Harry Wilcox

Harry Wilcox

Wilcox as a Plymouth Argyle player
Personal information
Full name	Harry Melbourne Wilcox[1]
Date of birth	17 January 1878
Place of birth	London, England
Date of death	21 July 1937 (aged 59)
Place of death	Plymouth, England
Playing position	Forward
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
–	Bromsgrove Rovers
1898–1900	Small Heath	14	(3)
1900–1901	Watford	29	(2)
1901–1905	Preston North End	99	(42)
1905–1906	Plymouth Argyle	52	(22)
1906–1907	Leicester Fosse	44	(16)
1907–1908	West Bromwich Albion	17	(5)
1908–1920	Plymouth Argyle	259	(15)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.

Harry Melbourne Wilcox (17 January 1878 – 21 July 1937) was an English professional footballer who scored 66 goals in 174 appearances in the Football League playing for Small Heath, Preston North End, Leicester Fosse and West Bromwich Albion.^[1]

Playing career

Wilcox was born in Dalston, London. A forward, he began his football career with Bromsgrove Rovers^[1] before joining Small Heath in September 1898.^[2] He made his debut in the Second Division on 17 September 1898 in a 3–1 win at home to Barnsley, and played 17 first-team games over the next two seasons,^[3] but never established himself in the side. At the end of the 1899–1900 season he joined Watford of the Southern League, and a season later returned to the Football League with Preston North End.^[4] His 14 goals made him Preston's leading scorer for 1901–02,^[5] and two years later he helped them win the Second Division title.^[2] After 42 goals in 99 league games, Wilcox moved back to the Southern League with Plymouth Argyle,^[1] where in one season he played 55 games in all competitions^[6] and finished as leading league goalscorer with 22.^[7] His performances were rewarded with selection for the Southern League's representative team.^[1]

Two seasons back in the Second Division, with Leicester Fosse and West Bromwich Albion, preceded the last move of his career, a return to Plymouth, in May 1908.^[2] In each of the seven seasons before the First World War put a stop to competitive football, Wilcox played at least 30 games.^[6] He contributed to Plymouth's runners-up spot in the Southern League in the 1911–12 season,^[8] and to their going one better the following season.^[9] In the latter part of his career he played at centre-half, which at that time was a midfield position.^[2] Wilcox made a return to first-team football after the war, playing four times in Plymouth's last Southern League season before their election to the Football League.^[10] His last competitive first-team appearance was on 18 October 1919,^[11] at the age of 41 years and 9 months, and he finally retired at the end of the 1919–20 season^[2] after scoring 41 goals in 325 games in all competitions for the club.^[6]

Wilcox died in Plymouth, Devon, in 1937 at the age of 59.^[2]

Honours

with Preston North End

• Football League Second Division winners: 1903–04

with Plymouth Argyle

• Southern League winners: 1912–13
• Southern League runners-up: 1911–12

References

1. Joyce, Michael (2004). Football League Players' Records 1888 to 1939. Nottingham: SoccerData (Tony Brown). p. 280. ISBN 978-1-899468-67-6.
2. Matthews, Tony (1995). Birmingham City: A Complete Record. Derby: Breedon Books. p. 134. ISBN 978-1-85983-010-9.
3. Matthews, pp. 145–46.
4. "Harry Melbourne Wilcox" (PDF). Watford F.C. Archive. Retrieved 20 June 2013.
5. Ob790 (26 August 2007). "Seasonal Scorers". Preston North End Mad. Retrieved 16 April 2009.
6. "Harry Wilcox". Greens on Screen. Retrieved 20 June 2013.
7. "Season 1905–06". Argyle Review. Archived from the original on 2 May 2008.
8. "Season 1911–12". Argyle Review. Archived from the original on 2 May 2008.
9. "Season 1912–13". Argyle Review. Archived from the original on 2 May 2008.
10. "Season 1919–20". Argyle Review. Archived from the original on 2 May 2008.
11. "Southern League Results 1919–1920". Greens on Screen. Retrieved 16 April 2009.