Bill Caton

William Clifford Caton (11 September 1924 – 16 August 2011) was an English footballer who played in the Football League for Carlisle United, Chesterfield, Crewe Alexandra and Stoke City.[1]

Bill Caton

Personal information
Full name	William Clifford Caton[1]
Date of birth	11 September 1924[1]
Place of birth	Kidsgrove, Stoke-on-Trent, England[1]
Date of death	16 August 2011 (aged 86)
Place of death	Cross Heath, Newcastle-under-Lyme, England
Position(s)	Inside forward
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1947–1949	Stoke City	22	(2)
1949–1952	Carlisle United	61	(15)
1952–1953	Chesterfield	7	(0)
1953–1954	Worcester City
1954–1955	Crewe Alexandra	39	(9)
1955–1957	Gresley Rovers	56	(24)
1957–1958	Mossley	4	(0)
Total		189	(50)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Army career

Caton joined the Second Field Regiment Royal Artillery during World War II and was captured and incarcerated by the Nazis in Italy.[1] He managed to escape the prison camp by hiding in a vehicle and jumping out of it once it had left the camp.[1]

Football career

After leaving the Army in 1947 Caton started playing football for his local side Stoke City however he was never a favourite with manager Bob McGrory being used mostly as a reserve team player and left for Bill Shankly's Carlisle United in 1949.[1] He later went on to play for Chesterfield, Worcester City, Crewe Alexandra, Gresley Rovers and Mossley.[1] Caton was able to throw the ball a long way similar to that of Rory Delap.[2] He died on 16 August 2011 at the age of 86.[3]

Career statistics

Source:[4]

Club	Season	League			FA Cup		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Stoke City[1]	1947–48	First Division	3	1	0	0	3	1
	1948–49	First Division	10	1	0	0	10	1
	1949–50	First Division	9	0	0	0	9	0
	Total		22	2	0	0	22	2
Carlisle United	1949–50	Third Division North	3	1	0	0	3	1
	1950–51	Third Division North	31	7	2	0	33	7
	1951–52	Third Division North	27	7	1	0	28	7
	Total		61	15	3	0	64	15
Chesterfield	1952–53	Third Division North	7	0	3	0	10	0
Crewe Alexandra	1954–55	Third Division North	39	9	1	0	39	9
Career total			129	26	7	0	136	26

References

1. Matthews, Tony (1994). The Encyclopaedia of Stoke City. Lion Press. ISBN 0-9524151-0-0.
2. "Meet Bill Caton, Stoke's golden oldie who could throw the ball further than Rory". thisisstaffordshire.co.uk. Archived from the original on 30 September 2012. Retrieved 9 June 2011.
3. "Farewell to Stoke City's original 'long throw wizard'". The Sentinel. Retrieved 23 April 2012.
4. Bill Caton at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)

External links

• Bill Caton at Post War English & Scottish Football League A–Z Player's Database
• Gresley Rovers profile at Gresley F.C.