William (Sonny) E. Walters (5 September 1924 – 25 November 1970) was an English 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 played on the

wing A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is expres ...

for

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

and subsequently for

Aldershot Town Aldershot Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Aldershot, Hampshire, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. The club was founded in the spring ...

during the 1940s and 1950s.

Career

Sonny Walters was assigned to Tottenham Juniors in 1939, representing the Walthamstow Avenue team and netting 24 goals during the 1943–44 season. He signed professional forms in September 1944, clocking up 50 wartime appearances, netting 14 goals, until serving in the army from 1945–47. Whilst based in

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

he guested for Derry City as well as facing the

French Army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (french: Armée de Terre, ), is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces. It is responsible to the Government of France, along with the other components of the Armed For ...

Belgian Army The Land Component ( nl, Landcomponent, french: Composante terre) is the land branch of the Belgian Armed Forces. The King of the Belgians is the commander in chief. The current chief of staff of the Land Component is Major-General Pierre Gérard. ...

RAF The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

and

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

in representative matches. He played for Tottenham Hotspur between 1947 and 1957 and in 1949 he gained a regular spot in the Tottenham Hotspur league team. He got his break when he was selected to replace

Freddie Cox Frederick James Arthur Cox DFC (1 November 1920 – 7 August 1973) was an English football player and manager. Playing as a winger, he scored 25 goals from 182 appearances in the Football League either side of the Second World War, and was on t ...

who transferred to

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

and was quick to make an impression. Scoring on his debut in January 1947 in a 2-0 victory over

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club () is an English professional football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was formed in 1878 and has pla ...

White Hart Lane White Hart Lane was a Association football, football stadium in Tottenham, North London and the home of Tottenham Hotspur F.C., Tottenham Hotspur Football Club from 1899 to 2017. Its capacity varied over the years; when changed to all-seater i ...

. He was part of manager Arthur Rowe's exciting 'Push and Run' side which won the

Football League Second Division The Football League Second Division was the second level division in the English football league system between 1892 and 1992. Following the foundation of the FA Premier League, the Football League divisions were renumbered and the third ti ...

in 1950 and, in the year following promotion, the

Football League First Division The Football League First Division was a division of the Football League in England from 1888 until 2004. It was the top division in the English football league system from the season 1888–89 until 1991–92, a century in which the First ...

in 1951. He played alongside Bill Nicholson,

Alf Ramsey Sir Alfred Ernest Ramsey (22 January 1920 – 28 April 1999) was an English football player and manager. As a player, he represented the England national team and captained the side, but he is best known for his time as England manager fr ...

, captain Ronnie Burgess,

Ted Ditchburn Edwin George Ditchburn (24 October 1921 – 26 December 2005) was an English professional football goalkeeper who played for Northfleet United, Tottenham Hotspur, Romford, Brentwood Town and represented England on six occasions at international ...

in goal and Len Duquemin. During his time at Spurs he made 234 appearances scoring 71 goals. On 24 January 1953 Sonny scored the club's 1,500th League goal at White Hart Lane in a 2–1 win against

Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an offshoot of ...

. His name was immortalised in the 1950s Spurs chant "We are the Spurs Supporters and we love to watch them play" (sung to the tune of

McNamara's Band "McNamara's Band" (originally "MacNamara's Band") is a popular song composed in 1889 by Shamus O'Connor (music) and John J. Stamford (lyrics). The song was performed as a music hall routine by William J. "Billy" Ashcroft. It has been recorded by ...

) with the lines...... ''The ref his whistle proudly blows the linesmen wave their flags, The Duke is ready to kick off as he hitches up his bags, We cheer Sonny Walters as he toddles down the line, And the ball like magic is in the net and makes us all feel fine.'' In July 1957 he transferred to Aldershot Town where he played for them 66 times scoring 11 goals. He gained only one international honour when selected to play for England "B" against The Netherlands at Newcastle on 22 February 1950. He retired from the game in 1959.

Honours

Tottenham Hotspur *

: 1950–51

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Walters, Sonny English men's footballers Tottenham Hotspur F.C. players Aldershot F.C. players Men's association football wingers English Football League players 1924 births 1970 deaths British Army personnel of World War II Footballers from Edmonton, London