William Turtle Hopewell (1867-1928) was an English

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 in the Football League for Derby County. William Hopewell' first club was

Long Eaton Rangers Long Eaton Rangers Football Club was a football club based in Long Eaton, Derbyshire, England, which, for a brief period in the 1880s, had a legitimate claim to being one of the best teams in the country. They were founding members of the second e ...

. Hopewell signed in 1886, two years before Rangers became a League

The Combination The Combination was a league during the early days of English football. It had two incarnations; the first ran only for the 1888–89 season for teams across the Northern England and the Midlands, and was wound up before completion. The second ...

club. The following year (1887) Hopewell moved to Lincolnshire club, Grimsby Town. In season 1887–88 Grimsby Town were still a non–League club but they did reach the Fourth Round of the FA Cup. (registration & fee required) William Hopewell moved back to Derbyshire when he signed for Derby County in September 1888. Hopewell made his club and

League League or The League may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band * ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football Sports * Sports league * Rugby league, full contact footba ...

debut, playing at centre–half, on 13 October 1888, at

Thorneyholme Road Thorneyholme Road is a cricket and former football ground in Accrington, England. It is the home ground of Accrington Cricket Club, and was the home ground of Accrington F.C. from 1878 until 1896 when they dissolved. History Thorneyholme Ro ...

, the home of

Accrington Accrington is a town in the Hyndburn borough of Lancashire, England. It lies about east of Blackburn, west of Burnley, east of Preston, north of Manchester and is situated on the culverted River Hyndburn. Commonly abbreviated by locals to ...

. The home team won 6–2. William Hopewell played in five of the 22 League matches played by Derby County in season 1888–89. In 1889 William Hopewell was not retained by Derby County and he returned to Grimsby Town. In season 1889–90 Grimsby Town were founder members of the Football Alliance League and finished fourth. They also reached the Second Round of the FA Cup. In 1890 Hopewell moved from Grimsby Town to Doncaster Rovers for the start of their Midland League season, playing at half-back. Hopewell died at the age of 60/61 in 1928.

References

1867 births 1928 deaths Footballers from Derby English men's footballers Men's association football defenders Long Eaton Rangers F.C. players Grimsby Town F.C. players Derby County F.C. players Doncaster Rovers F.C. players English Football League players Midland Football League players {{England-footy-defender-1860s-stub