William Elson (1865 – 1937) was an English

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 ...

. He played 241 games and scored 15 goals for

Burslem Port Vale Port Vale Football Club are a professional football club based in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, England, which compete in . Vale are the only English Football League club not to be named after a place; their name being a reference to the valley of ...

; however, 114 of these games were

friendlies An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, a scrimmage, a demonstration, a preseason game, a warmup match, or a preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sporting event whose prize money and impact on the player's or ...

Career

Elson most likely joined

in the summer of 1886. After a slow start, he became a regular from January 1888 and was in the side that shared the North Staffordshire Charity Challenge Cup in 1891. He played 16 Second Division games in 1892–93, in what was the club's first season in the English Football League. He played 26 league games in the 1893–94 season. He scored his first Football League goal at the Athletic Ground on 4 December, in a 6–1 victory over Grimsby Town. Five days later, after a match at Crewe Alexandra he was physically attacked. At that point, he challenged the crowd to "come on" one by one. On 13 January, he claimed another goal in a 5–3 defeat at

Burton Swifts Burton Swifts Football Club was a football club based in Burton upon Trent, England. Established in 1871, the club joined the Football League in 1892, remaining members until merging with Burton Wanderers to form Burton United in 1901. History ...

. He transferred to West Manchester in the summer of 1894.

Career statistics

Source:

Honours

Port Vale *North Staffordshire Charity Challenge Cup: 1891 (shared)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Elson, Billy Footballers from Burslem English men's footballers Men's association football midfielders Port Vale F.C. players English Football League players 1865 births 1937 deaths