William Moore (1913 – 1982) was an English footballer and manager. He played for

Mansfield Town Mansfield Town Football Club is a professional football club based in the town of Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Stags', they play in a blue and ...

and Stoke City and also managed

Walsall Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre in the West Midlands County, England. Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located north-west of Birmingham, east of Wolverhampton and from Lichfield. Walsall is th ...

over two periods.

Playing career

Born in

Washington, Tyne and Wear Washington is a town in the City of Sunderland district of Tyne and Wear, England. Historically part of County Durham, it is the ancestral settlement of the Washington family, which George Washington descended from. It is located between Ches ...

, Moore played for Walker Celtic in the late 1920s and early 1930s before joining Stoke City for whom he made four appearances for Stoke in defence over two seasons. In 1938 he moved to

and scored a goal against Walsall when playing in the FA Jubilee match in 1939.

Coaching career

After the War Moore was appointed trainer of

Notts County Notts County Football Club is a professional association football club based in Nottingham, England. The team participate in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. Founded on the 25 November 1862, it is the ...

, who at the time were managed by former Aston Villa and England forward Eric Houghton.

Tommy Lawton Thomas Lawton (6 October 1919 – 6 November 1996) was an English football player and manager. A strong centre-forward with excellent all-round attacking skills, he was able to head the ball with tremendous power and accuracy. Born in F ...

and

Jackie Sewell John "Jackie" Sewell (24 January 1927 – 26 September 2016) was an England International footballer. He played for several teams including Sheffield Wednesday, Notts County and Aston Villa. When he was transferred to Sheffield Wednesday from N ...

were two of the star players under Moore's supervision at

Meadow Lane Meadow Lane Stadium is a football stadium in Nottingham, England. It is the home ground of Notts County, who have played there since it opened in 1910. The stadium was also home to Notts County Ladies F.C. from 2014 until 2017. It currently h ...

. When Houghton returned to Villa Park as manager, Bill Moore went with him as right-hand man and he played a big part in Villa's FA Cup triumph over Manchester United in

1957 1957 ( MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1957th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 957th year of the 2nd millennium, the 57th year of the 20th century, and the 8th year ...

Management career

In the December following that Wembley victory, Moore was asked to take over from Jack Love as manager of Walsall who had been going through a difficult time and were in deep trouble at the foot of

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 ...

. In no time at all he rallied the players, re-election was averted, the Fourth Division title was won in 1960 and 12 months later promotion gained to the

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 ...

. After Walsall slipped back into the Third Division in 1963, in the most unfortunate of circumstances, being reduced to nine men in the final game of the season from which they needed a point but ended up going down by two goals to one against Charlton Athletic, Moore left

Fellows Park Fellows Park was a football stadium in Walsall, England. It was the home ground of Walsall F.C. from 1896 until 1990, when the team moved to the Bescot Stadium. Fellows Park was situated about a quarter of a mile away from the club's present ...

early the following season to take up a scouting position with Fulham. He returned to Fellows Park in February 1969, to succeed Ron Lewin, and over the next three years developed players such as Phil Parkes and

Ray Train Raymond Train (born 10 February 1951) is an English former football player, coach, scout and manager. He played primarily as a defensive midfielder, but also frequently played in more attacking positions, including as a striker. He amassed over ...

. But as financial problems loomed large, Moore resigned his post in March 1972 after a disagreement with coach John Smith over a substitution. In later years Moore kept the Bear Inn in Stafford and died in 1982.

Career statistics

Source:

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Moore, Bill 1913 births 1982 deaths Sportspeople from Washington, Tyne and Wear Footballers from Tyne and Wear English men's footballers Walker Celtic F.C. players Stoke City F.C. players Mansfield Town F.C. players Walsall F.C. managers English football managers Men's association football defenders English Football League players English Football League managers