William Henry Lucas (15 January 1918 – 1998) was a Welsh international footballer in the late 1940s and 1950s. During his career, Lucas made over 400 appearances 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, it is the oldest football league in the world, and was the top-level football league in England from ...

during spells with

Swindon Town Swindon Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The team, known as the "Robins", currently compete in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded as Swindon A ...

, Swansea Town and Newport County and attained seven caps for

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 ...

as well as eight wartime caps. After his retirement from playing, he went on to manage two of his former clubs, Newport County and Swansea Town.

Playing career

Club

A wing half, he began his career with

Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club ( ), commonly referred to as Wolves, is a professional association football, football club based in Wolverhampton, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league s ...

but left the club without making an appearance. Lucas instead joined

where he established himself in the first team. His spell with the club was interrupted by the outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and, after just over one season with club following the return of

in 1946, Swansea Town manager Billy McCandless paid a then club record fee of £11,000 to bring him to

Vetch Field The Vetch Field was a football stadium in Swansea, Wales, and was the home ground of Swansea City A.F.C. from the club’s founding until 2005. Following its closure, the club relocated to a newly constructed stadium, originally named the Libert ...

. In his first season, he captained the side to the Division Three South title and in following years also won two

Welsh Cup The FAW Welsh Cup (), currently known as the JD Welsh Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a knock-out football competition contested annually by teams in the Welsh football league system. It is considered the most prestigious of the cup competitions ...

's. In December 1953 he joined Newport County as player-manager and made 93 appearances for Newport scoring 6 goals. During the war he was a guest-player for Lovell's Athletic, the

works team A works team, sometimes also referred to as factory team and company team, is a sports team that is financed and run by a manufacturer or other business, institution, or organization in a broad sense. Works teams have very close ties with thei ...

for Lovell's sweet factory in Newport,

Monmouthshire Monmouthshire ( ; ) is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the South East Wales, south east of Wales. It borders Powys to the north; the English counties of Herefordshire and Gloucestershire to the north and east; the Severn Estuary to the s ...

, Wales.

International

Lucas' first participation for Wales came in a wartime international match against

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 ...

Ninian Park Ninian Park was a association football, football stadium in the Leckwith, Cardiff, Leckwith area of Cardiff, Wales, that was the home of Cardiff City F.C. for 99 years. Opened in 1910 with a single wooden stand, it underwent numerous renovatio ...

on 9 May 1942, scoring the only goal of the game in a 1–0 victory. He went on to play in a further seven wartime matches for Wales before winning his first full cap on 23 October 1948 in a 3–1 defeat to

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

in the

1949 British Home Championship Events January * January 1 – A United Nations-sponsored ceasefire brings an end to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. The war results in a stalemate and the division of Kashmir, which still continues as of 2025 * January 2 – Lui ...

. He gained a total of seven caps for Wales, his final appearance coming on 15 November 1950 in a 4–2 defeat to

Managerial career

Following his retirement from playing, Lucas became full-time manager of Newport County until 1961 when he resigned due to a lack of support and what he perceived as a general apathy surrounding the club. He returned to the club a year later following the sacking of

Bobby Evans Robert Evans (1930–2019) was an American film producer. Robert, Rob, Bob or Bobby Evans may also refer to: Business * Robert Harding Evans (1778–1857), bookseller and auctioneer * Robert B. Evans (1906–1998), industrialist, socialite, sport ...

after they finished bottom of the Third Division and spent another five years in charge before taking over at Swansea Town. Lucas later took charge of Newport for a third and final spell in 1970, working without wages for the first six months due to financial problems at the club, which lasted until 1974.

Managerial statistics

Outside football

In 1951, following his move back to South Wales to join Swansea Town, Lucas took over the Black Horse Inn, in Newport, with his wife Edith.

Honours

;Swansea City *

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 ...

Winner: 1 :: 1948–49 *

Winner: 1 :: 1950

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lucas, Billy 1918 births 1998 deaths English Football League players Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. players Swindon Town F.C. players Welsh men's footballers Wales men's international footballers Newport County A.F.C. players Swansea City A.F.C. players Newport County A.F.C. managers Swansea City A.F.C. managers Welsh football managers Footballers from Newport, Wales Men's association football midfielders Lovell's Athletic F.C. wartime guest players