Talk:James Wilson (footballer, born 1882)

Oldham Athletic
I'm not sure, if he even went to Oldham. The problem is, that Dykes also mixed-up something. He writes that "Andrew [...] with Sheffield Wednesday. Brother James played for St Mirren and the Scottish League and Alex for PNE and the Latics Reserve." On the other hand, I can't find any mentioning of a "J. Wilson" at Oldham around 1911 via the BNA.. and ENFA doesn't mention Oldham in James' profile. --Ureinwohner (talk) 13:57, 10 October 2020 (UTC)
 * Athletic News, 28 August 1911: "There have been a few departures. Lyon, for six years a member of one of the dourest half-back lines in the country, has severed his connection with the club, although he is still in Preston, and both James Wilson and James McLean, the latter an old fellow half-back of Lyon’s, have finished with the game." Retirement seems more likeley. --Ureinwohner (talk) 14:04, 10 October 2020 (UTC)
 * Yeah I would totally agree with that assessment. There is also this from the Athletic News in 1910 stating they had signed Alex Wilson, no mention of James (although it would have been a year early) but I think it's fair to assume somewhere down the line the notes on the situation became something like "brother of David and Andrew Wilson" and as James was better known, it got changed to him in some archives but stayed as Alex in others - and as you have stated, that mix-up may also have filtered back to Alex being named as the Preston player (although could Alex have been at PNE reserves with James before going over to Oldham??). With no decent evidence to the contrary and this chat serving as a 'trail' for anyone needing it, I'm happy for you to remove the references to Oldham from this James article and end his career in 1911, or obviously I could do it if you rather. All the best, Crowsus (talk) 17:06, 10 October 2020 (UTC)
 * Done. If I can be of any assistance about English football (or Scottish via the BNA) to you, let me know. Best regards Ureinwohner (talk) 17:44, 10 October 2020 (UTC)
 * Thank you, I've seen you've already filled in a few gaps for English clubs on some I've done over this summer, cheers for that, I'll have a look through and see if there's others with big gaps in the stats or where the timelines aren't making total sense. Maybe even some DOBs but sometimes that's wishful thinking on common names from this era! 18:21, 10 October 2020 (UTC)