William Howard T. Walton (6 August 1871 – 10 February 1963) 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 for

Small Heath Small Heath is an inner-city area in south-east Birmingham, West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England situated on and around the Coventry Road about from the city centre. History Small Heath, which has been settled and used since Roman t ...

(now Birmingham City) for fourteen years. He made 232 appearances and scored 70 goals in all competitions.

Biography

Walton was born in Hockley Brook,

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

. He followed Small Heath from a young age; as a 14-year-old he watched the then Small Heath Alliance outclassed 4–0 by

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 ...

in the semi-final of the

1885–86 FA Cup The 1885–86 Football Association Challenge Cup was the 15th edition of the FA Cup, England's oldest football tournament. There were 130 entrants, sixteen more than in the previous season, although six teams did not play a match. Five Scottish ...

. On leaving school he trained to be a

silversmith A silversmith is a metalworker who crafts objects from silver. The terms ''silversmith'' and ''goldsmith'' are not exact synonyms, as the techniques, training, history, and guilds are (or were, at least) largely the same but differed in that t ...

in the

Hockley Hockley is a large village and civil parish in Essex in the East of England located between Chelmsford and Southend-on-Sea, or, more specifically, between Rayleigh and Rochford. It came to prominence during the coming of the railway in the 189 ...

area of Birmingham now known as the

Jewellery Quarter The Jewellery Quarter is an area of central Birmingham, England, in the north-western area of Birmingham City Centre, with a population of 19,000 in a area. The Jewellery Quarter is Europe's largest concentration of businesses involved in the ...

, and remained employed in that trade while playing football part-time. In his younger days he played at

inside forward In the sport of association football, a forward (attacker or striker) is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position which primarily plays further up the pitch than Midfielder, midfielders and Defender (association football), d ...

. He was skilful on the ball with good movement and shooting ability. In Small Heath's first season in the Second Division, 1892–93, the front three of Walton, Frank Mobley and

Fred Wheldon George Frederick Wheldon (1 November 1869 – 13 January 1924) was an English sportsman. In football, he was an inside-forward with good footwork and an eye for goal who played for England and several Football League clubs, in particular for Sm ...

scored over 50 goals between them in a 22-game season; the following season the same trio scored 62 goals in the 28 games, Walton contributing 16 in 20. Later in his career he moved back to

wing half In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

, where his tireless encouragement of the younger players earned him the nickname "Mother". Walton's support for Birmingham was lifelong. He was a guest of the club for the official opening of the St Andrew's ground on

Boxing Day Boxing Day, also called as Offering Day is a holiday celebrated after Christmas Day, occurring on the second day of Christmastide (26 December). Boxing Day was once a day to donate gifts to those in need, but it has evolved to become a part ...

1906, and helped clear snow from pitch and terraces so that the match could go ahead. He attended both of the FA Cup Finals involving Birmingham, in

1931 Events January * January 2 – South Dakota native Ernest Lawrence invents the cyclotron, used to accelerate particles to study nuclear physics. * January 4 – German pilot Elly Beinhorn begins her flight to Africa. * January 22 – Sir I ...

and

1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan after 57 years. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian Missionary, missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, E ...

, and visited St Andrew's regularly until not long before his death. He died in Dudley Road Hospital,

Winson Green Winson Green is a loosely defined inner-city area in the west of the city of Birmingham, England. It is part of the ward of Soho. It is the location of HM Prison Birmingham (known locally as Winson Green Prison or "the Green") and of City H ...

, Birmingham, at the age of 91.

Honours

*Small Heath **

Football League Second Division The Football League Second Division was the second level division in the English football league system between 1892 and 1992. Following the foundation of the FA Premier League, the Football League divisions were renumbered and the third tier ...

champions: 1892–93 **Football League Second Division runners-up and promotion: 1893–94, 1900–01

Notes

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Walton, Billy 1871 births Footballers from Birmingham, West Midlands 1963 deaths English men's footballers Men's association football inside forwards Men's association football wing halves Birmingham City F.C. players English Football League players English silversmiths Dudley Town F.C. players Football Alliance players