Archibald "Archie" Lee Goodall

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Archibald "Archie" Lee Goodall (3 January 1865 – 29 November 1929) was an Irish footballer who made 429 appearances in the Football League for Preston North End, Aston Villa, Derby County, Glossop and Wolverhampton Wanderers. He also won 10 caps at full international level for Ireland.

His older brother, John Goodall, was also a notable footballer and played for Preston North End, Derby County and England. Between them they played more than 650 matches for Derby County in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Their father was a soldier who was posted all over Britain and despite having Scottish parents and being raised in Kilmarnock, the Goodall brothers were ineligible to play for Scotland because of their birthplaces. As a result, they played for their countries of birth and thus became the first brothers in world football to play for different national teams.

In May 1889 Archie Goodall joined Derby County where he was reunited with his brother John. Together with Steve Bloomer, the Goodall brothers formed the backbone of a Derby County side that regularly challenged for top honours over the following decade. Primarily used as a centre-half, Goodall made 380 English League appearances for the club, scored 48 league goals and helped them finish runners-up in 1896. Goodall also played a further 42 games and scored 4 goals in the FA Cup, helping County reach three FA Cup Finals in 1898, 1899 and 1903. In 1898 despite being strong favourites, County eventually lost 3–1 to Nottingham Forest. He missed the 1899 final due to injury and in 1903 they lost 6–0 to Bury.

Between October 1892 and October 1897 he made a club record 151 consecutive league appearances for Derby. During this time he also played every cup match making an unbroken run of 167 competitive matches over 5 years.

Goodall had to wait for the Irish FA to change its rules governing the selection of non-resident players before he made his international debut for Ireland on 4 March 1899 as they beat Wales 1–0 in Belfast. He thus became one of the first four Irish players based in England to be selected to represent Ireland. Three weeks later, on 25 March, aged 34 years and 279 days, Goodall became the oldest player to score in international football during the 19th century when he scored Ireland's goal in a 9–1 defeat to Scotland in Glasgow. Goodall remained a regular at centre-half for Ireland until he was almost 40. On 28 March 1903 he scored the opening goal in a 2–0 win against Wales, helping Ireland clinch a share in the 1903 British Home Championship. The goal also saw Goodall, aged 38 years and 283 days, become the oldest goal scorer in Ireland's history. He made his final appearance for Ireland as a centre-forward in a 1–0 win against Wales on 21 March 1904.

After leaving Derby County in May 1903, Goodall briefly joined Plymouth Argyle before becoming player-manager at Glossop in January 1904. Goodall made his last two appearances for Ireland while at Glossop. In October 1905 he joined Wolverhampton Wanderers. He was 41 years and 153 days old when he made his final league appearance for Wolves on 2 December 1905 against Everton, making him the oldest player ever to play for that club.

After retiring as a player, Goodall travelled Europe and the United States as part of a music hall strongman's act which featured him "walking around a metal hoop" which he had built in a shed at his Wolfa Street home in Derby. He could raise 150lbs with one hand and 184lbs overhead with two.

He finally settled in Finchley, London, where he lived out his remaining years. He died on 29th November 1929 and was buried in Nottingham Road Cemetery on 5th December. Following a GoFundMe appeal, his burial plot was finally marked with a headstone on 28 April 2024.