William Marshall Hughes (6 March 1918 – 16 June 1981) was a Welsh 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 a

left back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

. He made 169 appearances in the First Division for

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

and Chelsea. As an international, he won 10 full caps for

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

and also played for a

Great Britain XI The United Kingdom national football team is a football team that represents the United Kingdom. Despite football being the most popular sport in the country, the team has not played since 1965 as separate teams represent each home nation (Engl ...

in 1947.

Career

Club career

Born in

Llanelli Llanelli ("St Elli's Parish"; ) is a market town and the largest community in Carmarthenshire and the preserved county of Dyfed, Wales. It is located on the Loughor estuary north-west of Swansea and south-east of the county town, Carmarthen. ...

, Hughes joined

from

Llanelli A.F.C. Llanelli Town Association Football Club ( cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Tref Llanelli) are a semi-professional Welsh football club that plays in the Cymru South. The original club was wound up on 22 April 2013 at the High Court in London following a ...

in 1934 and made his first-team debut in January 1936 when still only 17; by the time he was 19 he was a regular first choice. He was mature for his age and was described as a ball-winning defender who tried to use the ball constructively once he won it. During the Second World War he made 49 wartime league appearances for Birmingham. While serving in the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

he made guest appearances for

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 ...

, Swansea Town,

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandsworth ...

and

Chester Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...

. In all he played 110 senior games for Birmingham before joining Luton Town; eight months later they sold him for £12,000 to Chelsea, for whom he also played more than 100 games. He then moved to

Hereford United Hereford United Football Club was an association football club based in Hereford, England. They played at Edgar Street for their entire history. They were nicknamed 'The Whites' or 'The Lilywhites', after their predominantly white kit, or 'The ...

, who were then playing in the Southern League, followed by Flint Town United, with whom he won his only major club honour, the

Welsh Cup The FAW Welsh Cup ( cy, Cwpan Cymdeithas Pêl-droed Cymru), currently known as the JD Welsh Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a knock-out football competition contested annually by teams in the Welsh football league system. It is considered the most ...

, in 1954.

International career

Hughes made his international debut for

on 30 October 1937 in a 2–1 win over

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 ...

; he was only 19 and played alongside

clubmates

Seymour Morris Seymour Morris (15 February 1913 – October 1991) was a Welsh international footballer who played as an outside left. He won five full caps for his country and played for Huddersfield Town and Birmingham in the Football League. Biography Morri ...

and

Dai Richards David Thomas Richards (31 October 1906 – 1 October 1969) was a Welsh professional footballer who made over 210 appearances as a left half in the Football League for Wolverhampton Wanderers. He also played league football for Birmingham and B ...

. From that match until the outbreak of the Second World War, Hughes was an ever-present in the Welsh side. He also played in 14 of Wales' 17 wartime and

Victory international The term Victory International or Victory Internationals refers to two series of international football matches played by the national football teams of England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales at the end of both the First and Second World Wars. The ...

s, and later captained the team during the

1947 British Home Championship It was the first year of the Cold War, which would last until 1991, ending with the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Events January * January–February – Winter of 1946–47 in the United Kingdom: The worst snowfall in the country in ...

. In 1944 he toured France and Belgium with an FA Combined Services XI. On 25 November 1944, at

Hillsborough Hillsborough may refer to: Australia *Hillsborough, New South Wales, a suburb of Lake Macquarie Canada *Hillsborough, New Brunswick *Hillsborough Parish, New Brunswick * Hillsborough, Nova Scotia, in Inverness County *Hillsborough (electoral d ...

, he also played for a Royal Air Force XI in a 7–1 defeat against Scotland. His teammates on the day included, among others, Stanley Matthews, Stan Mortensen,

Raich Carter Horatio Stratton "Raich" Carter (21 December 1913 – 9 October 1994) was an English sportsman who played football for Sunderland, Derby County and Hull City, as well as representing England on thirteen occasions. He also played first-class cri ...

and

Frank Soo Frank Soo (8 March 1914 – 25 January 1991) was an English professional football player and manager of mixed Chinese and English parentage. He was the first player of Chinese origin to play in the English Football League, and the first player ...

. In 1947 he also played for a

against a Rest of Europe XI to celebrate the return of the Home Nations to

FIFA FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' ( French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was found ...

Later years

After retiring from playing, Hughes scouted for

. He died in

in 1981 at the age of 63.

Honours

;with Wales *

British Home Championship The British Home Championship * sco, Hame Internaitional Kemp * gd, Farpais lìg eadar-nàiseanta * cy, Pencampwriaeth y Pedair Gwlad, name=lang (historically known as the British International Championship or simply the International Champio ...

(shared):

1939 This year also marks the start of the Second World War, the largest and deadliest conflict in human history. Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 ** Third Reich *** Jews are forbidden to ...

;with Flint Town United *

winners: 1954

References

;General * * ;Specific {{DEFAULTSORT:Hughes, Billy 1918 births Footballers from Llanelli 1981 deaths Welsh footballers Wales international footballers Wales wartime international footballers Men's association football fullbacks Llanelli Town A.F.C. players Swansea City A.F.C. players Birmingham City F.C. players Luton Town F.C. players Chelsea F.C. players Hereford United F.C. players Fulham F.C. wartime guest players English Football League players Blackpool F.C. wartime guest players Chester City F.C. wartime guest players Chester City F.C. non-playing staff Flint Town United F.C. players Royal Air Force personnel of World War II