They are known for their perma-tans, celebrity Hello! magazine lifestyles and an obsession for shopping in the world’s most famous designer boutiques.

But the Wags of 100 years ago lived far more modest lives than their modern millionaire counterparts, a leading family history website has discovered.

The wife of Bradford City FA Cup hero Jimmy Speirs was a humble photography assistant who lived in a relatively modest home in Bradford – a far cry from the palatial mansions of today’s soccer wives like Victoria Beckham and Coleen Rooney.

Bessie Lennox Maben, who married Jimmy Speirs at the age of 18, also brought up two children, a son and a daughter, while working full-time, the 1911 census shows.

A spokesman for findmypast.co. uk, which carried out the research, said: “Wags in 2010 are often seen to be leading the designer lifestyle, shopping, socialising and becoming celebrities. They are young, live in big houses and drive fast cars.

“In 1911, the picture was a lot different and, although footballers’ wives lived in comfortable homes, that is where the comparison stops.

“They were women who worked as power loom weavers, shop assistants and photography assistants. They would hardly recognise the Wags we see today.”

Jimmy Speirs scored the winning – and only – goal in Bradford City’s win over Newcastle United in the 1911 FA Cup, then known as the English Cup.

He was the first player to lift the new trophy, made by Bradford jewellery company Fattorini and Sons after the first division team’s replay win at Old Trafford, Manchester.

The research also found details of Minnie Gertrude Paulsen, who was married to Colin Campbell McKechnie Veitch, the losing captain of Newcastle, who later went on to manage Bradford City.

She is recorded as living in a house of only five rooms and lived with her husband and another person, believed to be lodger, to make some extra money for the family.

Debra Chatfield, marketing manager at findmypast.co.uk, said: “The 1911 census is an amazing resource for not only searching our own family history but for getting a snapshot of British social history.

“The 2010 World Cup will no doubt have most of the world going football mad and our research gives you a glimpse into the lives of those that made the game what it has become today.”

To celebrate the World Cup, access to the records on findmypast.co.uk will be free during England games. Register at findmypast.co.uk.