Bill Appleyard

Willie Appleyard (16 November 1878 – 14 January 1958) was an English footballer, whose career at the highest level was cut short through injury.

Willie Appleyard
Appleyard for Newcastle
Personal information
Full name Willie Appleyard
Date of birth (1878-11-16)16 November 1878
Place of birth Caistor, England[1]
Date of death 14 January 1958(1958-01-14) (aged 79)
Place of death Newcastle, England
Position(s) Centre forward
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1901–1902 Grimsby Town 19 (9)
1902–1908 Newcastle United 126 (71)
1908 Oldham Athletic
1908–1909 Grimsby Town 13 (2)
1909 Mansfield Mechanics
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Football career

Born in Caistor, Lincolnshire, Appleyard signed for Grimsby Town in 1901 from amateur side Cleethorpes.[1] In the 1901–02 season, he scored 9 goals and made 19 league appearances for Grimsby.[2]

Appleyard was best known for wearing the number nine shirt for Newcastle United. He signed for the club in 1902 from Grimsby Town and went on to win the Championship twice as well as being a finalist in two FA Cup finals. He was known as "Cockles", a reference to a previous job he had as a Grimsby fisherman.[1] Appleyard stood at 6 ft and weighed over 14 stone. He scored Newcastle's first FA Cup hat-trick - against his former club Grimsby on 7 March 1908.[3]

After playing 145 games for Newcastle and scoring an impressive 87 goals, he was forced to leave the club in 1908 through injury. Appleyard then signed for Oldham Athletic in the Second Division.[4] After leaving Newcastle he signed again for Grimsby Town in the 1908–09 season, where he scored 2 goals in 13 appearances.[5] His return lasted only a year, signing for Mansfield Mechanics in 1909. He later retired and returned to the Newcastle area, working in Vickers Shipyards in Wallsend.[4]

Honours

As a player
Newcastle United

References
  1. Kev Fletcher (2015). The Toon's Greatest 100 Players Ever. Morrisville, North Carolina: Lulu Publications. p. 176. ISBN 978-1-326-29685-8.
  2. Dave Kelly (2008). The Grimsby Town Story 1878–2008. London: Yore Publications. p. 176. ISBN 978-0-9557889-3-2.
  3. Scott, Kenneth. "Newcastle United - A statistical journey". khscott.org.uk. Archived from the original on 28 September 2007. Retrieved 2 April 2007.
  4. Kev Fletcher (2015). The Toon's Greatest 100 Players Ever. Morrisville, North Carolina: Lulu Publications. p. 178. ISBN 978-1-326-29685-8.
  5. Dave Kelly (2008). The Grimsby Town Story 1878–2008. London: Yore Publications. p. 186. ISBN 978-0-9557889-3-2.

Resources
  • A Complete Who's Who of Newcastle United, by Paul Joannou.
  • Haway The Lads, The Illustrated Story of Newcastle United, by Paul Joannou, Tommy Canning/Patrick Canning
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