William Davies (10 March 1900 – 1953) was a Welsh 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 ...

who made over 300 appearances in the Football League during spells with Swansea Town, Cardiff City,

Notts County Notts County Football Club is a professional association football club based in Nottingham, England. The team participate in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. Founded on the 25 November 1862, it is the ...

and

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English football. The team has playe ...

. He also made 17 appearances for

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

, scoring six times.

Early life

Davies was born in

Troedyrhiw Troed-y-rhiw (, translation: foot of the slope) is a large community (Wales), community village in the county borough of Merthyr Tydfil County Borough, Merthyr Tydfil, Wales. Its population at the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 census was 5,296 ...

to Thomas and Mary Davies, growing up in Harriet Town.

Career

Davies began his career playing for local amateur sides, joining Rhymney where he once scored 61 goals in a single season. He was signed by Swansea Town in 1921, playing in every forward position for the club before settling at outside-right. He made his

debut while playing for Swansea but, in 1924 with the club going through financial trouble, he moved to Cardiff City for a fee of £25. In his first season at the club, he was part of the side that reached the

FA Cup Final The FA Cup Final, commonly referred to in England as just the Cup Final, is the last match in the Football Association Challenge Cup. It has regularly been one of the most attended domestic football events in the world, with an official atten ...

, including scoring a goal direct from a corner-kick in the quarter-final victory over

Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city lies on the River Soar and close to the eastern end of the National ...

. He contracted a serious chest illness soon after and missed more than a year for the club, including missing the teams

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 ...

victory in

1927 Events January * January 1 – The British Broadcasting ''Company'' becomes the British Broadcasting ''Corporation'', when its Royal Charter of incorporation takes effect. John Reith becomes the first Director-General. * January 7 ...

. He briefly returned to the side at the start of the 1927–28 season but was sold to

soon after, where he spent two years before moving on to

. He later returned to Wales to finish his league career at Swansea.

International career

During his career, Davies won a total of 17 caps for Wales, making a goalscoring debut in a 2–0 victory over

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

on 16 February 1924 in the

1924 British Home Championship Nineteen or 19 may refer to: * 19 (number), the natural number following 18 and preceding 20 * one of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019 Films * ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film * ''Nineteen'' (film), a 1987 science fiction film Music ...

. Davies played in the remaining two matches of the championship, scoring his second international goal in a 2–1 victory over

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 ...

, as Wales won the tournament for the third time. He later also helped Wales win the British Home Championship for a second time in four years in

1928 Events January * January – British bacteriologist Frederick Griffith reports the results of Griffith's experiment, indirectly proving the existence of DNA. * January 1 – Eastern Bloc emigration and defection: Boris Bazhan ...

. His last goal for Wales came on 27 October 1928, when he scored twice in a 4–2 defeat to Scotland, before winning his last cap on 1 February 1930 when he played in a 7–0 defeat to

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 ...

International goals

:''Results list Wales' goal tally first.''

Honours

Cardiff City *

Finalist: 1 ::

1925 Events January * January 1 ** The Syrian Federation is officially dissolved, the State of Aleppo and the State of Damascus having been replaced by the State of Syria. * January 3 – Benito Mussolini makes a pivotal speech in the Itali ...

Wales * British Home Championship Winner: 2 ::

1924 Events January * January 12 – Gopinath Saha shoots Ernest Day, whom he has mistaken for Sir Charles Tegart, the police commissioner of Calcutta, and is arrested soon after. * January 20– 30 – Kuomintang in China holds ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Davies, Willie 1900 births 1953 deaths Welsh footballers Wales international footballers Swansea City A.F.C. players Cardiff City F.C. players Notts County F.C. players Tottenham Hotspur F.C. players English Football League players People from Troed-y-rhiw Association football forwards FA Cup Final players