William Henry Clarke (2 July 1916 – June 1986) was an English professional

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 le ...

who played as an

outside-forward Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...

for Exeter City and

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

in the 1930s.

Football career

Clarke was born in

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city l ...

and after playing youth football with Leicester Nomads, he signed for Leicester City in February 1936. Although he was included in City's team photograph at the start of the 1936–37 season, Clarke failed to break into the first-team and in the following summer he moved to join Exeter City of the

Football League Third Division South The Third Division South 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 North with clubs elected to the League or relegated from Division Two allocated to on ...

. At St James Park, Clarke was back-up to

Fred Liddle James Frederick Liddle (born 29 November 1910) was an English professional footballer. He played for Queens Park Rangers, Huddersfield Town, Rotherham United, Newcastle United, Gillingham, Coventry City and Exeter City Exeter City Football ...

, making twelve League and two

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

appearances, scoring once, before moving along the

south coast South Coast is a name often given to coastal areas to the south of a geographical region or major metropolitan area. Geographical Australia *South Coast (New South Wales), the coast of New South Wales, Australia, south of Sydney * South Coast (Q ...

in July 1938 to join

Second Division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...

. At The Dell, Clarke was again only a

reserve team In sports, a reserve team is a team composed of players under contract to a club but who do not normally play in matches for the first team. Reserve teams often include back-up players from the first team, young players who need playing time to i ...

player and it was not until 15 April 1939 that he made his first-team debut, in a 3–0 defeat at Blackburn Rovers. His second and last appearance came in the final fixture of the 1938–39 season, away to

Plymouth Argyle Plymouth Argyle Football Club is a professional football club based in the city of Plymouth, Devon, England. As of the 2021–22 season, the team are competing in League One, the third tier of English football. They have played at Home Park, ...

. In the summer of 1939, Clarke was offered a free transfer and joined

Cheltenham Town Cheltenham Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England. From the 2021–22 season, the club compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league syst ...

in the Southern League but the outbreak of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

brought his professional football career to an end.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clarke, Bill 1916 births 1986 deaths Footballers from Leicester English footballers Association football wingers English Football League players Leicester City F.C. players Exeter City F.C. players Southampton F.C. players Cheltenham Town F.C. players