William H. Blake (1902 – ) 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 le ...

who played in the

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

for Crystal Palace, as a defender. He also played

non-league football Non-League football describes football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is specifically used to de ...

for

Kidderminster Harriers Kidderminster Harriers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Kidderminster, Worcestershire, England. The team compete in the National League North, at the sixth tier of the English football league system. Formed in ...

Playing career

Blake was born in

Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Englan ...

, England and spent his early career with

, then playing in the local

Birmingham and District League The Birmingham and District Football League (formerly the Birmingham & District Amateur Football Association and often referred to as the Birmingham AFA) is an amateur association football competition covering the city of Birmingham, England, and ...

. In March 1924, he signed for Crystal Palace of the

Football League Third Division South The Third Division South of The Football League was a tier in the English football league system from 1921 to 1958. It ran in parallel with the Third Division North with clubs elected to the League or relegated from Division Two allocated to on ...

. He made his debut on 16 November in an away 0–3 defeat to

Port Vale Port Vale Football Club are a professional football club based in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, England, which compete in . Vale are the only English Football League club not to be named after a place; their name being a reference to the valley o ...

, playing at

left back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

. However, he did not make another appearance until February 1925, after which he was ever present, at right back, for the remainder of the 1924–5 season, playing 16 times in total. In 1925–6, Blake began the season at right back and missed only one of the first 17 games before being replaced by regular full back Jack Little. He played a further two games at the end of the season, before returning to Kidderminster in the 1925–6 close season, having made a total of 34 senior appearances for Palace.

References

External links

Billy Blake at holmesdale.net
1902 births Year of death missing Sportspeople from Worcester, England English Football League players English footballers Association football defenders Kidderminster Harriers F.C. players Crystal Palace F.C. players {{England-footy-defender-1900s-stub