William Davies (footballer, born 1882)
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | William Davies | ||
Date of birth | 13 April 1882 | ||
Place of birth | Wrexham, Wales | ||
Date of death | 21 January 1966 | (aged 83)||
Place of death | Preston, England | ||
Position(s) |
Centre forward | ||
Youth career | |||
Wrexham National School | |||
1900 | Wrexham St. Giles | ||
Wrexham Victoria | |||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
1902–1905 | Wrexham | ||
1905–1913 | Blackburn Rovers | 132 | (66) |
International career | |||
1903–1912 | Wales | 11 | (5) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals |
William Davies (13 April 1882 – 21 January 1966) was a Welsh
Early life
Davies was born in Wrexham and was trained as a tinsmith, thus earning the nickname "Tinker",[1] which he was to retain for the rest of his life.[2][3] He played football as an amateur with various clubs in the Wrexham area; whilst he was with Wrexham Victoria of the Chester and District League, he gained a reputation as a prolific goal-scorer.
Football career
Wrexham
He was signed by Wrexham, then playing in The Combination, in 1902. Davies was described as a "short, dogged player, full of dash and determination", who had a reputation for charging the goalkeeper; in one Welsh Cup match, he bundled the goalkeeper into the net five times.[1]
In his first season with Wrexham, he helped the club reach the final of the Welsh Cup, where they defeated
Shortly before the 1903 Welsh Cup final, Davies was called up to represent
Blackburn Rovers
In the summer of 1905, he was signed by
He made his debut for Blackburn in a reserves match in typical fashion, scoring a hat-trick; a local report said "Tinker got three goals and in two of them put the goalkeeper in as well".[1]
In the 1906 edition of "Association Football and the Men Who Made It", Davies was described as "a snapper up of trifles (who) snatched at goals with greedy delight".[1]
In November 1908, he scored four goals in two consecutive matches; the first occasion came at Goodison Park on 21 November when Everton were 4–1 up with twenty minutes left to play, when Davies' "whirlwind" scoring brought the scores level by full-time.[1][8] He was Blackburn's top scorer in three of the eight seasons he spent at Ewood Park: 1907–08 (9 goals),[9] 1908–09 (21 goals)[10] and 1910–11 (16 goals).[11]
Davies was recalled to the Welsh team for the
The following season, Davies scored twice in a 3–2 victory over Scotland; this was his first win for Wales.[14]
Davies was seriously injured midway through
Retirement and later life
Davies was married to the daughter of a director of Blackburn FC. In 1910, with the proceeds of a
During the
International appearances
Davies made a total of 11 appearances for Wales in international matches, scoring five goals, as follows:[16]
Date | Venue | Opponent | Result[17] | Goals | Competition |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
28 March 1903 | Solitude Ground, Belfast |
Ireland | 0–2 | 0 | British Home Championship
|
8 April 1905 | Solitude Ground, Belfast | Ireland | 2–2 | 0 | British Home Championship
|
7 March 1908 | Dens Park, Dundee | Scotland | 1–2 | 0 | British Home Championship
|
16 March 1908 | Racecourse Ground, Wrexham | England | 1–7 | 1 | British Home Championship |
1 March 1909 | Racecourse Ground, Wrexham | Scotland | 3–2 | 2 | British Home Championship
|
15 March 1909 | City Ground, Nottingham | England | 0–2 | 0 | British Home Championship |
20 March 1909 | Solitude Ground, Belfast | Ireland | 3–2 | 0 | British Home Championship |
28 January 1911 | Windsor Park, Belfast | Ireland | 2–1 | 1 | British Home Championship
|
6 March 1911 | Ninian Park, Cardiff | Scotland | 2–2 | 0 | British Home Championship |
13 March 1911 | The Den , London |
England | 0–3 | 0 | British Home Championship |
13 April 1912 | Ninian Park, Cardiff | Ireland | 2–3 | 1 | British Home Championship
|
Honours
- Welsh Cup winners: 1903, 1905
- Football League champions: 1911–12
References
- ^ ISBN 1-872424-11-2.
- ^ "Leicester Fosse 2–0 Blackburn Rovers". Giant Killers 1908.
- ^ "Spurs 0 Blackburn 2". Spurs v Blackburn Rovers match reports. 9 September 1911. Retrieved 9 October 2010.
- ^ "Wrexham 8 Aberaman 0". Welsh Cup Final. Welsh Football Data Archive. 13 April 1903. Retrieved 9 October 2010.
- ^ "Wrexham 3 Aberdare 0". Welsh Cup Final. Welsh Football Data Archive. 24 April 1905. Retrieved 9 October 2010.
- ^ "Ireland 2 Wales 0". Welsh international matches. Welsh Football Data Archive. 28 March 1903. Retrieved 9 October 2010.
- ^ "Ireland 2 Wales 2". Welsh international matches. Welsh Football Data Archive. 8 April 1905. Retrieved 9 October 2010.
- ^ "Everton 4 Blackburn Rovers 4". Everton F.C. 21 November 1908. Retrieved 9 October 2010.
- ^ "Blackburn Rovers 1907–1908". free-elements.com. Retrieved 9 October 2010.
- ^ "Blackburn Rovers 1908–1909". free-elements.com. Retrieved 9 October 2010.
- ^ "Blackburn Rovers 1910–1911". free-elements.com. Retrieved 9 October 2010.
- ISBN 978-1-86223-176-4.
- ^ "Wales 1 – England 7". England international results. englandstats.com. 16 March 1908. Retrieved 10 October 2010.
- ^ "Wales 3 Scotland 2". Welsh international matches. Welsh Football Data Archive. 1 March 1909. Retrieved 10 October 2010.
- ^ "Blackburn Rovers 1911–1912". free-elements.com. Retrieved 9 October 2010.
- ^ The Complete Wales FC 1876–2008. pp. 17–21.
- ^ Wales score first
External links
- William Davies at EU-Football.info