Wilfred Minter

And The Magnificent Seven  

Wilfred Minter is a striker who performed one of the most remarkable goalscoring feats in the history of the game.   

On November 22, 1922 Dulwich Hamlet took on St Albans City in a replayed FA Cup Fourth Round Qualifying tie; a match that was to make history and possibly provide the most unlucky loser ever in an FA Cup match. 

In 1922 Isthmian League Dulwich Hamlet were one of the top clubs in the country and only two years earlier had won the FA Amateur Cup but St Albans were the reigning Athenian League champions so a keen match was in prospect when the draw pitted the teams against each other.   

The original match at St Albans was as closely fought as expected but Dulwich held a slim one goal advantage as the game entered it’s closing stages.  A corner gave the home side a last gasp chance of salvaging a draw and they duly took it; but in the most controversial of circumstances.   

City’s Redvers Miller took the corner which sailed into the net apparently without touching any other player. 

Scoring directly from a corner kick was not allowed at that time but the referee awarded the goal much to the chagrin of the Dulwich players and St Albans had earned an unlikely replay. 

The replayed took place at Champion Hill the following Wednesday afternoon and in one respect very much followed the cause of the first game in that it was very tight throughout yet, it completely differed in the respect that 15 goals were scored!   

Yet, like the first match, the game went right to the wire.  It was probably no surprise to the followers of the game at that time that the match would produce so many goals.  Each side possessed a legendary centre-forward with Dulwich fielding the incredible Edgar Kail and St Albans the lethal Wilfred Minter. 

Kail bagged over 400 goals for Dulwich ands was the last player to appear for both the Amateur and full England teams; scoring twice on his full England debut against France in 1929.   

Kail was a figure of national repute and even wrote a popular column for the Daily Sketch but Minter was just as big a hero to the supporters of St Albans.   

Like Kail, Wilfred Minter was an England amateur international who scored a remarkable 356 goals in 362 matches for St Albans refusing all offers to turn professional in favour of working in the family business. 

And it was Minter who would make all the headlines from this game. 

With both sides fielding emergency replacements in goal Kail and Minetr must have been rubbing their hands with glee.  But it was Hamlet’s Davis who struck first after 15 minutes before Minter replied with a quick-fire hat-trick to put City 3-1 in front after half-an-hour.   

Just thirty minutes later Davis had hit two more and Kail had helped himself to a double to put the side 5-3 up.   But Minter was just warming up and in the next ten minutes he hit his second hat-trick of the match to give the edge to St Albans. 

6-5 to City and it looked like they had done enough but Nicol popped up to equalise for Hamlet with just five minutes remaining.   

The match went into extra time with Kail scoring a spectacular goal to give Hamlet the lead before the inevitable Minter equaliser with five minutes left.  Both teams would have settled for a replay but with the last action of the game Davis headed his fourth goal to win it 8-7 for Dulwich.   

Wilfred Minter had scored seven goals away from home but was still on the losing side.  A unique feat in the long history of the FA Cup.