William George Molloy (28 August 1929 – 10 January 2020) was an English former 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
inside forward in
the Football League for
Southampton and
Newport County between 1949 and 1951.
Football career
Molloy was born in
Coventry and played football as a youth with St. Osburg's Youth Club before joining
Coventry City
Coventry City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Coventry, West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. The team currently compete in the EFL Championship, Championship, the second tier of the English footbal ...
as a trainee in March 1945. Although Coventry City offered him a professional contract, he turned this down to join the Army.
His military career took him to
Ludgershall in Wiltshire where he was spotted by a
scout
Scout may refer to:
Youth movement
*Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement
**Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom
**Scouts BSA, sectio ...
from
Southampton. In 1949, he was invited to
The Dell for a trial as a result of which he was offered a professional contract, which this time he accepted. He made his reserve-team debut on 21 September 1949, scoring against
Ipswich Town
Ipswich Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. They play in League One, the third tier of the English football league system.
The club was founded in 1878 but did not turn profession ...
.
Two "stylish" goals in a reserve match against
Brighton & Hove Albion two weeks later earned him a call-up for the first team.
[
His only first-team appearance came on 22 October 1949 when he took the place of Jack Edwards at ]inside-left
Forwards (also known as attackers) are Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring Goal (sport)#Association footbal ...
against Blackburn Rovers. Although he started the move that led to the opening goal from Ted Bates in a 3–1 victory, for much of the rest of the game he was lacking pace and saw little of the ball.[ Molloy returned to the reserves, for whom he made 19 appearances, scoring six goals.][
In the summer of 1950, he was transfer listed and attracted interest from ]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 ...
, but they refused to meet the fee of £750 requested by manager Sid Cann
Sydney Thomas Cann (30 October 1911 – 1 November 1996) was an English professional football defender and football manager. He was capped twice by England at Schools level.
Playing career
Born in Babbacombe, Torquay, Sid Cann joined Torquay U ...
.[ Molloy was eventually released from his contract and returned to the West Midlands, to take up employment with Lockheed at ]Leamington Spa
Royal Leamington Spa, commonly known as Leamington Spa or simply Leamington (), is a spa town and civil parish in Warwickshire, England. Originally a small village called Leamington Priors, it grew into a spa town in the 18th century following ...
in the maintenance department, playing football for the works team. In November 1950, he returned to the Football League with Newport County for whom he played three league matches in the 1950–51 season,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 ...
.[
After a season with Rugby Town in the ]Birmingham Combination
The Birmingham Combination was an English football competition for teams in Birmingham and the surrounding areas, which was active from 1892 until 1954. It was founded as the Birmingham & District Junior League, and changed its name in 1908. The ...
, he moved to Kent where he played for Snowdown Colliery Welfare in the Kent League for a season, followed by a season each at Canterbury City and Dover
Dover () is a town and major ferry port in Kent, South East England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies south-east of Canterbury and east of Maidstone ...
. In 1956, he returned to the Midlands to join Nuneaton Borough
Nuneaton Borough Football Club is an English football club that is based in Nuneaton, Warwickshire. The men's 1st team competes in the , the seventh tier of English football.
In 1889, Nuneaton St. Nicholas FC was the first team in Nuneaton t ...
of the Birmingham & District League before winding up his football career at Bedworth United
Bedworth United Football Club is a football club based in Bedworth, Warwickshire, England. They are currently members of the and play at the Oval.
History
The first club from which the modern Bedworth United traces its lineage was Bedworth ...
.[
]
Later career
Outside football, he was a painter and decorator by trade working in the Coventry area until he retired.[
]
References
External links
Details of football career
{{DEFAULTSORT:Molloy, Bill
1929 births
2020 deaths
Footballers from Coventry
Men's association football inside forwards
English footballers
Coventry City F.C. players
Southampton F.C. players
Leamington F.C. players
Newport County A.F.C. players
Millwall F.C. players
Rugby Town F.C. players
Snowdown Colliery Welfare F.C. players
Canterbury City F.C. players
Dover F.C. players
Nuneaton Borough F.C. players
Bedworth United F.C. players
English Football League players
Kent Football League (1894–1959) players