h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

lives of players are short in the fields and after retiring it becomes insignificant in comparison to their early active one

I thought that what became of Fatty Foulke was rather sad. Footballers in his day were paid peanuts - no inflated salaries then and he doesn't seem to have had anything else as a profession.

There is - quite rightly - a lot of interest in Willie Foulke at the moment, not least because of the superb Mitchell and Kenyon footage shown recently on BBC2. However, there are some downright untruths which are still being perpetuated. Chief of these is how the big fellow ended his life.
There isn't a grain of truth in the story that he ended his days in poverty "diving for pennies" as a sad sideshow on Blackpool beach. He ran a pub and corner shop in Sheffield until his death in 1916, and whilst landlord of the pub could afford servants!
His death certificate gives "cirrhosis" as major cause of death, with "fatty heart" as a contributory factor. "Pneumonia" is a total fabrication.
I believe the definitive biography of Willie Foulke is due to be published round Easter 2005.

Hmm, the information about his death came from several sources, but it's never easy to check for total accuracy.

Whatever the truth, he still died very young. What is your source, mentuhotep?

My sources are:
(1) Foulke's descendants, who are considering legal action if the story about "penny a shot" on Blackpool sands continues to be perpetuated
(2) The fact that his ownership of a pub and then a corner shop in Sheffield is given in Sheffield directories 1908-1916
(3) A report in a Sheffield newspaper of 1910 relates the goings-on in Foulke's pub "The Duke" on Matilda Street, Sheffield
(4) The fact that there is no mention of Foulke anywhere in Blackpool local history archives: no photo, no oral recollection (and Blackpool local historians agree with me)
(5) I have seen his death certificate, and "pneumonia" or "chill" as cause of death is untrue.
(6) I have traced the erroneous source of the Blackpool sands story to a single entry in a Sheffield newspaper the morning after Foulke's death. As regards primary, contemporary sources this "info" occurs absolutely nowhere else. Obviously, later writers have based their version of events on this one item, without bothering to check the facts.

OK?

I'm quite happy to ask the editors to amend the entry. Did he have descendents? Are you one? It's exciting to have this information from someone who has looked at local sources.

No, I'm not a descendant but I've spoken to surviving family members.
If you're interested, my book on Willie Foulke, entitled "Colossus: the true story of William Foulke" is available published by TEMPUS. I hope you don't mind the shameless plug!
Best wishes.

Oh, - thanks for telling me, mentuhotep.

(Off-topic - how did you come to choose your nickname - it sounds Egyptian?)

PS: Was Willie married? Did he have children (you mention descendents)?

Yes, Willie was married to former school friend Beatrice, and they had three children who survived: John Robert, William Redvers, and Selina. Two others died in infancy. Foulke's nephew Jimmy Simmons scored in the 1915 FA Cup Final, and his great-grandson Richard played for Sheffield United in the 1970's.
Mentuhotep, by the way, was the name of an obscure Egyptian Pharaoh. I chose the name because every other one I went for seemed to be taken!

Fascinating - thanks mentuhotep. I was right about the nickname, then.