William Walsh (31 May 1921 – 28 July 2006) was an Irish

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 ...

. Walsh played for several clubs, but most notably with

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 ...

, for whom he made more than 100 appearances. As an international, Walsh represented four national teams: after playing for the England Schoolboys XI, he then became a dual Irish international, playing for both Ireland teams – the FAI XI and the IFA XI. In 1949, he was a member of the FAI XI that defeated

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 ...

2–0 at

Goodison Park Goodison Park is a Association football, football stadium in Walton, Liverpool, Walton, Liverpool, England, it was the home of Premier League club Everton F.C., Everton from 1892 until 2025. It is now the home of Everton F.C. (women), Everton's ...

, becoming the first non-United Kingdom team to beat England at home. He then emigrated to

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

and also played in an unofficial game for their

national team A national sports team (commonly known as a national team or a national side) is a team that represents a nation, rather than a particular club or region, in an international sport. The term is most commonly associated with team sports, for exa ...

. In 1960 Walsh was the selector of the Auckland FA with son, Kevin, in the side. Walsh eventually moved to Australia and settled in

Noosa, Queensland The Shire of Noosa () is a local government area about north of Brisbane in the Sunshine Coast district of South East Queensland, Australia. The shire covers an area of . It existed as a local government entity from 1910 until 2008, when it w ...

. In 2003, he and several other former Manchester City players returned for the last game at

Maine Road Maine Road was a football stadium in Moss Side, Manchester, England, that was home to Manchester City from 1923 to 2003. It hosted FA Cup semi-finals, the Charity Shield, a League Cup final and England matches. Maine Road's highest attenda ...

. He died on 28 July 2006 at the age of 85 and his ashes were interred at the Garden of Remembrance at the

City of Manchester Stadium The City of Manchester Stadium, currently known as Etihad Stadium for sponsorship reasons, and commonly shortened as The Etihad, is the home of Premier League club Manchester City F.C., Manchester City, with a domestic football capacity of 53, ...

Playing career

Early years

Walsh was born in

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

, but moved to

Gorton Gorton is an area of Manchester in Greater Manchester, England. It is to the southeast of Manchester city centre. The population at the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 census was 36,055. Neighbouring areas include Levenshulme and Openshaw. A ...

, Manchester, at the age of seven. There, he attended St Gregory's School and eventually played for the England Schoolboys XI. He later became the subject of a dispute between

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

and

, who both claimed he had signed for them. After being signed by a United youth coach who also coached at his school, Walsh was taken to City by his mother, where he was given a job as an office boy.

The Football Association The Football Association (the FA) is the Sports governing body, governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Bailiwick of Guernsey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the oldest footb ...

intervened and gave Walsh the choice of clubs; he chose City, but the club was also given a fine of 5

guineas The guinea (; commonly abbreviated gn., or gns. in plural) was a coin, minted in Great Britain between 1663 and 1814, that contained approximately one-quarter of an ounce of gold. The name came from the Guinea region in West Africa, from where m ...

Manchester City

Walsh subsequently signed as an amateur with for Manchester City in 1936 and then turned professional in June 1938. The

Second World War 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 ...

delayed Walsh's full debut for City, his first appearance coming in a

Wartime League The Wartime League was a football league competition held in England during World War II, which replaced the suspended Football League. The exclusion of the FA Cup in these years saw the creation of the Football League War Cup. History The be ...

game at home to

Stoke City Stoke City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England. The team competes in the , the second level of the English football league system. Founded as Stoke Ramblers in 1863, the cl ...

on 18 November 1939, although he played out of position at

outside left In the sport of association football, a forward (attacker or striker) is an outfield position which primarily plays further up the pitch than midfielders and defenders. As with any attacking player, the role of the forward relies heavily on be ...

. During the war, he worked as a miner and made 227 wartime league appearances for City, scoring 8 goals. He also played a further 67 Wartime Cup games. His wartime appearances became a City record. As well as playing for City, Walsh also made guest appearances for

Oldham Athletic Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is a professional association football club in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England. As of the 2025–26 EFL League Two, 2025–26 season, the team competes in EFL League Two, the fourth level of the Eng ...

Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a town in Greater Manchester, England, and the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale. In the United Kingdom 2021 Census, 2021 Census, the town had a population of 111,261, compared to 223,773 for the wid ...

and Manchester United. Walsh made his senior debut for Manchester City in the Third Round of the

1945–46 FA Cup The 1945–46 FA Cup was the 65th season of the world's oldest football cup competition, the Football Association Challenge Cup, generally known as the FA Cup, and the first to be held after the Second World War. Derby County were the winners, ...

against Barrow on 5 January 1946. The Football League did not resume until August 1946, but Walsh made his league debut on the opening day of the 1946–47 season, scoring the second goal in a 3–0 away win over

Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...

. Walsh made 13 appearances in the Second Division that season and helped City win the division title. However, he missed out on an actual medal because of his lack of games. Over the next three seasons, he established himself as a regular in the side and went on to make 118 competitive appearances, mainly as a right-half, although he would also play at left-half.

Later years

After leaving Manchester City, Walsh became a player-manager with Chelmsford City on 11 April 1951. Then in August of the same year, despite offers from Lincoln City and

Port Vale Port Vale Football Club are a professional football club based in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, England, which compete in , the third tier of the English football league system. Vale are named after the valley of ports on the Trent and Mersey Canal ...

to resume his playing career, he became player-manager with Canterbury City. He stayed with Canterbury until February 1954 when he was appointed manager of

Grimsby Town Grimsby Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, England, that competes in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Nicknamed "the Mariners", the club was f ...

, where he succeeded

Bill Shankly William Shankly (2 September 1913 – 29 September 1981) was a Scottish association football, football player and Manager (association football), manager who is best known for his time as manager of Liverpool F.C., Liverpool. Shankly brought su ...

. Walsh later emigrated to

, where he came out of retirement and played for Auckland side Eastern Suburbs. On 10 August 1957, he also played for an Auckland XI in a friendly against

Austria Wien Fußballklub Austria Wien AG (), known in English as Austria Vienna, and Austria Wien in German-speaking countries, is an Austrian professional association football club from the capital city of Vienna. It has won the most trophies of any Aust ...

. The team was captained by Ken Armstrong, a former

international while Ken Hough, an Australian who later played both

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

and

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

for New Zealand, played in goal. The Auckland XI beat Austria Wien 3–0. Austria Wien had previously put fourteen goals past the New Zealand national team in earlier games. Walsh would also later play one unofficial game for New Zealand against a visiting English FA XI at the age of 40. He then moved to Australia where he worked for the

Norwich Union Norwich Union was the name of insurance company Aviva's British arm before June 2009. It was originally established in 1797. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. On 29 April 2008, Aviva a ...

and coached both

Melbourne Hakoah Melbourne Hakoah is a defunct Australian sports club which had a predominantly Jewish Australian supporter base, akin to Hakoah Vienna. The club's best known arm was its soccer club. History The club was founded in 1927, and within a decade wa ...

and

Melbourne Hungaria Melbourne Hungaria Soccer Club was an Australian association football club that was based in Melbourne, Victoria. The club was founded by Hungarian migrants in 1957 and quickly became one of the strongest football clubs in Australia in the 1960s ...

. In 1967, he led the latter club to a

Victorian Premier League The Victorian Premier League (VPL) is an Australian soccer league based in Victoria that was founded in 2023 and administered by Football Victoria. It consists of two divisions that were named after the VPL's breakaway of the National Premier L ...

and

Australian Cup The Australian Cup is a Victoria Racing Club Group races, Group 1 Thoroughbred horse race for horses three years old and older, held under Weight for Age conditions, over a distance of 2000 metres, at Flemington Racecourse, Melbourne, Australi ...

double.

