Willis Edwards (28 April 1903 – 27 September 1988) was an English professional
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 ...
player and manager.
Early
Edwards was born in the mining village of Newton, North East
Derbyshire
Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It borders Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, and South Yorkshire to the north, Nottinghamshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south-east, Staffordshire to the south a ...
, not far from
Chesterfield and
Alfreton
Alfreton ( or locally ) is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Amber Valley district of Derbyshire, England. The town was formerly a Norman Manor and later an Urban District. The population of the Alfreton parish was 8,79 ...
. Like many boys in the area, he left school to go down the pit but he was soon spotted by
Chesterfield as a teenager, playing for the village football team Newton Rangers.
Career
Chesterfield
Having been close to joining
Blackburn Rovers
Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second level of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. Th ...
, Edwards instead signed for
Chesterfield, where he made his debut in 1919 at the age of just 16.
[ He went on to play 70 league games for the ''Spireites'' before joining ]Leeds United
Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The team compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league system.
Leeds United have won the League Championship th ...
towards the end of the 1924–25 season.
Leeds United
Edwards played for the Elland Road
Elland Road, or Elland Road Stadium, is a football stadium in Beeston, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, which has been the Home (sports), home of Leeds United F.C., Leeds United since the club's formation in 1919. The stadium is the List of foot ...
club for 18 years, during which time he was never booked or sent off. He went on to make 444 appearances. Edwards continued turning out for Leeds during the war years and remained at the club after the war. On retiring as a player, he became assistant and he took over the managerial reins when Billy Hampson was dismissed in May 1947. His time as manager was relatively unsuccessful and he resumed his place in the backroom staff in April 1948, where he acted as a scout for the club. He only ended his association with Leeds in 1960, after serving the club for 35 years.[
]
England
Edwards was capped by 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 ...
on 16 occasions. His first cap was 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 1 March 1926. He captained England in his last five internationals, with his final appearance on 20 November 1929.
Later life and death
In his later working years, Edwards was employed at a jam factory.[
He died in Leeds on 27 September 1988.]
References
External links
Full Managerial Stats for Leeds United from WAFLL
{{DEFAULTSORT:Edwards, Willis
1903 births
1988 deaths
English men's footballers
England men's international footballers
Chesterfield F.C. players
Leeds United F.C. players
Leeds United F.C. managers
English Football League players
English Football League managers
English football managers
Men's association football defenders
Footballers from Derbyshire
20th-century English sportsmen