William Garraty (6 October 1878 – 6 May 1931) was a

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 forward. He started his career in the early years of professional football in England, and played for

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club (commonly referred to as simply Villa) is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club, founded in 1874, compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The team have p ...

from August 1897 to September 1908. Before playing for Villa he played for Aston Shakespeare. Garraty was capped once by

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

appearing in a game against

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

in 1903.

Career

Billy Garraty made his league debut for

during the 1897–98 season but made just one other appearance that year and remained a bit part player as Aston Villa won the title the following year. Garraty became a first team regular in the 1899–1900 season as Aston Villa retained their title thanks to his league-leading 27 league goals – only Pongo Waring scored more in a single season. Garraty made 41 appearances in the 1900–01 season, more than any other player.AVFC History
1900-01 season
He went on to make 224 league appearances for the Villans, scoring 96 league goals, as well as helping his side to

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 ...

success in

1905 As the second year of the massive Russo-Japanese War begins, more than 100,000 die in the largest world battles of that era, and the war chaos leads to the 1905 Russian Revolution against Nicholas II of Russia (Shostakovich's 11th Symphony i ...

with his Man of the Match display. During his time at Villa, Billy was regarded as one of the great utility players of the game despite his ability to score goals. In 1906, Garraty lost his place in the Villa line up and made only a handful of appearances before signing for

Leicester Fosse Leicester City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in the city of Leicester, East Midlands, England. The club compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football league system, English f ...

in 1908. Garraty failed to find the net in six appearances and the Foxes suffered relegation at the end of the season. The remainder of Garraty's league career was spent in the second division with two years at

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club (), commonly known as West Brom or The Albion, is a professional association football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the Englis ...

followed by his final season before retirement in 1910–11 with Lincoln City.

Personal life

Garraty is the great-great grandfather of footballer

Jack Grealish Jack Peter Grealish (born 10 September 1995) is an English professional footballer who plays as a winger or attacking midfielder for club Manchester City and the England national team. Grealish joined Aston Villa at the age of six, and made ...

, who played for and captained Aston Villa, and currently plays for

Manchester City Manchester City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Manchester, England, that competes in the Premier League, the English football league system, top flight of Football in England, English footbal ...

. See
Billy Garraty Official Website
for the association between Jack Grealish and Billy Garraty.

Honours

Aston Villa *

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 ...

: 1899–1900 *

1904–05 Nineteen or 19 may refer to: * 19 (number) * One of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019 Films * ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film * ''Nineteen'' (1987 film), a 1987 science fiction film * '' 19-Nineteen'', a 2009 South Korean film * '' D ...

Sheriff of London Charity Shield The Sheriff of London Charity Shield, also known as the Dewar Shield, was a football competition played annually between the best amateur and best professional club in England, though Scottish amateur side Queen's Park also took part in 1899. Th ...

: 1901

References

External links

Billy Garraty Official Website
*

English men's footballers 1878 births 1931 deaths English Football League players First Division/Premier League top scorers Aston Villa F.C. players England men's international footballers West Bromwich Albion F.C. players Lincoln City F.C. players Leicester City F.C. players Men's association football forwards Footballers from Birmingham, West Midlands {{England-footy-forward-1870s-stub