William Clifford Nugent (3 March 1929 – 17 February 2018) was an English professional

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 ...

. Nugent was playing non-league football for

Headington United Oxford United Football Club is a professional football club in the city of Oxford, England. The team plays in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The chairman is Grant Ferguson, the manager is Karl Robinson and th ...

when

Cardiff City Cardiff City Football Club ( cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Dinas Caerdydd) is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. It competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1899 as R ...

manager Cyril Spiers spotted him and brought him to

Ninian Park Ninian Park was a football stadium in the Leckwith area of Cardiff, Wales, that was the home of Cardiff City F.C. for 99 years. Opened in 1910 with a single wooden stand, it underwent numerous renovations during its lifespan and hosted fixture ...

in January 1951. He did not make his debut for the club until the following season, in a 1–0 win over

Hull City Hull City Association Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Kingston upon Hull, Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England, that compete in the . They have played home games at the MKM Stadium since moving ...

, but he eventually managed to force his way into the side during the 1953–54 season. He scored his first goal for Cardiff in a match against

Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club (), commonly known as Wolves, is a professional football club based in Wolverhampton, England, which compete in the . The club has played at Molineux Stadium since moving from Dudley Road in 1889. The club's ...

in January 1954. He helped the club avoid relegation on the final day of the season in the next season but injury ruled him out for all but one game during the 1955-56 campaign, making an incredible return the next year by scoring a hattrick during a 7-0 thrashing of

Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. As the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. In Barnsley, the population was 96,888 while the wider Borough has ...

. Nugent left the club in November 1958 and signed for

Mansfield Town Mansfield Town Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in the town of Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Stags', they ...

where he spent two years before moving into non-league football with Weymouth. Nugent died in

Weymouth, Dorset Weymouth is a seaside town in Dorset, on the English Channel coast of England. Situated on a sheltered bay at the mouth of the River Wey, south of the county town of Dorchester, Weymouth had a population of 53,427 in 2021. It is the third l ...

on 17 February 2018, at the age of 88.

References

1929 births 2018 deaths Footballers from the London Borough of Islington People from Islington (district) English men's footballers Men's association football wingers Oxford United F.C. players Cardiff City F.C. players Mansfield Town F.C. players Weymouth F.C. players English Football League players {{England-footy-midfielder-1920s-stub