William Hopper (born 20 February 1938) was an English former

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

centre 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 ...

in the Football League for Halifax Town, Workington and

Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. The River Skerne flows through the town; it is a tributary of the River Tees. The Tees itself flows south of the town. In the 19th century, Darlington underwen ...

, and in

non-league football Non-League football describes football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is specifically used to de ...

for several clubs in the north-east of England.

Life and career

Hopper was born in

Bishop Auckland Bishop Auckland () is a market town and civil parish at the confluence of the River Wear and the River Gaunless in County Durham, northern England. It is northwest of Darlington and southwest of Durham. Much of the town's early history surro ...

County Durham County Durham ( ), officially simply Durham,UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. is a ceremonial county in North East England.North East Assembly �About North East E ...

, and began his football career with his hometown club. He moved on to

Crook Town Crook Town Association Football Club is a football club based in Crook, County Durham, England. They are currently members of the and play at the Sir Tom Cowie Millfield. The club won the FA Amateur Cup five times. History Crook Town Footba ...

and then West Auckland Town – scoring five goals on his debut for each club, against

Stanley United Stanley United Football Club were an English association football club which participated in the Northern League from 1910 to 1974. The club also participated in the Wearside League from 1988 to 2003. They reached the FA Cup First Round Proper in ...

on each occasion, and in his last match for West Auckland, a

Northern League Northern League may refer to: Sport Baseball * Northern League (baseball, 1902–71), a name used by several minor leagues that operated in the upper midwestern U.S. and Manitoba from 1902 to 1971 * Northern League (baseball, 1993–2010), an indep ...

club, scoring the equaliser as they came back from three goals behind to draw with

Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. As the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. In Barnsley, the population was 96,888 while the wider Borough has ...

of the Football League Third Division in the

1960–61 FA Cup The 1960–61 FA Cup was the 80th season of the world's oldest football cup competition, the Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup. Tottenham Hotspur won the competition for the third time, beating Leicester City 2–0 ...

. In 1961, he signed as a full-time professional with Halifax Town, two years later moved on to Workington, and finished his Football League career with six league appearances for

as they were promoted from the

Fourth Division Fourth or the fourth may refer to: * the ordinal form of the number 4 * ''Fourth'' (album), by Soft Machine, 1971 * Fourth (angle), an ancient astronomical subdivision * Fourth (music), a musical interval * ''The Fourth'' (1972 film), a Sovie ...

in 1965–66. Hopper scored one of the goals as Darlington eliminated First Division club

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the North West England, northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the Borough of Blackpool, borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, betw ...

, whose team contained four England internationals, from that season's League Cup. Knee cartilage problems meant he then dropped back into

with

South Shields South Shields () is a coastal town in South Tyneside, Tyne and Wear, England. It is on the south bank of the mouth of the River Tyne. Historically, it was known in Roman times as Arbeia, and as Caer Urfa by Early Middle Ages. According to the 20 ...

and

Stockton Stockton may refer to: Places Australia * Stockton, New South Wales * Stockton, Queensland, a locality in the Cassowary Coast Region New Zealand *Stockton, New Zealand United Kingdom *Stockton, Cheshire *Stockton, Norfolk *Stockton, Chirbu ...

. Before turning professional, he had worked as a steam locomotive fireman, and afterwards worked for engineering company GEC.

References

General * Specific {{DEFAULTSORT:Hopper, Bill 1938 births Living people Footballers from Bishop Auckland English men's footballers Men's association football forwards Bishop Auckland F.C. players Crook Town A.F.C. players West Auckland Town F.C. players Halifax Town A.F.C. players Workington A.F.C. players Darlington F.C. players Gateshead United F.C. players Northern Football League players English Football League players