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Billy Wedlock (Biography)Book - October 28th


Tricky Woo

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Bedminster-born footballing icon Billy "Fatty" Wedlock was the homegrown hero who rescued Bristol City from the doldrums and with his infectious skill and personality, elevated the club into the First Division for the first time in its history... He also took them to within a whisker of the League Championship title and a victory in the final of the FA Cup. A unique centre-half of diminutive proportions, what he lacked in inches he made up for in sheer talent - coupled with a superhuman work ethic. Nicknamed the "india rubber man", Wedlock won 26 caps for his country, becoming in the process Bristol City's original and only England international superstar. The supreme exponent of fair-play, and "modest to the point of shyness", Billy was the finest gentleman ever to walk onto a football field. No book has ever been written to tell the story of the most mythical and iconic figure in Bristol City's history - until now....
 
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Bedminster-born footballing icon Billy "Fatty" Wedlock was the homegrown hero who rescued Bristol City from the doldrums and with his infectious skill and personality, elevated the club into the First Division for the first time in its history... He also took them to within a whisker of the League Championship title and a victory in the final of the FA Cup. A unique centre-half of diminutive proportions, what he lacked in inches he made up for in sheer talent - coupled with a superhuman work ethic. Nicknamed the "india rubber man", Wedlock won 26 caps for his country, becoming in the process Bristol City's original and only England international superstar. The supreme exponent of fair-play, and "modest to the point of shyness", Billy was the finest gentleman ever to walk onto a football field. No book has ever been written to tell the story of the most mythical and iconic figure in Bristol City's history - until now....
 
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9 minutes ago, Tricky Woo said:
Bedminster-born footballing icon Billy "Fatty" Wedlock was the homegrown hero who rescued Bristol City from the doldrums and with his infectious skill and personality, elevated the club into the First Division for the first time in its history... He also took them to within a whisker of the League Championship title and a victory in the final of the FA Cup. A unique centre-half of diminutive proportions, what he lacked in inches he made up for in sheer talent - coupled with a superhuman work ethic. Nicknamed the "india rubber man", Wedlock won 26 caps for his country, becoming in the process Bristol City's original and only England international superstar. The supreme exponent of fair-play, and "modest to the point of shyness", Billy was the finest gentleman ever to walk onto a football field. No book has ever been written to tell the story of the most mythical and iconic figure in Bristol City's history - until now....
 
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Bedminster-born footballing icon Billy "Fatty" Wedlock was the homegrown hero who rescued Bristol City from the doldrums and with his infectious skill and personality, elevated the club into the First Division for the first time in its history... He also took them to within a whisker of the League Championship title and a victory in the final of the FA Cup. A unique centre-half of diminutive proportions, what he lacked in inches he made up for in sheer talent - coupled with a superhuman work ethic. Nicknamed the "india rubber man", Wedlock won 26 caps for his country, becoming in the process Bristol City's original and only England international superstar. The supreme exponent of fair-play, and "modest to the point of shyness", Billy was the finest gentleman ever to walk onto a football field. No book has ever been written to tell the story of the most mythical and iconic figure in Bristol City's history - until now....
 
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So good they named it twice!!
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Ah, that's brilliant - thanks for that! We've actually got that one in the book, but we had to crop it significantly because of space restraints in that particular chapter. It's a great photo when seen in all its glory. We also found a (First World) war-time line-up as well, not forgetting a photo of the XI who faced Huddersfield at Stamford Bridge in the FA Cup semi-final in 1919/20 season, which is obviously from the same season as THIS photo.  But thanks for sharing - its a great photo! 

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3 hours ago, Tricky Woo said:

Ah, that's brilliant - thanks for that! We've actually got that one in the book, but we had to crop it significantly because of space restraints in that particular chapter. It's a great photo when seen in all its glory. We also found a (First World) war-time line-up as well, not forgetting a photo of the XI who faced Huddersfield at Stamford Bridge in the FA Cup semi-final in 1919/20 season, which is obviously from the same season as THIS photo.  But thanks for sharing - its a great photo! 

I’ve had the postcard for years (although not since 1919!) and it was reading this thread that triggered the thought that Wedlock may be in it...like many, I was disappointed that he wasn’t 25 stone! Looks lighter than me!!

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To me, your version of that picture looks a little sharper and clearer than the one we've used. Even at this extremely late stage, I'm still wondering whether or not we should switch yours in place of ours, :laugh:! Yeh, Wedlock was pretty thin for the majority of his playing career, where the "Fatty" thing started, I don't know, but they were calling him that when he played for Aberdare (1901 - 1905) - even before he started as a pro at Bristol City. 1919/20, and the FA Cup semi-final with Huddersfield, he is just starting to look "podgy" I think, but after he retired in May 1921, his weight spiralled. 

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I tend to think he was called 'Fatty' because for a player of such small stature he had such a large presence on the pitch. He was also known as 'The India Rubber Man' due to his ability to quickly switch from defence to attack and vice versa although it might also be because he had a cheque bounce at the Madras Tandoori in Old Market.

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