Robert William Matthews (16 April 1897 – 18 December 1987) was a Welsh footballer who played as a centre-half for

Liverpool Football Club Liverpool Football Club is a professional football club based in Liverpool, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. Founded in 1892, the club joined the Football League the following year and has p ...

in the early 1920s and earned three caps for

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 ...

. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, he took part in the

Battle of the Somme The Battle of the Somme ( French: Bataille de la Somme), also known as the Somme offensive, was a battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British Empire and French Third Republic against the German Empire. It took place bet ...

, in France. Williams also played in

The Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

for

Bristol City Bristol City Football Club is a professional football club based in Bristol, England, which compete in the , the second tier of English football. They have played their home games at Ashton Gate since moving from St John's Lane in 1904. The ...

Wrexham Wrexham ( ; cy, Wrecsam; ) is a city and the administrative centre of Wrexham County Borough in Wales. It is located between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley, near the border with Cheshire in England. Historically in the count ...

Barrow Barrow may refer to: Places England * Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria ** Borough of Barrow-in-Furness, local authority encompassing the wider area ** Barrow and Furness (UK Parliament constituency) * Barrow, Cheshire * Barrow, Gloucestershire * Barro ...

Bradford Park Avenue Bradford (Park Avenue) Association Football Club is an association football club based in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. The team compete in , at the sixth tier of the English football league system. The name derived from their former hom ...

, Stockport County and

Chester Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...

. His non-league clubs included

Northwich Victoria {{Infobox UK place , static_image_name = Northwich - Town Bridge.jpg , static_image_caption = Town Bridge, the River Weaver and the spire of Holy Trinity Church , official_name = Northwich , country ...

Oswestry Town Oswestry Town Football Club was a football club from Shropshire, playing at Victoria Road. They joined the Birmingham League in 1924 and switched to the Cheshire County League in 1959. In 1975 they made the move to the Southern League before ...

Witton Albion Witton may refer to one of several places in England: *Witton, historic name of an area of Northwich, Cheshire **Witton Albion F.C. *Witton Gilbert, County Durham *Witton-le-Wear, County Durham *Witton, an area of Blackburn, Lancashire * Witton, B ...

, Sandbach Ramblers, Colwyn Bay and

Rossendale United Rossendale United Football Club was a semi-professional football club based in the village of Newchurch within the Rossendale borough of Lancashire, England. The club was founded in 1898. Nicknamed the Stags, they had a long and eventful run wh ...

Later career

Following his retirement from football, Matthews turned to coaching and had a spell as manager of Llangollen. He later became 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 ...

for

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the North West England, northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the Borough of Blackpool, borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, betw ...

and discovered

Glyn James Edward Glyn James (born 17 December 1941) is a Welsh former professional footballer. He played as a defender. He spent his entire professional career with Blackpool. James also represented Wales on nine occasions. Early life James became a ...

. Matthews was also a keen cyclist well into his late 70s.

References

External links

Liverpool FC history profileArticle on players to play for Chester and Liverpool
(see Billy Matthews) 1897 births 1987 deaths People from Ruabon Footballers from Wrexham County Borough Welsh men's footballers Wales men's international footballers Liverpool F.C. players Chester City F.C. players Wrexham A.F.C. players Bristol City F.C. players Colwyn Bay F.C. players New Brighton A.F.C. players Northwich Victoria F.C. players Barrow A.F.C. players Stockport County F.C. players Bradford (Park Avenue) A.F.C. players Oswestry Town F.C. players Witton Albion F.C. players Rossendale United F.C. players English Football League players Men's association football defenders Sandbach Ramblers F.C. players British military personnel of World War I {{Wales-footy-defender-stub