William Henry Bailey (2 October 1870 – 19 October 1930) was an English

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

er, batting right-handed, an association football

left back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

, and latterly a pub landlord. He was born at Melton Mowbray,

Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ; postal abbreviation Leics.) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East Midlands, England. The county borders Nottinghamshire to the north, Lincolnshire to the north-east, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire t ...

, and has been dubbed "one of Victorian Leicester's sporting super stars"

Football

Bailey was a 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 ...

who played for Leicester Fosse as a full-back. He played in the club's first ever games in both the Midlands' League and 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 ...

, he was the first player to reach 100 appearances for the club and also scored the Fosse's first ever penalty.

Cricket

Bailey made two first-class appearances for

in the

1896 County Championship The 1896 County Championship was the seventh officially organised running of the County Championship, and ran from 4 May to 31 August 1896. Yorkshire County Cricket Club claimed victory that year, winning 16 of their 26 matches and losing only th ...

against Lancashire at

Aigburth, Liverpool Aigburth () is a suburb of Liverpool, England. Located to the south of the city, it is bordered by Dingle, Garston, Mossley Hill, and Toxteth. Etymology The name Aigburth comes from Old Norse ''eik'' and ''berg'', meaning ''oak-tree hill''. T ...

, and Derbyshire at

Grace Road, Leicester Grace Road, known for Naming rights#Stadium naming, sponsorship reasons as the Uptonsteel County Ground, Grace Road, is a cricket ground in Leicester, England. It is the home ground and administrative base of Leicestershire County Cricket Cl ...

. He scored 49 runs in his two matches, at an average of 12.25, with a high score of 15. After his sporting career he became a pub landlord, of the ''Full Moon'' in Russel Square in Leicester. He died at the place of his birth on 19 October 1930.

References

External links

William Bailey
at ESPNcricinfo
William Bailey
at CricketArchive *

' - Leicester Mercury story {{DEFAULTSORT:Bailey, Harry 1870 births 1930 deaths Sportspeople from Melton Mowbray Footballers from Leicestershire Cricketers from Leicestershire English cricketers English men's footballers Leicestershire cricketers Leicester City F.C. players Mansfield Town F.C. players Men's association football fullbacks