William Palmer (1887–1955) 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 for eight different clubs in over a seventeen-year span that was interrupted by the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. Originally from

Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. It is the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. The town's population was 71,422 in 2021, while the wider boroug ...

, Palmer joined his home town club in 1907 but left after less than a full season without having played any first team League games to join Mexborough Town in March 1908. Just three months later he joined

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 ...

side

Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is a professional association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Founde ...

, with whom he made his

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 ...

debut. He made twelve appearances in Division One during a two-year spell, scoring once, before joining Rotherham County in 1910. Palmer spent a further two years in

Rotherham Rotherham ( ) is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. It lies at the confluence of the River Rother, South Yorkshire, River Rother, from which the town gets its name, and the River Don, Yorkshire, River Don. It is the largest settlement ...

and played for them in 64 consecutive games in the

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 ...

. In 1912 he joined Southern League club

Bristol Rovers Bristol Rovers FC is a men's professional football club in Bristol. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club is affiliated to Bristol Rovers W.F.C., whose team play in the FA Women's National Leag ...

, where he earned the nickname ''"Lady Palmer"'' because he rarely dirtied his shorts during a match. His twenty-three appearances for Rovers were of sufficient quality for Everton to pay the Bristol club £800 for his services, then a very large fee, and to take him for a second spell in Division One of the Football League. His time at Everton ended when League football was suspended due to the First World War, after having made 22 appearances in the First Division. Palmer played one unofficial wartime match for

Bradford City Bradford City Association Football Club is an English professional football club in Bradford, West Yorkshire. The club competes in , the third tier of English football, and is managed by Graham Alexander. The club was founded in 1903 and ...

, before returning to one of his former teams, Bristol Rovers for a further three years. Each of those three seasons were spent in different divisions, he played 34 times in the Southern League during the 1919–20 season, thirty times in the

Football League Third Division The Football League Third Division was the third tier of the English football league system in 1920–21 Football League, 1920–21 and again from 1958–59 Football League, 1958 until 1991–92 Football League, 1992. When the FA Premier League ...

in 1920–21, and a further fifteen times in Division Three (South) in 1921–22. The remainder of his career was spent with Gillingham and

Doncaster Rovers Doncaster Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. The team currently competes in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system after winning the 202 ...

, spending one year with each of them before retiring from football in 1924.

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Palmer, Billy 1887 births 1955 deaths Footballers from Barnsley English men's footballers Men's association football forwards Barnsley F.C. players Mexborough Athletic F.C. players Nottingham Forest F.C. players Rotherham County F.C. players Bristol Rovers F.C. players Everton F.C. players Gillingham F.C. players Doncaster Rovers F.C. players English Football League players Southern Football League players Bradford City A.F.C. wartime guest players