Wilf Mayer
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Wilfred Mayer | ||
| Date of birth | 18 February 1912 | ||
| Place of birth | Stoke-on-Trent, England | ||
| Date of death | April 1979 (aged 67) | ||
| Place of death | Stoke-on-Trent, England | ||
| Height | 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) | ||
| Position(s) | Inside-right | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Newcastle PSA | |||
| Downings Tileries | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1932–1937 | Stoke City | 1 | (0) |
| 1937–1938 | Southampton | 14 | (0) |
| 1938–???? | Wellington Town | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Wilf Mayer (18 February 1912 – April 1979) was an English professional footballer who played at inside-right for Southampton in the late 1930s, before joining Wellington Town where he won a Welsh Cup winner's medal in 1940.
Football career
Mayer was born in Stoke-on-Trent, and after playing for local works teams, Newcastle PSA and Downings Tileries, he signed as a professional with Stoke City in August 1932. Mayer spent most of his career at Stoke in the reserves, making only one first-team appearance in the 1934–35 season which came in a 1–0 defeat at home to Chelsea on 9 March 1935.[1]
In March 1937, he was one of the first signings by Southampton's new manager Tom Parker for a fee of £650.[2] A nippy forward, at home both on the wing or at inside-forward, Mayer was immediately drafted into the first-team to replace the injured Dick Neal. Although Neal returned after a few matches, Mayer retained the inside-right shirt for the remainder of the season.[3]
In the following season, the signing of players such as Ray Parkin and Ted Bates restricted Mayer's appearances to five matches.[4] Mayer was placed on the transfer list at a fee of £500, but the club were unable to attract any offers from Football League teams even when the fee was later halved.[2]
Eventually, Mayer joined Wellington Town of the Cheshire County League, remaining with them long enough to win a Welsh Cup winner's medal in 1940 when they defeated Swansea Town 4–1.[2]
Career statistics
Source:[5]
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | Total | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Stoke City | 1934–35 | First Division | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Southampton | 1936–37 | Second Division | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 |
| 1937–38 | Second Division | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | |
| Career total | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 0 | ||
Honours
- Welsh Cup winner: 1940
References
- ^ Matthews, Tony (1994). The Encyclopaedia of Stoke City. Lion Press. ISBN 0-9524151-0-0.
- ^ a b c Holley, Duncan; Chalk, Gary (1992). The Alphabet of the Saints. ACL & Polar Publishing. p. 235. ISBN 0-9514862-3-3.
- ^ Chalk, Gary; Holley, Duncan (1987). Saints – A complete record. Breedon Books. pp. 96–97. ISBN 0-907969-22-4.
- ^ Saints – A complete record. pp. 98–99.
- ^ Wilf Mayer at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)