William Joyce (born 8 April 1877) was a Scottish

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who played as a

centre-forward In the sport of association football, a forward (attacker or striker) is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position which primarily plays further up the pitch than Midfielder, midfielders and Defender (association football), d ...

in the

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...

for

Bolton Wanderers Bolton Wanderers Football Club ( ) is a professional association football, football club based in Horwich, Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in EFL League One, League One, the third level of the Englis ...

and Burton United. He played in Thames Ironworks' final season before reforming as

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Stratford, London, Stratford, East London, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English f ...

, and also played for Morton,

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as simply Tottenham (, , , ) or Spurs, is a professional Association football, football club based in Tottenham, North London, England. The club itself has stated that it should always ...

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

and

Motherwell Motherwell (, ) is a List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, town and former burgh in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, United Kingdom, south east of Glasgow. It has a population of around 32,120. Shires of Scotland, Historically in the p ...

. Joyce started his career at Morton before moving to England and

in early 1895. He suffered a broken leg while with the club in 1896. Joyce played for

Tottenham Tottenham (, , , ) is a district in north London, England, within the London Borough of Haringey. It is located in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Greater London. Tottenham is centred north-northeast of Charing Cross, ...

in 1898–99 (taking over from Tommy Meade who was dropped due to wage increase demands), scoring 26 goals in 38 games. He signed for Thames Ironworks for the 1899–1900 season (the club's last season before becoming

), along with Spurs colleagues Harry Bradshaw and Kenny McKay, and made 27 Southern League appearances for the club, scoring 8 goals. He also averaged a goal a game in seven

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

appearances that season. His three goals in a 5–1 test match victory, against

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies in a loop on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea, London, Chelsea ...

White Hart Lane White Hart Lane was a Association football, football stadium in Tottenham, North London and the home of Tottenham Hotspur F.C., Tottenham Hotspur Football Club from 1899 to 2017. Its capacity varied over the years; when changed to all-seater i ...

on 30 April 1900, assured a league place for the successor club the following season. Joyce went on to join

as a replacement for Sandy Brown. At the time of the 1901 UK census he was living in the city with his wife, daughter and a boarder – fellow ''Pompey'' player

Tom Wilkie Thomas Wilkie (1876 – 8 January 1932) was a Scottish footballer who played as a defender for Liverpool in The Football League. Wilkie signed for Liverpool from Heart of Midlothian during the 1895–96 season, appearing in 20 of the 30 league ...

.1901 UK census
via Ancestry UK A year later, he moved to Burton United and made 29 appearances over two seasons. He later returned to Morton and played for

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Joyce, Bill 1877 births Year of death missing Sportspeople from Prestonpans Footballers from East Lothian Scottish men's footballers Men's association football forwards Greenock Morton F.C. players Bolton Wanderers F.C. players Tottenham Hotspur F.C. players Thames Ironworks F.C. players Portsmouth F.C. players Burton United F.C. players Motherwell F.C. players English Football League players Scottish Football League players Southern Football League players