William Byron Stevenson (7 September 1956 – 6 September 2007) was a Welsh international

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 ...

. Stevenson played for

Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire in England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of England's football league system, and plays its home matches at Elland Road ...

Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. Sin ...

and

Bristol Rovers Bristol Rovers Football Club are a professional football club in Bristol, England. They compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. They play home matches at the Memorial Stadium in Horfield, they have been ...

. He started his career at Leeds United in 1972, who were then one of the forces in European club football. Originally thought of as a potential replacement for either

Jack Charlton John Charlton (8 May 193510 July 2020) was an English footballer and manager who played as a defender. He was part of the England national team that won the 1966 World Cup and managed the Republic of Ireland national team from 1986 to 199 ...

or Norman Hunter as the

Don Revie Donald George Revie OBE (10 July 1927 – 26 May 1989) was an England international footballer and manager, best known for his successful spell with Leeds United from 1961 until 1974, which immediately preceded his appointment as England manage ...

Leeds team started to break up. Stevenson had to wait until April 1976 before he got anything like a run of games when he made six successive league appearances replacing

Paul Reaney Paul Reaney (born 22 October 1944) is an English former international footballer. He played primarily as a right-sided full-back. He made 745 first-team appearances at Leeds United from 1962 to 1978, winning six major trophies under Don Revi ...

at right back. He had a good run at centre half in 1979 and in midfield in 1981 making a total of 95 appearances. In 1981 a swap deal saw him move to

where he played over 100 times. He joined

in 1985, but decided to retire the following summer aged 29, after struggling with injuries. Following his retirement from football, Byron became the landlord of the New Inn public house on Elland Road, Churwell, Leeds, which had been managed by another Leeds United and Wales international legend

John Charles William John Charles (27 December 1931 – 21 February 2004) was a Welsh footballer who played as a centre-forward or as a centre-back. Best known for his first stint at Leeds United and Juventus, he was rated by many as the greatest all-ro ...

years earlier. Stevenson died of throat cancer in September 2007—one day before what would have been his 51st birthday and one day after his grandson's birthday.

International career

In May 1978 Stevenson made his

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 ...

debut at the Racecourse,

Wrexham Wrexham ( ; cy, Wrecsam; ) is a city and the administrative centre of Wrexham County Borough in Wales. It is located between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley, near the border with Cheshire in England. Historically in the count ...

in the 1–0 win over Northern Ireland in the British Championship. Stevenson played for his country 15 times between 1978 and 1982, adding to his Wales youth and U21 caps. He was controversially sent off in Turkey in 1979 after he allegedly fractured opponent Buyak Mustafa's cheekbone. He was given a four-and-a-half year European ban, effectively ending his international career.

References

External links

Byron Stevenson
at Sporting-Heroes.net
''Yorkshire Post'' obituary
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stevenson, Byron 1956 births 2007 deaths Footballers from Llanelli Men's association football midfielders Welsh men's footballers Wales men's international footballers Birmingham City F.C. players Bristol Rovers F.C. players Leeds United F.C. players English Football League players Deaths from esophageal cancer