William Charles Higgins (26 February 1924 — 1981) 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 winger.

Career

In 1946, Everton signed Higgins from

Tranmere Rovers Tranmere Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Birkenhead, Merseyside, England. The team compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1884 as Belmont Football Club, they adop ...

, with whom he played for on amateur terms. Higgins made his debut for Everton on 21 September 1946 in a 0–0

Merseyside derby The Merseyside derby is the football matches between Everton and Liverpool, the two primary clubs in Liverpool, England. Named after the county of Merseyside, in which Liverpool is located, it is the longest running top-flight derby in England ...

draw 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 ...

. Over the course of four seasons, Higgins made 48 league appearances, scoring eight times. In May 1950, Higgins signed for Colombian club

Millonarios Millonarios Fútbol Club is a professional Colombian football team based in Bogotá, that currently plays in the Categoría Primera A. They play their home games at the El Campín stadium. Millonarios was initially created in 1937 by students f ...

, during the

El Dorado El Dorado (, ; Spanish for "the golden"), originally ''El Hombre Dorado'' ("The Golden Man") or ''El Rey Dorado'' ("The Golden King"), was the term used by the Spanish in the 16th century to describe a mythical tribal chief (''zipa'') or king o ...

era of Colombian football, in which a breakaway league was formed. Despite receiving a £1,000 signing-on fee and a monthly wage of £120, Higgins' time in Colombia was short lived. The ''

Liverpool Echo The ''Liverpool Echo'' is a newspaper published by Trinity Mirror North West & North Wales – a subsidiary company of Reach plc and is based in St Paul's Square, Liverpool, Merseyside, England. It is published Monday to Sunday, and is Liverp ...

'' reported Higgins was unhappy in Colombia and in financial despair, with his signing-on fee "not in order". Higgins returned to England five months later, with £19 to his name. As a result of leaving Everton to join Colombia's Campeonato Profesional, Higgins was suspended by

The Football Association The Football Association (also known as The FA) is the Sports governing body, governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Bailiwick of Guernsey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the ...

, before having his suspension later lifted. Despite talks with

Luton Town Luton Town Football Club () is a professional association football club based in the town of Luton, Bedfordshire, England, that competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1885, it is nicknam ...

and

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 ...

, Higgins eventually ended up signing for Welsh club

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 ...

, who played in the English

non-league 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 ...

system. Higgins made his debut for Bangor on 2 December 1950, scoring in a 2–1 win against

Runcorn Runcorn is an industrial town and cargo port in the Borough of Halton in Cheshire, England. Its population in 2011 was 61,789. The town is in the southeast of the Liverpool City Region, with Liverpool to the northwest across the River Mersey. ...

. In October 1952, Higgins had a transfer request accepted by the club. Despite this, he remained with Bangor until the end of the 1952–53 season.

References

1924 births 1981 deaths Men's association football wingers English men's footballers English expatriate men's footballers Footballers from Birkenhead Tranmere Rovers F.C. players Everton F.C. players Millonarios F.C. players Bangor City F.C. players Categoría Primera A players Expatriate men's footballers in Colombia English expatriate sportspeople in Colombia English Football League players {{England-footy-midfielder-1920s-stub