William Almond, known as Willie Almond (5 April 1868 – 1942), 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 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 ...

for

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 ...

, Blackburn Rovers, and

Northwich Victoria {{Infobox UK place , static_image_name = Northwich - Town Bridge.jpg , static_image_caption = Town Bridge, the River Weaver and the spire of Holy Trinity Church , official_name = Northwich , country ...

. In 1887 Almond signed with Witton, the year Witton FC recruited 19 professional footballers. Witton had its best run in both the

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 ...

and the Lancashire Cup. What role Almond played in these cup runs is not recorded.

Season 1888–1889

Blackburn Rovers had a highly successful inaugural league season in 1888–1889. They finished 4th in the League and reached the semi-final of the

. Willie Almond made his League and Club debut, playing at centre-half, on 15 September 1888 at

Leamington Road Leamington Road was a football ground in Blackburn in England. It was the home ground of Blackburn Rovers between 1881 and 1890. History Blackburn Rovers moved to Leamington Road from their Alexandra Meadows ground in 1881.Paul Smith & Shirley S ...

, home of Blackburn Rovers in a match against

. The match was drawn 5-5. When he made his League debut Willie Almond was 20 years and 163 days old; that made him, on the second weekend of League football, Blackburn Rovers' youngest player. Almond scored his debut League goal on 10 November 1888 at Leamington Road, Blackburn, against Everton FC. Blackburn Rovers won the match 3–0. Almond missed only one of the 21 League matches played by Blackburn Rovers in 1888-1889 and scored one League goal. As a centre-half he played in a defence-line that kept three clean sheets and kept the opposition to one-in-a-match on three separate occasions. He also played one match as a wing-half. (registration & fee required)

References

1868 births English men's footballers Blackburn Rovers F.C. players Accrington F.C. players Northwich Victoria F.C. players English Football League players Year of death missing Men's association football midfielders Witton F.C. players Middlesbrough F.C. players Nelson F.C. players Millwall F.C. players Tottenham Hotspur F.C. players Clapton F.C. players Footballers from Blackburn {{England-footy-midfielder-1860s-stub