Billy Meredith

Aged unknown

William Henry Meredith (30 July 1874 – 19 April 1958) was a Welsh professional footballer. He was considered one of the early superstars of football due to his performances, notably for Manchester City and Manchester United. He won each domestic trophy in the English football league and gained 48 caps for Wales, for whom he scored 11 goals and won two British Home Championship titles. His favoured position was outside right, and his key skills were dribbling, passing, crossing and shooting. A dedicated and extremely fit professional, his habit of chewing on a toothpick during games made him instantly recognisable. In 27 seasons in the Football League from 1892 to 1924 (not including the four seasons lost to the First World War and the 1905–06 season in which he was banned for bribing an opposition player), he scored 194 goals in 740 league and cup appearances. He played for Chirk, before joining Northwich Victoria in 1892. His career took off when he signed with Manchester City in 1894 and turned professional in January 1895. He captained the team to the club's first major honour, a 1–0 victory over Bolton Wanderers in the 1904 FA Cup Final. He moved to Manchester United in May 1906 after being banned for bribing Aston Villa half-back Alex Leake £10 to lose a match. There he won the league title in 1907–08 and 1910–11, the FA Cup in 1909, as well as two FA Charity Shields. He also helped to set up the Players' Union, which was a fore-runner of the Professional Footballers' Association. He returned to Manchester City in 1921 at the age of 47 and played a further 32 games before retiring in 1924, making him the oldest ever player for City, United and Wales. He later ran the Stretford Road Hotel and helped to coach the short-lived Manchester Central.

DbPedia

Wikidata Wikipedia