Billy Harrison (footballer, born 1886)

William Ewart Harrison (27 December 1886 – August 1948) was an English footballer who played at outside right.

For the rugby league footballer of the 1960s for New Zealand, and Wellington, see Billy Harrison (rugby league).

Billy Harrison
Personal information
Full name William Ewart Harrison[1]
Date of birth (1886-12-27)27 December 1886[1]
Place of birth Wybunbury, Cheshire, England[1]
Date of death August 1948 (age 61)[1]
Place of death Wolverhampton, England[1]
Height 5 ft 4+1⁄2 in (1.64 m)
Position(s) Outside right
Youth career
Hough United
Crewe South End
Willaston White Star
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1905–1907 Crewe Alexandra ? (?)
1907–1920 Wolverhampton Wanderers 317 (43)
1920–1922 Manchester United 44 (5)
1922–1923 Port Vale 22 (2)
1923–1924 Wrexham 29 (0)
Total 412 (45)
International career
Football League 2 (?)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

After a spell with Crewe Alexandra, he spent 1907 to 1920 with Wolverhampton Wanderers, the FA Cup in his first season there. He was later inducted into the club's Hall of Fame.[2] He spent 1920 to 1922 with Manchester United, and later had one-season spells with Port Vale and Wrexham.

Career

Harrison played for Hough United, Crewe South End, Willaston White Star and Crewe Alexandra, before signing for fellow Second Division side Wolverhampton Wanderers for a £400 fee in summer 1907. His first season with the club ended in FA Cup glory, as they won the trophy after defeating Newcastle United 3–1 in the final, with Harrison scoring a fine individual goal.[3] He remained at Molineux for nine full seasons, and 345 games in total.

During World War I he guested for Stoke. He played seven times for the Potters in 1915–16, 31 times in 1916–17, 33 times in 1917–18, and 28 times in 1918–19, scoring a total of 17 goals at the Victoria Ground. Stoke enjoyed some measure of success in the war leagues, finishing as runners-up of the Lancashire Section Secondary Competition Group D in 1916–17, champions of the Lancashire Section Primary Competition in 1917–18, and runners-up in both the Primary Competition and Group C in 1918–19. He returned to Wanderers for the 1919–20 season, as the club posted a 19th-place finish.

Harrison moved to Manchester United in October 1920.[4] He went on to score five goals in 46 appearances for the Red Devils, helping United to finish 13th in 1920–21, before they suffered relegation out of the First Division in 1921–22. He left Old Trafford and joined Second Division rivals Port Vale in September 1922.[1] He enjoyed a positive start to the 1922–23 campaign, scoring the only goal of the game against former club Manchester United at The Old Recreation Ground.[1] He was a first-team regular until an ankle injury in October 1922 put him out of action until January 1923.[1] He regained his spot but was sold to Wrexham for £300 in June of that year.[1] He helped the Dragons to a 16th-place finish in the Third Division North in 1923–24, before he departed the Racecourse Ground at the age of 38.

Post-retirement

After retiring from football, Harrison was a pub landlord in Tettenhall, Wolverhampton. He had 10 children, and his wife gave birth to triplets on the day of the 1908 FA Cup final.[5] He died in August 1948, aged 61.[3]

Career statistics

Source:[6]

Club Season Division League FA Cup Total
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Wolverhampton Wanderers 1907–08 Second Division 31472386
1908–09 Second Division 35320373
1909–10 Second Division 35721378
1910–11 Second Division 33930369
1911–12 Second Division 38641427
1912–13 Second Division 34320363
1913–14 Second Division 35630386
1914–15 Second Division 35121372
1919–20 Second Division 31331344
1920–21 Second Division 10100101
Total 3174328634549
Manchester United 1920–21 First Division 23320253
1921–22 First Division 21200212
Total 44520465
Port Vale 1922–23 Second Division 22200222
Wrexham 1923–24 Third Division North 29020310
Career total 4125032614456

Honours

Wolverhampton Wanderers

Stoke

  • Lancashire Section Primary Competition: 1917–18

References
  1. Kent, Jeff (1996). Port Vale Personalities. Witan Books. p. 129. ISBN 0952915200.
  2. "First And Last For Hall of Fame". wolves.co.uk. Wolverhampton Wanderers FC. 19 November 2009. Archived from the original on 30 January 2010. Retrieved 22 January 2010.
  3. Matthews, Tony (2001). The Wolves Who's Who. West Midlands: Britespot. p. 47. ISBN 1-904103-01-4.
  4. "WILLIAM HARRISON". MUFCInfo.com. Retrieved 24 May 2009.
  5. "Search for family of Wolves hero ends in success". Black Country Bugle. 25 February 2010. Archived from the original on 19 April 2013. Retrieved 4 August 2012.
  6. Billy Harrison at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)
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