Vic WOODLEY
Goalkeeper 1940
Full name : – Victor Robert Woodley
Born on 26th February 1910 in Cippenham near Slough, Berkshire, England.
Height : . m (‘ “)
Weight : kg (st lbs)
A goalkeeper who made only one appearance for Tottenham as a wartime guest player, had a varied career and his reputation for being in the right place at the right time won him an FA Cup medal.
Initially signed as an amateur at Reading, he joined Chelsea in May 1931 after he had then been playing for Windsor & Eton. The team had a number of players who were well-known, but it was Woodley who often shone to keep the Pensioners in a reasonable position in the league. His ability to anticipate where the ball was going to end up and being one of the first keeper to take crosses by coming off his goal-line saved Chelsea on a number of occasions and won him the attention of the England selectors, winning 19 caps for his country. Some of these came when he was in the England team in 1938 that was on tour of Germany under the Nazis and performed the Nazi salute in a game at the Olympiastadion in Berlin. Unfortunately for Woodley, the start of the Second World War ended his International career.
Back home during the war, he made a lot for Brentford as a guest player and made one appearance for Spurs in a 3-1 home win over Fulham in 1940 in the Football League South. He also turned out 109 times for Chelsea during the war years and also played four times for Brentford and made a single appearance for Brighton & Hove Albion. The keeper left Chelsea to move to Bath City in 1945 before returning to League football when he moved to Derby County, who desperately needed a goalkeeper as injuries had robbed them of the others on their books. Vic made 30 appearances in the league for the Rams and he would end his career in senior football at Wembley in the 1946 FA Cup Final, helping them defeat Charlton Athletic 4-1.
In May 1947, Woodley made the journey back to Bath City and took on the post of player-manager that he held until December 1949.
On his retirement from the game, he ran a pub in Bradford-on-Avon.
Vic Woodley died in Trowbridge, Wiltshire, England on 23rd October 1978.
NICKNAME : –
Career Record
| Club | Signed | Fee | Debut | Apps | Goals |
| Windsor & Eton | – | – | ??? | – | – |
| Chelsea | May 1931 | Free | 29th August 1931 v Middlesborough (away) (Division 1) Won 2-0 | 272 + 109 war games | 0 |
| TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR | 1940 | Guest | 10th April 1940 v Fulham (Football League South) (home) Won 3-1 | 1 | 0 |
| Brentford | 1939 | Guest | ??? | 4 | 0 |
| Brighton & Hove Albion | 1941 | Guest | ??? | 1 | 0 |
| Bath City | December 1945 | – | ??? | – | – |
| Derby County | March 1946 | Free | 30+ | 0 | |
| Bath City | May 1947 | – | ??? | – | – |
Tottenham Hotspur career
1 Football League South appearance; 0 goals
Honours
England international
19 full caps + 2 wartime caps; 0 goals
FA Cup winner – 1946 (Derby County)
| What they said about Vic Woodley |
| .. … .. (-)
“.” |
| .. … .. (-)
“.” |
| What Vic Woodley said about … |
| .. … .. (-)
“.” |
| .. … .. (-)
“.” |
Other articles on Vic Woodley …
By –
Books on Vic Woodley
By –