Bill Harris (footballer)

Infobox Football biography
playername = Bill Harris


fullname = William Charles Harris
dateofbirth = birth date|1928|10|31|df=y
cityofbirth = Swansea
countryofbirth = Wales
dateofdeath = 1989
cityofdeath = Middlesbrough
countryofdeath = England
height =
position = Wing half
youthyears =
youthclubs =
years =
1949–1950
1950–1954
1954–1965
1965–1966
clubs = Swansea City
Llanelli
Hull City
Middlesbrough
Bradford City
caps(goals) = 000 0(0)
131 0(?)
378 (72)
009 0(1)
nationalyears =
nationalteam = Wales
nationalcaps(goals) =
manageryears = 1965–1966
1967–1969
managerclubs = Bradford City
Stockton

William "Bill" Charles Harris (31 October 1928 – 1989) was a Welsh footballer, who played for his national side and Middlesbrough and later became a manager.

Career

Bill Harris started his footballing career with local club Swansea City but failed to graduate beyond the third team and so moved to Llanelli in 1949. After just six months at the club he signed for Hull City for £2,000.cite book
last = Frost
first = Terry
title = Bradford City A Complete Record 1903-1988
publisher = Breedon Books Sport
year = 1988
pages = pp74-75, p106
isbn = 0907969380] He played 131 games for Hull before a move to Middlesbrough in March 1954 for £15,000. Harris, a wing half, played 378 games, scoring 72 goals for Middlesbrough and was capped for Wales. He won his first Welsh cap against Austria in May 1955 in Vienna but had to wait three years for his second cap.

In March 1965, he joined Bradford City as their third player-manager following the departure of Bob Brocklebank. He took charge at a struggling club, during its darkest days, and in his first season, the club had finished 19th in Division Four. The following season the club's problems continued and Harris resigned a year after he took over with the club heading towards re-election.

His stay also signalled the end of his playing career, when he was injured during a 7–1 defeat to Crewe Alexandra and was advised to stop playing.

In November 1967, he returned to Teesside as manager-coach of non-league Stockton, before he retired in May 1969. He later worked for an insurance firm in Middlesbrough. He died of lung cancer in Middlesbrough in 1989 leaving his wife Jean, who was later buried with him after her death.Fact|date=September 2008

References

External links

*soccerbase (manager)|146|Bill Harris