, who had won the 1896-97 League Division 1 Championship with eleven points to spare, beat Liverpool 3-0 in the F.A. Cup semi-final to give them the opportunity to win the elusive 'Double'. In the final played at the Crystal Palace before a then record attendance of 65,000 spectators, Villa faced the other half of the Merseyside duo Everton. In a hugely entertaining match Campbell opened the scoring for Villa who soon found themselves trailing 2-1 after goals scored by Boyle and Bell for the Merseyside team. Wheldon equalised for Villa and on the stroke of half-time Jimmy Crabtree gave Villa the lead once more. In the second-half despite no further goals being scored, the crowd were treated to a thrilling display with Everton pressing for the equaliser. Therefore, Aston Villa became the second-ever side to win the 'Double', a feat which was not repeated again for another sixty-four years when Tottenham Hotspur became the first side this century to win both League and Cup.

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