William John Edwards (6 July 1929 – May 2014) was a Welsh professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

player and

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. In his playing career he was a full-back.

Playing career

Edwards began his career as an amateur, initially with Cardiff City and then

Lovells Athletic Lovell's Athletic F.C. was the works team for Lovell's sweet factory in Newport, Monmouthshire, Wales, which played professional football from 1918 until 1969. History Lovell's joined the Western Football League in 1923 and won the title in t ...

, from whom he joined

Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition building ...

in June 1949. Over the next ten seasons Edwards was a regular in the Crystal Palace side and made 223 League appearances before moving to

Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, at the foothills of the South Pennines in the dale on the River Roch, northwest of Oldham and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough ...

in June 1959. After 68 appearances for Rochdale, Edwards moved into

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 ...

with Ashford Town (Kent), where he also held a coaching position.

Coaching and management career

In February 1963 he became manager of

Exeter City Exeter City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Exeter, Devon, England. The team play in , the third tier of the English football league system. Known as "the Grecians", the origin of their nickname is subject to ...

, remaining in charge until early 1965. Edwards was appointed as

Torquay United Torquay United Football Club is a professional football club based in Torquay, Devon, England. The team currently compete in the , the fifth tier of English football. They have played their home matches at Plainmoor since 1921 and are nicknamed ...

manager in October 1971, a post he held until January 1973. He later returned to Exeter, for a short spell, before becoming assistant manager at

Plymouth Argyle Plymouth Argyle Football Club is a professional football club based in the city of Plymouth, Devon, England. As of the 2021–22 season, the team are competing in League One, the third tier of English football. They have played at Home Park, ...

. He subsequently served

Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire in England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of England's football league system, and plays its home matches at Elland Road S ...

as a

scout Scout may refer to: Youth movement *Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement **Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom **Scouts BSA, sectio ...

References

External links

Jack Edwards at holmesdale.netJack Edwards at Nuts and Bolts Archive (Ashford Town)
1929 births 2014 deaths People from Risca Sportspeople from Caerphilly County Borough Footballers from Newport, Wales Men's association football fullbacks Welsh men's footballers Cardiff City F.C. players Lovell's Athletic F.C. players Crystal Palace F.C. players Rochdale A.F.C. players Ashford United F.C. players English Football League players Welsh football managers Exeter City F.C. managers Torquay United F.C. managers {{Wales-footy-bio-stub