William Delves (1870 – 1908) was an English

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 at half-back for Burslem Port Vale between 1891 and 1893.

Career

Delves joined Burslem Port Vale in the summer of 1891. He made his debut at a

friendly game An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, scrimmage, demonstration, training match, pre-season game, warmup match, or preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sport, sporting event whose prize money and impact on th ...

Newton Heath Newton Heath is an area of Manchester, England, north-east of Manchester city centre and with a population of 9,883. Historically part of Lancashire, Newton was formerly a farming area, but adopted the factory system following the Industrial ...

on 1 September 1891 – the match was abandoned with Vale down 2–1. Despite being a half-back, he played in

goal A goal or objective is an idea of the future or desired result that a person or a group of people envision, plan, and commit to achieve. People endeavour to reach goals within a finite time by setting deadlines. A goal is roughly similar to ...

for the Football League record 10–0 demolishing by

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 ...

at the Athletic Ground on 10 December 1892. With that most dubious honour and one

Midland League The Midland Football League, officially known as the Capelli Sport Midland Football League since January 2025 for sponsorship reasons, is an English football league that was founded in 2014 by the merger of the former Midland Alliance and Midl ...

, one friendly and two

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 ...

appearances to his name, he was released at the end of the season.

Career statistics

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Delves, Billy 1870 births 1908 deaths People from Wolstanton Footballers from Staffordshire English men's footballers Men's association football midfielders Port Vale F.C. players Midland Football League players English Football League players 19th-century English sportsmen