International career

When Walsh began his international career in 1944 there were, in effect, two Ireland teams, chosen by two rival associations. Both associations – the Northern Ireland-based

IFA IFA or Ifa may refer to: Organisations Economics * Independent financial adviser, a type of financial services professional in the UK * Index Fund Advisors * Institute and Faculty of Actuaries, representing actuaries in the UK * Institute of Act ...

and the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland, with a population of about 5.4 million. ...

-based FAI – claimed jurisdiction over the whole of Ireland and selected players from the whole island. As a result, several notable Irish players from this era, including Walsh, played for both teams.

IFA XI

Between 1944 and 1948 Walsh played six times for the IFA XI. On 9 September 1944 he played for the IFA XI in an 8–4 defeat against a ''Combined Services XI'' at

Windsor Park The National Football Stadium at Windsor Park (officially the Clearer Twist National Stadium at Windsor Park for sponsorship reasons), or the National Football Stadium, also known as Windsor Park is a association football, football stadium in B ...

. This team was basically a Great Britain XI and featured, among others,

Matt Busby Sir Alexander Matthew Busby (26 May 1909 – 20 January 1994) was a Scottish football player and manager, who managed Manchester United between 1945 and 1969 and again for the second half of the 1970–71 season. He was the first manager of an E ...

Stanley Matthews Sir Stanley Matthews (1 February 1915 – 23 February 2000) was an English Association football, footballer who played as an Forward (association football)#Outside forward, outside right. Often regarded as one of the greatest players of the Br ...

Tommy Lawton Thomas Lawton (6 October 1919 – 6 November 1996) was an English football player and manager. Born in Farnworth and raised in Bolton, he played amateur football at Rossendale United, before he turned professional at Burnley on his 17t ...

and

Stan Mortensen Stanley Harding Mortensen (26 May 1921 – 22 May 1991) was an English professional footballer, notable for his part in the 1953 FA Cup final (subsequently known as the " Matthews Final"), in which he became the only player ever to score a hat- ...

. Walsh helped the IFA XI gain some respectable results, including a 2–0 win against

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 ...

on 4 October 1947, a 2–2 draw with

on 5 November 1947 and a 2–0 win 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 ...

on 10 March 1948. He also played against England in a 6–2 defeat on 9 October 1948. He made his last appearance for the IFA XI on 17 November 1948 in a 3–2 defeat against Scotland.

FAI XI

Between 1946 and 1950 Walsh also made 9 appearances for the FAI XI, making his FAI debut in a 1–0 defeat to

on 30 September 1946 at

Dalymount Park Dalymount Park (Irish language, Irish: ''Páirc Chnocán Uí Dhálaigh'') is a Association football, football stadium in Phibsborough on the Northside Dublin, Northside of Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is the home of Bohemian F.C., ...

. This was the first time the FAI XI had played against England. He was also a member of the FAI XI that defeated

2–0 at

, becoming the first non-British team to beat England at home. Walsh made his last appearance for the FAI XI on 10 May 1950 in a 5–1 defeat to

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

Honours

Player

;Manchester City * Second Division champions: 1946–47

Manager

;Melbourne Hungaria *

winners: 1967 *

champions: 1967

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Walsh, Billy 1921 births 2006 deaths Association footballers from Dublin (city) Republic of Ireland men's association footballers Dual Irish men's international footballers Ireland (FAI) men's international footballers Pre-1950 IFA men's international footballers Manchester City F.C. players Oldham Athletic A.F.C. wartime guest players Rochdale A.F.C. wartime guest players Manchester United F.C. wartime guest players Canterbury City F.C. players Chelmsford City F.C. players Eastern Suburbs AFC players Republic of Ireland association football managers Chelmsford City F.C. managers Canterbury City F.C. managers Grimsby Town F.C. managers Melbourne Hakoah managers Men's association football midfielders England men's youth international footballers Footballers from Manchester Sportspeople from Gorton Irish association footballers (before 1923) British emigrants to Australia British emigrants to New Zealand English men's footballers English Football League players 20th-century English sportsmen