Billy McDevitt (5 January 1898–1966) was a

Northern Irish Northern Irish people is a demonym for all people born in Northern Ireland or people who are entitled to reside in Northern Ireland without any restriction on their period of residence. Most Northern Irish people either identify as Northern ...

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 played as a

central defender 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 ...

and later managed several teams. Originally playing in Northern Ireland for Belfast United, he joined

Liverpool FC Liverpool Football Club is a professional football club based in Liverpool, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. Founded in 1892, the club joined the Football League the following year and has p ...

in the early 1920s, before moving to

Exeter City FC Exeter City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Exeter, Devon, England. The team play in , the third tier of the English football league system. Known as "the Grecians", the origin of their nickname is subject t ...

in 1925. He was player-manager and later manager at Exeter, leading the club to the quarterfinals of the

1930–31 FA Cup The 1930–31 FA Cup was the 56th staging of the world's oldest football cup competition, the Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup. West Bromwich Albion of the Football League Second Division won the competition, beating ...

. He returned to Northern Ireland in the 1930s and managed several

Irish Football League Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

clubs, including Belfast Celtic. He died in 1966.

References

1898 births Year of death missing Irish association footballers (before 1923) Liverpool F.C. players Glentoran F.C. players Swansea City A.F.C. players Exeter City F.C. players Men's association football midfielders {{NorthernIreland-footy-bio-stub