William Hibbert (21 September 1884 – 16 March 1949) was a 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

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 ...

and was

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once for

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Club career

Born in

Golborne Golborne (pronounced or ) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies south-southeast of Wigan, northeast of Warrington and to the west of the city of Manchester. Combined with the village of Lowto ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

, Hibbert started his junior career with Golborne Juniors in 1902, joining Newton-le-Willows the following year then Brynn Central in 1905 in the Lancashire combination League. On 3 May 1906, he signed for First Division club

Bury Bury may refer to: *The burial of human remains *-bury, a suffix in English placenames Places England * Bury, Cambridgeshire, a village * Bury, Greater Manchester, a town, historically in Lancashire ** Bury (UK Parliament constituency) (1832–19 ...

, becoming their top scorer four consecutive seasons. He made his debut against

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area. Until the early 1800s, the a ...

in September, scoring in his first four league appearances finishing with 12 in his debut season. The following season he hit hat-tricks against

Bolton Wanderers Bolton Wanderers Football Club () is a professional football club based in Horwich, Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in . The club played at Burnden Park for 102 years from 1895 after moving from their original home at Pike's ...

and

Preston North End Preston North End Football Club, commonly referred to as Preston, North End or PNE, is a professional football club in Preston, Lancashire, England, who currently play in the EFL Championship, the second tier of the English football league syste ...

in his total of 20. He scored 26 goals in the 1908-09 season that included hat-tricks against

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...

(4) and

Notts County Notts County Football Club is a professional association football club based in Nottingham, England. The team participate in the National League (division), National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. Founded on the 2 ...

. Two more hat-tricks came the next season against

and

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional association football, football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English footba ...

as he finished the 1909-10 season with 21 goals. A treble against

Manchester City Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The tw ...

in his 19 goals that season meant he finished as Bury’s top scorer for the fourth time. At

Gigg Lane Gigg Lane is a football ground in Bury, Greater Manchester, England, built for Bury F.C. in 1885. The first match was played on 12 September 1885 between Bury and a team from Wigan. One of the world's oldest professional football stadiums, Gig ...

, Hibbert scored 99 goals, of which seven were from the penalty spot, and included seven hat-tricks, in 178 league games and a further six goals in ten

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

appearances.

were struggling financially and were relegated at the end of the 1911-12 season. Hibbert scored his final goal this season before leaving in October 1911 when

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Newcastle upon Tyne, that plays in the Premier League – the top flight of English football. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End ...

paid a record £1,950 fee for his services after 105 goals in 188 appearances for the Shakers. Hibbert wasn’t as prolific on Tyneside, he finished the 1911-12 season having played 27 league games netting 15 times which saw him score a hat-trick in a 5-2 home win over

. The following season he only managed 3 goals in 23 league games and 1 in 6 FA Cup games. He found the net 6 times in 35 games in the 1913-14 season before a return to more like his goal-scoring best in 1914-15, the final season before

WW1 World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

took over. He scored 13 in 30 league games and twice in six FA Cup ties. During the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, Hibbert made guest appearances for both

Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an offshoot of ...

and

Leeds City Leeds City Football Club was the leading professional club in Leeds, England, before the First World War. It was dissolved in 1919 due to financial irregularities, after which Leeds United was established as a replacement. History The club was ...

. On resumption of the

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

he scored 9 times in 24 matches, including two hat-tricks against

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

and

Bradford Park Avenue Bradford (Park Avenue) Association Football Club is an association football club based in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. The team compete in , at the sixth tier of the English football league system. The name derived from their former hom ...

, in what proved to be his final season with the Magpies. He had played 139 league games and scored 46 goals and scored another 3 goals in 16 FA Cup appearances. On 12th May 1920 he signed for

Bradford City Bradford City Association Football Club is an English professional football club in Bradford, West Yorkshire. The team competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system and are currently managed by Mark Hughes. Th ...

on a free transfer, and he was at his prolific best in his two seasons there, scoring 26 goals in 53 matches. Trebles against

and

Huddersfield Town Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . The team have played home games at the Kirklees Stadium since moving from Leeds Road in 1994. The ...

(4) took his hat-trick total to 12. He also scored another 2 goals in 6 FA Cup games. Bradford City were relegated at the end of the 1921-22 season and Hibbert moved to First Division

Oldham Athletic Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is a professional football club in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. The history of Oldham Athletic ...

on 21st May 1922. He stayed at

Boundary Park Boundary Park is a football stadium in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England. Its name originates from the fact that it lies at the northwestern extremity of Oldham, with Royton and Chadderton lying immediately north and west respectively. Bound ...

for just one season until the Latics also were relegated. He scored 4 for the club, bettered only by Jimmy Marshall with 6. Like many at the time, he crossed the Atlantic to the United States to play in the embryonic American Soccer League with

Fall River Marksmen Fall River Marksmen was an American soccer club based in Fall River, Massachusetts. They originally played as Fall River United before becoming known as the Marksmen after their owner, Sam Mark. During the 1920s and early 1930s they were one of t ...

and

J&P Coats J. & P. Coats was an American soccer club founded in 1900 as the team of the Pawtucket, Rhode Island branch of the J. & P. Coats threadmaking company of Paisley, Scotland (following a 1952 merger this firm became part of the Coats Group). The club ...

. After three years in the states, he returned to play, and captain non league Burscough Rangers before a coaching role saw him move to

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

to join Real Gimnastico in 1927. After a year in Spain he returned to England, signing for Wigan Borough as a fitness coach. When Hibbert retired from football in England he had scored 175 goals in 387 appearances, all in the first division. Only six players,

Steve Bloomer Stephen Bloomer (20 January 1874 – 16 April 1938) was an England international footballer and manager who played for Derby County – becoming their record goalscorer – and Middlesbrough. The anthem " Steve Bloomer's Watchin'" is played at ...

Charlie Buchan Charles Murray Buchan (22 September 1891 – 25 June 1960) was an English footballer, sporting journalist and commentator. Buchan started his career in 1909 with Woolwich Arsenal (later renamed Arsenal F.C.). He is known for his career with S ...

, Joe Smith, Harry Hampton, Andrew Wilson and George Elliott had scored more top flight goals. A century later Hibbert’s goal scoring record ranks him inside the

top 50 In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 most-popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or "conte ...

and his hat-trick record of 12 is only bettered by 12 other players.

National team

He also won one international

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. Caps typically have a visor, or no brim at all. They are popular in casual and informal se ...

for

against

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

on 2 April 1910 in a 2–0 defeat.

Manager

After his playing career finished he was a coach in the

United States of America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...

, Spain and at Wigan Borough. He died in

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 ...

, England, on 16 March 1949.

Personal life

His brother-in-law was Joe Shaw who played more than 300 games for

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hibbert, Billy 1884 births 1949 deaths People from Golborne English footballers England international footballers English Football League players Bury F.C. players Newcastle United F.C. players Leeds City F.C. players Bradford City A.F.C. players Oldham Athletic A.F.C. players American Soccer League (1921–1933) players Fall River Marksmen players J&P Coats players Levante UD footballers Arsenal F.C. wartime guest players Burnley F.C. wartime guest players English Football League representative players Association football forwards English expatriate sportspeople in the United States Expatriate soccer players in the United States English expatriate footballers