Sir William Edwin Clegg (21 April 1852 – 22 August 1932) was an English footballer and politician.

Football career

Born in

Sheffield Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...

, he was the younger brother of

Charles Clegg Charles Myron Clegg Jr. (June 29, 1916 – August 25, 1979) was an American author, photographer, and railroad historian. Clegg is primarily remembered as the lifelong romantic partner of famed railroad author Lucius Beebe, and was a co-author o ...

with whom he played at

Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an offshoot of ...

. The two were the first brothers to both be capped for

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, although they never played in the same match. He was described as being "a safe kick and good half-back" in Charles Alcock's 1875 edition of the ''Football Annual''. After retiring from football through injury, he continued within the game as an administrator and became president of Sheffield Wednesday and vice president of Sheffield and Hallamshire Football Association. Clegg became a solicitor. His most notable case was when he represented the notorious criminal Charles Peace.

Political career

He also went on to have a successful political career and was Lord Mayor of Sheffield in 1898. He became known as 'the uncrowned king of Sheffield'. Clegg was knighted in 1906. Clegg was the leader of the

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

group on Sheffield City Council from 1895. In his early years, he campaigned for the municipalisation of the

tram A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport are ...

ways in the city, and then for the construction of

council housing Public housing in the United Kingdom, also known as council estates, council housing, or social housing, provided the majority of rented accommodation until 2011 when the number of households in private rental housing surpassed the number in so ...

in the city. He was able to ensure that an estate was built at

Wincobank Shiregreen and Brightside ward—which includes the districts of Brightside, Shiregreen, and Wincobank—is one of the 28 electoral wards in City of Sheffield, England. It is located in the northern part of the city and covers an area ...

, and a project to build 400 houses was begun in 1909. He also acted as the major financier of the local Liberal group.Ed. Clyde Binfield et al., ''The History of the City of Sheffield: Volume I: Politics'' Clegg was considered to be on the right of the Liberal Party and was associated with the Liberal League. He was opposed to

socialism Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...

and was hostile to the Labour Party. From 1909, he began co-operating closely with the

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

group on the council, and in 1920 the two parties formed the Citizens' Association, Clegg being its first leader. He pursued low-tax policies at the expense of cutting services and running up debts. He was an opponent of

David Lloyd George David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor, (17 January 1863 – 26 March 1945) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1916 to 1922. He was a Liberal Party politician from Wales, known for leading the United Kingdom during t ...

's policies. The Association lost control of the council to Labour in 1926, who removed him from the

alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many Jurisdiction, jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council membe ...

ic bench. Following his deposition from the council, Clegg concentrated on social and philanthropic work and in particular he took an interest in education. He became the pro-chancellor of the

University of Sheffield , mottoeng = To discover the causes of things , established = – University of SheffieldPredecessor institutions: – Sheffield Medical School – Firth College – Sheffield Technical School – University College of Sheffield , type = Pu ...

and chairman of the Sheffield education committee. Clegg had married twice and had a son and daughter. Clegg died in a Sheffield nursing home 22 August 1932 aged 80.

References

External links

England profile on www.englandstats.comEngland profile on www.englandfc.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Clegg, William 1852 births 1932 deaths English footballers British sportsperson-politicians England international footballers Councillors in Sheffield Lord Mayors of Sheffield Sheffield Wednesday F.C. players Footballers from Sheffield English solicitors Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Association football defenders Knights Bachelor

Football career

Political career

See also

References

External links