- Ask Steven
Hitting the half-century
Steven LynchJanuary 22, 2015
Who was the first English footballer to win 50 international caps? asked George Collett
The rather surprising answer to this one is that it was Billy Wright, who is more usually remembered as the first man to win 100 caps for England. But the English record before Wright was just 41 caps, by the Blackburn Rovers fullback Bob Crompton, who played his last international in 1914. It was 38 years before Wright equalled Crompton's record, and he broke it later in 1952.
Wright won his 50th cap in 1953, and his 100th against Scotland in 1959. He bowed out later that year with 105, finishing in style in an 8-1 victory over the United States. Wayne Rooney recently became the ninth England player to reach a century of caps.
The first footballer from any country to win 50 international caps was Imre Schlosser, of Hungary, in 1916.
Ask Steven features a number of experts, headed by Steven Lynch, who answer your questions across a variety of sports
