We were saddened to hear of the recent passing of Andy Wilson, who enjoyed two seasons at Chesterfield in the mid-1960s.
Although Andy came to Saltergate as a right-sided forward, he was versatile enough to play on either wing. He made his first foray into professional football with Sheffield United, and went on to play a total of four games for the Blades before being transferred to Scunthorpe United for £750 in June 1961.
His best football years were probably spent with the Iron, where he played 112 times in the league and scored 14 goals. With him in the side, Scunthorpe finished fourth in the old Division Two in 1961, their highest-ever league position, but were relegated to Division Three in 1964.
A single season at Doncaster Rovers, where he contributed 20 games to Rovers’ successful pursuit of the 1965/66 Fourth Division championship, was followed by a move to Chesterfield in the summer of 1966.
Andy made 72 Football League appearances for the Spireites and scored 13 goals from the right wing. His performance for Chesterfield at Blackpool in the 1967/68 FA Cup is remembered by those who saw him running England’s Jimmy Armfield ragged on the day.
‘Winger’ became ‘midfielder’ during the late 1960s as English football evolved, and he was firmly the latter by the time he moved to Aldershot in the summer of 1968. His 1968/69 season was severely curtailed by injury, and Andy moved into the non-league game at the end of it.
After spells at Boston United and Worksop Town he signed for Matlock Town in February 1971. He succeeded the former Spireite Keith Kettleborough as the Gladiators’ manager in October 1972, and remained in that post until the summer of 1974. After leaving a close involvement in football behind, Andy worked for an insurance firm while playing golf to a good standard.
We offer our condolences to Andy’s family and many friends.
