Reginald George "Skilly" Williams (4 January 1890 – 19 June 1959) was an English association

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 ...

. Born in Watford, he played primarily as a striker during his amateur career, but later switched to become a

goalkeeper In many team sports that involve scoring goal (sport), goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie, or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or i ...

. After playing for Leavesden Mental Hospital's

football team A football team is a group of players selected to play together in the various team sports known as football. Such teams could be selected to play in a match against an opposing team, to represent a football club, group, state or nation, an All-st ...

, as well as for

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and one of the home counties. It borders Bedfordshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Essex to the east, Greater London to the ...

, Williams joined

Watford Watford () is a town and non-metropolitan district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of Central London, on the banks of the River Colne, Hertfordshire, River Colne. Initially a smal ...

as an amateur in 1910, turning professional in 1914. During his first season as a professional, Watford won the 1914–1915

Southern Football League The Southern League is a football competition featuring semi-professional clubs from East Anglia, the South and Midlands of England, and South Wales. Together with the Isthmian League and the Northern Premier League it forms levels seven a ...

title. League football was then interrupted for four seasons due to 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 ...

. He served as a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * "In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorded ...

in the

Norfolk Regiment The Royal Norfolk Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army until 1959. Its predecessor regiment was raised in 1685 as Henry Cornwall's Regiment of Foot. In 1751, it was numbered like most other British Army regiments and named ...

and the Labour Corps during the conflict. Following the resumption of competitive football in 1919, Williams again played a part as Watford finished runners up to

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

goal average A goal or objective is an idea of the future or desired result that a person or a group of people envision, plan, and commit to achieve. People endeavour to reach goals within a finite time by setting deadlines. A goal is roughly similar to ...

. Watford entered the

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 ...

the following season, and Williams stayed with the club for a further six seasons. He holds the record for the most Watford appearances by a goalkeeper; 83 in the Southern League, 240 in the Football League, 17 in the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

and one in the Southern Charity Cup. He stayed at Watford until 1926, before moving to

Brighton & Hove Albion Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club, commonly referred to as Brighton, is a professional football club based in Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. Their home gr ...

on a free transfer.

Personal life

Williams' son, Reg Jr. also went on to be a footballer, playing for Watford and Chelsea. His great-grandchildren, Danny Grieves, Darren Grieves and Grant Cornock played football, with all three playing for Watford at youth level. Darren Grieves' son, Jack is also a footballer, and currently plays for Watford.

References

1890 births 1959 deaths Footballers from Watford Watford F.C. players Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. players English Football League players Southern Football League players Men's association football goalkeepers English men's footballers British Army personnel of World War I Royal Norfolk Regiment soldiers Royal Pioneer Corps soldiers Military personnel from Hertfordshire 20th-century English sportsmen {{England-footy-forward-1890s-stub