Fatty Foulke ate all the pies first

It is a chant that has been heard at many a stadium. It has inspired a must read blog. But where did it come from and who was its first recipient? According to Julia Cresswell, author of The Cat’s Pyjamas: The Penguin Book of Cliches, the chant “Who ate all the pies?” was first used by Sheffield United fans way back in 1894 and it was directed at their own goalkeeper, William “Fatty” Foulke.

If ever there was an apt nickname it is the one given to Mr. Foulke. Weighing in at a svelt 24 stones (336 pounds), Fatty is in the Guinness Book of Records as the heaviest professional footballer ever. How anyone could grow to be that big back in the day before high fructose corn syrup is beyond me, but the 6′7″ Foulke certainly loomed large in goal for Sheffield United before moving on the Chelsea where Frank Lampard wears his exact same shorts today.

Among the other legends surround Fatty Foulke and found in Wikipedia:

* He once was bored during a match and brought the game to a halt by hanging on and snapping the crossbar.

* At the end of the first match in the 1902 Cup Final Foulke protested to the officials that Southampton’s equalizing goal should not have been allowed. Foulke left his dressing room unclothed and angrily pursued the referee, Mr. Kirkham, who took refuge in a broom cupboard. Foulke had to be stopped by a group of F.A. officials from wrenching the cupboard door from its hinges to reach the hapless referee.

* His death at the age of 42 was at one time thought to have been the result of the pneumonia he caught while working the “beat the keeper” booth at a carnival.

If you like your keepers big and round, or you are just interested in obscure football history, you can check out Colossus, The True Story of William Foulke, by Graham Phythian.

Category: England, World Football

Tags: England, Football History, Sheffield United, Soccer History, Who Ate All the Pies, William Fatty Foulke, World Football, World Soccer

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