The Story of the Wolves
MAJOR Frank Buckley, born in Urmston, Manchester in 1883, arrived as Wolves’ secretary-manager from Blackpool in July 1927, succeeding Fred Scotchbrook.
The nearly seventeen years that he spent at Molineux laid the foundations for the successes of the 1940s and 1950s.
Cartoon 62 depicts his career route prior to this move. Buckley had first joined the Army in 1898, serving in the Boer War.
Between then and the outbreak of World War I he played as a no-nonsense centre-half for a number of clubs, including Aston Villa (never making the first team), Brighton & Hove Albion, both Manchester clubs, Birmingham City, Derby County and Bradford City.
Whilst at Derby County he gained one England cap, against Ireland in 1914. During the war he became a commanding officer in the 17th Middlesex Regiment (where he commanded the Football Battalion), seeing action and receiving wounds to his lung and shoulder at the Battle of the Somme, and rose to the rank of Major.
After demobilisation
Buckley was made playermanager of Norwich City, then in the Southern League. He made one appearance there, taking his career tally to 191 starts, and was manager until 1920.
Return
Out of work for three years, the Major returned to football management at Blackpool in 1923, where he spent four years in the hot seat.
Details of Buckley’s stay at Wolves will be fully covered in future articles, but eventual club captain and manager Stan Cullis commented on the significance of Buckley’s impact upon Wolves: “I soon realised that Major Buckley was one out of the top drawer. He did not suffer fools gladly. His style of management in football was very similar to his attitude in the army.
“Major Buckley implanted into my mind the direct method of playing which did away with close inter-passing and square-ball play. If you didn’t like his style you’d very soon be on your bicycle to another club. He didn’t like defenders overelaborating in their defensive positions. Major Buckley also knew how to deal with the press.”