Maurice Wellock

Maurice Wellock (15 June 1902 – 1967) was an English professional footballer who scored 111 goals from 278 appearances in the Football League.

Maurice Wellock
Personal information
Full nameMaurice Wellock[1]
Date of birth15 June 1902 (1902-06-15)
Place of birthBradford, Yorkshire, England
Date of death1967 (1968) (aged 65)
Height5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)[2]
Position(s)Centre forward, wing half
Youth career
Bradford City
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
Bradford City0(0)
1919–1923Halifax Town33(3)
1923–1927Blackpool27(7)
1927Oldham Athletic5(6)
1927–1928Torquay United27(3)
1928–1929Peterborough & Fletton United
1929–1932Darlington104(71)
1932–1934Halifax Town82(21)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Life and career

Wellock was born in Bradford, Yorkshire,[1] where he attended Drummond Road School. In 1916, he became the first Bradford boy to be capped for England in a schoolboy international.[3] He began his senior career with hometown club Bradford City.[1] He played for their first team in the wartime leagues at the age of fifteen,[4] but never appeared once the Football League resumed after the war.[1]

He had joined Halifax Town by 1919,[5] and made his league debut in the 1921–22 season. He scored three times in 33 games for Halifax before moving to Blackpool in 1923. He was not a regular in the Blackpool side, playing 27 league games in which he scored seven times,[1] and moved to Oldham Athletic in February 1927,[6] scoring six goals in just five league games,[1] including four on his debut in a 5–2 win away to Grimsby Town.[7]

In June 1927, he joined newly promoted Torquay United, playing in Torquay's first ever game in the Football League, a 1–1 draw at home to local rivals Exeter City on 27 August 1927.[2] He spent just one season with Torquay, scoring three times in 27 games before joining Southern League club Peterborough & Fletton United.[1]

In 1929, he returned to the Football League with Darlington where he played regularly as a centre-forward, having played mainly as a defender with Torquay.[citation needed] He scored 71 goals, including five in one game against Rotherham United in 1930,[8] in 104 league games for Darlington, finishing his career with a further 21 goals in 82 league games for Halifax Town.[1]

References