William Elwood Neale (20 May 1933 – October 2001) 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 ...

who played as a wing half in 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 ...

for

Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. The River Skerne flows through the town; it is a tributary of the River Tees. The Tees itself flows south of the town. In the 19th century, Darlington underwen ...

, and in

non-league football Non-League football describes football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is specifically used to de ...

for North Shields. He was on the books of

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 ...

without playing for their first team. He did contribute to the club's "A" team winning the 1950–51

Wearside League The Wearside Football League is a non-league football competition based in northern England. It consists of three divisions which sits at steps 7 to 9 (or levels 11 to 13) of the National League System and is a feeder to the Northern League Di ...

title and two other trophies. According to the '' Sunderland Echo'', "right half Neale, although on the small side, used both feet, distributed the ball well, and was a bundle of energy all the way through" the final of the Monkwearmouth Charity Cup.

References

1933 births 2001 deaths Footballers from Wallsend English men's footballers Men's association football wing halves Sunderland A.F.C. players North Shields F.C. players Darlington F.C. players English Football League players {{England-footy-midfielder-1930s-stub