William Sherrard (25 August 1872 – 9 October 1895), familiarly known as Beg, was an Irish international footballer who played for

Limavady Limavady (; ) is a market town in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland, with Binevenagh as a backdrop. Lying east of Derry and southwest of Coleraine, Limavady had a population of 12,032 people at the United Kingdom census, 2011, 2011 Census ...

Glentoran Glentoran Football Club is a professional football club that plays in the NIFL Premiership. The club was founded in 1882. History Early history In 1914, Glentoran won the Vienna Cup, becoming the first United Kingdom team to win a European t ...

and Cliftonville. The youngest of 12 children, Sherrard's older brother Joe Sherrard would also play for

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

Club career

Sherrard began playing football with his local club, Limavady, alongside older brothers Joe and Jack and won the North West Cup on three occasions, scoring twice in five cup final appearances. After playing briefly as a guest for Derry Olympic , Sherrard moved to

in September 1894, scoring five goals before moving to Cliftonville in November. Sherrard scored five times for Cliftonville during the remainder of the 1894/95 season, and would also appear in the final of the

Belfast Charity Cup The Belfast Charity Cup was a football competition which ran from 1883 to 1941, and was based on a similar tournament in Scotland, the Glasgow Merchants Charity Cup The Glasgow Merchants' Charity Cup was a knockout football tournament open ...

for his new side, a match which Cliftonville lost 3–1 to Linfield. He started the following season in good form, scoring six goals before his death in October 1895.

International career

Sherrard made his

debut against

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 ...

in the opening match of the

1894–95 British Home Championship The 1894–95 British Home Championship was an international football tournament played between the British Home Nations. The competition was won by England, who like second placed Wales, did not lose a game. Wales however failed to win one eith ...

, a game Ireland would lose 9–0. He retained his place for the next match, scoring in a 2–2 draw against

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 ...

and also scored the consolation goal in a 3–1 defeat to

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

Death and funeral

Sherrard died at the age of 23 from

influenza Influenza, commonly known as "the flu", is an infectious disease caused by influenza viruses. Symptoms range from mild to severe and often include fever, runny nose, sore throat, muscle pain, headache, coughing, and fatigue. These symptoms ...

whilst staying with his sister, Tilly Oliver, on 9 October 1895. His funeral was reportedly attended by over 2,000 mourners.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sherrard, William Irish association footballers (before 1923) NIFL Premiership players Men's association football forwards Northern Ireland men's amateur international footballers Pre-1950 IFA men's international footballers Glentoran F.C. players Cliftonville F.C. players Limavady United F.C. players 1872 births 1895 deaths Deaths from influenza People from Limavady