William Henry Guttridge (4 March 1931 – 6 April 2013) was an English professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

player and manager.

Career

Guttridge played as a

left back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

for amateur side Metroshaft Works before joining First Division club

Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club (), commonly known as Wolves, is a professional football club based in Wolverhampton, England, which compete in the . The club has played at Molineux Stadium since moving from Dudley Road in 1889. The club's ...

in 1947. Nicknamed 'Chopper', mostly played only reserve team games for Wolves, but did make seven first team appearances during his seven-year stay at Molineux, including during their title-winning campaign of 1953–54. His competitive debut came on Christmas Day 1951 in a 3–3 draw at

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa Park ...

. Unable to break into Wolves' first team the full-back moved to Midlands neighbours

Walsall Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands County, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located north-west of Birmingham, east ...

in November 1954, where he made over 200 appearances - often as captain - during an eight-year spell. A cartilage injury forced his playing retirement in 1962. After retiring as a player, he worked as a youth coach at Walsall as well as managing

Darlaston Darlaston is an industrial town in the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall in the West Midlands of England. It is located near Wednesbury and Willenhall. Topography Darlaston is situated between Wednesbury and Walsall in the valley of the River T ...

and

Macclesfield Town Macclesfield Town Football Club was an English professional association football, football club based in Macclesfield, Cheshire, that was liquidation, wound-up after a High Court of Justice, High Court ruling on 16 September 2020. Initially kno ...

. He died on 6 April 2013, at the age of 82, at

Walsall Manor Hospital Walsall Manor Hospital is an acute general hospital in Walsall, West Midlands managed by the Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust. History The hospital has its origins in an infirmary built for the Central Union Workhouse in 1896; the car park is on th ...

after a long battle with Parkinson's disease.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Guttridge, Bill 1931 births 2013 deaths People from Darlaston Sportspeople from the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall English men's footballers English football managers Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. players Walsall F.C. players Stourbridge F.C. players English Football League players Macclesfield Town F.C. managers Men's association football fullbacks Deaths from Parkinson's disease in England Macclesfield Town F.C. players Walsall F.C. non-playing staff