England Players - 334. Watty Corbett

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Players Index	Page Last Updated 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.

FTS

FAv

AAv

Pts%

W/L

+16

5.667

0.33

100

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;

6 June 1908 - Austria 1 England 6
Cricketer Platz, Wien

tour

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;