William John Bell (born 1904, date of death unknown) 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 left. He was born in Backworth, Northumberland. Bell began his career with Chopwell Institute, later moving to Blyth Spartans. In 1923, he had an unsuccessful trial with

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 ...

and the following year joined Lincoln City. He scored 3 times in 20 league games for Lincoln before joining non-league

Mansfield Town Mansfield Town Football Club is a professional association football, 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 ...

. In 1925, he joined Leicester City, playing 41 times (5 goals) over the next five years before joining

Torquay United Torquay United Football Club is a professional football club based in Torquay, Devon, England. The team currently compete in the , the fifth tier of English football. They have played their home matches at Plainmoor since 1921 and are nicknamed ...

in 1930. He started the season as first choice on the wing for Torquay, but lost his place due to the emergence of the future England international

Ralph Birkett Ralph James Evans Birkett (9 January 1913 – 8 July 2002) was an English professional footballer who played once for the England national team. Playing career Birkett was discovered by Torquay United while playing for Dartmouth United, moving ...

in the side. Bell scored 6 times in 28 league games, with a further goal in four FA Cup ties that season, which was to be his only at Torquay and his last in league football.

References

1904 births English men's footballers Blyth Spartans A.F.C. players Lincoln City F.C. players Mansfield Town F.C. players Leicester City F.C. players Torquay United F.C. players Year of death missing Men's association football outside forwards People from Backworth Sportspeople from the Metropolitan Borough of North Tyneside Footballers from Tyne and Wear {{England-footy-forward-1900s-stub