“Who ate all the pies?” is a familiar chant around football grounds, directed at any footballer who happens to be a little larger, more sluggish, or slower than you might reasonably expect of a sportsman. Of course, in many cases, it’s a nonsense – I can quite happily admit that every player I’ve ever chanted it at is almost certainly fitter than I am – but the chant has lingered for over a century. The question is, where did it start, and who was the unfortunate player about whom it was created?
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That poor soul, although he would never call himself that, was Willie Foulke, who also carried the nickname “Fatty”. Through his career in the North East and London around the turn of the last century, he was a colossal figure. The goalkeeper stood at 6’4, at a time when the average height was just 5’8, and at the end of his career weighed 24 stone, a frankly unbelievable figure for a professional sportsman.
Foulke started his career with his local side in Shropshire, Blackwell Miners Welfare. Weighing much less than his final total – something closer to 14 stone – the 19 year old was already gaining attention for his height, and for the quality of his performances, when Football League side Derby County sent a team for a friendly. Foulkes drew considerable headlines, not just for his performance between the sticks, but also because when he came off of his line to punch a ball clear, he connected with England forward John Goodall, an assault that has been described as “amateur dentistry”. Whether because of his previous performances, or his violence against one of their rivals, it was enough for Sheffield United to confirm their interest in him. Foulkes moved to South Yorkshire in 1904 for the princely sum of £20.
Foulke’s stature and ability made him one of the first real superstars of English football. Ernest Needham, who at the time was considered the greatest half back of all time, described his team mate as the best goalkeeper he had ever seen. Sheffield United fans were certainly inclined to agree, as his arrival at the club spurred The Blades on to a period at the very top of English football, competing with the likes of Preston and Aston Villa for top honours, and providing internationals to the England side on a regular basis – Foulke would gain his only cap in 1897. He was reported as being able to stop and catch the ball with one hand, “in the same way a fielder in the slips stops a ball at cricket”, and earned the ironic nickname of “Little Willie”, one that would also follow him on his career, though “Fatty” remained far more common.
Foulke played one shy of 300 league games for Sheffield United over the course of a decade at the club, which saw them win the league title once and finish runners up twice, as well as adding two FA Cup victories to their record. Foulke was key through all of it, and holds the second highest number of honours of any player at The Blades – only Needham won more at Bramall Lane.
More than his honours though, Foulke’s legend grew at Sheffield United, with anecdotal stories highlighting his tempestuous nature and his voracious appetite, turning him into a cult hero even before cult heroes were really considered. Before an away game, he is said to have gone down for a morning meal at the hotel Sheffield United were staying at, and ended up eating 11 full breakfasts. Which might explain how his waistline grew along with his status among fans. Another time, after conceding a controversial late equaliser against Southampton, Foulke is said to have stormed out of the shower, naked and dripping, and into the referee’s room. The official hid in a cupboard to try to save himself from the gigantic, naked goalkeeper threatening him, but to no avail. Foulke ripped the door of the cupboard off, and told the referee exactly what he thought of his performance.
Of course, all good things come to an end, and in 1905 his time at Sheffield United came to a close. But that wasn’t the end of Foulke’s playing career, although he had grown considerably in size since making his League debut a decade earlier. Plenty of clubs wanted him, but one in particular was newly-formed and trying to get noticed, so they offered Foulke the opportunity to move to London on (for the time) high wages. Foulke liked the idea of being a big fish in a little pond – and he was always the biggest fish – and so agreed, moving to Chelsea.
Owners and founders Gus and Joseph Mears got exactly what they wanted from Foulke, and knew how to use him. It wasn’t his ability that they were after – although he was still a competent goalkeeper – it was his legend. The marketing machine went into overdrive, and fans flocked to Stamford Bridge to catch a glimpse of the behemoth in goal. The Mears’ even starting placing children behind his goal, to emphasise just how big he was. Of course, through the game they happily collected and returned any shots that were fired wide of Foulke’s goal, and thus ballboys were introduced to English football. Chelsea established themselves on the colossal shoulders of William Foulke.
“Fatty” lasted just one year in the capital before the lure of the north was too much for him, and he moved back to Yorkshire, this time to Bradford City. He played 22 times, but eventually picked up an injury and called it quits on his career. He spent his last few years in Sheffield where he owned a shop and a beer house, and would often be seen walking around the city in tailor-made suits with an FA Cup winner’s medal around his neck. He died of liver disease at just 42, in 1916.
Ironically, given the chant for which he is known, “who ate all the pies?” was probably never sung at him, and possibly never about him. Of all the crazy, legendary stories about “Fatty”, this most famous one is the least likely, or at least most provably wrong, of all of them. The tune that the chant is set to – “Knees Up Mother Brown” – was initially sung in 1918, two years after his death. But who doesn’t like a good story?
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