Billy Lewis (1864–1935) was a Welsh international

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 ...

in the late 19th century who played as a

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 ...

. He played for

Bangor City Bangor City Football Club ( cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Dinas Bangor) are an inactive Welsh football club from the City of Bangor, Gwynedd. They started the 2021–22 season in the Cymru North the second level of the Welsh football league system, but ...

before joining Everton for a brief period in the first ever season 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 ...

, making 3 league appearances with the Toffees in September 1888. William Lewis was described by one source as, 'a speedy forward and very clever – does not use sufficient judgement'. William Lewis made his Club and League debut on 8 September 1888, playing at centre–forward, at

Anfield Anfield is a football stadium in Anfield, Liverpool, Merseyside, England, which has a seating capacity of 53,394, making it the seventh largest football stadium in England. It has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since their formation in 1892. ...

, the then home of Everton. The home team defeated the visitors

Accrington Accrington is a town in the Hyndburn borough of Lancashire, England. It lies about east of Blackburn, west of Burnley, east of Preston, north of Manchester and is situated on the culverted River Hyndburn. Commonly abbreviated by locals to ...

2–1. William Lewis scored his debut Club and League goal (his only League goal for Everton and his only League goal in the top–flight) on 29 September 1888, playing as a winger, at

Pike's Lane Pike's Lane was a football ground in Bolton, England. It was the home ground of Bolton Wanderers between 1880 and 1895, and the venue of the first goal scored in league football anywhere in the world. History Pike's Lane opened in 1880, with the ...

, the then home of

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 ...

. Everton were defeated by the home team 6–2, William Lewis scoring the first of Everton' two goals in the match. William Lewis appeared in three of the 22 League games played by Everton in season 1888–89 and scored one League goal. After the heavy defeat at Bolton Lewis did not play for Everton again and did not play top–flight football again. When Lewis played for Manchester City the latter were in Division Two. Billy Lewis returned to Bangor in January 1889 before spells with

Crewe Alexandra Crewe Alexandra Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Crewe, Cheshire, that competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Railwaymen' because of ...

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 1896 he moved to

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 ...

, and he made 13 appearances for City, scoring on 4 occasions. Lewis gained 13 Welsh caps whilst with Chester, which remained a club record for more than 100 years. His record was broken when

Angus Eve Angus Eve (born 23 February 1972) is a Trinidadian former professional footballer who is the head coach of the Trinidad and Tobago national team since 2021. With 117 caps he is his country's most capped player of all time. Playing career Eve p ...

was capped 35 times for

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago (, ), officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Consisting of the main islands Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous much smaller islands, it is situated south of ...

, although for 24 of these caps he was on loan away from Chester, and thus Lewis could still be argued to be the record holder.Chester City Club Records

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lewis, Billy (Footballer) 1864 births 1935 deaths Footballers from Bangor, Gwynedd Wales international footballers Welsh footballers English Football League players Bangor City F.C. players Chester City F.C. players Crewe Alexandra F.C. players Manchester City F.C. players Everton F.C. players Association football forwards