Although Bill actually joinedLiverpool in 1938, he was only a teenager at the time and the SecondWorld War would immediately deprive him of several years of competitivefootball.
By the time the Football League resumed 'normal service' on the lastday of August 1946, Bill was 24 years old and he immediately made upfor lost time by helping his club win the First Division championship,playing in 26 of the 42 League matches (including the title 'decider'at Wolverhampton) and scoring twice.
Although the club would never reach such heights again for nearly 20years, Bill was a regular member of the side for the next seven seasonsand was an extremely versatile man who could play - and play well - inseveral different positions.He played in Liverpool's first-ever Wembley cup final (against Arsenalin 1950) but had to settle for a runners-up medal. But unfortunatelythe club never built on the little success they had enjoyed in theimmediate post-war years and from 1950 onwards their final Leagueplacing got steadily worse until in 1953-54 (Bill's last season atAnfield), the relegation which had been narrowly avoided the previousseason became a reality.
Bill's 257th and final League appearance for Liverpool came on a daywhen relegation had already been confirmed; the Reds went down by threegoals to nil at Blackpool. It was a sad end to a fine Anfield career.Bill was 'capped' by his country twice at centre-half, the position inwhich he played the bulk of his professional career.* His grandson,Rob, later went on to follow in his footsteps with Liverpool andEngland in the nineties.
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