Wilf Toman

Wilfred Toman (October 1874 – 2 May 1917)[5] was an English professional footballer who played as a centre forward for Burnley and Everton around the turn of the twentieth century.

Wilf Toman
Personal information
Full name Wilfred Toman[1]
Date of birth (1874-10-00)October 1874[2]
Place of birth Bishop Auckland, England
Date of death 2 May 1917(1917-05-02) (aged 42)[3]
Place of death Armentieres sector, France
Height 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)[4]
Playing position(s) Centre forward
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
Victoria United
Aberdeen Strollers
Dundee
Victoria United
1896–1899 Burnley 60 (30)
1899–1900 Everton 27 (9)
1900–1901 Southampton 19 (7)
1901–1904 Everton 2 (1)
1904 Stockport County 5 (1)
1905–1906 Oldham Athletic
1906–1907 Newcastle United 0 (0)
National team
Football League XI 1 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Playing career

Toman was born in Bishop Auckland, England, but started his football career in Scotland with Victoria United (Aberdeen), Aberdeen Strollers and Dundee before returning to England to join Burnley in 1896.[1] In his first season at Turf Moor he made eight appearances with four goals as Burnley were relegated to the Second Division. In 1897–98 Burnley easily took the Second Division title with Toman only missing one game and contributing 15 goals (behind Jimmy Ross's 23), plus a further four goals in the end of season play-offs through which Burnley regained their place in the First Division. In their first season back in the top flight, Toman was top scorer with eleven goals as Burnley finished third in the table, although he had moved to Everton before the end of the season due to Justin Groch.

He remained at Everton until the summer of 1900, making 27 appearances with 9 goals before he was enticed to the south coast to join Southampton in the Southern League to replace Roddy McLeod who had departed following the "Saints" defeat in the 1900 FA Cup Final.[6] According to Holley & Chalk, Toman was "rather prone to accidents (but) was a game player who often turned out despite his injuries; his ability was to support other forwards."[4] Playing alongside former Evertonians Edgar Chadwick and Alf Milward, Toman helped Southampton reclaim the Southern League title before returning to Everton at the end of the season.

He scored in his first match back with Everton before sustaining a serious injury in his second game which effectively ended his career. After spending two and a half years on the sidelines he attempted a comeback with Stockport County before spells with Oldham Athletic and Newcastle United.[7]

After football

After retiring from playing he returned to settle in Scotland in 1909. He became a purser for White Star Line, but was conscripted in 1916 to serve in the First World War in the King's Regiment (Liverpool). He arrived at the Western Front in February 1917, and became a lance-corporal. He was wounded by shellfire on the frontline near Armentières, and died of wounds in the sector on 2 May 1917. He was buried in Erquinghem-Lys Churchyard Extension.[3][8][9]

Honours

As a player

Southampton

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References
  1. Joyce, Michael (2012). Football League Players' Records 1888 to 1939. Nottingham: Tony Brown. p. 289. ISBN 190589161X.
  2. "Wilf Toman". SaintsPlayers. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
  3. "Casualty details: Toman, W." CWGC. Retrieved 10 August 2017.
  4. Holley, Duncan; Chalk, Gary (1992). The Alphabet of the Saints. ACL & Polar Publishing. pp. 334–335. ISBN 0-9514862-3-3.
  5. Chalk, Gary; Holley, Duncan; Bull, David (2013). All the Saints: A Complete Players' Who's Who of Southampton FC. Southampton: Hagiology Publishing. p. 188. ISBN 978-0-9926-8640-6.
  6. "Wilfred Toman | Everton Football Club". www.evertonfc.com. Retrieved 10 August 2017.
  7. Watts, Ian. "Wilf Toman County Record". gogogocounty.org. Retrieved 10 August 2017.
  8. "Wilfred Toman | Service Record | Football and the First World War". Football and the First World War. Retrieved 10 August 2017.
  9. "EFC Heritage Society - The Fallen" (PDF). EFC Heritage Society. Retrieved 26 March 2020.
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