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Billy Wootton

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English footballer (1904–2000)

Billy Wootton
Wootton in 1929
Personal information
Full name William Wootton
Date of birth (1904-08-27)27 August 1904
Place of birth Longton, Staffordshire, England
Date of death 2000 (aged 95–96)
Height 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
Position(s) Full-back
Youth career
Trentham
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1923–1924 Stoke 0 (0)
1924–1925 Congleton Town
1925–1932 Port Vale 56 (0)
1932–1933 Southend United 2 (0)
1933–1939 Northwich Victoria
Managerial career
1935–1947 Northwich Victoria (player-manager)
1947–1950 Oldham Athletic
1951–1952 Halifax Town
1952–1953 Winsford United
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

William Wootton (27 August 1904 – 2000) was an English footballer who played as a full-back for Stoke, Congleton Town, Port Vale, and Southend United. He later managed Northwich Victoria, Oldham Athletic, and Halifax Town. He won the Third Division North title with Port Vale in 1929–30 and led Northwich Victoria to victory in the Cheshire Senior Cup in 1937.

Playing career

Wootton played for Trentham, Stoke and Congleton Town before joining Port Vale in June 1925. He made three Second Division appearances in the 1925–26 season. He remained a bit-part player for the "Valiants", featuring seven times in 1926–27, 12 times in 1927–28, and six times in 1928–29. Vale were relegated in 1929, and Wootton played 20 league games in 1929–30 as Vale won the Third Division North title. However, he only played four games in 1930–31 and six games in 1931–32.

In August 1932, he was transferred to Third Division South side Southend United. He became the player-manager of Cheshire County League club Northwich Victoria in 1935. He spent 12 years at Drill Field, leading them to the Cheshire Senior Cup in 1937, as well as the League Challenge Cup and Edward Case Cup, and making player sales totalling £820.

Managerial career

Having been player-manager before World War 2, Wootton was appointed Northwich Victoria manager when the football club resumed activities on 19 January 1946. He resigned in January 1947, citing "changed conditions of his employment prevented him from carrying out his duties at the Drill Field satisfactorily". Wootton became the manager of Third Division North side Oldham Athletic in June 1947. He oversaw 141 games at Boundary Park. He achieved a 38.28 win percentage but failed to gain the club the promotion to the Second Division they craved. He negotiated the sales of Ken Brierley to Liverpool and both Ray Haddington and Billy Spurdle to Manchester City. He resigned on 30 September 1950 after a poor start to the 1949–50 season saw the Latics with seven points from ten matches, which was reported to be a surprise to the Oldham board. He reportedly applied for the vacant manager's job at Wrexham in October 1950. He was made secretary-manager of Halifax Town the following year. Gerry Henry was appointed as player-coach on 4 December 1951, with Wootton being described as absent on other business. He spent just one season with Halifax and left The Shay after leading the "Shaymen" to a 20th-place finish in the Third Division North in 1951–52. On 12 July 1952, he was appointed as manager of Winsford United in the Cheshire County League, having previously come close to taking the job when he had instead taken charge at Oldham. He negotiated the sale of Eric Johnson to Coventry City for £1,500, rising to a potential £2,000. He left the club by mutual consent on 26 August 1953 to concentrate on his business concerns.

Career statistics

Playing statistics

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League FA Cup Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Stoke 1923–24 Second Division 0 0 0 0 0 0
Port Vale 1925–26 Second Division 3 0 0 0 3 0
1926–27 Second Division 5 0 2 0 7 0
1927–28 Second Division 12 0 0 0 12 0
1928–29 Second Division 6 0 0 0 6 0
1929–30 Third Division North 20 0 0 0 20 0
1930–31 Second Division 4 0 0 0 4 0
1931–32 Second Division 6 0 0 0 6 0
Total 56 0 2 0 58 0
Southend United 1932–33 Third Division South 2 0 0 0 2 0
Career total 58 0 2 0 60 0

Managerial statistics

Source:

Managerial record by team and tenure
Team From To Record
P W D L Win %
Oldham Athletic 1 June 1947 14 September 1950 145 54 37 54 037.2
Halifax Town 5 March 1951 6 February 1952 44 9 10 25 020.5
Total 189 63 47 79 033.3

Honours

Port Vale

Northwich Victoria

References

  1. ^ Kent, Jeff (1996). Port Vale Personalities. Witan Books. p. 317. ISBN 0-9529152-0-0.
  2. "Port Vale". Athletic News. 17 August 1925. p. 8. Retrieved 14 February 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  3. "Player detail: Billy Wootton". SUFC DataBase. Archived from the original on 25 July 2011. Retrieved 31 December 2009.
  4. "Town Appoint Henry as Player-Coach". Staffordshire Sentinel. 19 January 1946. p. 3. Retrieved 14 February 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  5. "Vic Appojnt Team Manager". Winsford Chronicle. 19 January 1946. p. 3. Retrieved 14 February 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  6. "Harry Ware Appointed Vic's Team Manager". Winsford Chronicle. 18 January 1947. p. 3. Retrieved 14 February 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  7. ^ "No Stranger". Liverpool Echo. 12 July 1952. p. 16. Retrieved 14 February 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  8. "Mr Billy Wootton Resigns". Winsford Chronicle. 30 September 1950. p. 3. Retrieved 14 February 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  9. "Billy Wootton Is Silent". Manchester Evening News. 27 September 1950. p. 12. Retrieved 14 February 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  10. "For Wrexham Post?". Hull Daily Mail. 7 October 1950. p. 6. Retrieved 14 February 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  11. "Town Appoint Henry as Player-Coach". Halifax Evening Courier. 4 December 1951. p. 2. Retrieved 14 February 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  12. "Secding Eric Johnson to Covntry has restored Winsford F.C. finances". Winsford Chronicle. 20 September 1952. p. 3. Retrieved 14 February 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  13. "No Windsford Untied Manager". Liverpool Echo. 26 August 1953. p. 5. Retrieved 14 February 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  14. Billy Wootton at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)
  15. Billy Wootton management career statistics at Soccerbase
  16. Kent, Jeff (1990). "From Glory to Despair (1929–1939)". The Valiants' Years: The Story Of Port Vale. Witan Books. pp. 124–150. ISBN 0-9508981-4-7.
Northwich Victoria F.C. – managers
Oldham Athletic A.F.C. – managers
(c) = caretaker manager
Halifax Town A.F.C. – managers
(c) = caretaker manager
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