William John Beer (4 January 1879 in Skinningrove, Yorkshire – 21 June 1958 in NottinghamObituary in Nottingham Guardian, 23 June 1958, page 7, column 3.) was an English professional

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

wing half In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

for

Sheffield United Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The club competes in the Championship, the second tier of English football. They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history ...

and

Small Heath Small Heath is an inner-city area in south-east Birmingham, West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England situated on and around the Coventry Road about from the city centre. History Small Heath, which has been settled and used since Roman t ...

(renamed Birmingham in 1905).

Playing career

He made over 100 appearances for Sheffield United and scored the third goal in their 4–1 defeat of

Derby County Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club in Derby, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. One of the 12 founder members of the English Football ...

in the 1899 FA Cup Final. Beer moved to Small Heath in January 1902 and the following season helped them to promotion back to the

First Division 1st Division or First Division may refer to: Military Airborne divisions *1st Parachute Division (Germany) *1st Airborne Division (United Kingdom) * 1st Airmobile Division (Ukraine) * 1st Guards Airborne Division Armoured divisions *1st Armoure ...

. Later in his Birmingham career, he played some games at

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 ...

, which combined with his prowess at

penalty Penalty, The Penalty, Penalization, Penalisation, Penalize or Penalise may refer to: Sports * Foul (sports) ** Penalty (golf) ** Penalty (gridiron football) ** Penalty (ice hockey) ** Penalty (rugby) ** Penalty (rugby union) ** Penalty kick (assoc ...

-taking made him the club's joint leading scorer in the 1908–09 season.

Later career

He retired from football at the end of the next season, and emigrated to Australia where he became a sheep-farmer. Returning to England in 1920, he became Birmingham's manager in 1923, taking charge of the team for four years in the First Division. He was also a talented musician.

Honours

Sheffield United *

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 ...

winners 1899. *

runners up 1900 Small Heath *

Second Division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...

promotion 1903

Notes

References

General * * Specific {{DEFAULTSORT:Beer, Billy 1879 births Footballers from Chesterfield 1941 deaths English men's footballers Men's association football midfielders Sheffield United F.C. players Birmingham City F.C. players English football managers Birmingham City F.C. managers Place of death missing