- Billy Blyth
Infobox Football biography
playername = Billy Blyth
fullname = William Naismith Blyth
dateofbirth =June 17 ,1895
cityofbirth =Dalkeith ,Midlothian
countryofbirth =Scotland
dateofdeath = death date and age|1968|7|1|1895|6|17
cityofdeath =Worthing
countryofdeath =England
height = 5' 8"
position =Left half ,inside left
youthyears =
youthclubs = Wemyss Athletic
years = 19??–1914 1914–1929 1929–1931
clubs = Manchester City Arsenal Birmingham
caps(goals) = 000 0(0) 314 (45) 021 0(4)William Naismith "Billy" Blyth (
June 17 ,1895 –July 1 ,1968 ) was a Scottish footballer.Born in
Dalkeith ,Midlothian , Blyth played as a schoolboy for local junior side Wemyss Athletic. He was briefly on the books of Manchester City before signing for Arsenal in May 1914. He quickly made his debut for the Gunners, in a Second Division against Huddersfield Town onNovember 21 ,1914 , a game that Arsenal lost 3-0. Blyth made twelve appearances in 1914-15 but by thenWorld War I had broken out, and Blyth duly joined theRoyal Army Service Corps , serving inFrance .Upon the end of hostilities and the resumption of football in 1919, Blyth returned to Arsenal and immediately became a regular in the newly-promoted side. An energetic "midfield dynamo", Blyth usually figured on the left of
midfield , as a left half or inside left. He became a mainstay in the side, with over 300 league games in ten seasons, and became club captain in 1925. He also played in the 1927FA Cup Final, Arsenal's first cup final, which they lost 1-0 to Cardiff City). In total, he played 343 matches for Arsenal, scoring 51 goals.He moved to Birmingham in May 1929, playing his last first-team game in September 1930 before retiring at the end of the 1930–31 season. Blyth also starred in one of the first football-related
film s, the 1930 production "The Great Game". After retiring, Blyth moved back to Scotland, and ran a pub inPort Seton . He died inWorthing ,West Sussex ,England in 1968 at the age of 73.Honours
As a player
;Arsenal
*
FA Cup finalist - 1927References
*cite book
author=Harris, Jeff & Hogg, Tony (ed.)
title=Arsenal Who's Who
publisher=Independent UK Sports
year=1995
id=ISBN 1-899429-03-4
*cite book |author=Matthews, Tony |title=Birmingham City: A Complete Record |publisher=Breedon Books |location=Derby |year=1995 |isbn=978-1-85983-010-9
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