Billy Hughes (footballer born 1918)

Infobox Football biography
playername = Billy Hughes


fullname = William Marshall Hughes
dateofbirth = birth date|1918|3|6|df=y
cityofbirth = Llanelli
countryofbirth = Wales
dateofdeath = death date and age|1981|6|16|1918|3|6|df=y
cityofdeath = Birmingham
countryofdeath = England
height = convert|6|ft|2|in|m|2|abbr=on
position = Left-back
youthyears =
youthclubs =
years = 1934–1935
1935
1935–1947

1940–1941
1940–1941
1942–1943
1942–1945
1947–1948
1948–1951
1951–1954
1954–1955
clubs = Llanelli
→ Swansea Town (loan)
Birmingham
→ (wartime)
→ Blackpool (guest)
→ Swansea Town (guest)
→ Fulham (guest)
→ Chester (guest)
Luton Town
Chelsea
Hereford United
Flint Town United
caps(goals) =
104 0(0)
049 0(0)
008 0(0)
001 0(0)
002 0(0)
050 (19)
031 0(0)
093 0(0)
nationalyears = 1937–1947
1944
1944
1947
nationalteam = Wales
→ (wartime)
FA Combined Services XI
Royal Air Force XI
Great Britain XI
nationalcaps(goals) = 010 (0)
014 (0)
0
0
01 (0)

William Marshall "Billy" Hughes (6 March 1918 – 16 June 1981) was a Welsh professional footballer who played as a left-back. He made 169 appearances in the First Division for Birmingham and Chelsea. As an international, he won 10 full caps for Wales and also played for a Great Britain XI in 1947.

Career

Club career

Born in Llanelli, Hughes joined Birmingham from Llanelli in 1934 and made his first-team debut in January 1936 when still only 17; by the time he was 19 he was a regular first choice. He was mature for his age and was described as a ball-winning defender who tried to use the ball constructively once he won it.cite book
author=Matthews, Tony |title=Birmingham City: A Complete Record |year=1995 |publisher=Breedon Books |location=Derby |pages=pp. 99, 178–81 |isbn=978-1-85983-010-9] During the Second World War he made 49 wartime league appearances for Birmingham. He also enlisted in the Royal Air Force and made guest appearances for Blackpool, Swansea Town, Fulham and Chester. [cite book
author=Sumner, Chas |title=On the Borderline: The Official History of Chester City 1885-1997 |year=1997 |pages= p.60 |isbn=1-874427-52-6] [cite book
author=Rollin, Jack |title=Soccer at War 1939–45 |year=2005 |publisher=Headline |isbn=075531431X] In all he played 110 senior games for Birmingham before joining Luton Town; eight months later they sold him for £12,000 to Chelsea, for whom he also played more than 100 games. He then moved to Hereford United, then playing in the Southern League, followed by Flint Town United, with whom he won his only major club honour, the Welsh Cup, in 1954. [cite web
url=http://www.wfda.co.uk/welshcup_final_detail.php?id=67 |title=Welsh Cup Final 1953/54 |publisher=Welsh Football Data Archive |accessdate=2008-03-03]

International career

Hughes made his international debut for Wales on 30 October 1937 in a 2–1 win over Scotland; he was only 19 and played alongside Birmingham clubmates Seymour Morris and Dai Richards. From that match until the outbreak of the Second World War, Hughes was an ever-present in the Welsh side. [cite web
url=http://www.wfda.co.uk/international_index.php?pageNum_rsInt=8&totalRows_rsInt=257 |title=Welsh international matches |publisher=Welsh Football Data Archive |accessdate=2007-10-18] He also played in 14 of Wales' 17 wartime and Victory internationals, [cite web
url=http://www.wfda.co.uk/international_index_wartime.php |title=Welsh wartime international matches |publisher=Welsh Football Data Archive |accessdate=2007-10-18] and later captained the team during the 1947 British Home Championship. [cite web
url=http://www.rsssf.com/tabless/scot-intres1950.html |title=England - Scotland - International Matches 1946-1950 |author=Brown, Alan |publisher=RSSSF |date=2001-03-13 |accessdate=2007-10-18] In 1944 he toured France and Belgium with an FA Combined Services XI. [cite web
url=http://www.rsssf.com/tablese/eng-warvic-intres.html |title=England - War-Time/Victory Internationals - Details |author=Courtney, Barrie |publisher=RSSSF |date=2004-03-21 |accessdate=2007-10-18] On 25 November 1944, at Hillsborough, he also played for a Royal Air Force XI in a 7–1 defeat against Scotland. His team mates on the day included, among others, Stanley Matthews, Stan Mortensen, Raich Carter and Frank Soo. [cite book
author=Keith, John |title=Billy Liddell: The Legend Who Carried the Kop |year=2004 |publisher=Anova Books |isbn=1861058047] In 1947 he also played for a Great Britain XI against a Rest of Europe XI to celebrate the return of the Home Nations to FIFA. [cite web
url=http://www.fifa.com/classicfootball/history/fifa/historyfifa5.html |title=British Associations return |work=History of FIFA |publisher=FIFA |accessdate=2007-10-18] [cite web
url=http://www.englandfootballonline.com/TeamHons/HonsRepTms.html |title=England Player Honours - International Representative Teams |publisher=England Football Online |accessdate=2007-10-18]

Later years

After retiring from playing, Hughes scouted for Chester. He died in Birmingham in 1981 at the age of 63. [cite book
title=The Encyclopedia of Birmingham City Football Club 1875~2000 |author=Matthews, Tony |year=2000 |month=October |publisher=Britespot |location=Cradley Heath |pages=p. 116 |isbn=0-9539288-0-2]

Honours

;with Wales
*British Home Championship (shared): 1939;with Flint Town United
*Welsh Cup winners: 1954

References

*cite book |last=Hayes |first=Dean P. |title=Wales: The Complete Who's Who of Footballers Since 1946 |year=2004 |publisher=Sutton Publishing |location=Stroud |isbn=0-7509-3700-9 |pages=p.4 |chapter=1946–49: Rebuilding
* [http://www.neilbrown.newcastlefans.com/player1/billyhughes.htm Billy Hughes] at Post War English & Scottish Football League A - Z Player's Database

Notes

Persondata
NAME = Hughes, Billy
ALTERNATIVE NAMES = Hughes, William Marshall
SHORT DESCRIPTION = Professional footballer
DATE OF BIRTH = 1918-03-06
PLACE OF BIRTH = Llanelli, Wales
DATE OF DEATH = 1981-06-16
PLACE OF DEATH = Birmingham, England