Leicester City In 100 Players: Sandy Wood

He is also one of only two City players to be inducted into the USA Soccer Hall of Fame. The other is Kasey Keller. A nephew of Leicester's Johnny Duncan, Sandy was born in Lochgelly in Fife in 1907. He won a Scotland schoolboy international cap against Wales in 1920. 

A year later, his family emigrated to Gary in Illinois and he became an American citizen in 1922. A year later, 16-year-old Sandy joined Chicago Bricklayers and, from the age of 18 until he moved to Detroit to play for Holley Carburettors in 1929, he never missed a game. 

As a result of his performances at Holley Carburettors being so impressive, he was chosen to represent the USA in the World Cup finals in Uruguay in 1930. 

Sandy was an ever-present in the USA side which defeated both Belgium and Paraguay 3-0, before losing to Argentina 6-1 in the semi-final in front of a crowd of 112,000. In November 1930, Sandy moved to Brooklyn Wanderers, but when that club folded and the American Soccer League disintegrated due to the Depression, Sandy moved back to the UK. 

In February 1933, he signed for Leicester City, who were struggling in the old First Division. He played in the remaining nine games of that season, helping the Club avoid relegation. The following season, he was in the first City team to reach the FA Cup Semi-Final when his side was beaten 4-1 by Portsmouth. 

Sandy was a regular at left-back in the 1934/35 season until he broke his collar bone towards the end of it, as City’s ageing side was relegated after a 10-year spell in the top flight. 

In 1935/36, he lost his place to Wales international Dai Jones and, at the end of the season, he moved to Second Division side Nottingham Forest. 

Further spells in the Southern League with Colchester United and Chelmsford City followed, before Sandy returned to Illinois to work for the US Steel Corporation until he retired aged 63. 

In 1986, Sandy was inducted into the USA Soccer Hall of Fame. A year later, he died in Gary, Illinois, soon after his 80th birthday.