William Wootton (27 August 1904 – 2000) 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 as a
full-back for
Stoke,
Congleton Town,
Port Vale, and
Southend United. He later managed
Northwich Victoria,
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 ...
, and
Halifax Town. He won the
Third Division North title with Port Vale in 1929–30 and led Northwich Victoria to victory in the
Cheshire Senior Cup in 1937.
Playing career
Wootton played for Trentham,
Stoke and
Congleton Town before joining
Port Vale in June 1925.
He made three
Second Division appearances in the
1925–26 season.
He remained a bit-part player for the "Valiants", featuring seven times in
1926–27, 12 times in
1927–28, and six times in
1928–29.
Vale were
relegated
Promotion and relegation is used by sports leagues as a process where teams can move up and down among divisions in a league system, based on their performance over a season. Leagues that use promotion and relegation systems are sometimes call ...
in 1929, and Wootton played 20 league games in
1929–30 as Vale won the
Third Division North title.
However, he only played four games in
1930–31 and six games in
1931–32.
In August 1932, he was
transferred to
Third Division South side
Southend United.
He became the
player-manager
A player–coach (also playing coach, captain–coach, or player–manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. Player–coaches may be head coaches or assistant coaches, and they may make chang ...
of
Cheshire County League
The Cheshire County League was a football league founded in the north west of England in 1919, drawing its teams largely from Cheshire, surrounding English counties and North Wales.
Initially the league was dominated by the reserve teams of Fo ...
club
Northwich Victoria in 1935. He spent 12 years at
Drill Field, leading them to the
Cheshire Senior Cup in 1937, as well as the League Challenge Cup and Edward Case Cup, and making player sales totalling £820.
Managerial career
Having been player-manager before
World War 2
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies and the Axis powers. Nearly all of the world's countries participated, with many nations mobilisin ...
, Wootton was appointed Northwich Victoria manager when the football club resumed activities on 19 January 1946. He resigned in January 1947, citing "changed conditions of his employment
hat
A hat is a Headgear, head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorpor ...
prevented him from carrying out his duties at the Drill Field satisfactorily". Wootton became the
manager
Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...
of
Third Division North side
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 ...
in June 1947. He oversaw 141 games at
Boundary Park
Boundary Park is a football stadium in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England. Its name originates from the fact that it lies at the northwestern extremity of Oldham, with Royton and Chadderton lying immediately north and west respectively.
Bound ...
. He achieved a 38.28 win percentage but failed to gain the club the
promotion
Promotion may refer to:
Marketing
* Promotion (marketing), one of the four marketing mix elements, comprising any type of marketing communication used to inform or persuade target audiences of the relative merits of a product, service, brand or i ...
to the
Second Division they craved. He negotiated the sales of
Ken Brierley to
Liverpool
Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...
and both
Ray Haddington and
Billy Spurdle to
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 ...
.
He resigned on 30 September 1950 after a poor start to the
1949–50 season saw the Latics with seven points from ten matches, which was reported to be a surprise to the Oldham board. He reportedly applied for the vacant manager's job at
Wrexham
Wrexham ( ; ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in the North East Wales, north-east of Wales. It lies between the Cambrian Mountains, Welsh mountains and the lower River Dee, Wales, Dee Valley, near the England–Wales border, borde ...
in October 1950. He was made secretary-manager of
Halifax Town the following year.
Gerry Henry
Gerry Henry (5 October 1920 – 1979) was a professional footballer who played for Leeds United, Bradford Park Avenue, Sheffield Wednesday and Halifax Town.
Henry played for Yorkshire Schools in 1934 and went on to join Leeds United as a sev ...
was appointed as player-coach on 4 December 1951, with Wootton being described as absent on other business. He spent just one season with Halifax and left
The Shay
The Shay is a multi-purpose sports stadium in Halifax, West Yorkshire, England. It is home to the FC Halifax Town association football club and the Halifax Panthers rugby league team.
The stadium is owned by the Calderdale Metropolitan Bo ...
after leading the "Shaymen" to a 20th-place finish in the Third Division North in
1951–52. On 12 July 1952, he was appointed as manager of
Winsford United in the
Cheshire County League
The Cheshire County League was a football league founded in the north west of England in 1919, drawing its teams largely from Cheshire, surrounding English counties and North Wales.
Initially the league was dominated by the reserve teams of Fo ...
, having previously come close to taking the job when he had instead taken charge at Oldham.
[ He negotiated the sale of Eric Johnson to Coventry City for £1,500, rising to a potential £2,000. He left the club by mutual consent on 26 August 1953 to concentrate on his business concerns.
]
Career statistics
Playing statistics
Managerial statistics
Source:
Honours
Port Vale
*Football League Third Division North
The Third Division North 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 South with clubs elected to the League or relegated from a higher division allocated t ...
: 1929–30
Northwich Victoria
* Cheshire Senior Cup: 1937
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wootton, Billy
People from Longton, Staffordshire
Footballers from Stoke-on-Trent
English men's footballers
Men's association football fullbacks
Stoke City F.C. players
Port Vale F.C. players
Southend United F.C. players
Congleton Town F.C. players
Northwich Victoria F.C. players
English Football League players
Men's association football player-managers
English football managers
Northwich Victoria F.C. managers
Oldham Athletic A.F.C. managers
Halifax Town A.F.C. managers
Winsford United F.C. managers
English Football League managers
1904 births
2000 deaths
20th-century English sportsmen