Fred Wheldon

Small Heath Despite a mutual admiration between club and player, Wheldon did not join the 1888–89 Football League runners-up but instead signed for another Birmingham-based club, Small Heath of the Football Alliance. It was later reported that a business relationship between Small Heath chairman Walter W. Hart and Albright and Wilson's enabled Hart to influence Wheldon's father favourably towards his club. Signed initially on amateur forms, He played once more for the first team in what remained of that season, and then turned professional.

Wheldon's and Small Heath's first Football League goal opened the scoring in a 5–1 win against Burslem Port Vale, and he went on to score 25 goals from the 22 matches, finishing the season as top scorer in the division. The team finished top of the table, a point ahead of Sheffield United, in the replay, Frank Mobley put Small Heath 1–0 up and Wheldon hit a post before Newton Heath won 5–2. Wheldon's 22 league goals helped Small Heath finish as runners-up to Liverpool in 1893–94. The test match, again at Stoke, was level at 1–1 against Darwen until late goals from Billy Walton and Wheldon secured the victory and with it promotion.

In October 1894, Small Heath played West Bromwich Albion in a benefit match for Wheldon; his left-wing partner, Tommy Hands, and a triallist goalkeeper were both injured during the game, and only 2000 supporters were present. A few days later, he scored with the first penalty kick awarded to Small Heath, at home to local rivals Aston Villa, one of 11 First Division goals he scored that season. He missed a fixture for the first and what would remain only time in a six-year professional career with Small Heath, on 11 February 1895, when his sister died on the morning of a match. Having finished 12th of 16 in 1894–95, they came 15th in 1895–96 and faced the top two Second Division teams home and away in a test match mini-league. Defeats to Manchester City and Liverpool and a draw with the latter confirmed Small Heath's relegation, but in the final match, they beat Manchester City 8–0 with hat-tricks from Wheldon and Jack Jones. It was his final contribution to a tally of 113 goals from 175 matches. He refused to re-sign for Small Heath on his current terms, and the directors of what would be a Second Division club did not feel able to increase his wages.

Aston Villa On 4 June 1896, Wheldon signed for League champions Aston Villa, reportedly the only club to meet Small Heath's valuation.

In his first season at Villa Park, Wheldon's 22 goals (18 in the First Division, 4 in the FA Cup) not only made him the team's top scorer but helped them achieve the League and Cup double. Villa beat Everton 3–2 in the 1897 FA Cup Final at the Crystal Palace, and Wheldon made the score 2–2 before Jimmy Crabtree secured a 3–2 victory. His 1897–98 season opened with two successive hat-tricks, against Sheffield Wednesday and West Bromwich Albion. so he missed only one competitive match. He contributed 27 goals over the next two seasons to help Villa win back-to-back league titlesmaking three in four seasonsin 1898–99 and 1899–1900, taking his totals to 68 goals from 123 First Division matches. In mid-June, it was reported that Villa were asking for a £300 fee, while Albion were only willing to pay £100. The deal was done a couple of weeks later, at a fee of £100, and he became the first to play professionally for all three major Birmingham-area clubs.

He was appointed captain, but two months into the season, the team were struggling and he himself had not scored, so he gave up the captaincy at his own request. His form improved when the lively James Stevenson came in from Preston North End at centre forward, but apart from a 7–2 win against Bolton Wanderers, neither his nor the team's goalscoring did, and Albion were relegated at the end of the season. He was initially placed on the retained list, but did not re-sign, and in July was listed as available for transfer.

Later career He then joined Southern League side Queens Park Rangers for £400 in 1901 and then moved to his third club in as many years, as one of manager Bob Blyth's reinforcements at 1901–02 Southern League title-holders Portsmouth. Over the next two seasons he made 63 appearances in all competitions, and then signed as club captain of Worcester City, where he played out the rest of his career, He retired from football, aged 37, in January 1907.

International career

Wheldon was first selected for the Football League XI in the 1893–94 season, while still a Second Division player with Small Heath. In February 1894, he scored twice in a 4–2 win against the Irish League representative team in Belfast, and in April, England's goal in a 1–1 draw with the Scottish Football League XI at Goodison Park came from a passing move involving Wheldon, Jack Devey and goalscorer Fred Spiksley.

Wheldon won four England caps whilst at Villa, scoring six goals. He won his first England cap against Ireland at Trent Bridge, Nottingham on 20 February 1897. Wheldon netted a debut hat-trick as England cruised to a 6–0 victory. Some reports however, say Wheldon's free kick took a deflection off teammate Ernest Needham for 2-0 and also a James Barron own goal made it 4–0. He then played in two further internationals, against Ireland in Belfast, England winning 3–2, and then scored twice in a 3–0 victory against Wales in Wrexham. His last cap came against Scotland at Celtic Park, in which Steve Bloomer became England's record scorer. Wheldon scored after only 3 minutes, Bloomer then scored the other two to break the record set by Tinsley Lindley, as England won 3–1. Southern League Division One

Honours Small Heath Football League Second Division: 1892–93

Aston Villa Football League First Division: 1896–97, 1898–99, 1899–1900 FA Cup: 1896–97 Sheriff of London Charity Shield (shared): 1899

Individual Football League First Division top scorer: 1897–98 Football League Second Division top scorer: 1892–93 He turned out for Worcestershire Club and Ground in June 1893, and became an increasingly regular selection for the full county side, contributing to the three consecutive outright Minor Counties titles that preceded their admission to the County Championship.

Wheldon played in Worcestershire's maiden first-class game, against Yorkshire in May 1899. He made a useful 49 not out in the first innings, and held two catches in Yorkshire's second. Wheldon played in 14 matches in total that season, scoring 541 runs at an average of 33.81 including three half-centuries.

The following season Wheldon had a rather thinner year, averaging under 20 despite making exactly 100 against Hampshire and in the process sharing in a sixth-wicket stand of 186 with William Lowe. 1901 was worse still, as he did not pass 51 in 26 innings, and 1902 was little better, but he returned to form at last in 1903 with 969 runs – the most of his career He also collected his only first-class stumping that year, against Yorkshire: Thomas Straw had been due to keep wicket, but was delayed in arriving at the ground, so Wheldon replaced him both in the team and behind the stumps.

Wheldon passed 900 runs again in 1904; he also collected 40 catches, by far the most in a season in his career, Thereafter his form fell away rapidly, and in 1905 he recorded a disastrous aggregate of 237 runs in 18 innings, He did return for 1906, but again his form was poor and though he made an unbeaten 89 batting at number nine against Warwickshire (out of 633; again Wheldon kept wicket) his next highest score was 31 and he played no more first-class cricket after the end of the season. He did appear in the Minor Counties Championship for Worcestershire Second XI in 1907 and for Carmarthenshire in 1910.