Billy Wootton

Billy Wootton

Personal information
Full name	William Wootton
Date of birth	(1904-08-27)27 August 1904
Place of birth	Longton, Staffordshire, England
Date of death	2000 (aged 95–96)
Position(s)	Full-back
Youth career
	Trentham
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1923–1924	Stoke	0	(0)
1924–1925	Congleton Town
1925–1932	Port Vale	56	(0)
1932–1937	Southend United	2	(0)
1935–1947	Northwich Victoria
Total		58+	(0+)
Managerial career
1935–1947	Northwich Victoria (player-manager)
1947–1950	Oldham Athletic
1951–1952	Halifax Town
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

William Wootton (27 August 1904 – 2000) was an English footballer who played as a full-back for Stoke, Congleton Town, Port Vale, and Southend United. He later managed Northwich Victoria, Oldham Athletic, and Halifax Town. He won the Third Division North title with Port Vale in 1929–30, and led Northwich Victoria to victory in the Cheshire Senior Cup in 1937.

Playing career

Wootton played for Trentham, Stoke and Congleton Town, before joining Port Vale in June 1925. He made three Second Division appearances in the 1925–26 season. He remained a bit-part player for the "Valiants", featuring seven times in 1926–27, 12 times in 1927–28, and six times in 1928–29. Vale were relegated in 1929, and Wootton played 20 league games in 1929–30 as Vale won the Third Division North title. However, he only played four games in 1930–31 and six games in 1931–32.

In August 1932, he was transferred to Third Division South side Southend United. He became the player-manager of Cheshire County League club Northwich Victoria in 1935. He spent 12 years at Drill Field, leading them to the Cheshire Senior Cup in 1937.

Management career

After leaving the position of player-manager with Northwich Victoria, Wootton became the manager of Third Division North side Oldham Athletic in June 1947. He oversaw 141 games at Boundary Park and achieved a 38.28 win percentage but failed to gain the club the promotion to the Second Division they craved. He left Oldham in September 1950 and took up the reins at Halifax Town the following year. He spent just one season with Halifax, and left The Shay after leading the "Shaymen" to a 20th-place finish in the Third Division North in 1951–52.

Statistics

Playing statistics

Source:

Club	Season	Division	League		FA Cup		Total
			Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Stoke	1923–24	Second Division	0	0	0	0	0	0
Port Vale	1925–26	Second Division	3	0	0	0	3	0
	1926–27	Second Division	5	0	2	0	7	0
	1927–28	Second Division	12	0	0	0	12	0
	1928–29	Second Division	6	0	0	0	6	0
	1929–30	Third Division North	20	0	0	0	20	0
	1930–31	Second Division	4	0	0	0	4	0
	1931–32	Second Division	6	0	0	0	6	0
	Total		56	0	2	0	58	0
Southend United	1932–33	Third Division South	2	0	0	0	2	0
Career total			58	0	2	0	60	0

Managerial statistics

Source:

Managerial record by team and tenure

Team	From	To	Record
			P	W	D	L	Win %
Oldham Athletic	1 June 1947	14 September 1950	145	54	37	54	037.2
Halifax Town	5 March 1951	6 February 1952	44	9	10	25	020.5
Total			189	63	47	79	033.3

Honours

Port Vale

• Football League Third Division North champion: 1929–30

Northwich Victoria

• Cheshire Senior Cup winner: 1937