William Alfred Silto (1 May 1883 – after 1919) 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

centre half In the sport of association football, a defender is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categ ...

. He 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, it is the oldest football league in the world, and was the top-level football league in England from ...

for

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 ...

and in the Southern League for

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 ...

. After injury caused a £1000 transfer to Aston Villa to fall through, Silto joined Swindon during the summer of 1909, after being released by Barnsley, who suspected he was injury-prone. Had the transfer gone through he would have been the first British football player to have been sold for more than £1000. He went on to make well over 200 appearances for Swindon over the following eleven years - and without the interruption of the First World War, it would have been far more. A strong-tackling, energetic half-back with incredible stamina, Silto was part of one of the most successful sides in the Town's history, winning two Southern League championship medals, the Dubonnet Cup, and also reaching the FA Cup semi-finals twice. In the 1912 semi-final replay against Barnsley, Swindon were awarded a penalty, and, with regular penalty-taker Billy Tout out through injury, Silto stepped up to take the kick, eager to score against his former club. He was stopped in his tracks by captain Peter Chambers, who told Silto, "you don't take penalties, Billy", and handed the responsibility to a reluctant Archie Bown. Bown missed the kick, and Barnsley went on to win the tie 1–0. Such were Silto's performances in the Swindon team, that he was recognised as the understudy to the

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 ...

half-back

Billy Wedlock William John Wedlock (28 October 1880 – 25 January 1965), also known as "Fatty" or the "India Rubber Man", was an English footballer who played for Bristol City in 1900–01 and from 1905 until his retirement in 1921. Between 1901 and 1905 he ...

for many seasons, and though he joined up with the England squad on many occasions, the only appearances he made were on an unofficial tour of South Africa in 1910. After retirement, Silto settled in the Swindon area where the sporting heritage would continue with his son Joe Silto playing and later captaining England at

table tennis Table tennis (also known as ping-pong) is a racket sport derived from tennis but distinguished by its playing surface being atop a stationary table, rather than the Tennis court, court on which players stand. Either individually or in teams of ...

playing against notable world names including 5 times World Champion Viktor Barna, who is widely considered to be one of the greatest players of all time. Like former Swindon Town teammate Harold Fleming, a street was named 'Silto Court' in the town in recognition of the international sporting achievements by both generations of the family.

References

;General
Swindon Town Player Profile
* ;Specific {{DEFAULTSORT:Silto, Billy 1883 births Year of death missing Footballers from Washington, Tyne and Wear Men's association football defenders English men's footballers Washington F.C. players Hebburn Argyle F.C. players Barnsley F.C. players Swindon Town F.C. players English Football League players Southern Football League players Arsenal F.C. wartime guest players