Bill Caton

Bill Caton
Personal information
Full name	William Clifford Caton
Date of birth	11 September 1924
Place of birth	Kidsgrove, Stoke-on-Trent, England
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
1947–1949	Stoke City
1949–1952	Carlisle United
1952–1953	Chesterfield
1953–1954	Worcester City
1954–1955	Crewe Alexandra
1955–1957	Gresley Rovers
1957–1958	Mossley
Total
	*Club domestic league appearances and goals

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]

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
Club	Season	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

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ Matthews, Tony (1994). The Encyclopaedia of Stoke City. Lion Press. ISBN 0-9524151-0-0.
^ "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.
^ "Farewell to Stoke City's original 'long throw wizard'". The Sentinel. Retrieved 23 April 2012.
^ 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 Transfer Database
Gresley Rovers profile at Gresley F.C.

[The_Encyclopaedia_of_Stoke_City-1] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ 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)

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