Samuel Wolstenholme

Football player infobox
playername= Samuel Wolstenholme


fullname = Samuel Wolstenholme
dateofbirth = 1878
cityofbirth = Little Lever
countryofbirth = England
position = Defender
youthyears = 189x
189x
189x
189x-1897
youthclubs = Darley Vale
Farmworth FC
Farmworth Alliance
Horwich
years = 1897-1904
1904-1908
1908-1909
1909-1913
1913
clubs= Everton
Blackburn Rovers
Croydon Common
Norwich City
Chester City
caps(goals) = 160 (8)
97 (1)
X (X)
138 (7)
X (X)
nationalyears = 1904-1905
nationalteam = England
nationalcaps(goals) = 3 (0)
pcupdate = October 20 2006
ntupdate = October 20 2006

Samuel Wolstenholme (born 1878, Little Lever; died 28 January 1933, Wigan) is a former English footballer who played for, among others Everton, Blackburn Rovers, Norwich City and England. He played alongside Steve Bloomer and Vivian Woodward in the England teams that won the British Home Championship in 1904 and 1905. He also played twice for "The North XI" against the "The South XI" and played for the English League XI against a Scottish League XI.

Prisoner in Germany

After retiring as a player in 1913, Wolstenholme accepted a coaching position in Germany. However while there, the First World War broke out and he was subsequently interned at Ruhleben, a civilian detention camp near Berlin. The camp contained between 4,000 and 5,500 prisoners. Gradually a mini-society evolved and football became a popular activity. Wolstenholme was one of several former professional footballers in the camp. Others included fellow former England internationals, Fred Spiksley, Fred Pentland and Steve Bloomer, a German international Edwin Dutton and two fellow former Evertonians, John Cameron and John Brearley.

Wolstenholme was a prominent member of the Ruhleben Football Association. Cup and league competitions were organised and as many as 1,000 attended the bigger games. The teams adopted the names of established teams and November 1914 Wolstenholme refereed a cup final between "Tottenham Hotspur" and "Oldham Athletic". Among the players participating were Bloomer, Spiksley and Dutton. On May 2 1915 an "England XI" featuring Wolstenholme, Pentland, Brearley and Bloomer played a "World XI" captained by Cameron. Wolstenholme also played cricket at Rubleben and in July 1916 played for a "Yorkshire XI" that lost to a "Lancashire XI", featuring Bloomer.

Honours

England
*British Home Championship: 2
**1904, 1905

External links

* [http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/croydoncommon/WOLSTENHOLME_Samuel.pdf Career stats]
* [http://www.englandfc.com/Profiles/php/PlayerProfileByName.php?id=1083 Wolstenholme at www.englandfc.com]
* [http://ruhleben.tripod.com/id15.html Wolstenholme at Rubleben]