William Slater (1858 – after 1883) 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

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 ...

for

Small Heath Alliance Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. Since 2011, the first tea ...

in the 1880s. The club entered the FA Cup for the first time in 1881–82, and were drawn to play at home to Derby Town. The game was played on 17 October 1881 at

Coventry Road Coventry Road Cricket Ground was a cricket ground in Hinckley, Leicestershire. It was located along Coventry Road to the south, Trinity Lane to the east, with Trinity Vicarage Road to the north. Established in 1946, the ground had a capacity of ...

. Slater's opening goal in a 4–1 win was the first goal scored by Small Heath Alliance, later to become Birmingham City, in national competitive football. He made five appearances in the FA Cup, scoring four goals, but left the club long before they started playing organised league football.Matthews, p. 231. Slater was born in Birmingham.

References

1858 births Year of death missing Footballers from Birmingham, West Midlands English men's footballers Men's association football forwards Birmingham City F.C. players Place of death missing {{England-footy-forward-1850s-stub