Bill Perry (footballer)

Football player infobox2
playername = Bill Perry


fullname = William Perry
nickname =
dateofbirth = Birth date|1930|9|10|mf=y
cityofbirth = Johannesburg
countryofbirth = South Africa
dateofdeath = Death date and age|2007|9|27|1930|9|10
cityofdeath =
countryofdeath =
height =
currentclub =
position = Midfielder
youthyears =
youthclubs =
years = 19??-1949
1949-1962
1962-1963
1963-1964
1964-1965
clubs = Johannesburg Rangers
Blackpool
Southport
Hereford United
South Coast United
caps(goals) = 00? 00(?)
394 (119)
026 00(0)
029 00(0)
00? 00(?)
manageryears =
managerclubs =
nationalyears = 1955-1956
nationalteam = flagicon|England England
nationalcaps(goals) = 003 00(2)

William "Bill" Perry (September 10 1930 – September 27, 2007) was a South African-born English professional footballer. He spent thirteen seasons at Blackpool during the 1950s and 1960s.

Perry, an outside-left, signed for Blackpool in 1949. The 1950s are the most successful decade in the club's history to date. Perry would be at the club playing top division football throughout, as would goalkeeper George Farm, defenders Hugh Kelly and Tommy Garrett, right winger Stanley Matthews and forward Jackie Mudie. Perry made his league debut for Blackpool in March 1950, in a win at Manchester United.

During the 1955-56 season, Perry scored 20 goals to help Blackpool to their highest-ever league position of runners-up in Division One.

Perry's most notable achievement was scoring the injury-time winner for Blackpool in the famous 1953 'Matthews' FA Cup Final against Bolton, cementing a comeback from 1-3 to 4-3 thanks to an earlier Stan Mortensen hat-trick.

Seven years later, a cartilage operation virtually ended Perry's playing career, and after being in and out of the side, he was transfer-listed in the summer of 1962.

Southport came in for his services, where he played 26 games from August 1962 until May 1963 when he joined Hereford United.

He remained at Edgar Street for just the one season and made a total of 29 appearances for Hereford during his time there. Perry left Hereford at the end of the 1963-64 season and had a short spell in Australia before retiring with Holyhead Town. He became a director of Fleetwood Town between 1967 and 1970.

Post-retirement

After retiring, Perry ran a couple of businesses in Blackpool, where he lived with his wife, Jean.

In January 2007, Perry was reunited with the FA Cup after 54 years when the trophy was taken to Bloomfield Road as part of the build-up to the Seasiders' fourth-round tie with Norwich City. Also in attendance was Cyril Robinson, at the time the only other surviving member of the cup-winning team. [http://www.blackpoolfc.premiumtv.co.uk/page/News/NewsDetail/0,,10432~971218,00.html]

Perry died eight months later at the age of 77. [ [http://www.bbc.co.uk/lancashire/content/articles/2007/09/27/bfc_bill_perry_dies.shtml BBC - Lancashire - Sport - Blackpool legend dies ] ]

Honours

Blackpool
*FA Cup winner: 1953

Notes

References

*cite book | first=Roy | last=Calley| coauthors= | title=Blackpool: A Complete Record 1887-1992 | publisher=Breedon Books Sport | location= | year=1992 | editor= | id=ISBN 1-873626-07-X
* Parrott, Ron; Hereford United Club Historian; http://www.herefordunited.co.uk/article/624138/History-Section.

External links

* [http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/obituaries/article2562756.ece Obituary in "The Times", 1 October 2007]
* [http://www.thefa.com/England/SeniorTeam/Archive/?pf=p&i=1986&
]
* [http://www.neilbrown.newcastlefans.com/player/billperry.htm Independent site profile]
* [http://www.englandfc.com/Profiles/php/PlayerProfileByName.php?id=760 Profile at EnglandFC.com]
* [http://www.blackpoolfc.premiumtv.co.uk/javaImages/7c/2/0,,10432~3342972,00.jpgA photograph of Bill Perry reunited with Stanley Matthews and the FA Cup]