William James Lilley (born 1885, date of death unknown) 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 le ...

who played as a

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

for both Sheffield United and Rotherham Town 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 ...

Career

Born in

Staveley Staveley may refer to: Places * Staveley, Cumbria, village in the former county of Westmorland and now in Cumbria, England ** Staveley railway station * Staveley-in-Cartmel, village formerly in Lancashire, now in Cumbria, England * Staveley, D ...

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the nor ...

, England he began his career alongside his older brother Harry with local side Staveley Lowgates in 1887 and would go on to follow his sibling from club-to-club until 1894. The pair moved to the town's senior side

with whom Will played for three years, appearing in the Midland Counties League for the club. Harry left for Sheffield United in the summer of 1890 but Will remained at Staveley for a further season. He was eventually transferred in November 1891 and had been intending to join The Wednesday who had offered him a contract, but influenced by his brother he instead opted to join him at their cross-city rivals Sheffield United when the opportunity arose. Lilley competed with established keeper Charlie Howlett for a starting position in the first team but more often than not lost out to his rival. Despite this he remained with United for two-and-a-half seasons and had the distinction of being in goal for their first ever game in

against Lincoln City in September 1892. Both Lilley and his older brother Harry played their final first team game for United in April 1894 with Will having played in 25 league and three

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 ...

games for the club, and remarkably for a keeper having scored three goals. Older brother Harry opted to retire from football at that point but Will played on for another season, transferring to Rotherham Town for whom he played nine times in The Football League.

Honours

Sheffield United *

Football League Division Two The Football League Second Division was the second level division in the English football league system between 1892 and 1992. Following the foundation of the FA Premier League, the Football League divisions were renumbered and the third ti ...

**Runner-up: 1892–93

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lilley, Will 1885 births People from Staveley, Derbyshire Footballers from Derbyshire English men's footballers Men's association football goalkeepers Staveley F.C. players Sheffield United F.C. players Rotherham Town F.C. (1878) players English Football League players Date of death unknown Northern Football League players