William Harry Clarke (born 1880) 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 a full back for various clubs in the 1900s.

Football career

Clarke was born in

Kettering Kettering is a market and industrial town in North Northamptonshire, England. It is located north of London and north-east of Northampton, west of the River Ise, a tributary of the River Nene. The name means "the place (or territory) of Ket ...

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It is ...

and started his football career with his home town club,

. During his time at Kettering, they were the Midland League champions in 1900, and were elected to the Southern League. In September 1902, he moved to the

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 ...

with Sheffield United. At Sheffield, Clarke was never a regular first-team player making only two appearances, with

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

international

Harry Thickett Henry Thickitt (or Thickett) (1872 – 15 November 1920) was a professional association football, footballer and Manager (association football), Manager. Born in Hexthorpe, Doncaster he played as a Defender (association football), defender prima ...

being well established at

right-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

. In the summer of 1903, Clarke returned to Northamptonshire, to join Northampton Town in the Southern League, where he gained a reputation as "''the most promising left-back in the Southern League''", whose "''speed enabled him to overhaul the quickest of forwards''". In April 1905, he was signed by fellow Southern League side,

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 ...

. The "Saints" were anxious to regain the Southern League title which they had taken six times in the eight years up to 1904, but had finished in a disappointing third place at the end of the 1904–05 season. During the close-season they signed nine players, of which Clarke was considered to be "''the best capture''". He made his Southampton debut in the opening match of the 1905–06 season, a 1–0 defeat at home to

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has diverse company headquarters buildings whi ...

, retaining his place for the rest of the season, at the end of which the Saints finished as runners-up, five points behind champions

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandsworth ...

. He continued to occupy the right-back position for the start of the 1906–07 season until late December, when he fell ill. He returned in mid-February but was only able to show glimpses of his previous form; after another eight matches he suffered a serious knee injury, losing his place to

Jack Eastham John Bilborough Eastham (1883 – 3 May 1932) was an English association football, footballer who spent most of his career with Blackburn Rovers F.C., Blackburn Rovers and then Southampton F.C., Southampton playing as a Defender (association foo ...

. Although Clarke spent several months trying to regain his fitness, he eventually retired in October 1908 without returning to the first-team.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clarke, Bill 1880 births Year of death missing Sportspeople from Kettering English footballers Association football defenders Kettering Town F.C. players Sheffield United F.C. players Northampton Town F.C. players Southampton F.C. players Southern Football League players English Football League players