William Garraty (6 October 1878 – 6 May 1931) was a

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 ...

in the early years of professional football in England, who played for

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa Park ...

from August 1897 to September 1908. Before playing for Villa he played for Aston Shakespeare. Garraty was capped once by

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

appearing in a game against

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 ...

in 1903.

Career

Billy Garraty made his league debut for

during the 1897–98 season but made just one other appearance that year and remained a bit part player as Aston Villa won the title the following year. Garraty became a first team regular in the 1899–1900 season as Aston Villa retained their title thanks to his league-leading 27 league goals – only Pongo Waring scored more in a single season. Garraty made 41 appearances in the 1900–01 season, more than any other player.AVFC History
1900-01 season
/ref> He went on to make 224 league appearances for the Villans, scoring 96 league goals, as well as helping his side to

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

success in

1905 As the second year of the massive Russo-Japanese War begins, more than 100,000 die in the largest world battles of that era, and the war chaos leads to the 1905 Russian Revolution against Nicholas II of Russia (Shostakovich's 11th Symphony i ...

with his Man of the Match display. During his time at Villa, Billy was regarded as one of the great utility players of the game despite his ability to score goals. In 1906, Garraty lost his place in the Villa line up and made only a handful of appearances before signing for

Leicester Fosse Leicester City Football Club is an English professional association football, football club based in Leicester in the East Midlands of England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of English football league system, Eng ...

in 1908. Garraty failed to find the net in six appearances and the Foxes suffered relegation at the end of the season. The remainder of Garraty's league career was spent in the second division with two years at

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club () is an English professional football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was formed in 1878 and has pla ...

followed by his final season before retirement in 1910–11 with Lincoln City.

Family

Garraty is the great-great grandfather of footballer

Jack Grealish Jack Peter Grealish (born 10 September 1995) is an English professional footballer who plays as a winger or attacking midfielder for club Manchester City and the England national team. Grealish joined Aston Villa at the age of six, and mad ...

, who played for and captained Aston Villa, currently he plays for

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 ...

Honours

Aston Villa * First Division: 1899–1900 *

: 1904–05 *

Sheriff of London Charity Shield The Sheriff of London Charity Shield, also known as the Dewar Shield, was a football competition played annually between the best amateur and best professional club in England, though Scottish amateur side Queens Park also took part in 1899. The ...

: 1901

References

External links

*
Aston Villa Player Database
English footballers 1878 births 1931 deaths English Football League players First Division/Premier League top scorers Aston Villa F.C. players England international footballers West Bromwich Albion F.C. players Lincoln City F.C. players Leicester City F.C. players Association football forwards FA Cup Final players {{England-footy-forward-1870s-stub