William Baxter (21 September 1924 – 9 November 2002) was a Scottish footballer who played as a wing half for Midlands clubs Wolverhampton Wanderers and

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa Park ...

Biography

Baxter joined Wolves as a member of the groundstaff upon leaving school in 1939. After guesting for Leicester City, Mansfield Town and Notts County during wartime, he signed professional forms at Molineux in September 1945. He made his debut on 4 December 1948 in a 1–0 win over Everton. Although never a regular starter for Wolves, he made five appearances in 1953–54, the season of the club's first championship. Lacking playing time for Wolves, he moved to Midlands neighbours

in November 1953. Baxter made over 100 appearances for Villa before retiring in summer 1957. He stayed with the club to serve them as coach and assistant manager until 1967. He then moved back to his native Scotland, where he had short spells in charge of both East Fife and Raith Rovers. His son

Stuart Baxter Stuart William Baxter (born 16 August 1953) is a British football manager and former player who most recently managed South African Premier Soccer League side Kaizer Chiefs. Born in England of Scottish parentage, and brought up in both countr ...

is a former football player and a manager, and grandson

Lee Baxter Lee Baxter (born 17 June 1976) is a Scottish-Swedish football goalkeeper and coach who has played for clubs in Sweden and England and trained goalkeepers in several international clubs. He moved from Malmö FF to Sheffield United in 2003, to ...

a former player and now a goalkeeping coach.

Honours

Football League First Division The Football League First Division was a division of the Football League in England from 1888 until 2004. It was the top division in the English football league system from the season 1888–89 until 1991–92, a century in which the First ...

: 1953–54

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Baxter, Billy 1924 births 2002 deaths People from Methil Scottish footballers Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. players Aston Villa F.C. players English Football League players Scottish football managers East Fife F.C. managers Raith Rovers F.C. managers Scottish Football League managers Footballers from Fife Men's association football wing halves