Fred Wheldon,(1 November 1869-13 January 1924) was a prolific goalscorer for England and a number of clubs including Small Heath (later renamed Birmingham City) and Aston Villa.He played four times for England, scoring six goals.  From Langley Green, Oldbury in the West Midlands, Wheldon was the youngest of ten children, and played for several local teams. After an unsuccessful trial with West Bromwich Albion, he joined Small Heath of the Football Alliance in February 1890. He scored Small Heath’s first ever goal in League football and finished the campaign with twenty-five goals in twenty-two appearances as  the club won the Championship, although they failed to secure promotion having lost the subsequent test match against the top tiers' bottom club Small Heath (later renamed Manchester United). He scored over twenty goals again the next season, and this time the club was promoted. In total Wheldon scored 96 goals in 155 appearances for Small Heath before joining reigning First Division champions Aston Villa for a fee of £350. In his first season he was Villa’s leading scorer, with twenty-two League and Cup goals, as the club won both the League title and FA Cup with Wheldon scoring in the FA Cup Final victory over Everton.  In 1897/98, he topped the League’s scoring charts with a total of twenty-three goals in a season when Villa struggled. He was a key member of the Villa team which won the League Championship in 1898-99 and 1899-1900 before moving to West Bromwich Albion for a transfer fee of £100.  A year later be joined Queen’s Park Rangers and later played for Portsmouth, Worcester City and Coventry City before retiring in 1907. The Evening Despatch, 3 January 1907, recalled his time with Small Heath ‘It was most exhilarating to see the way Wheldon avoided the multitudinous difficulties with which he had to contend when playing Second League for Small Heath. He was without doubt the most prolific goal-scorer in the country, and he succeeded in spite of the fact that he was always a marked man; indeed, oftentimes several opponents would dog his movements throughout the whole match, knowing that if they destroyed his individuality they had done a great deal to throw the whole of the Small Heath attack out of gear’.  In addition to being a very successful footballer,  Wheldon was also a fine first class cricketer for Worcestershire described by the Birmingham Daily Post in July 1900 as ‘a sound, honest batsman rather than a graceful one.’ Shortly before his retirement from football The Villa News and Record paid Wheldon the following tribute ‘One of the select few who have won fame both at cricket and football. At one period of his long and brilliant career, Fred Wheldon's services would have been accepted by any club in the country. When at his best, he was undoubtedly the finest inside left forward England possessed. His command of the ball, his adaptability to prevailing conditions, combined with his dodging, his swerving, and his deadly shooting, made him a great player in the highest company. Brilliant with head and foot alike, he has always been an ornament to the game.’