Universally acknowledged as one of the greatest British centre-forwards, Vivian Woodward was born, appropriately, in a house overlooking Kennington Oval, the venue of the FA Cup final. After being educated at Ascham College, Clacton, he joined his father in his architect’s practice but later became a farmer. He played for Clacton, Harwich & Parkestone and Chelmsford before joining Tottenham Hotspur in 1902 when the club was a member of the Southern League. He was with Tottenham when, in 1908, they were elected to Division 2 of the Football League and scored their first ever goal in League football. With 19 goals in 27 matches he was Tottenham’s top scorer for the season and played a significant part in their immediate promotion to Division 1.
Woodward subsequently joined Chelsea who he helped regain First Division status in 1912. He stayed with Chelsea until the outbreak of the war, when he initially joined the Rifle Brigade but later became a captain the Footballer’s Battalion of the Middlesex Regiment. He was wounded in action early in 1916 and never played serious football again.
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