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12 August 2025
 
 

Watty Corbett

Birmingham FC

3 appearances, 0 goals

P 3 W 3 D 0 L 0 F 22: A 1
100% successful

1908

captain: none
minutes played:
270

Timeline

  Walter Samuel Corbett
Birth Friday, 26 November 1880 in Park Street, Wellington, Shropshire
  registered in Wellington Salop Union January-March 1881
Education Attended King Edward Grammar School, Birmingham
"He went to Wellington Grammar School and the interesting thing about him is he suffered from polio as a child. He had a withered [left] arm and played with a bandage or handkerchief on that arm all the time."
- Shropshire Star, Saturday, 21 October 2000
 

According to the 1881 census, Walter Saml. is the youngest of three children to Walter Richard and Elizabeth Mary (née Whittall) and live at Park Street in Wellington. His father is a printer master.

Baptism Tuesday, 13 December 1881 at All Saint's Church, Wellington
 

According to the 1891 census, Walter S. is the middle child of five, now living at 32 Hall Road in Handsworth, West Bromwich. His father is now a commercial traveller.

 

According to the 1901 census, Walter S. is now a merchant's clerk, still the middle of five with their parents, now at 53 Stafford Road in Handsworth. His father is now a printer again.

"W. S. CORBETT'S  BEREAVEMENT
"Much regret has been occasioned in Handsworth by the death, at the early age of thirty, of Mr. Arthur Richard Corbett, eldest son of Mr. W. R. Corbett, 53, Stafford-road, Handsworth, and brother of Walter S. Corbett, the well-known amateur International footballer of Birmingham F.C. and late Aston Villa. The deceased had been suffering painfully for over two years from Bright's disease, and so precarious has been his condition at times, that it has prevented his brother, Walter, from assisting his club in important matches. The end came on Tuesday."
- Birmingham Gazette and Express, Thursday, 25 March 1909
 

According to the 1911 census, Walter is a visitor at the Beasley household at 154 Newhampton Road West in Wolverhampton. Walter is a commercial clerk.

Marriage to Clara Harris, on Saturday, 26 October 1912 in Wolverhampton
  registered in Wolverhampton October-December 1912
Children Watty and Clara Corbett have one son together. Leslie John (b.1913)
 

According to the 1921 census, Walter Samuel, a wages clerk for the Birmingham Tramway Corporation, is now married to Clara, and they have one son, Leslie John, and one servant, Dorie Gray, living at 7 Wilton Road in Handsworth.
Midland Electoral Registers confirm the Corbett's at 7 Wilton Road in 1922 until at his death

  His mother died in 1933 and his father died on 14 May 1935 in Winson Green Mental Hospital.
According to the 1939 register, Walter S., a wages clerk, is married to Clara, and are living at 7 Wilton Road in Handsworth.
Death Wednesday, 23 November 1960 at 7 Wilton Road in Handsworth, Birmingham, Warwickshire
aged 79 years 362 days registered in Birmingham October-December 1960
  His wife, Clara, died in Highcroft Hospital in 1968
Source

Douglas Lammings' An English Football Internationalist Who's Who [1990] &

Playing Career


Club(s)
Played his junior football playing for Astbury Richmond FC and Bournbrook FC, before joining Aston Villa FC. As an amateur, he assisted The Pilgrims on their Continental Tour in Easter 1906. Pledged his allegiance for the following season to Birmingham FC on 21 June 1907, and despite making a solitary appearance for Queen's Park Rangers FC in September of that year, and assisting Wellington Town FC from April 1909, he remained with the Birmingham club until 1911 after being elected as captain on 8 September 1910.

League honours

59 appearances
Aston Villa FC 1905-07 thirteen appearances
debut: 8 April 1905 Middlesbrough FC 3 Aston Villa FC 1.
Birmingham FC 1907-11 46 appearances
debut: 28 September 1907 Liverpool FC 3 Birmingham FC 4.
last (division two): 21 January 1911 Birmingham FC 1 Burnley FC 1.
Club honours Football League Division One fourth place 1904-05 (1ᵃ);
FA Cup winners 1904-05 (0ᵃ)
Individual honours None
Distinctions None
Height/Weight not known
Source

Douglas Lammings' An English Football Internationalist Who's Who [1990].

England Career

Player number 334th player to appear for England.
Position(s) Left-back
First match No. 95, 6 June 1908, Austria 1 England 6, an end-of-season Continental tour match at Cricketer Platz, Wien, aged 27 years 193 days.
Last match
seven days
No. 98, 13 June 1908, Bohemia 0 England 8, an end-of-season Continental tour match at Stadión Letná, Milady Horákové, Praha, aged 27 years 200 days.
Major tournaments None
Team honours None
Individual honours The Amateurs (one appearance, December 1906)
England Amateur (fifteen appearances, December 1906-November 1910);
Great Britain London 1908 (three appearances) Olympic Gold Medal
Distinctions Corbett was the first player, with multiple appearances, to play against only foreign opposition.
Died thirteen days after Joe Bache

Beyond England

No additional information. - An English Football Internationalists' Who's Who. Douglas Lamming (1990). Hatton Press, p.74/75.
"He was quite an intelligent bloke, and he ended up as an expert linguist" - Shropshire Star, Saturday, 21 October 2000


The Numbers
parties Appearances comp. apps minutes captain
3 3 0 270 0 none
The minutes here given can only ever be a guideline and cannot therefore be accurate, only an approximation.
P W D L F A GD FTS CS FAv AAv Pts% W/L
3 3 0 0 17 1 +16 0 2 5.667 0.33 100 +3
All of his matches were friendlies and played at an away venue

Opposition Record
Opposition P W D L F A GD FTS CS FAv AAv Pts% W/L
Austria 1 1 0 0 6 1 +5 0 0 6.00 1.00 100.0 +1
Hungary 1 1 0 0 7 0 +7 0 1 7.00 0.00 100.0 +1
Bohemia 1 1 0 0 4 0 +4 0 1 4.00 0.00 100.0 +1

Match History

 Club: Birmingham F.C. - three full appearances (270 min) F.A. International Select Committee - three full appearances (270 min)x

apps match match details comp res. rundown pos

Age 26 trial  
one appearance - The Professionals vs. The Amateurs, 3 December 1906;
amateur
two appearances - Ireland, 15 December 1906; Netherlands, April 1907

Age 27    
six appearances - Ireland & Netherlands, December 1907; Wales, February 1908; France, March 1908;
Belgium & Germany April 1908;

1 95 6 June 1908 - Austria 1 England 6
Cricketer Platz, Wien
tour AW   lb

the 334th player to appear for England
the second player from Birmingham FC to represent England

96 8 June 1908 - Austria 1 England 11, Hohe Warte Stadion, Wien   AW reserve
2 97 10 June 1908 Hungary 0 England 7
Millenáris Sportpálya, Buda-Pesth
AW   lb
3 98 13 June 1908 - Bohemia 0 England 4
Stadión Letná, Praha
AW   lb
 

olympic  
three appearances for Great Britain - Sweden, Netherlands & Denmark, October 1908;
amateur  
one appearance - Ireland, November 1908;

Age 28    
three appearances - Germany, March 1909; Sweden & Ireland, November 1909;

Age 29    
three appearances - Netherlands, December 1909; Wales, February 1910; Ireland, November 1910;

  

 
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