Max Woosnam

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Personal information
Max Woosnam
Full name	Maxwell Woosnam
Date of birth	6 September 1892(1892-09-06)
Place of birth	Liverpool, England
Date of death	14 July 1965 (aged 72)
Place of death	London, England
Playing position	Centre half
Senior career¹
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
1914 1919–1923	Chelsea Manchester City	3 (0) 96 (4)
National team
1922	England	1 (0)
¹ Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. * Appearances (Goals)

Men's Tennis
Olympic medal record
Gold	1920 Antwerp	Doubles
Silver	1920 Antwerp	Mixed doubles

Maxwell "Max" Woosnam (6 September,1892 - 14 July 1965) was a British World War I veteran and a British sportsman.

Born to a wealthy family in Liverpool, Woosnam spent most of his childhood in Aberhafesp, Mid Wales. He attended Winchester College, where he captained the golf and cricket teams, while also representing the school at football and squash. As a schoolboy he scored 144 for a Public Schools XI while playing against the MCC at Lord's.

In 1911 he enrolled in Cambridge University. Whilst here he represented the university at football, cricket, lawn tennis, real tennis and golf (being a scratch golfer).

After Cambridge he played amateur football for the then highly successful team, Corinthian Casuals and Chelsea

In the First World War he fought alongside Siegfried Sassoon on the western front and in the Gallipoli Campaign.

After the war Woosnam continued his amateur sporting career taking part in several sporting events including Wimbledon and began to attract a great deal of fame. He declined the opportunity to become a professional sportsman, finding the idea 'vulgar'.

Upon moving to Manchester he signed for Manchester City (on amateur terms) eventually rising to become its captain at the recommendation of his team-mates. This was highly unusual for an amateur among professionals. Eventually his success allowed him to play for England (both for the amateur team and as a full international as captain). Woosnam was also selected to captain the British football team at Olympics, but refused, having already committed himself to the tennis team. He continued other sporting endeavours outside of football however, winning doubles titles at Wimbledon and the Olympics, and captaining the Great Britain Davis Cup team. After leaving Manchester City, he continued playing football occasionally for Northwich Victoria.

He was appointed to the board of ICI, and died in 1965 of respiratory failure.

His life is chronicled in the book All Round Genius - The Unknown Story of Britain's Greatest Sportsman, by Mick Collins.

Woosnam's uncle, Hylton Philipson, was a cricketer and played five Test matches for England.

He once defeated actor and film director Charlie Chaplin at table tennis playing with a butter knife instead of a bat.^[1] Besides being a pioneer for table tennis, he was very experienced at snooker too, once achieving a maximum break.

Max also drove a bus during the general strike.