William Foulke

After being discovered playing for village side Blackwell in a Derbyshire Cup tie at Ilkeston Town, Foulke made his debut for Sheffield United against West Bromwich Albion on 1 September 1894 and led the team to three FA Cup finals (winning two) and a League Championship. According to The Cat's Pyjamas: The Penguin Book of Cliches (ISBN 9780141025162), the chant "Who ate all the pies?" was first sung in 1894 by Sheffield United supporters, and directed at Foulke's 300 lb (about 136 kg). However, this is disputed, as a September 2019 article on the BBC Sport website pointed out that the tune to which the chant is sung, "Knees Up Mother Brown", is believed to have originated in 1918, which was some two years after Foulke's death. Moreover, Foulke weighed only 178 pounds (81 kg) in 1894; his weight gain came much later. Foulke won a single international cap for England in 1897 against Wales. At the end of the first match in the 1902 FA Cup Final, Foulke protested to the officials that Southampton's equalising goal should not have been allowed. Foulke left his dressing room unclothed and pursued the referee, Tom Kirkham, who took refuge in a broom cupboard. Foulke had to be stopped by a group of F.A. officials from wrenching the cupboard door from its hinges to reach the hapless referee. In the replay, Sheffield United won 2–1, with Foulke being required to make several saves to keep United in the match. He was also in goal for United when they suffered an FA Cup exit to Second…

William Henry Foulke was born in Dawley, Shropshire, England.

He also owned a beer house in Sheffield along with a shop in Matilda Street and was known to walk around his home town wearing his FA Cup winner's medal around his neck on a homemade chain. Foulke appears in the Mitchell and Kenyon films, playing in a match on 6 September 1902. His nephew, Jim Simmons, was also a professional footballer. Foulke also inspired the character of William Fowkes in "The Blue Crusaders", a popular football story published in the Amalgamated Press story paper The Boys' Realm from 1906.

Sheffield United Football League First Division: 1897–98 FA Cup: 1898–99, 1901–02