Thursday, March 28, 2013

The original fat footballer


The quintessential fat footballer, once-capped England goalkeeper William "Fatty" Foulke weighed 275.8lb (125.1kg) during his time at first club Sheffield United and, by the time he signed for Bradford in 1906, he was up to 350lb (158.7kg).

Stories about Foulke abound, though some must be apocryphal.

He is said to have once eaten all his team-mates' breakfasts at a hotel; in the 1898-99 season, he apparently picked up Liverpool's George Allen and stood him on his head; at the 1902 FA Cup final, the referee reportedly hid in a broom cupboard to escape an incensed, and stark naked, Foulke after the award of a controversial goal; in 1907, he was forced to wear a sheet because there was no jersey to fit him.

For obvious reasons, the 'Fatty' nickname stuck, and it was Foulke who inspired the creation of the 'Who ate all the pies?' chant, but as he famously once said: "You can call me what you like - just don't call me late for dinner."

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